- Side
- Israel
Secondary armor references identify the Makmat 160 mm as a Sherman-based carrier for the Soltam M-66 mortar and state that it was used by Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Artillery
160 mm Soltam M-66
Also known as
- Soltam M-66
- Soltam M66
- M-66
- M66
- M-66 mortar
- 160 mm mortar M-66
- 160mm Soltam M66
- Makmat 160 mm
The 160 mm Soltam M-66 is an Israeli heavy mortar derived from the Finnish Tampella 160 Krh/58C lineage and built around a large 38 kg-class bomb, a wheel-supported firing carriage, and truck-towed mobility. Open sources document both the towed mortar and the Makmat self-propelled installation, which mounted the M-66 on a modified M4 Sherman chassis for Israeli heavy fire-support use.
Role in Conflicts
- Side
- Israel
The documented 1982 Lebanon War evidence is for the Makmat self-propelled installation of the Soltam M-66 mortar rather than a separately identified towed battery.
Profile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- Israel
- Built by
- Soltam Systems
- Type
- 160 mm towed heavy mortar
- Service note
- Developed by Soltam in the 1960s from Finnish Tampella/Vammas 160 mm mortar lineage, with towed and Sherman-mounted Israeli service forms
- Designer
- Soltam Systems, derived from Tampella/Vammas 160 Krh/58C design lineage
- Designed
- 1960s Israeli development from a Finnish 160 mm mortar lineage
- Unit cost
- Not publicly established
- Produced
- 1960s-late 1970s
- Number built
- Not publicly established
- Developed from
- Tampella 160 Krh/58C
Specifications
- Caliber
- 160 mm
- Weapon type
- Smoothbore muzzle-loading heavy mortar
- Crew
- 6-8
- Weight
- 1,700 kg in firing position; 1,450 kg travelling without baseplate
- Tube length
- 2.85 m
- Bomb weight
- 38 kg high-explosive mortar bomb in open reference data
- Maximum range
- 9.6 km with standard bombs; extended-range dart projectiles reportedly tested to about 16 km but not adopted by the IDF
- Minimum range
- 600 m
- Rate of fire
- 5 rounds per minute
- Elevation
- +43 degrees to +70 degrees in WeaponSystems.net data
- Traverse
- 360 degrees using the wheel-supported firing carriage and baseplate arrangement
- Carriage
- Fixed two-wheel carriage that doubles as the firing support instead of a conventional bipod
- Loading and laying
- Large bomb required lowering/elevating assistance; visible references describe an elevating column, counterbalance, and roadwheel traverse controls
- Mobility
- Towed by a 6x6 truck, with the baseplate moved separately on a small two-wheel carriage
Design Lineage And Firing Layout
The M-66 kept the unusually heavy 160 mm mortar role but used a firing layout closer to a small artillery piece than to a man-portable mortar. Sources describe a round baseplate, a two-wheel carriage used as the firing support, and a loading cycle shaped by the weight of the 38 kg-class bomb.
Finnish lineage
ARES identifies the Soltam M66 as an Israeli version of Tampella's 160 Krh/58C mortar family.
Heavy round
WeaponSystems.net and GlobalSecurity list a 38 kg bomb and a standard maximum range of 9.6 km.
Mobility tradeoff
The towed weapon needed a truck and separate baseplate handling; Makmat solved part of that problem by mounting the mortar on a Sherman-family chassis.
Variants
The M-66 designation is used for the Soltam 160 mm heavy mortar itself. Makmat was the Israeli self-propelled installation that placed the same mortar on a modified M4 Sherman chassis; Soltam M-65 is a separate 120 mm mortar family, not an M-66 variant.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Makmat 160 mm | Sherman-mounted self-propelled installation | ARES, WeaponSystems.net, Tank-AFV, and Armored Warfare all describe Makmat as the M-66/160 mm Soltam mortar fitted to a Sherman or M4 Sherman chassis for greater mobility. Sources: ARES Tampella 160 mm Mortar, WeaponSystems.net Soltam M66, Tank-AFV Makmat 160mm, Armored Warfare Sherman 75 Years |
Sherman-Based Installation
The best-documented vehicle relationship is the Makmat installation, which put the 160 mm Soltam mortar onto a modified Sherman-family chassis.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Tank chassis | ARES and armor references describe the Makmat as a self-propelled M-66/160 mm Soltam mortar installation on an M4 Sherman or Sherman-derived chassis. Sources: ARES Tampella 160 mm Mortar, Tank-AFV Makmat 160mm, Armored Warfare Sherman 75 Years |
Timeline
160 mm Soltam M-66 Key Events
Finnish 160 mm design lineage
ARES traces the 160 Krh/58C to Tampella's postwar Finnish mortar work and identifies it as the line from which the Soltam M66 version emerged.
Sources: ARES Tampella 160 mm Mortar
Soltam M-66 enters Israeli service family
Open references describe the M-66 as an Israeli Soltam-built 160 mm mortar adapted from the Finnish Vammas/Tampella design lineage.
Sources: WeaponSystems.net Soltam M66, Military Periscope M-66 Overview
Makmat self-propelled installation
ARES and later armor references identify Makmat as the Sherman-chassis self-propelled installation of the Soltam M-66/160 mm mortar.
Sources: ARES Tampella 160 mm Mortar, Tank-AFV Makmat 160mm, Armored Warfare Sherman 75 Years
Yom Kippur War use documented for Makmat
Armor references describe the Makmat installation of the M-66 mortar as used by Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Sources: Tank-AFV Makmat 160mm, Armored Warfare Sherman 75 Years
Lebanon use documented for Makmat
Tank-AFV and Armored Warfare both connect the Makmat M-66 mortar installation to Israeli use during the 1982 Lebanon War / Peace for Galilee operation.
Sources: Tank-AFV Makmat 160mm, Armored Warfare Sherman 75 Years
Media
160 mm Soltam M-66 Images
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
WeaponSystems.net Soltam M66Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports M66 identity, Israeli origin, Soltam developer and producer attribution, development and production period, Tampella Krh/58C design lineage, Makmat relationship, and listed technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-13ARES Tampella 160 mm MortarPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports Tampella 160 Krh/58C lineage, Soltam M66 as an Israeli-adopted version of that family, Makmat as the M4 Sherman-chassis self-propelled installation, 160 mm family specifications, and extended-range projectile context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Military Periscope M-66 OverviewPublisher: Military Periscope / GovExec | Note: Supports visible public claims that the M-66 was an Israeli Soltam towed mortar adapted from a Finnish Vammas 160 mm design and used a complex carriage with elevating, counterbalance, baseplate, and roadwheel traverse features. | Accessed: 2026-07-13GlobalSecurity G-10 MakmatPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports Soltam 160 mm mortar specifications, 38 kg bomb, 9,600 m range, 1,700 kg firing weight, 6-8 crew, towed and self-propelled configurations, Makmat Sherman-chassis context, and carriage/loading mechanism details. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Tank-AFV Makmat 160mmPublisher: Tank-AFV | Note: Supports 1973 Yom Kippur War and 1982 Lebanon War direct conflict-use context by identifying Makmat as an Israeli self-propelled heavy mortar using the M-66/Soltam 160 mm mortar and stating it was used in those conflicts. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Armored Warfare Sherman 75 YearsPublisher: Armored Warfare | Note: Supports 1973 Yom Kippur War and 1982 Lebanon War direct conflict-use context by identifying Makmat 160 mm as a carrier for the Soltam M-66 mortar and stating it was used in the Yom Kippur War and 1982 Peace for Galilee operation. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons Soltam M-66 Image 2Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports primary image provenance and licensing for a Soltam M-66 mortar photographed at Beyt ha-Totchan, with own-work Bukvoed attribution and GFDL/CC BY 3.0 licensing. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons Soltam M-66 Image 3Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and licensing for another view of the Soltam M-66 mortar at Beyt ha-Totchan, with own-work Bukvoed attribution and GFDL/CC BY 3.0 licensing. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons Soltam M-66 Image 4Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and licensing for an additional Soltam M-66 mortar view at Beyt ha-Totchan, with the same uploader-origin media set and reusable licensing. | Accessed: 2026-07-13