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  • 60 mm mortar

    First I would like to say my condolences to those involved. I am hoping this tragedy can be avoided in the future. The question is, since the 60mm is currently banned until the investigation is over, is this going to put a crimp in things in the field or are these not very prevalent.


    HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) — A mortar shell explosion killed seven Marines and injured a half-dozen more during mountain warfare training in Nevada's high desert, prompting the Pentagon to immediately halt the use of the weapons until an investigation can determine their safety, officials said Tuesday.
    The explosion occurred Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, a facility used by troops heading overseas, during an exercise involving the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C. Several Marines from the unit were injured in the blast, authorities said.
    The mortar round exploded in its firing tube during the exercise, said Brigadier General Jim Lukeman at a news conference at Camp Lejeune. He said investigators are trying to determine the cause of the malfunction.
    The Pentagon expanded a temporary ban to prohibit the military from firing any 60mm mortar rounds until the results of the investigation. The Marine Corps said Tuesday a "blanket suspension" of 60mm mortars and associated firing tubes is in effect.
    The Pentagon earlier had suspended use of all high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds that were in the same manufacturing lots as ones fired in Nevada
    It was not immediately clear whether more than a single round exploded, a Marine Corps official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation.
    Eight men under the age of 30 were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno with injuries, such as penetrating trauma, fractures and vascular injuries. One of them died, five were in serious condition, one in was fair condition and another was discharged, said spokesman Mark Earnest.
    The identities of those killed won't be released until 24 hours after their families are notified.
    "We send our prayers and condolences to the families of Marines involved in this tragic incident," said the force's commander, Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox. "We mourn their loss, and it is with heavy hearts we remember their courage and sacrifice."
    The rescue was complicated by the remoteness of the site, which is favored because the harsh geography simulates conditions in Afghanistan.
    The 60mm mortar is a weapon that traditionally requires three to four Marines to operate, but it's common during training for others to observe nearby. The firing tube is supported in a tripod-like design and fires roughly a 3-pound shell, some 14 inches in length and a bit larger than 2 inches in diameter.
    The mortar has changed little since World War II and remains one of the simplest weapons to operate, which is why it is found at the lowest level of infantry units, said Joseph Trevithick, a mortar expert with Global Security.org.
    "Basically, it's still a pipe and it's got a firing pin at the bottom," Trevithick said. Still, a number of things could go wrong from a fuse malfunctioning, a problem with the barrel's assembly to a round prematurely detonating inside the tube, he said.
    The Marine Corps official said an explosion at the point of firing in a training exercise could kill or maim anyone inside or nearby the protective mortar pit and could concussively detonate any mortars stored nearby in a phenomenon known as "sympathetic detonation."
    The official said a worldwide moratorium after such an accident is not unusual and would persist until the investigation determines that the weapon did not malfunction in ways that would hurt other Marines or that mortars manufactured at the same time as the one involved in the accident were safe.
    The official said it would be normal to warn other U.S. military branches that use 60mm mortars, such as the Army, about the Marines warning. The moratorium could last for weeks or months.
    The investigation will focus on whether the Marines followed procedures to properly fire the weapon, whether there was a malfunction in the firing device or in the explosive mortar itself, the official said.
    The Hawthorne Army Depot stores and disposes of ammunition. The facility is made up of hundreds of buildings spread over more than 230 square miles, and bunkers dot the sagebrush-covered hills visible from the highway. Hawthorne is in the shadow of Mt. Baker, which reaches an elevation of 11,239 feet.
    Retired Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha said the facility opened in 1930, four years after a lightning-sparked explosion virtually destroyed the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition depot in northern New Jersey, about 40 miles west of New York City.
    The blast and fires that raged for days heavily damaged the adjacent Picatinny Army Arsenal and surrounding communities, killing 21 people, and seriously injuring more than 50 others.
    Hawthorne has held an important place in American military history since WWII when it became the staging area for ammunition, bombs and rockets for the war. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection says that the depot employed more than 5,500 people at its peak.
    The facility was considered safely remote, but strategically close to Navy bases in California.
    Rocha said he was unaware of any other catastrophic event at the depot over the years it served as a munitions repository. The facility has downsized in recent years, but survived a round of base closures nationwide in 2005.
    Military officials noted that it gave Marines, Army and Navy personnel a place to train for deployment overseas. "They train at a similar climate, elevation and terrain as Afghanistan," said Rocha, who has visited the depot many times over the years.
    In the small town near the depot, a massive flag in a park across from the local war memorial waved at half-staff.
    Larry Mortensen, an industrial engineer at the depot for 41 years before retiring in 1999, serves with his wife, Carole, on the board of directors of the Hawthorne Ordnance Museum. The museum displays hundreds of shells and other munitions, battery guns and weapons dating to WWII.
    Mortensen said there had been fatal accidents at the depot in years past, but none resulting in mass casualties. He said he expected the rural town of about 3,500 residents to rally around victims' families.
    "It's a military community. Everybody here supports the military," he said.
    Pentagon bans 60mm mortar round after deaths
    Removing a single turd from the cesspool doesn't make any difference.

  • #2
    My impression is the M224 is a very versatile weapon; however, after having read the Marine Corps instruction manual on the M224, there are a couple of things that can go wrong with the M224, including the arming pin falling out of the round before it's fired, and a "cook-off", where a hot tube prematurely sets a round off while it's still in the tube. I'm assuming one of these two things happened in this instance.

    CHARACTERISTICS, COMPONENTS, AND ASSEMBLY OFTHE M224 60MM MORTAR
    "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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    • #3
      Most mortar accident involve the following:-

      (a) Double feed.
      (b) Fuse malfunction.
      (c) Cook off (as mentioned by Stitch).

      Cheers!...on the rocks!!

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      • #4
        I wonder what the rate if fire was?

        The cooling fins around the chamber work pretty well. I further wonder when the last borescope, pullover and cast inspection was conducted.

        Also was this unit equipment or equipment drawn from a weapons pool. The latter tend not to get the same amount of TLC that a unit's own gear does.
        “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
        Mark Twain

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        • #5
          So is this ban going to have a huge effect on the troops in the field or will the lack of 60mm even be noticed?
          Removing a single turd from the cesspool doesn't make any difference.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by bonehead View Post
            So is this ban going to have a huge effect on the troops in the field or will the lack of 60mm even be noticed?
            The report I heard said it won't really affect stateside training much, but it will affect troops that were still using the M224 in A-stan; I guess it's a pretty useful weapon over there against hunkered down insurgents.
            "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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            • #7
              I am not familiar with the 60 mm mortars but I guess most rules for 81 mm mortars would apply for the 60 mm too. During training is summers, we would cool down the barrel after 8 rounds (if fired in succession), keep the rate of fire slow so that if there is a misfire then double feeding is avoided.

              I doubt there would be anything wrong with the tube, but mor and arty accidents are very unfortunate as the whole crew gets wiped out.

              Cheers!...on the rocks!!

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              • #8
                A worldwide stand down, especially with units actively engaged in operations, strikes me as a bit of an over-reaction (mortars are pretty simple devices, and not exactly an unknown technology after this long in service) unless there is some sort of pattern not illustrated completely by this tragic incident. I would assume that the powers-that-be took this into consideration and decided that losing 60mm support wasn't an issue -but then, the powers-that-be would send troops into the field mummified with PT belts if they could get away with it. I suppose that 81mms could fill in the gaps to an extent, but the two systems aren't exactly radically different, except that humping an 81 and its accoutrements in Afghanistan will be far more of a bear than the 60. I always found the 60 to be more useful for laying smoke and illum than for slaughtering enemy hordes, but in a mountain environment it could be very useful (though I would prefer it to be layered with 81's and howitzers where possible).

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                • #9
                  They have those under barrel 40mm grenade launchers too, those are probably pretty handy over there, and even easier to carry but they don't have the range or terminal effects. it seems like the troops on the frontline are going to suffer to some extent. Couldn't the problem have been user error, or a bad lot of ammo? Perhaps setting limits on how many rounds per minute or per hour might be be another way out, allowing it to be used to take out point targets, but not for blanket suppression? Put a temperature warning indicator on the barrel? (it might be a peice of special tape that changed color)
                  sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
                  If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

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                  • #10
                    I have never touched a 60mm, but many years ago around '93, while firing an 81, we had several rounds detonate prematurly just after leaving the tube over our heads (several 100 meters up) and one round was a dud and EOD had to remove it from the tube. Upon checking, the rounds were from the 60's. There was an instruction card in the packaging with Macnamara's name on it. I never in a million years would have thought it could blow up in the tube though.

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                    • #11
                      Similar accidents are also happened frequently in China.

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