Profile
- Type
- 120 mm towed heavy mortar
- Conflict side
- UkraineRussia-backed separatist forces
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Introduced in 1938; retained in limited Ukrainian inventory during the Russia-Ukraine War
Artillery
120-PM-38
The 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 mortar bomb, wheeled transport arrangement, and roughly 5.7 km range made it a durable Soviet artillery design, with Ukrainian stocks still documented around the Russia-Ukraine War rather than acquired as a modern foreign transfer.
- Conflict side
- UkraineRussia-backed separatist forces
- Built by
- Plant No. 92 Nizhny Novgorod
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Entered Soviet service in 1938
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces, Red Army
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War, World War II
Production History
- Designer
- Design bureau led by B. I. Shavyrin
- Designed
- 1937-1938
- Built by
- Plant No. 92 Nizhny Novgorod
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Unit cost
- Not publicly available
- Produced
- From 1939
- Number built
- About 3,800 in Red Army service by 22 June 1941
- Variants
- 120 mm battalion mortar model 1941, 120-PM-43 successor modernization
Specifications
- Caliber
- 120 mm
- Crew
- 6
- Maximum range
- 5,700 m
- Weight
- 557 kg listed by National Defence University of Ukraine
- Rate of fire
- 6 to 15 rounds per minute
- Ammunition load
- 80 rounds listed for the system
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: UkraineRussia-backed separatist forcesRole: Heavy mortar fire support
Ukraine retained Soviet-pattern 120-PM-38/M1938 120 mm mortars in its inventory before the 2022 full-scale invasion; OSCE monitoring during the earlier Donbas phase documented PM-120/PM-38 120 mm mortars at Ukrainian government-controlled holding areas and PM-38 mortars in DPR-controlled holding areas or locations in Donetsk region.
Related Weapon Systems
2S12 Sani120 mm heavy mortar systemThe 2S12 Sani is a Soviet/Russian 120 mm mortar system built around the 2B11 mortar, a wheeled carriage, and a transport vehicle. It gives battalion-level units a mobile indirect-fire weapon with a roughly 7 km range, and modernized 2S12A systems on Ural-based vehicles have continued to appear in Russian supply and combat reporting during the Russia-Ukraine War.
MO-120 RT120 mm rifled towed heavy mortarThe MO-120 RT is a French 120 mm rifled towed heavy mortar developed by Brandt and later associated with TDA/Thales production. Its rifled barrel, two-wheel carriage, and rocket-assisted ammunition option give it longer range than many smoothbore infantry mortars, while remaining towable by light or medium vehicles. In the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukrainian forces received Belgian MO-120 RT mortars and used the type for front-line indirect fire support.
PM-43120 mm towed heavy mortarThe PM-43 is a Soviet 120 mm smoothbore heavy mortar, a strengthened wartime development of the PM-38 that combined a large high-explosive bomb, a two-wheel carriage, and a six-person crew for infantry fire support. OSCE monitoring documented a probable PM-43 in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk oblast during the Russia-Ukraine War, showing how legacy Soviet mortars remained present alongside newer 120 mm systems.
2A36 Giatsint-B152 mm towed field gunThe 2A36 Giatsint-B is a Soviet 152 mm towed field gun built for long-range indirect fire and counter-battery work. Its 49-caliber barrel gives it greater reach than many older Soviet 152 mm systems, and Ukrainian forces have fielded the type during the Russia-Ukraine War, including likely Finnish 152 K 89 guns supplied from Finnish stocks.
2B14 Podnos82 mm smoothbore mortarThe 2B14 Podnos is a Soviet 82 mm smoothbore mortar developed in the early 1980s as a lighter, longer-ranged replacement for older battalion mortars. Its portable barrel, baseplate, and bipod loads make it suitable for light infantry fire support, and OSCE reporting documents Podnos mortars on both sides of the Donbas front during the Russia-Ukraine War.
M22460 mm lightweight company mortarThe M224 is a U.S. 60 mm lightweight company mortar built for infantry close-support fires from either a conventional bipod/baseplate setup or a lighter handheld mode. Its modest weight, 70- to 3,490-meter conventional-mode range, and high-angle fire make it useful for small-unit suppression, screening, and illumination missions; Ukrainian forces have been documented employing U.S.-made M224 mortars during the Russia-Ukraine War.Sources
120-mm PM-38 mortarPublisher: National Defence University of Ukraine | Note: Supports PM-38 background, designer/manufacturer attribution, service date, production context, and listed specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, 19 March 2019Publisher: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | Note: Directly documents PM-120/PM-38 120 mm mortars in a Russia-Ukraine War monitoring report for government-controlled heavy-weapons holding areas in Donetsk region. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, 23 November 2015Publisher: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | Note: Directly documents PM-38 120 mm mortars present and missing at DPR-controlled heavy-weapons holding areas during the Donbas phase of the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, 4 February 2016Publisher: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | Note: Directly documents two disassembled PM-38 120 mm mortars near DPR-controlled Stepanivka during the Donbas phase of the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Analysis: Discover list new artillery weapons of Ukrainian army after delivery of foreign equipmentPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Cites Ukrainian artillery holdings around the 2022 full-scale invasion context, including 30 M-1938 (PM-38) 120 mm mortars. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:120 mm PM38 02.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a PM38 mortar photographed at the Army History Museum and Park in Kecel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 by Cooper6. | Accessed: 2026-06-20