Artillería

160mm M160

Also known as
  • 160 mm M-160
  • 160mm M-160
  • mortero M-160
  • mortero M160
  • mortero de 160 mm M-160
  • mortero divisional de 160 mm M-160
  • 52-M-853
  • SKB-21

El 160mm M160 es un mortero pesado soviético de posguerra, de carga por la recámara, desarrollado como sucesor de mayor alcance del 160mm PM-43 de tiempos de guerra. Su cañón articulado de carga trasera, gran placa base y cureña de dos ruedas lo acercaban más a una pieza de artillería remolcada que a un mortero portátil, sacrificando movilidad a cambio de una bomba de la clase de 40 kg y un alcance de fuego indirecto de 8 km.

160mm M160, Mortero pesado remolcado de 160 mm, Artillería
Image source: Commons 160 mm M-160 4055 Image

Role in Conflicts

1990 Gulf War
Captured, Seized & Recovered
Side
Iraq

Un registro de imagen de los U.S. National Archives identifica un mortero iraquí M-160 de 160 mm abandonado en un puesto avanzado después de que las fuerzas iraquíes se retiraran de Kuwait City durante Operation Desert Storm.

Role details
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Unión Soviética
Built in
Soviet Union
Type
Mortero pesado remolcado de 160 mm
Service note
Introducido en 1949 tras el desarrollo de 1945-1947; producido hasta 1957 y retenido por algunos antiguos clientes soviéticos
Designer
SKB-21 en la Oficina Especial de Diseño de Artillería de Ánima Lisa de Kolomna bajo B. I. Shavyrin
Designed
1945-1947
Produced
1949-1957
Number built
2.353
Developed from
160mm PM-43

Specifications

Calibre
160 mm
Tipo de arma
Mortero pesado de ánima lisa y carga por la recámara
Dotación
6-8; Victory Museum lista 7
Peso
1.300 kg en posición de tiro; 1.470 kg en configuración de transporte
Longitud del cañón
4,55 m
Peso de la bomba
Aproximadamente 40-41,2 kg según el tipo de mina
Carga explosiva
Aproximadamente 7,7-9 kg en las minas de alto explosivo de 160 mm listadas
Alcance máximo
8.040 m
Alcance mínimo
750 m
Cadencia de tiro
Aproximadamente 3 disparos por minuto
Velocidad inicial
157-343 m/s según la carga
Elevación
+50 grados a +80 grados
Sector horizontal
24 grados a +50 grados de elevación; los datos de referencia informan un sector más amplio a elevación alta
Movilidad
Cureña remolcada de dos ruedas con orejeta de remolque en la boca; remolcado por camión o tractor de orugas hasta aproximadamente 50 km/h
Breech-Loading Heavy Mortar Layout

El M-160 conservó el método soviético de carga trasera de la familia de morteros de 160 mm porque una bomba de la clase de 40 kg resultaba poco práctica para introducirla por la boca en un tubo largo. El cañón bascula para la carga, la placa base absorbe el retroceso contra el suelo y la cureña fija de ruedas también funciona como parte del montaje de tiro.

Cambio respecto al predecesor

WeaponSystems.net describe el M160 como un sucesor de cañón más largo del 160-PM-43, construido para ampliar el alcance más allá del diseño de tiempos de guerra.

Compromiso de manejo

El mortero podía remolcarse a velocidad de carretera, pero su masa hacía poco práctico que la infantería lo moviera a mano una vez alejado de posiciones preparadas.

Efecto de la munición

Los datos de Victory Museum listan minas de alto explosivo de 40 kg y 41,2 kg con ajustes de espoleta para efecto de onda explosiva o fragmentación.

Variants

Las referencias abiertas tratan al M-160 como el mortero divisional soviético de 1949 y lo distinguen de su predecesor de tiempos de guerra PM-43/MT-13; China produjo una copia relacionada, el Type 56.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
160mm PM-43, 160 mm towed heavy mortar, Artillery160mm PM-43predecesor de tiempos de guerra

WeaponSystems.net describe el M160 como el sucesor de mayor alcance del 160-PM-43 de la época de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Sources: WeaponSystems.net 160mm M160

Type 56 heavy mortarcopia china

GlobalSecurity identifica el mortero pesado chino Type 56 como una copia del mortero pesado soviético de 160 mm M-160.

Sources: GlobalSecurity Chinese Towed Artillery

Timeline

160mm M160 Key Events

  1. Comienza el desarrollo de posguerra

    Los relatos de referencia sitúan el desarrollo del diseño SKB-21/M-160 en 1945-1947 en la oficina de diseño de artillería de Kolomna bajo B. I. Shavyrin.

    Sources: Victory Museum M-160 Mortar

  2. Adoptado y comienzo de la producción

    El M-160 ganó la competición de posguerra y entró en producción en serie en 1949, inicialmente en Plant No. 535.

    Sources: Victory Museum M-160 Mortar

  3. La producción continúa en Plant No. 172

    Los datos de referencia abiertos dicen que la producción en serie continuó en Plant No. 172 desde 1952 hasta el fin de la serie en 1957.

    Sources: Victory Museum M-160 Mortar

  4. Uso documentado por el Ejército sirio

    Oryx publicó un informe fotográfico que identificaba morteros M-160 de 160 mm con el Syrian Arab Army y describía su uso en bombardeos urbanos al comienzo de la guerra.

    Sources: Oryx Syrian Arab Army Photo Report

  5. Capturado en los combates de Idlib

    Oryx listó dos morteros M160 de 160 mm como capturados durante operaciones turcas y rebeldes contra equipo del gobierno sirio en Idlib.

    Sources: Oryx Idlib Turkey Shoot

  6. Identificación en Ucrania disputada

    Un informe de medios ucranianos de 2025 describió un M-160 en servicio ucraniano, pero Defence Express evaluó después que el arma visible era un 2B23 Nona-M1 capturado y no un M-160; el catálogo no trata ese episodio como una fila directa de uso en conflicto del M-160.

    Sources: Pryamiy Ukrainian M-160 Report, Defence Express Nona-M1 Identification

Media

160mm M160 Videos

160mm M160 Images

160mm M160, Mortero pesado remolcado de 160 mm, Artillería - view 1
Source: Commons 160 mm M-160 4052 Image
160mm M160, Mortero pesado remolcado de 160 mm, Artillería - view 2
Source: Commons Batey ha-Osef M-160 Image
160mm M160, Mortero pesado remolcado de 160 mm, Artillería - view 3
Source: Commons M-160 Museum of Technique Image
Related Weapon Systems
160mm PM-43, 160 mm towed heavy mortar, ArtilleryArtillery160mm PM-43160 mm towed heavy mortarThe 160mm PM-43, also known as the 160-PM-43 or MT-13, is a Soviet breech-loading heavy mortar developed from the idea of scaling up the 120 mm mortar family. Its hinged barrel let crews load a roughly 40 kg bomb from the rear, giving Soviet forces a short-range but very heavy indirect-fire weapon in the final stages of the Second World War before the longer-ranged M-160 replaced it in postwar Soviet service; open references also place Egyptian 160-PM-43 use in the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel.
120-PM-38, 120 mm towed heavy mortar, ArtilleryArtillery120-PM-38120 mm towed heavy mortarThe 120-PM-38, also known as the M1938, is a Soviet 120 mm smoothbore heavy mortar designed under B. I. Shavyrin and built for infantry fire support. Its large bomb, two-wheel transport arrangement, and roughly 5.7 km range made it a durable regimental mortar design; OSCE monitoring documented PM-38 mortars in Donbas heavy-weapons holding and storage records during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, while Oryx listed M-1938 heavy mortars in Yemen's pre-war army inventory.
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Sources

Victory Museum M-160 MortarPublisher: Victory Museum / Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 | Note: Supports M-160 identity, 1949 model designation, SKB-21/Kolomna/Shavyrin development, Plant No. 535 and Plant No. 172 production sequence, production dates and total, Soviet service context, specifications, ammunition notes, and towing arrangement. | Accessed: 2026-07-06WeaponSystems.net 160mm M160Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports Soviet origin, heavy-mortar type, PM-43 successor relationship, crew range, weight, barrel length, muzzle velocity, elevation, traverse, rate of fire, range, carriage, towing vehicle, and export-user context. | Accessed: 2026-07-06GlobalSecurity Chinese Towed ArtilleryPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports Type 56 as a Chinese heavy-mortar copy related to the Soviet 160 mm M-160 family. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Oryx Syrian Arab Army Photo ReportPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War direct conflict-use by identifying Syrian Arab Army 160 mm M-160 mortars and describing heavy early-war shelling use in cities. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Oryx Idlib Turkey ShootPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War direct conflict materiel evidence by listing two 160 mm M160 mortars captured during the 2020 Idlib fighting. | Accessed: 2026-07-06NARA Iraqi M-160 Desert Storm ImagePublisher: U.S. National Archives via NARA and DVIDS Public Domain Archives | Note: Supports 1990 Gulf War direct conflict materiel evidence by identifying an Iraqi M-160 160 mm mortar abandoned at a Kuwait City outpost after Iraqi forces withdrew during Operation Desert Storm. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Pryamiy Ukrainian M-160 ReportPublisher: Pryamiy | Note: Documents a June 2025 Ukrainian media report that identified a seen weapon as an M-160; used only with the Defence Express correction as a disputed-identification timeline note, not as direct conflict-use support. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Defence Express Nona-M1 IdentificationPublisher: Defense Express | Note: Supports the caveat that a 2025 Ukrainian video first described as M-160 was later assessed as a captured 2B23 Nona-M1 rather than an M-160. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Commons 160 mm M-160 4055 ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing for the primary M-160 photograph at Technical Museum Togliatti; the file page lists own work by ShinePhantom under CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Commons 160 mm M-160 4052 ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery-image provenance for a second M-160 photograph at Technical Museum Togliatti; the file page lists own work by ShinePhantom under CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Commons Batey ha-Osef M-160 ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery-image provenance for a 160 mm M1949/M-160 mortar at Batey ha-Osef Museum in Tel Aviv; the file page lists own work by Bukvoed under CC BY 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Commons M-160 Museum of Technique ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery-image provenance for an M-160 160 mm mortar museum photograph; the file page lists own work by Mike1979 Russia under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-06