Turkey says it has struck targets in Syria in response to mortar strike across border

[happyslug]

20. Other reports indicate the Location was in area held by the Syrian Army.

Radar has been used to locate Mortar positions since at least the Vietnam war. When I was in the Service in the 1980s, we were taught to fire and scoot for as soon as we fired the enemy would know out location and would return fire. Thus it is possible for Turkey to know where the Mortars were fired from, and thus by whom.

Side note: Mortars are generally infantry weapons. for they are small enough to move about on Foot (82mm and smaller) or a light truck (120 and 4.2 inch Mortars). Thus light mortars are part of an Infantry Company (Leg Infantry, with Mechanized infantry the tendency is to use 120mm kept at Battalion level). I doubt the Syrians have 60mm mortars, for they are not liked by the Germans or the Russians (and the Russians supply Syria its weapons). Both the Germans and Russian prefer the 82 mm (The US and the rest of the world uses a 81 mm Mortar, almost the same thing, but the Germans learned how to use Mortars from the Russians during WWII and thus adopted the Russian attitude to mortars, including using a 82 mm Mortar).

Thus this sounds like it was an 82mm mortar, which can be carried by men on foot, but considered on the heavy side. I can NOT rule out a 120 mm Mortar and Syria can have larger Mortars (Isreal has a 160mm Mortar, but it is in the Artillery Chain of Command not the infantry's chain of command).

The Syrian Army has 10- 240 mm Mortars and 100 - 160mm Mortars, 700 - 120mm Mortars, and 200 82mm Mortars:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_equipment_and_uniform_of_the_Syrian_Arab_Army

Picture of a M1938 120mm Mortar (200 In Syrian Service):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1938_mortar

Picture of M1943 160mm Mortars, 100 of which are in Syrian Service:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/160mm_Mortar_M1943

The high number of 120 over 82 implies to me most of these 120 are in some sort of Mechanzied weapons system (i.e. in an converted to carry a 120mm or made from say one to carry a 120mm mortar. These are NOT listed as a Self Propelled Artillery piece, but generally in its own category.

Here is Wikipedia on more modern Soviet/Russian 120mm mortar:

Designed to be hauled by foot, if you have to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2B11_Sani

Designed to be hauled BEHIND a truck:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2S12_Sani

Now, the Soviet Union and later Russia have fielded a RIFLE "Combination" Mortar-Howitzer, called the 2B16, but this had NOT been exported to anyone as far as I can determine. These "Combination Guns" are 120mm Mortars, they fire from a breech (as opposes to dropped from the muzzle) and are rifled barreled (the above 120 mm mortars are all smoothbores).


http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/irfna/irfna_refs/n28en023/firespt.htm#2b16
http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product1786.html