[Parmy]

2nd,2nd Mech. had a 4.2 mortor section in their battalion over 30 years ago. They were mounted in the back of M113's, the old tin box we used as mechanized infantry. They went everywhere they were needed.

[archy]

2nd,2nd Mech. had a 4.2 mortor section in their battalion over 30 years ago. They were mounted in the back of M113's, the old tin box we used as mechanized infantry. They went everywhere they were needed.

And the M113-based M106 4.2-inch mortar carrier [and similar current M1064 120mm Mortar vehicle] was amphibious. With the gun tube aboard, it could only carry 10 rounds while fording rivers or lakes, but one answer to that was to have one vehicle in a 4-vehicle battery dismount their mortar tube and baseplate and set up their tube and baseplate for covering fire from the near bank, while the vehicle hauled additional ammunition for the other vehicles with their tubes ready for firing. I've heard different stories about the advisability of actually firing the mortar while amphibious, but in any event, I'd expect accuracy would be pretty spotty. It might be useful for firing illumination rounds during nighttime river crossings, however.

-archy-/-