I have a question,.,..,,..

[V40]

Guys I was reading "Brassey's" today that is dated around 1984. It speaks about that in Mortars, the Russians deliberately made their mortar in 82mm so that it could use NATO 81mm's. Is there any truth to this?

 

[EOD]

Mark, there was no NATO in the 1930's no?

 

[highlandotter]

That was the rumor during the Korean War. There were rumors that some incoming was our stuff being returned.

 

[EOD]

Anyone here who could measure a Russian 82mm and a US 81mm and post the exact measurements?

 

[Bullet Mick]

V40 ive read that the Russians used German ammunition in their mortars during WW2. I think the the German 8cm round was actually 81.4mm. I guess theres no reason why they would not try this with the US mortar rounds. EOD I have a Russian 82mm round i will dig it out and measure it. Cheers Mick.

 

[Harvey]

I did a bit of digging on the OrData website, and came up with the following. US 81mm is 3.19" in diameter. The Russian and Chinese 82mm are 3.20" and 3.23" respectively. It will be interesting to see how this compares with real measurements.

 

[ordman]

The Russians used 82mm so that their own ammunition could not be used against them
an 82mm round will nor fit down a German 8cm mortar take a look at their other ordnance
45mm, 76.2mm, 85mm, 122mm, 152mm, 203mm all oddball calibers.
They did have 57mm and 76mm/3inch but don't forget they where part of the U.S. lend/lease program
so these calibers along with others where provided to them
You didn't want to use a weapon or caliber that your enemy used; he could capture your arsenal or supplies, or even large numbers of your troops and then be able to use your weaponry against you. That was a big consideration; even when arms were ordered from another country the caliber was usually in the standard of the buying country.
In WWII the Japs used a 301 caliber round so that our 30 caliber round would fit in their guns. But their round was just a tad larger so that it wouldn't fit in our guns.

 

[Bullet Mick]

I have measured my Russian mortar which is 81.4mm 3.2". I have also measured a british 81mm which is 80.9mm 3.185". I also measured an unknown 81mm mortar i have which is 80.7mm 3.177". I dont have a German 8cm to measure. Hope this is helpful cheers Mick.

 

[EOD]

The Russians used 82mm so that their own ammunition could not be used against them
an 82mm round will nor fit down a German 8cm mortar take a look at their other ordnance
45mm, 76.2mm, 85mm, 122mm, 152mm, 203mm all oddball calibers.
They did have 57mm and 76mm/3inch but don't forget they where part of the U.S. lend/lease program
so these calibers along with others where provided to them
.

There is a lot of unproven assumptions and I never heard incompatibility was ever a concern in the choice of calibers of any army.
The 76mm the Russian had long before the US or any other country were a concern to them.
Also do not forget that the Russian measurements in czarist times were bound to the inch system and changed to metric only after the communists came to power and changed it in the 1920's.
So looking at Russian calibers it is not always "odd" what we see.
7.62 mm = 3-lines = .30 (10 russian lines were 1 dyum = 1 inch)
57 mm = the Russian got from abroad already (Hotchkiss & Nordenfelt) when they were not metric
37 mm = same as above (Hotchkiss)
76 mm = 3 inch
107 mm = 4.2 inch
122 mm = 4.8 inch
152 mm = 6 inch
203 mm = 8 inch
305 mm = 12 inch
406 mm = 16 inch
Does anything of this sound "American" maybe?

The 85mm was a metric invention already.

Also the Russian standard pistol caliber of the army is 9x19 today!

As said, technical and military demands are ranking much higher than incompatibility with the enemies weapons.