Komatsu Type 96 Mortar Carrier

     Notes: The Type 96 Mortar Carrier was developed at the same time as the Type 96 APC, and is a Type 96 APC with modular modifications to outfit it for its role as a mortar carrier.  As stated, the modifications are modular; the modifications may be removed easily, replaced with APC-type components, and be turned back into a Type 96 APC.  This marks the first time that the JGDSF has fielded a mortar carrier in large numbers since World War 2. It has not been exported, like most Japanese weapons, but has seen combat service in Afghanistan and Iraq during Japan’s short-lived participation in ISAF.

     Since it is modular-fit mortar carrier, the Type 96 mortar carrier retains many of the same components as the Type 96 APC.  The Type 96’s mortar is the Israeli Soltam K-6 (actually, it is the US version of the K-6, the M-120), which is license-produced in Japan.  (Sort of a double license there; the US has permission to build mortars for Japan, who license-produce them from the US.)  Unlike previous Japanese mortar carriers, the Type 96 carries a decent amount of ready ammunition for its mortar.  The chassis and hull of the type 96 APC remains largely the same; the firing ports of the Type 96 are retained, though the rearmost ports are blocked by mortar ammunition storage.  The overhead hatch for the mortar is the same hatch used by the APC version, and the Type 96 Mortar Carrier retains the power-operated rear ramp with a smaller door set in it.  As with the APC, the Type 96 Mortar Carrier has numerous tie-down points for troop, supply, or combat equipment strapped to the sides of the vehicle.  The driver is in the front right side of the vehicle at the top of the glacis, and has three vision blocks to his front.  (Early photos show the driver of the Type 96 with a fourth vision block to the right of the driver, but Type 96s used by Japanese troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have only the three frontal vision blocks.) The center vision block can be removed and replaced with a night vision block.  For service in Afghanistan, a bullet-resistant windshield was fitted to the driver’s position that covered the front and sides of the driver’s position, allowing him to drive with his head out of the vehicle in relative safety. (This windshield has AV 4). The engine is to the left of the driver.  The commander is behind and to the right (centered) of the driver; he may be armed with a Type 96 AGL (Type 96A) or an M-2HB fitted with a QCB kit (Type 96B).  The commander can aim and fire his weapon (though not reload it) while ducked down into the hatch or while the vehicle is buttoned up. The commander’s weapons can be aimed using a simple 1x reticule with illumination; this reticule is superimposed on the commander’s front vision block. The commander’s front vision block can also be overlaid with one of two night vision devices. The crew in the rear can use the front-most firing ports.  Though Komatsu and the JGSDF insist that the rear ramp has two firing ports in it, photographic evidence (taken in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, and in Defense Exhibits) says otherwise, though it’s possible that Komatsu intends to add them later. The smoke grenades, four per side, are found on each side of the forward side of the vehicle.  The fighting compartment includes three seats for the rest of the mortar crew.  (The standard Type 96 APC infantrymen’s seats remain, though most of the length is folded up and strapped in the up position.)

     The armor of the Type 96 Mortar Carrier is of all-welded steel, but it is a bit more advanced than older APCs, and the Japanese are considering adding MEXAS-type appliqué composite armor to the Type 96 in the future. The vehicle uses a Komatsu 6D40 turbocharged diesel developing 640 horsepower coupled to an automatic transmission, and is reportedly quite easy to drive.  The suspension is 8x8 and of the off-road-type, and steers with the front set and rear set of wheels steering independently to tighten the turning radius.  Tires are both run-flat and puncture-resistant. A mortar ballistic computer is standard on the Type 96 mortar carrier, as is a GPS and a self-surveying unit.  Another small computer is carried, allowing it to generate its own fire solutions and containing a mapping program. The Type 96 Mortar Carrier can also serve as a faux FDC if necessary.  The Type 96 Mortar carrier has a medium-range radio for general use, and a long-range data-capable radio for use if range is a problem or to receive and transmit information.

     Twilight 2000 Notes:  Though in the Twilight 2000 timeline, the Type 96 APC and Type 96 Mortar Carrier entered production earlier than in real life (in 1994), only 60 examples of the Type 96 (40 APCs/Subtypes and 20 Mortar Carriers) were produced.  In the Twilight 2000 timeline, these vehicles are called the Type 94.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

Type 96A

$508,908

D, A

650 kg

15.5 tons

5

10

Passive IR (D, G), Image Intensification (G)

Shielded

Type 96B

$491,991

D, A

650 kg

15.5 tons

5

10

Passive IR (D, G), Image Intensification (G)

Shielded

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

Type 96A/B

183/92

42/22

360

204

Stnd

W(6)

HF12Sp  HS6Sp  HR6

 

Vehicle

Fire Control*

Stabilization*

Armament

Ammunition

Type 96A

+1

Basic

120mm M-120 Mortar, Mk 19 (C)

45x120mm, 375x40mm

Type 96B

+1

Basic

120mm M-120 Mortar, M-2HB (C)

45x120mm, 1200x.50

*These modifiers apply only to the commander’s weapon, and not to the mortar.

 

Mitsubishi SU-60-Based Mortar Carriers

     Notes: Soon after the SU-60 APC went into production in the 1950s, the Japanese began development of mortar carriers based on the SU-60.  This had mixed results; it produced viable self-propelled mortar carriers, but the base SU-60 chassis is small and there isn’t a lot of room for ready operation or for the crew to operate the mortar, not to mention much room for ready ammunition.  This makes ammunition-hauling vehicles vital to these mortar carriers’ operations, as they carry virtually all the ammunition, fuzes, and charges for the mortar carriers’ bombardments.  As a result, the two SU-60-based mortar carriers that were built were small (only 18 of each were produced), and until the mid-1990s, the JGSDF for the most part operated without mortar carriers, using ground-mounted mortars instead or relying on howitzer fire. 

     The two mortar carriers were developed and built in tandem.  The SV-60 variant is armed with an M-29 81mm mortar.  The mortar is mounted in the same manner as most such vehicles, facing to the rear and firing over the back of the vehicle.  The SV-60 provides the mortar with elevations from +40 to +85 degrees, and traverse of 40 degrees to either side of the centerline. The interior of the SV-60, despite the small amount of on-board ammunition, is quite cramped, and though there are seats in the rear for two of the crewmembers, there is little room for much else; as with most such vehicles, the outside of the vehicle becomes festooned with crew, spare, and combat equipment. The bow machinegun and gunner are retained, though the gun barbette and the vision blocks are basically surrounded by the bipod and baseplate used for ground-mounting the mortar away from the vehicle.

     The SX-60 is the same basic idea as the SV-60, but it is armed with an M-30 4.2” (107mm) mortar.  More modifications were required to mate the M-30 with the SU-60 chassis; inside the vehicle, the floor slopes somewhat, and externally, the rear of the vehicle also angles down.  This was done to ensure the M-30 has enough room when it is dropped into carry position, and to ensure that the crew isn’t in danger from muzzle blast when the mortar is firing.  The mortar has elevation ranges from +37 to +65 degrees, and a traverse of 40 degrees to the right or left.  The SX-60 also carries a baseplate and bridge for ground-mounting; these are mounted (like the SV-60) on the glacis.  Unfortunately, these items, especially the baseplate, are so large that the bow machinegun had to be eliminated.  The seat remains, though the seat is simply another crewmember’s seat.  Instead of the standard two hatches in the rear face, the SX-60 is equipped with a power-operated ramp which makes feeding the SX-60 with 4.2” ammunition easier. The SX-60 has the same problems with cramped onboard conditions as does the SV-60.

     In both cases, the mortar carriers have the same thin welded steel armor as the SU-60 APC.  The driver is in the same position on the front right, with three vision blocks to the front and a hatch above him.  The bow machinegunner of the SV-60 has a hatch overhead and spotting sight to aim the machinegun which is integral to the machinegun ball mounting.  The SX-60’s equivalent position simply has the overhead hatch; the machinegun and its ball mount are plated over and nothing like a vision block or suchlike has been provided for his position.  Both versions also retain the commander’s position behind and center of the driver’s and bow machinegunner’s positions.  The commander’s position also retains the all-around vision blocks and the pintle-mounted machinegun, along with its distinctive frontal gun shield (equivalent to AV 2). The rear deck hatch is slightly enlarged, and consists of two pieces opening to the right and left.  The SV-60 has the same two hatches in the rear face as the SU-60; the SX-60 has a ramp, as noted above.  These mortar carriers are equipped with a Mitsubishi 8 HA 21 WT turbocharged diesel, and a manual transmission.  Suspension consists of conventional torsion bars, with three out of the five roadwheels on each side having shock absorbers.  The SV-60 and SX-60 are not amphibious.

     In general, the SV-60 and SX-60 were sort of “neglected” by the JGSDF; they received very little in the way of upgrades and most of those upgrades were done to maintain and keep the vehicles running and the mortars they carried operational.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

SV-60

$99,918

D, A

300 kg

21.1 tons

5

5

Headlights

Enclosed

SX-60

$92,151

D, A

290 kg

21.9 tons

5

11

Headlights

Enclosed

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

SV-60

143/100

33/23

370

123

Stnd

T2

HF5  HS3  HR3

SX-60

138/96

32/22

370

128

Stnd

T2

HF5  HS3  HR3

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

SV-60

None

None

81mm M-29 or M-29A1 Mortar, Type 62 (F), M-2HB (C)

24x81mm, 435x.50, 2200x7.62mm

SX-60

None

None

4.2” M-30 Rifled Mortar, M-2HB (C)

8x4.2” Shells, 435x.50