The M/41D is the Swedish-service branch of the Finnish Tampella 120 Krh/40 heavy mortar family, a Stokes-Brandt-pattern 120 mm weapon built for mobile indirect fire. Ukraine accepted the Swedish 120 mm M/41D into service during the full-scale Russia-Ukraine War, while open sources also document its older Finnish design base, Swedish licensed production, Baltic holdings, and continued relevance as a compact fire-support mortar.
Ukraine accepted the foreign-made 120 mm M/41D mortar into Armed Forces service by an August 28, 2023 defense-minister order during the full-scale war, with reporting tying the order to foreign equipment provided through international technical assistance.
Role detailsThe mortar follows the Stokes-Brandt pattern and breaks into barrel, bipod, and baseplate groups for transport.
Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile; Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars.
Jaeger Platoon describes the wartime mortar as carried on a one-axle limber, with about 390 kg total transport weight with equipment and suitability for motor or horse towing.
Source: Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars.
Open reporting lists high-explosive, smoke, illumination, and propaganda mortar bombs for the family; the Swedish museum handbook separately describes STRIX as a late-1990s terminally guided 12 cm mortar round with autonomous IR homing.
Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile; Swedish Artillery Handbook.
The M/41D designation sits inside the Finnish 120 Krh/40 and Swedish 12 cm granatkastare m/41 family. Sources describe Finnish-built weapons, Swedish licensed production, standard and long-range configurations, and later Swedish baseplate modernization.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| 120 Krh/40 | Finnish original family designation | Jaeger Platoon identifies 120 Krh/40 as the Finnish Army name for Tampella's 120 Krh/35/39 production design, accepted as the 120 mm mortar model 1940. Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile, Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars |
| 12 cm granatkastare m/41 | Swedish service designation | Jaeger Platoon reports Swedish wartime exports and a Swedish manufacturing license, with the Swedish military naming the mortar 120 mm granatkastare m/41. Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile, Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars |
| Standard and long-range configurations | Mortar-system variants | ArmyInform describes the mortar system as having standard and long-range variants. Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile |
| M-56 baseplate modernization | Swedish modernization | ArmyInform describes a Swedish 1950s modernization using a new baseplate attributed to Hotchkiss. Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile |
Jaeger Platoon describes Tampella development of the 120 mm mortar as running from 1935 to 1939 before the production design entered Finnish service as 120 Krh/40.
Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile, Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars
Jaeger Platoon reports that the Finnish Army received its first Tampella 120 Krh/40 mortars in late 1940.
Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile, Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars
Jaeger Platoon records 120 Krh/40 exports to Sweden during 1941-1944 and says Sweden also acquired a manufacturing license.
Sources: ArmyInform M/41D profile, Jaeger Platoon 120 mm mortars
The UN Register report for 2015 lists 28 Lithuanian 120 mm M 41D mortars among large-calibre artillery systems.
Sources: UN Register A/70/168
Ukraine accepted the 120 mm M/41D mortar into Armed Forces service by defense-minister order during the full-scale war.
Sources: ArmyInform Ukrainian adoption notice, Defense Express Ukrainian adoption report
