Mortar (weapon)

From Wikinfo

A mortar is a military weapon consisting of a tube into which is dropped a mortar shell, which is then fired in a high ballistic trajectory. Modern mortars consists of a simple lightweight tube; however, early mortars were very short, very thick cannons, and some required transport on railroad cars.

Modern mortars are often portable by infantry and can be used as a small-scale substitute for artillery.

See also:

• Military technology and equipment

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Mortar_(weapon)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_(weapon), used under the GNU Free Documentation License