FMC/Rheimetall M-113G Mortar Carrier (PzMrs)

      Notes: This design is in many ways similar to the current US heavy mortar carrier; however, the Germans have been using their license-produced M-113Gs as a basis for a Tampella mortar carrier since the late-1960s.  Like virtually all German Army mortars, the M-113G Mortar Carrier series mounts a 120mm mortar; it is a point of controversy both in the German military and outside of it as to why the German Army does not feel the need to use any light mortars.  As with US M-113-based mortar carriers, the exterior is largely the same, but the rear area, what is normally the passenger area, is heavily-modified for its role as a mortar carrier.  This includes an extra long-range radio, racks for ammunition for the mortar, and the baseplate and bipod as well as special mounting features for the mortar.  Unlike similar US mortar carriers, the M-113G Mortar Carrier does not carry a baseplate on the side of the vehicle, as the mortar is not meant to be dismounted except for repairs.  The Germans are currently looking for a replacement for the M-113G mortar carrier, including versions of the Puma AFV and Boxer ACV.

     Like the M-113, there have been several versions of the M-113G mortar carrier over the years. The Germans use the abbreviation for their word for armored mortar, PzMrs (Panzermörser) as part of the designation for their mortar carriers, including those based on the M-113.  The first were the M-113G PzMrs, which were modified from M-113G infantry carriers, when they were replaced by the M-113A1G. The M-113G PzMrs was used from 1969-1973, when the infantry got new M-113A2Gs and the old M-113A1Gs were modified into M-113A1G PzMrs. (The old mortar carriers were then scrapped for parts of used as range targets – always a sad end in my mind.)  The M-113A1G Mortar Carriers were used only from 1977-78, when, like the infantry and specialist carriers were upgraded to the M-113A2GE standard.  In 2001, the mortar vehicles, along with the rest of the German M-113-based fleet, were subject to an NDV (the German acronym for a SLEP), with included an upgrade to a M-113A3GE base; this was not a simple upgrade to the M-113A3GE, but included a number of improvements.

     The M-113G mortar carrier is basically a close-copy of the M-113, license-built by Rheinmetall. Like the M-113, it has a two-part hatch on the left side and a half-width hatch on the right side.  Otherwise, the rear ramp and the commander’s manually-operated cupola remain.  Half-length fold-down seats are available on each side, with a small part behind the driver given over to the radios.  The commander’s position is in the cupola, and he has all-around vision blocks (though no night vision).  The commander’s seat can be raised and lowered and locked in those positions to give the commander a better view. M-113G Mortar Carriers mount an MG-3 instead of an M-2HB on the commander’s mount.  The driver’s position remains in the same place, along with the same tiller-and-gas controls (though the instruments and other labeling is in German). The driver has three vision blocks to his front, one is angled somewhat to the right, and one somewhat to the towards the left. The other two members of the crew sit in the fold-up seats during travel.  The rear seat positions also have folding tables, and M-113G mortar carrier may or may not have a pair of folding seats strapped to the outside (interior space is at a premium).

     The engine is the standard M-113 engine – is a Chrysler 75M gasoline engine, coupled to an automatic engine, developing 215 horsepower.  Of course, this causes the M-113G Mortar Carrier to gulp fuel. Swimming the M-113G Mortar Carrier is not recommended, and the extra weight of the mortar weighing down the back and the mortar ammunition can easily cause the M-113G mortar carrier to sink.  The M-113G Mortar Carrier has a bilge pump to remove excess water in the vehicle, but this normally not enough to bail out a swimming M-113G Mortar Carrier, though it is good enough for fording. The exhaust column is high to facilitate swimming and fording – just high enough to blow in the commander’s and crewmembers (if they are standing up) faces.  The power pack is easily accessed by opening the front panel (normally covered by the trim vane when traveling), and an extension of the front hatch; in fact, the entire powerpack can be removed and replaced as a unit.  Like many tracked vehicles that have to operate on European roads often, the M-113G Mortar Carrier has rubber track shoes, which generally have to be changed once every six months to a year (depending on government regulations).  The rear of the vehicle has a full-sized ramp, with a hatch for use when the crew prefers to not drop the entire ramp.

     The M-113A1G was Germany’s first update for their M-113 fleet.  The M-113A1G Mortar Carrier updates entered service in 1977, but only stayed in service until 1978, as the M-113A2G mortar carrier quickly followed it. The upgrade generally followed those of the M-113A1 in the US, such as the use of a General Motors 6V53 unitary powerpack and a matching transmission.  The new engine developed 212 horsepower, but was a diesel engine that greatly increased the M-113A1G Mortar Carrier’s operating range.  The M-113A1G did not have the transmission problems of the M-113A1 in the US, as they were sorted out before the M-113A1G upgrade occurred.  Like the M-113A1G had the larger fuel tanks, but also had the hazard of the fuel tanks in the walls of the vehicle.  The M-113A1G had the battery warmer.  However, the Tampella-made mortar was replaced by a Rheinmetall-based mortar of about the same capabilities, but greater strength and reliability, and able to fire more modern projectiles.

     At this point (in the early to late-1990s), upgrading of the M-113A1G PzMors sort of -- forked.  The M-113A2GE is used not only by the German Army, but also by the Danish Army starting in 2002; the Danes used the M-113A2GE plans and upgrade kits to do a licensed upgrade for their M-113A1 mortar carriers.  Australia and Norway have also shown interest in the upgrade.  The major part of the upgrade package for the M-113A2GE PzMors is the drive train, including driver’s controls.  The new engine is an MTU 6V 183 TCU supercharged diesel developing 300 horsepower.  The new powerpack meets EURO II emission standards (and has the secondary effect of reducing the characteristic M-113 exhaust plume). The engine is coupled to a ZF LSG 1000 automatic transmission.  This is controlled in the driver’s compartment, who has a small steering wheels and pedals for braking and gas.  The driver also has a parking brake, and an electric gearshift control. The driver’s seat back has been moved back and the padding improved; the seat back can still be removed to allow the driver to go into the crew compartment. The brakes have also been replaced; it has a dual-circuit power-assisted system with hydraulic boosting.  The brake system is independent of the drive train; even if the M-113A2GE PzMors loses all power for any reason, the driver can still brake with full force if necessary.  The pivot steer system has been improved to keep the tracks from shedding in a pivot turn and allow for a rapid turn around its center of gravity.  Also with the M-113A2GE came a mortar ballistic computer, which allows the crew to compute fire coordinates if the position of the target is known, and new radios which are smaller but can work over longer ranges; this allowed a second long-range radio to be installed.

     Meanwhile, another version of the M-113 mortar carrier began deliveries to the German Army – the M-113G3 PzMors.  It too has been taken into service by the Danish Army. It has much of the improvements of the M-113A2GE PzMors, but also several differences.  The M-113G3 uses the MTU 6V183 TC 22 supercharged diesel engine, which develops 335 horsepower and is a variant of a commercial truck engine, the Mercedes-Benz OM 441 LA.  The transmission is also a ZF LSG 1000, the radios and mortar ballistic computer are also present.  Instead of an MG-3 machinegun for the commander, the M-113G3 PzMors gives the commander an M-2HB machinegun.  Cross-country performance is improved due to modification of the standard M-113 suspension.  New tracks are installed which have a much longer life than the standard M-113 tracks. The M-113G3 can be easily distinguished from its brethren by noting it’s rear-mounted fuel tanks, one on each side of the rear of the vehicle at the top.  The M-113G3 PzMors will probably be the version of the M-113 PzMors that will be accepted for the German Army, in favor of the M-113A2GE.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The M-113A2G PzMors and the M-113G3 PzMors are present in the Twilight 2000 timeline, but they are few in number (with the M-113G3 PzMors fewer in number than the M-113A2G).  The primary version in service with the Germans and Danish in the Twilight 2000 timeline is M-113A2G PzMors.

Rheinmetall Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier

     Notes: This is a Wiesel 2 with an externally mounted 120mm mortar, and with a special soft recoil system designed for use with the light Wiesel chassis.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier is very useful in adding heavy bombardment capability to Airborne, Airmobile, and Light Divisions. The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier will fit inside the cargo bay of almost any heavy or medium transport aircraft, as well as a CH-53 helicopter.  It can be parachuted to the ground, or delivered by LAPES.  Making the Wiesel 2 Mortar carrier into a heavy mortar carrier, and it took a lot of research and testing to do it.  Though design work began in 1984, it was not until 1988 that deliveries (in small numbers) took placed, and then some problems cropped up.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier and its mortar quickly developed materiel fatigue, including cracks in the metal of the mortar tube and rear parts of the vehicle.  These problems took until 1997 to fix, and then the German Army tested a few vehicles again.  However, budgetary problems with the German Army and German government further delayed full production until 2002. There is still a controversy among technical design experts and in the German Army itself, centering around whether it is even possible to mount a long-barreled 120mm mortar on such a light vehicle without undue or early wear and tear.  This has further delayed full deployment; until 2011, only eight of these vehicles were put into service.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier, however, has been used in most of the recent NATO interventions, including Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Afghanistan.

     The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier has a body that is specialized for use with the Tampella mortar it carries.  The sides and front of the rear compartment have been raised almost a full meter, and the rear compartment has been heavily modified for its mission.  The rear of the vehicle is not raised, and there is only a small door in the rear which is difficult to use due its size and the position of the mortar when it is in transport position. The driver is in the front right side, with the engine, transmission, and cooling system next to the driver on the front left.  The commander and ammunition handler are seated on the left of the vehicle and the commander has a hatch on the roof with the hatch having all-around vision blocks, with the front block having an infrared viewer. The hatch is mounted on a ring and can be moved around to allow the commander to scan other places with his IR viewer. On the center of the right side is a somewhat small hatch.  There is also a hatch on the roof near the rear of the vehicle. The engine of the Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier is an Audi 2.1-liter turbocharged diesel which develops 109 horsepower.  The transmission is automatic, with the driver using a yoke for steering and pedals for driving and braking.  The armor is steel and noting to write home about – it can be penetrated by some 7.62mm rounds or just about any autocannon, and of course, a hit by a tank gun will completely trash the vehicle.  This choice of light armor was deliberate; the Wiesel 2 family are meant to be small, lightweight vehicles which are agile and fast.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier can raise some extra protection with its four smoke grenade dischargers on either side of the front of the vehicle.  The crew can protect themselves in an NBC environment using a collective NBC system; the mortar is, like most mortars, muzzleloaded, but the mortar moves into a horizontal position to receive another round of ammunition, and then moves back to the firing position (or travel position if desired).  This does not break the NBC seal, allowing the crew to work in their normal uniforms instead of roasting in MOPP suits.  Normally, the driver stays put during a fire mission so the Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier can quickly “shoot and scoot.”  He can, however, slip into the combat compartment and help with the ammunition handling or operate equipment.

     Before the mortar can be fired, hydraulic cylinders must move the mortar out to its firing position.  The mortar has a specially designed baseplate; between the hydraulic cylinders, the baseplate, and a pair of shock absorbers, the mortar system can absorb 25 tons of force from the mortar firing.  This is more than enough to keep the mortar from damaging the Wiesel 2 when it is fired. The mortar is also of the recoiling type, which further reduces the shock of firing to the vehicle.  The deployment of the mortar is automatic, and the crew simply has to push a button to get the mortar in firing position or travel position after its fire mission; this takes under a minute. After deployment, the Wiesel 2’s crew becomes a mortar crew.  Initially, the Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier can use its onboard ammunition, but in a lengthy fire mission, the mortar carrier must be fed from an accompanying ammunition-carrying vehicle.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier is normally accompanied by an FDC based on the same Wiesel 2-based vehicle.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier is also equipped with GPS, a mortar fire control computer, and a limited mapping computer.

     The special recoiling mortar system was designed especially for the Wiesel 2 chassis.  Rheinmetall based the mortar on a Tampella design, but highly modified the mortar for the very light Wiesel 2 chassis.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: It is possible that the Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier could be present in the German Army in small numbers in the Twilight 2000 timeline.  If so, it will not have the mapping computer and will have to rely on the Wiesel 2 FDC for coordinates to its target.  The Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier could also use coordinates from a unit requesting fire support, but the mortar crew would have to use paper maps or FDC vehicle can give the mortar crew the correct fire information.  The GM will have to take into account that a Wiesel 2 Mortar Carrier is not a perfected vehicle in the Twilight 2000 timeline, and damage to the mortar and the vehicle may result over time.

Rheinmetall Wiesel 1 BTM-263 Mortar Vehicle

     Notes: This version of the Wiesel 1 is still experimental, despite having been first displayed about 25 years ago (under the MaK name), and Rheinmetall still offers it for sale.  The BTM-263 mortar vehicle (PzDkMors, or Armored Direct-Fire Mortar) is topped with the French SAMM BTM-263 turret, hence the name.  It is not designed as a bombardment vehicle, like most mortar vehicles, but it can be used as such.  Instead, the BTM-263 mortar vehicle is meant to be a reconnaissance vehicle, with a secondary role as a fire support vehicle.  The BTM-263 mortar vehicle was in fact designed to provide scouting capability and rapid, mobile fire support to Airborne, Air Assault, and light Infantry Divisions.  Like the standard Wiesel 1, the BTM-263 mortar vehicle can be air-dropped, deployed by LAPES, carried in heavy-lift helicopters like the CH-53 and CH-47, sling-loaded by any helicopter able to lift 6 tons, or have several of them loaded onto a C-17, C-130, or C-160.

     The BTM-263 turret is light in weight – little more than 300 kilograms.  The one-man turret is armed with a Brandt 60mm long-range gun/mortar capable of flat firing like a conventional light cannon or as a standard, if breech-loaded, 60mm mortar.  The barrel is a long 1.8-meter barrel capable of long-range fire in either mode of use. The mortar (and its coaxial machinegun) has an elevation range from -7 to +70 degrees. The BTM-263 turret has conventional fire control systems for direct fire as well as conventional mortar-sighting controls as well as a mortar ballistic computer.  The turret is also armed with an MG-3 machinegun (MAG for export models) for direct defense against infantry or light vehicles, or to use in covering fire.  On each side of the glacis near the bottom is a cluster of four smoke grenade launchers on each side.  The turret also provides the Commander/Gunner with night vision sights.

     The lack of large amounts of ammunition limits the BTM-263 mortar vehicle in a long bombardment, but if accompanied by a vehicle or trailer, that can carry additional ammunition, it can fulfill this role.  For the most part, however, it is meant for immediate fire support and reconnaissance.

     The BTM-263 mortar vehicle is otherwise the same as its Wiesel 1 chassis.  Originally, the Wiesel 1 was supposed to have an Audi 100-horsepower gasoline engine, but this was changed to an 86-horsepower VW turbocharged diesel which, while it provided less horsepower, provided more torque and improved performance over rough ground, and gave the Wiesel 1 some towing capability.  (I have this version below, but note that the gas-powered early version does not have a mortar ballistic computer.) The driver has conventional driving controls, and the transmission is automatic.  The brakes are power brakes (hydraulically-boosted) and can bring a Wiesel from full speed to a stop in almost no time.  Pivot steering is possible, and depending upon the Wiesel 1’s speed at the time, turn radii can range from 0 (turning in place under pivot steering) to a mere 2.3 meters. Originally, the tracks were completely of rubber, but current tracks are light steel with rubber track pads. The armor is thin, but adequate for the BTM-263 mortar carrier’s role; nonetheless, the Wiesel 1 should stay away from circumstances that would subject it to more than assault rifle fire or shell fragments. The fuel tank is interesting – it is a flexible rubber bag inside of a plastic containing tank, and between the plastic containing tank and the rubber bag is a polyethylene foam that makes the fuel source self-sealing.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The German Army often deployed these vehicles in scout elements of up to six vehicles; in addition, they performed their intended role as fire support vehicles for Airborne, Air Assault, and Light Infantry units.  The scout vehicles often had night-capable video cameras and even shotgun microphones, which were recorded on an early digital system and then burst-transmitted to higher headquarters. (The digital storage on the BTM-263 in the scout role was limited to 30 GB, so frequent transmission bursts were essential, and recording was done only when necessary.) The long-range radio was, by necessity, data-capable, and the burst transmission was done via a relatively small (but visible) antenna. The scout BTM-263s also had an inertial navigation system with a mapping computer (again, this was limited to the area they were expected to operate plus a little extra). KSK sometimes “borrowed” one or two to take along during certain raiding operations.  Each of the six US Ranger Battalions were equipped with two of these vehicles in the Twilight 2000 timeline; they had in fact been testing their use in their operations since 1992.  The Army designation was the M-1012, though it was still called the Weasel, or “Ranger Fire Support Vehicle.”  A common nickname for this enhanced Wiesel, both in the German Army and among the Rangers, was the “Electric Weasel” (“Elektrisch Wiesel“).

*The Fire Control and Stabilization modifiers apply only to direct fire from the gun/mortar or coaxial machinegun; they cannot be used during indirect fire.

**The M-1012 used by US Army Rangers has an M-240 as a coaxial machinegun instead of an MG-3.