Author: Sasha
This article was originally written by Sasha and is not allowed to be reproduced by any media
The pillar artillery of the People's Liberation Army in the Sino-Indian War was it: the Type 53 82mm mortar, which had been rampant for 20 years
Today's protagonist is the PLA Type 53 82-mm mortar. This imitation of the Soviet World War II mortar, which became the backbone of the PLA in the fifties and sixties, medium mortars. Type 53 participated in many wars in the history of the People's Liberation Army, performed quite well, and flaunted its might for 20 years. Listen to Sasha.
Since the establishment of the army in the Nanchang Uprising, the PLA has attached great importance to mortars.
Until the outbreak of the Korean War, mortars remained an important pillar of firepower for the PLA. In the first five battles of the Korean War and the Battle of Shangganling, the PLA's 81-mm and 82-mm mortars played a huge role.
In many battles, this medium mortar is the difference between victory and defeat.
The U.S. and South Korean forces are very afraid of the mortars of the volunteers, believing that they are the main killers of their own casualties. There was a 19-year-old volunteer mortar named Peng Liangyi who killed and wounded 150 enemies with 86 mortar shells: "4 shells hit an enemy's car full of food and destroyed 1 enemy anti-aircraft machine gun; 50 shells were fired in 2 minutes, and more than 200 enemies were annihilated with the infantry; Killed 20 enemies with mobile artillery fire, and repelled 3 attacks by a battalion of the enemy with infantry. ”
Although the Volunteer Army attached great importance to medium mortars, a lot of problems arose in the war: there was a very confusion of models and calibers of mortars in service.
The Volunteer Army was armed with two types of mortars, 81 mm and 82 mm. The caliber gap seems to be limited, and in fact 81-mm mortars are not capable of firing 82-mm shells.
Theoretically, an 82-mm mortar can fire 81-mm shells, but this cannot be done unless absolutely necessary, which will lead to a decrease in accuracy and a reduction in range. In particular, firing 81mm shells with 82mm barrels may lead to serious shelling failures and casualties.
Even 81 mm mortars of the same caliber have Japanese, French, American, German and other multinational models. The basic structure of these mortars is the same, after all, there are still differences, the manufacturing process is different, and the performance is uneven.
In the Battle of Changjin Lake, the PLA was armed with a number of American-made M1 81mm mortars captured from the Nationalist Army.
These guns are produced in the United States, and the steel and manufacturing level are very high, and they can still be stable in the cold environment.
On the contrary, some of the domestically produced Min-20 82-mm mortars equipped by the People's Liberation Army have a reduced caliber because the climate is too cold.
After measurement, some 82 mm caliber mortars were reduced to 81 mm and could not be used at all: due to the extremely cold weather, 70% of the mortars of our army could not be fired, and the most common phenomenon was that the muzzle of the gun contracted and deformed due to the cold climate, resulting in the shells could not be stuffed into the barrel, that is, only more than 270 of the 1,300 mortars (900 equipped by the two forward armies) could be fired, and they were distributed to the troops, and this proportion was very small. During the entire Changjin Lake Campaign for more than a month, the Ninth Corps fired only 6,000 mortar shells, with an average of 2,000 rounds per corps.
The reason for this situation has a lot to do with the poor use of artillery steel for domestic mortars.
In addition to the significant difference in performance, the most serious is the problem of ammunition supply.
The confusion of medium-sized mortar models and calibers has led to difficulties in the operation of the front-line volunteers, and the logistics personnel are even more miserable.
In the first three campaigns, the Volunteer Army fought mainly in the mountainous areas of northern Korea. The road was bombed and shattered by the US Air Force, and logistics and transportation could only rely on small roads over mountains and mountains.
Not to mention climbing the mountain with a shell on his back in the mountainous area of North Korea in winter, even climbing the mountain empty-handed is enough to drink a pot, and the stick guy may not be able to do it. It was very difficult to replenish the front, there was a serious shortage of ammunition, and the soldiers could not even eat, and only had one bite of fried noodles every day.
In desperation, all the active non-combatants had to help carry the baggage, and even the girls of the art troupe had to carry dozens of pounds on their backs. Some of the girls in the art troupe are very brave and can endure hardships, but unfortunately they are young and frail and cannot do this kind of work. Carrying dozens of pounds of bags on their backs, they stepped on the snow and climbed the mountain overnight, and they climbed halfway up the mountain, she couldn't walk, so she dropped the bag and cried loudly.
And the ammunition carried by these logisticians is, most importantly, 81-mm and 82-mm mortar shells.
This kind of shell can weigh more than 3 kilograms in one shot, and a male comrade has to carry 4 to 5 rounds to climb the mountain, and a female comrade has to carry 2 to 3 rounds when he is weak, and the burden is very heavy. Some of the logistics officers and men were physically broken, and some died of illness on the front line.
The artillery shells that the logistics personnel have painstakingly sent to the front line are divided into two types: 81 mm and 82 mm, and there is often a situation where they cannot be used universally, and the existence of artillery shells is equal to the absence of shells.
In the middle and late stages of the Korean War, the mainland considered unifying the caliber and standard of mortars.
The Volunteer Army purchased a lot of Soviet-style equipment from the Soviet Union, including the Soviet M1937 type 82-mm mortar.
In the Battle of Shangganling, the Volunteer Army began to use this Soviet mortar, but the number of them was not much.
This mortar is similar to all kinds of artillery in service with the PLA, and it is the product of imitating the 81-mm mortar of the French Blunde.
Before the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet Union purchased several Bronde M27/31 81mm mortars from France for copying. The Soviet Union, believing that sooner or later it would go to war with the capitalist countries of the West, did not adopt the 81 mm, which was commonly used in the West, but used 82 mm.
In 1935, the Soviet Union began mass production of the successful imitation of the M1936 82-mm mortar, which by 1936 was armed with more than 2,500 units.
The front-line officers and soldiers of the Soviet army used the M1936 model for training, and soon discovered some problems and put forward suggestions for improvement.
The M1936 had a lower firing accuracy than the Blound 81 mortar, and it was not very stable during shelling, requiring the gunner to constantly adjust the position of the gun, reducing the rate of fire.
In 1937, the Soviet Union improved the base of the artillery, adopted a unique circular base, added a garrison device, and introduced a more mature M1937 82mm mortar.
It was the standard medium mortar of the Soviet Union during World War II. The M1937 is more accurate in shelling, does not require the gunner to frequently restore the gun position, and the performance is world-class.
During the war, the M1937 made minor improvements, such as the M1941 and M1943 models, which increased maneuverability by adding two steel wheels, and the overall difference was not significant.
The Soviet generals and even Stalin himself were satisfied with the performance of the M1937.
Stalin always believed that artillery was the hammer of war, the key to determining the outcome of a war.
The Soviet Union was a vast territory and lacked the well-developed road and rail networks of Western Europe.
Once a full-scale war broke out, the Soviet army's field artillery and heavy artillery would be constrained by transportation, and it would be difficult to quickly follow the infantry maneuver.
In this case, light mortars are very important, which can be carried by mules and horses or even by soldiers to follow the infantry, which is very much in line with the needs of the Soviet army.
In the four years of World War II, the Soviet Union produced a total of 340,000 mortars, most of which were 82mm mortars, which were also the front-line firepower of officers and soldiers.
At the beginning of the Soviet-German war, each infantry battalion of the Soviet army was equipped with a mortar company, armed with a total of six 82-mm mortars.
For the Soviet infantry battalion, battalion-level fire support relied mainly on 12 machine guns from the machine gun company and 6 82-mm mortars from the mortar company.
In actual combat, 82-mm mortars were assigned to the company level for artillery support.
Any offensive or defensive operation at the battalion or company level of the Soviet army, no matter how difficult the situation, will be supported by 82mm mortars.
The M1937 model had excellent performance, the full gun weight was 57 kg, it could be disassembled into 3 parts, each of which was less than 20 kg, and could be carried on the march by three artillery crews.
More than 20 kilograms, although not light, is still bearable for a strong soldier.
Basically, as long as the infantry can go, the artillery of the M1937 can go. The M1937 can provide the front-line infantry with the most needed artillery support anytime, anywhere, which is not possible with long-barreled artillery. Even a strong man could not carry an 18-kilogram, 1.2-meter-long barrel for a long time. The gun was mainly carried by cars, especially mules and horses, for long-distance marching.
The M1937 has a maximum range of 3,100 meters and an effective range of 2,500 meters, which is much worse than the long-barreled artillery, and is sufficient for support company-level operations.
The front-line fire support required by the company-level troops will not exceed 2,500 meters.
The maximum rate of fire of the M1937 is 25 rounds per minute, that is, one round per 2 seconds, which is quite impressive. It can form a covering barrage in a very short period of time, and the enemies inside the barrage will suffer heavy casualties.
The shell of the M1937 type weighs more than 3 kg, has a charge of 400 grams, and the radius of destruction of fragments against personnel is up to 25 meters. In other words, when the shell explodes, it forms a circle with a diameter of 50 meters, and the enemy soldiers inside cannot escape being killed. Even if the enemy lies down and hides, the radius of the shell is up to 15 meters!
In addition to firing high-explosive shells, the cannon can also fire smoke grenades, incendiary grenades, and flares.
The M1937 has excellent performance and has withstood the brutal test of the Soviet-German war, and can be called a mature weapon that has been tempered thousands of times.
In some battles in the later stages of the Korean War, the M1937 in the hands of the volunteers performed quite well, no less than the most equipped Min 20 82mm mortar.
In May 1952, the Ordnance Industry Committee of the Central Military Commission issued the Decision on Ordnance Issues.
Of the 18 types of weapons identified in the "Decision," 15 are imitations of Soviet weapons and equipment. The prototype of the medium-caliber mortar is the Soviet M1937 82mm mortar, and the mainland is designated the 1953 82mm mortar.
In 1953, Type 53 82-mm mortars began to be mass-armed with the PLA. The Type 53 was used for 20 years before it was gradually phased out by the Type 67 82-mm mortar in the 70s.
The performance of the Type 53 mortar is no different from the Soviet-made M1937 model, but the production process is simplified when it is imitated.
In the fifties and sixties, the Type 53 did not lag behind in performance and was a very practical weapon.
The PLA also assigned the Type 53 to the infantry battalion, and the general infantry battalion would be equipped with 1 or 2 mortar platoons, each platoon would be equipped with 3 Type 53 guns.
The Type 53 mortar squad consisted of 8 people, with the gun commander in charge, the first gunner aiming, the second gunner loading and firing, and the rest being the ammunition man.
However, by the time the Type 53 was equipped with the PLA, the Korean War had already ended.
In 1959, the PLA fought the Tibetan rebels on a small scale, and the artillery did not play a major role.
It was not until 1962 that there was a border war between China and India, and the Type 53 shone brightly.
The Sino-Indian border is a snowy plateau area, which happens to be the most suitable area for mortar operations.
In the complex terrain of such a plateau, it is difficult for the large artillery of the attacking side to maneuver quickly and obtain sufficient ammunition.
Although the 60-mm light mortars equipped by the People's Liberation Army are also quite practical, the power of the shells is too small, not much stronger than large grenades.
Although the Type 55 120-mm mortar, which also imitated the Soviet Union, was powerful, the whole gun weighed 500 kg on the march, and a single shell was 16 kg, so it could not be used at all.
General Ding Sheng recalled: Because there was no way to go that way, we used two infantry companies to carry two 120 guns, and one infantry company to carry one gun.
Therefore, the PLA company-platoon artillery support basically relies entirely on Type 53 82-mm mortars.
In this battle, the biggest advantage of the Type 53 is that it can keep up with the speed of infantry attacks, which other artillery does not have.
In countless battles, the Type 53 was the only artillery support for the officers and soldiers of the PLA on the front line, and it played a huge role.
Let's take a look at the famous Battle of Bomdila.
The 33rd Infantry Regiment of the People's Liberation Army was ordered to attack, and the 2891 heights held by the Indian army!
This high ground is blessed with a unique location, guarding the Biri Pass, and you can look down on the mountain from a high vantage point. The terrain of the highlands is treacherous, with steep slopes and dense woods, making it a standard terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The Indian army attaches great importance to the 2891 heights, and the two main battalions of the 48th Brigade are stationed here, and the brigade headquarters is also located here, with a total of 1,500 people.
The troops directly defending the heights were the 1st Sikh Battalion.
The Sikhs are a well-known martial ethnic group in India, and most of the men are brave and good at fighting, and they are proud to die in battle, and they are quite strong. The Sikh army is also the most combat-ready in the Indian army, even more powerful than the Gurkhas.
In addition to deploying a large number of troops, the Indian army deployed four 107-mm mortars on the front line and four 88-mm howitzers on the second line.
In comparison, the 33rd Regiment of the People's Liberation Army is very disadvantageous. After a rapid march of seven days and five nights, the regiment barely advanced to the vicinity of Bomdila.
The long-barreled artillery of the PLA could not keep up with the infantry and was still in the rear at this time.
When the 33rd Regiment arrived near Bomdila on November 17, in order to completely encircle the Indian army, it dispatched 2 infantry companies of the 3rd Battalion, supported by the 82nd Mortar Platoon, and began to attack the 2891st Heights.
On November 18, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) carried three Type 53 82-mm mortars and 64 rounds of artillery shells and rushed to the vicinity of the high ground after a hard march.
The Sikh battalion knew that the PLA would soon launch an offensive and was rushing to repair the outlying positions 1,500 meters outside the high ground. After the encounter between the two armies, the Sikh battalion deserved to be the main force of the Indian army, and did not flee in panic, but chose to resist on the spot.
The infantry company in the lead of the People's Liberation Army was shot head-on by the Indian army! At this time, the fog on the mountains was so thick that it was impossible to see where the enemy was, and the PLA could only temporarily stop advancing.
It didn't take long for the mortar platoon to be at the forefront.
The fog was too great to see the enemy's position, and the artillery, still relying on the high quality of the strict training in peacetime, estimated the position based on the sound of enemy gunfire and the faint light of fire, and fired five shells at a distance of 1,800 meters.
After a series of explosions, the enemy's frontal machine-gun fire points were knocked out, and the PLA infantry company immediately advanced.
After advancing 100 meters, the machine guns deployed by the Indian troops on the flanks began to fire stubbornly again. The PLA mortar platoon fired three more shells, knocking out the machine gun point.
Discovering that our army had artillery, the Indian army lost the courage to persist in the battle, quickly abandoned the outer positions and retreated to the main position on the 2891 heights.
At this time, the fog dissipated, and the infantry of 2 companies of the PLA took the opportunity to attack in an all-out way.
The Sikh battalion did not eat dry food, they took advantage of the field fortifications they had built and the difficult terrain to shoot desperately at the PLA attacking troops.
At this time, the PLA mortar platoon, something went wrong. 1 of the 3 Type 53 guns in the whole platoon failed, only 2 were operational, and there were only more than 50 rounds of shells left.
The PLA artillery did not shell indiscriminately, but first carefully observed the Indian army, trying to fire the only shells they had at the enemy's weakest positions. It didn't take long for the artillery to discover the point of victory: the military quality of the Indian army was low, and the field fortifications were built very hastily.
Taking the bunkers as an example, they are basically simple civil engineering structures, or even directly built with sandbags, and some of the bunkers do not have a roof.
Although these pillboxes can withstand PLA small arms fire, they are vulnerable to 82mm mortars.
Naturally, mortars are not aimed at artillery directly, and in order to destroy enemy fortifications, it is necessary to ensure high accuracy, and the shells must fall as close as possible to the pillboxes.
The experienced PLA artillerymen thought twice and decided to use infantry to attract Indian machine-gun fire, and then use mortars to destroy them accurately.
At the same time, in order to ensure the accuracy of the shelling, the Type 53 mortar was as close as possible to the positions of the Indian army.
The existing 2 Type 53 guns need to advance alternately, and when one is shelling, the other one takes the opportunity to move forward, and does not blindly fire into the distance.
The accuracy of the Type 53 is very high, coupled with the strict training of the PLA artillery, usually a few shells knock out a pillbox of the Indian army.
The two sides fought fiercely until 16 o'clock in the evening, and the mortar platoon destroyed almost all the machine-gun fire points of the Indian army, causing heavy casualties.
The morale of the Sikh battalion finally collapsed, believing itself to be simply a live target for Chinese mortars.
In the end, the commander of the Sikh battalion chose to abandon the high ground and retreat. The PLA successfully occupied the 2891 heights with few casualties.
During several hours of attack, 2 Type 53 guns of the mortar platoon fired 63 shells, leaving only 1 shell.
Due to logistical transport difficulties, it is also unknown when the follow-up shells will arrive. If the Indian army insists on fighting, it may be able to support for a few hours. Brave Sikh soldiers, but scared away by Type 53 mortars.
This is the famous "listen to the sound and fire the cannon, alternate forward".
Throughout the Sino-Indian War, Type 53 mortars were everywhere.
The battle at Pangong Lake in the western sector began on October 18. Prior to the start of the war, the 114th Brigade of the Indian Army pursued a policy of advance and continued military harassment, often firing at PLA posts.
The 114th Gurkha Battalion, which is subordinate to the 1st Brigade, is particularly arrogant. Like the Sikhs, the Gurkha people of Nepal are known for their fighting bravery.
These Gurkha people were so arrogant that on August 24 they built fortifications only 300 meters from the No. 9 post of Ali on Pangong Lake of our army.
Our army immediately built fortifications to counteract, but pursued a restrained attitude of not firing a gun, which led to a very unfavorable situation.
In the face of the PLA's restraint, the Gurkhas saw this as a sign of weakness and incompetence, and even more brazen provocations.
Most of our sentinels have been rudely provoked and humiliated by the Indian army, and have even been shot at. The sentinels were furious and demanded war with the Indian army.
In September, the Indian army invaded an area of more than 3,000 square kilometers in the western sector, built a number of checkpoints and fortifications at Pangong Lake, and dispatched motorboats, helicopters, and infantry to intercept and attack the normal patrols of PLA sentries.
Just when the Gurkha people were triumphant, the Sino-Indian War broke out on October 18.
The 1st Gurkha Battalion has built a total of five checkpoints on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, which are within easy reach of the PLA posts.
Among them, Checkpoint No. 16 is of particular importance. It is located on the high ground on the north shore of Pangong Lake, which can guard the lakeside roads and water transportation on the lake, and can also echo with the Indian army on the south bank.
The Gurkhas stationed the 4th company here, built 6 pillboxes, dug a large number of trenches and anti-artillery fortifications.
However, the terrain of Pangong Lake is open and the enemy is condescending, and it will be very disadvantageous for the PLA to use light weapons to attack.
Unable to get the support of long-barreled artillery, the PLA mobilized 6 Type 53 mortars and 2 anti-aircraft machine guns to cooperate with 110 infantry to attack.
At 8:30 a.m. on the same day, Type 53 mortars first began shelling Sentry No. 16. The heavy shelling took the 4th Gurkha Company by surprise, was in disarray, and fell into confusion for a while.
When the Indian army was frightened, the PLA infantry attacked from two directions.
The Gurkhas, who were not weak chickens, held their ground and fired tenaciously with machine guns in pillboxes.
Due to the fierceness of the Type 53 mortars, artillery fire suppression was formed, and by the time the Indian troops entered the pillbox and began to shoot, the PLA infantry had already touched the closer.
The 2nd Infantry Company of our army rushed to the vicinity of the pillbox and was blocked by cross-fire from the Indian machine guns, and the commander of the 2nd Company and several platoon commanders died. The officers and men of the People's Liberation Army were not intimidated, and the distance between the two sides was already very close. The fighters decisively used explosive packs and blasting canisters to blow up 2 pillboxes and destroy the Indian machine-gun fire points.
Although the Indian army on the other side stubbornly defended, it was suppressed by our Type 53 mortars, and 2 bunkers were blown up.
At this time, our troops rushed into the trenches, and the Gurkhas, who completely lost their courage, jumped out of the trenches and tried to escape.
However, the Type 53 mortar again fired a blocking shell, and the shells flew towards the fleeing Indian soldiers as if they had eyes.
Seeing that it was impossible to escape, the Indian army could only drop their weapons and surrender.
It took only 50 minutes before and after the battle to occupy post No. 16, solve the Indian army of the entire company, and capture the Indian army major and company commander.
In just two days, all Indian army checkpoints on the north bank of Pangong Lake were destroyed, and the Indian troops on the south bank were so frightened that they hurriedly abandoned their positions and fled backwards.
The PLA immediately pursued and captured dozens of Indian soldiers.
At this point, the Indian forces on the Chinese side of Pangong Lake were completely wiped out by our army, and our army pushed forward the front line here for more than 10 kilometers to reach the traditional Sino-Indian border line, and the national border around Pangong Lake has gradually stabilized until today.
Playing a large role in the Sino-Indian war, the Type 53 mortar also had some shortcomings.
This artillery, studied in the USSR in the 30s, will inevitably become obsolete after 30 years.
First, the weight of the Type 53 was on the large side, the gun weighed more than 50 kg, and after being disassembled into 3 pieces, the single block was close to 20 kg.
Unlike the U.S. Army and the Soviet Army, the PLA has a very poor degree of mechanization and motorization, and even mules and horses have not been completed.
Taking the Sino-Indian War as an example, the logistics and transportation capacity of our army on the plateau was very low.
For example, in the mountainous terrain of the highlands near Bomdila mentioned above, the humus layer is half a meter thick, and the mules and horses cannot walk at all, so they have to rely on the soldiers to carry artillery on their backs.
You know, artillerymen not only need to carry artillery on their backs, but also need to carry their own necessary equipment, so that each person carries at least 30 to 40 kilograms. The key troops often need to march in the mountains, often marching continuously in the mountains for more than ten hours, so that even the iron-clad men can't stand it.
Almost everyone of the infantry fighters on the front line had to help the artillery carry ammunition. Even so, the artillery shells were far from enough, and they had to ask the local Tibetan people to help transport them.
At that time, the officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army recalled: At an altitude of 4,000 meters, our young men climbed the slope with chest tightness and shortness of breath, but no one wanted to be a coward, and insisted on following the veterans to carry the cannon up the mountain. What shocked me the most was the Tibetan people in front of the branch, whose carrying capacity was amazing. The Tibetan man went to the mountain, carried two 120 shells on his shoulders, hung two 82 shells around his neck, and could carry two more 60 shells in his hands; Tibetan women can also carry two bags of 50 catties of flour at a time. Without the help of these Tibetan people, it would have been much more difficult for us to fight.
The weight of the Type 53 mortar was too large, and the officers and soldiers of the front line wanted to reduce it as much as possible.
Second, the base design is flawed.
The Type 53 base design is more strange and cumbersome to manufacture, and it is easy to cause jumping during shelling, which affects the accuracy of the artillery.
Therefore, before the Type 53 shelling, it is necessary to build fortifications, and if it cannot be installed, it will be hastily fired. This seriously affected the ability of artillery to fire quickly.
The two Type 53 mortars mentioned above are advancing alternately, mainly because when the mortars are deployed, they still need to dig the ground, which takes a certain amount of time.
Third, it can't be pulled.
The Type 53 can only use a fixed firing pin, which means that the mortar must be put in from the muzzle, and the shell must fall freely to the bottom and ignite the propellant, and then push the shell out of the breech.
The biggest advantage of Rafa is that you can use a very low parabola to attack enemy fortifications at close range.
The 82-mm mortar has a certain ability to attack fortifications, and a direct hit can destroy the enemy's improvised field fortifications, provided that the target is hit with a relatively straight trajectory.
Type 53 cannot be used in the pull mode, resulting in a lack of flexibility.
Since the 60s, the PLA has developed a new generation of mortars, introducing the lighter and more reliable Type 67 82mm mortar.
However, this does not mean that Type 53 is useless.
Even in today's warfare, especially in urban warfare, the Type 53 or Soviet M1937 Type 82mm mortars still have a certain combat value.
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