Yom Kippur War
The
Syrian Army deployed 240mm mortars to the frontline in the
Yom Kippur War. On the opening day of the war, they struck the Israeli outposts at
Tel Fares and
Hermon, succeeding in disrupting Israeli intelligence-gathering and communications. The
Egyptian Army also used 240mm mortars in its assault on the fortifications of the
Suez canal, favoring the heavy shells for destroying Israeli fortifications.
The 240mm mortars were greatly feared because their enormous warheads were effective even against targets under cover. The Syrian mortars continued to fire on
Hermon after the official end of hostilities, and were nicknamed 'Goliaths' by Israelis both because of their size, and also after the codename of a concrete underground bunker one of the batteries was firing from. One source implies that a covert Israeli raid was launched to destroy this position.
Afghanistan
The first use in combat by the Soviet Union of 240mm mortars was in 1985 during the
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. A battery from the
1074th artillery battalion of the
108th Motor Rifle Division used 240mm mortars towed by
MT-LB tractors against the
Muhajeddin forces of
Ahmed Shah Massoud in the Charikorskoy and
Panjshir valley, including the first use of specialized laser-guided 'Daredevil' rounds. After encountering
DShK machine gun fire from one of Massoud's fortress, the 240mm battery engaged the target and destroyed it in 12–15 minutes with five to six rounds, the mortar's high angle of fire proving effective in circumventing the fortress walls where 122mm bombardments had failed. Troops reported that the mortar was highly accurate and usually a single hit sufficed to destroy a target; furthermore, the heavy shells were little affected by weather conditions. However, the mortar was vulnerable to jamming if the barrel was dirty or damaged.
. Why the fuck they r wasting poor young men's lives.
