Artillery

M-240 mortar

Also known as
  • M240 mortar
  • 240 mm mortar M240
  • 240-mm mortar M-240
  • 52-M-864
  • 240mm M240

The M-240 is a Soviet 240 mm towed heavy mortar and the firing-system ancestor of the 2S4 Tyulpan's 2B8 mortar. WeaponSystems.net describes it as a limited-service heavy mortar produced in the 1950s, while ARES identifies it as one of the two mortar systems for the 3F2 Gagara and other Soviet 240 mm rocket-assisted projectiles. AOAV and ARES tie the M-240 itself to Syrian government heavy mortar fire around Homs during the Syrian Civil War.

M-240 mortar, 240 mm towed heavy mortar, Artillery
Image source: File:240 mm mortar M-240-4043.JPG

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
240 mm towed heavy mortar
Service note
Cold War Soviet heavy mortar
Designer
KBM Kolomna
Designed
1944-1950 development and state testing period
Produced
1951-1958
Number built
329 M240 mortars reported by WeaponSystems.net

Specifications

Caliber
240 mm
Configuration
Towed breech-loading smoothbore heavy mortar
Crew
9 to 11
Travel weight
About 4.23 t
Firing weight
About 3.61 t
Barrel length
5.34 m
Rate of fire
About 1 round per minute
Standard HE range
About 0.8 km to 9.65 km with F-864 shells
Rocket-assisted range
About 19.7 km with 3F2 rocket-assisted shells
Compatible 240 mm rocket-assisted projectiles
3F2 Gagara, 3O8 Nerpa, 3B11, and Sayda
Related self-propelled system
2S4 Tyulpan uses the modified 2B8 mortar
Ammunition Fired

The M-240 fired both the standard 240 mm F-864 high-explosive bomb and longer-range rocket-assisted projectiles in the same ammunition ecosystem later carried by the 2S4 Tyulpan.

AmmunitionAmmunition typeFiring evidence
3F2 Gagara, Rocket-assisted 240 mm high-explosive mortar projectile, Munitions3F2 GagaraRocket-assisted high-explosive mortar projectile

ARES identifies the 3F2 Gagara as one of the Soviet rocket-assisted 240 mm mortar projectiles designed for the towed M-240 and self-propelled 2S4 Tyulpan systems.

Sources: Soviet 3O8 240 mm rocket-assisted cargo projectiles in Syria

3O8 Nerpa, Rocket-assisted cargo projectile for 240 mm mortars, Munitions3O8 NerpaRocket-assisted cargo projectile

ARES identifies the 3O8 Nerpa as the cargo member of the same 3M15-powered projectile family for the M-240 and 2S4 Tyulpan.

Sources: Soviet 3O8 240 mm rocket-assisted cargo projectiles in Syria

53-F-864 / F-864 240 mm mortar bomb, 240 mm high-explosive fragmentation mortar bomb, Munitions53-F-864 / F-864 240 mm mortar bombConventional high-explosive mortar bomb

WeaponSystems.net gives the M-240's standard high-explosive range with the F-864 shell, making the F-864 the baseline munition for the same 240 mm mortar ecosystem.

Sources: WeaponSystems.net 240mm M240

Conflict-use boundary

This record keeps only the Syrian Civil War row directly supported for the M-240 itself. It does not copy conflict rows from individual 240 mm ammunition pages or from the 2S4 Tyulpan.

Sources: AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen M-240, WeaponSystems.net 240mm M240, Soviet 3O8 240 mm rocket-assisted cargo projectiles in Syria

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.
2S4 Tyulpan, 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar, ArtilleryArtillery2S4 Tyulpan240 mm self-propelled heavy mortarThe 2S4 Tyulpan is a Soviet 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar built around a large breech-loaded 2B8 mortar on a tracked chassis. Its unusually heavy bombs, guided and special-purpose ammunition options, and low rate of fire make it a siege and bunker-attack weapon rather than a conventional rapid-fire howitzer. Soviet and Russian forces used it in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and Russian forces have fielded or lost examples in Ukraine, where its size and firing signature make it a high-value counter-battery target.
53-F-864 / F-864 240 mm mortar bomb, 240 mm high-explosive fragmentation mortar bomb, MunitionsMunitions53-F-864 / F-864 240 mm mortar bomb240 mm high-explosive fragmentation mortar bombThe 53-F-864, commonly cited as F-864 and also rendered 3OF-864 in Tyulpan references, is a Soviet 240 mm high-explosive fragmentation mortar bomb for the M-240 / 2S4 Tyulpan heavy-mortar family. It is notable as a very heavy conventional mortar round: Human Rights Watch documented F-864 bombs in Syrian army shelling of Homs, and technical references report a projectile mass of about 130 kg and a maximum Tyulpan range of about 9.65 km.

Sources

WeaponSystems.net 240mm M240Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports M-240 identity, origin, type, service and production dates, Yurga producer attribution, KBM Kolomna developer attribution, reported production count, 52-M-864 and 2B8 designations, crew, weights, dimensions, barrel length, rate of fire, range, and F-864 / 3F2 ammunition context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Soviet 3O8 240 mm rocket-assisted cargo projectiles in SyriaPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports the M-240 and 2S4 Tyulpan firing-system relationship to Soviet 240 mm rocket-assisted projectiles including 3F2 Gagara, 3O8 Nerpa, 3B11, and Sayda, the 3M15 rocket-motor family context, and direct 2011 Syrian Civil War context by describing M-240 towed mortars used during 2012 fighting around Homs. | Accessed: 2026-07-13AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen M-240Publisher: Action on Armed Violence | Note: Direct 2011 Syrian Civil War source identifying the 240 mm mortar system seen in Homs as the M-240 and explaining that it fired the 53-F-864 240 mm bomb. | Accessed: 2026-07-13File:240 mm mortar M-240-4043.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for the M-240 mortar image; the file page identifies the subject as an M-240 mortar at the Togliatti Technical Museum and lists CC BY-SA 3.0 reuse terms with ShinePhantom attribution. | Accessed: 2026-07-13