Posted on Nov 29, 2016
What advice can you give for planning a Mortar Gunnery?
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I am planning a Mortar Gunnery but I am not finding a lot out there. I see FM 3-22.90 - Mortars, but it really don't go into Gunnery and the requirements of going into a live fire. I believe there are some new publications coming out but is there anything that hits on the Tables and Gates in one publication. I am focusing on 120mm in a M113. Does anyone out there have their plan or can share their insight.
11C: Indirect Fire Infantryman (Mortarman)
Infantry Mortar Leaders Course (IMLC)
Mortar Platoon Leader
0341: Mortarman
Edited 9 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 25
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Insure your weapons card (2408-4) for each tube is up to date and tube borescope and pullover has been preformed. This is done by Field Maintenance IAW TM 9-1000-202-35 Evaluation of Cannon Tubes and local policys. Tube is not to be fired if 2408-4 is not up to date. Have seen many sad faces when thwy were not allowed to fire because of this.
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"Hey Little Dittle, Far pole in the middle." remember that when your registering your motors and putting in your poles.
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Not sure of the changes in FM's, but FM-23-91 Mortar Gunnery covered the execution of live fires and the gunners exam. Also, FM 7-90 Tactical Employment of Mortars is good reference for planning an FTX, but not much in gunnery itself.
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Mortar gunnery is now know as Mortar certification. It falls under DivArty and you can find the DivArty pub on the 7th Id page for JBLM. Also some other helpful pubs are Mortar Platoon Collective task Pub TC 3-21.90 aug 2013
ARTEP 7-90-MTP mission training plan for the infantry Mortar plt. Section and squad. Apr. 2005
And Tactical employment of mortars ATTP 3-21.90 (FM 7-90)/ MCWP 3-15.2 Apr. 2011
There is no longer an updated gunnery/ Mortep manual sir. My best advice would be to link in with the senior Mortar PSG's and your brigade fecc specifically the target acquisitions officer for guidance on your brigade's standard for Mortar Certification.
ARTEP 7-90-MTP mission training plan for the infantry Mortar plt. Section and squad. Apr. 2005
And Tactical employment of mortars ATTP 3-21.90 (FM 7-90)/ MCWP 3-15.2 Apr. 2011
There is no longer an updated gunnery/ Mortep manual sir. My best advice would be to link in with the senior Mortar PSG's and your brigade fecc specifically the target acquisitions officer for guidance on your brigade's standard for Mortar Certification.
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I wish I could help you CPT (Join to see), but my indirect fire infantryman days ended on 16JUN73 as an 11C4S! Just wanted to say hello and wish you good luck in your quest!
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1LT William Clardy
Dang, LTC Stephen C.! I didn't realize you were also an 11C back in the day! Yet another explanation for why your comments always make sense....
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SSG Timothy McCoy
1LT William Clardy
This one of the major reasons we like LTC Stephen Curlee here, he is grunt like me. AAaand he is just crammed full of reason and wisdom that he is so willing to share!
Tim
This one of the major reasons we like LTC Stephen Curlee here, he is grunt like me. AAaand he is just crammed full of reason and wisdom that he is so willing to share!
Tim
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It's been a long time since I last sang "That's the life of a mortarman", CPT (Join to see), but the rule of thumb back then was that live fires were executed as either an ARTEP or a practice ARTEP. Generally, beyond putting in some time testing mortar gunnery skills (using the SQT standards in the 11C10 Soldier's Manual) and making sure that our tracks were operational (when I was in Cav and Mech Infantry units), we didn't do any other extensive prep.
Actually, there was one significant exception to that: when I was commanding a California National Guard mortar platoon, I force-fed the NCOs a lot of FDC training, because nobody in the platoon knew how to plot fire missions (they had "borrowed" FDC personnel from sister battalions for at least a couple of years prior to my arrival). So my bull-headed insistence that they would, by God, pass their ARTEP using only organic personnel meant that I had to train them for that aspect (I also served as the safety computer during the live fire).
Actually, there was one significant exception to that: when I was commanding a California National Guard mortar platoon, I force-fed the NCOs a lot of FDC training, because nobody in the platoon knew how to plot fire missions (they had "borrowed" FDC personnel from sister battalions for at least a couple of years prior to my arrival). So my bull-headed insistence that they would, by God, pass their ARTEP using only organic personnel meant that I had to train them for that aspect (I also served as the safety computer during the live fire).
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1LT William Clardy
I think they stopped using it because they couldn't find replacement batteries for them, SSG Ernie Bowles. ;-)
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SSG (Join to see)
SSG Ernie Bowles we do still use the M16 plotting board. We recently did a mortar cert usimg only the plotting board.
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1LT William Clardy
Good on yer, SSG (Join to see)!
Drawing lines, plotting points, watching the how the target plot moves, that all gives you a feel for the ballistics that punching coordinates into a calculator never will. When you have a solid enough feel, you may even pull off stuff like Cookie Man (my first section sergeant), who once took out a bridge with an 81mm mortar firing "charge 11 and a cup of gas" and on an ARTEP responded to the FO's final adjustment by calling out a new deflection to the guns without even looking at the plotting board (we didn't fire until the safety computer confirmed Cookie Man's number).
Drawing lines, plotting points, watching the how the target plot moves, that all gives you a feel for the ballistics that punching coordinates into a calculator never will. When you have a solid enough feel, you may even pull off stuff like Cookie Man (my first section sergeant), who once took out a bridge with an 81mm mortar firing "charge 11 and a cup of gas" and on an ARTEP responded to the FO's final adjustment by calling out a new deflection to the guns without even looking at the plotting board (we didn't fire until the safety computer confirmed Cookie Man's number).
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SSG John Ossmann
SSG (Join to see) - I'm a little surprised by that! I figured the M16 would be long gone by now. My unit in Alaska received the Mortar ballistic computer in '87 (I don't remember the M-# now), but it was heavy as a cinder block.
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Those guys are 82d. Depending on unit, one of those guns could of been mine.
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If possible, have all of your soldiers take the Gunner's Primary Exam before heading up to the range. That will give your Plt Sgt time to focus on those that are having trouble
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When a similar problem arose at Ft Bragg (many years ago in the days of manual gunnery and "charts and darts" the artillery FDC 13Es were very helpful.
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