Artillery

60 mm M57 mortar

The 60 mm M57 is a Yugoslav-pattern light infantry mortar now listed by Serbian manufacturer PPT Namenska. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation recorded M57 mortars captured from Armenian forces, tying the portable short-range fire-support weapon to the 2020 fighting.

Conflict side
ArmeniaArtsakh
Built by
PPT Namenska
Built in
Serbia
60 mm M57 mortar, 60 mm light infantry mortar, Artillery

Service History

In service
Introduced in the late 1950s and still offered in Serbian mortar catalogs
Used by
Armenian / Artsakh forces, Georgian Defense Forces
Wars
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Production History

Designer
Yugoslav military design lineage
Designed
1957
Built by
PPT Namenska
Built in
Serbia
Unit cost
Not publicly listed
Produced
1957 design lineage; current product listing by PPT Namenska
Number built
Not publicly listed
Variants
M57 60 mm mortar

Specifications

Caliber
60.75 mm
Combat weight
18.5 kg listed by PPT Namenska; Yugoimport export sheet lists 19.7 kg
Barrel length
725 mm with breech piece or tube with stand, depending on source wording
Elevation
45 to 85 degrees
Traverse
3 degrees left and right without moving the bipod; 360 degrees with bipod displacement
Rate of fire
20 to 25 rounds per minute
Maximum range
2,537 m with M73 shell
Minimum range
74 m
Sight
NSB-3 or NSB-1
Crew
3 to 4 operators listed by PPT Namenska

Conflict Usage

Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Short-range infantry fire supportstrike

Oryx documented 16 60 mm M57 mortars among Armenian equipment captured by Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, indicating Armenian/Artsakh fielding of the light mortar in the conflict.

60 mm M57 mortar Images

Related Weapon Systems

Sources