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Any crew that put a 4.2" mortar round through the hatch of a tank was lucky, not accurate. I would bet that couldn't be duplicated in 100 rounds with the same survey, the same met., the same ammunition lot, and the same tube. On the other hand, I've seen crews put successive 8" rounds (inert) through the window of a bunker on Signal Mountain at Ft. Sill.

Mortars are useful when you don't have artillery, but for accuracy, true all-weather capability, quantity of steel on target over time, and availability of appropriate munitions, give me tube artillery.

I'm sure the mortar crew, and possibly FDC, didn't expect a hole in one. I'm sure they only expected to get the tank to batten down the hatches and narrow the krauts' field of veiw to what they have from inside the vehicle. I know from the periscopes inside of a M113 APC, the field of view was pretty limited.

The points I was trying to make was that the rifled 4.2" mortar was fairly accurate for high angle fire, and that there is less probable error in direct fire gunnery than low angle, i.e. < 45 degrees elevation, indirect fire, which has less probable error than high angle indirect fire, i.e. 45 degrees or greater. The probable error is mostly a function of the length of the trajectories, note not range, and time of flight, not taking into account the accuracy of the tube and quality of the ammo.

I used to be a grunt that saw the projectiles of 175mm and 8" rounds fly to the NVA when we had firebase security. I certainly don't advocate getting rid of cannon artillery. Heavy mortars nicely fill the niche for infantry and armored battalions or task forces that may only have one artillery battery in direct support.

I don't think anyone disputes that in-place tube artillery is generally a superior weapons system to mortars. The specific advantage that mortars give you is mobility, which is why infantry companies and battalions have organic mortars rather than artillery.

I'm an M198 guy, but I think moving it or its successor to a GS role and using a light, SP 120mm mortar for DS makes a lot of sense.