M879 81 mm full-range practice cartridge

Also known as

M879
M879 FRPC
81mm M879 Full Range Practice Cartridge
Cartridge, 81mm, Practice, M879
DODIC C875

The M879 is a U.S. 81 mm full-range practice mortar cartridge for M252 and M252A1 crews. Army portfolio material describes it as a lower-cost training round that replaces a portion of high-explosive mortar training, uses an M751 practice fuze, and gives observers flash, bang, and smoke effects for fire-adjustment practice.

M879 81 mm full-range practice cartridge, 81 mm full-range mortar practice cartridge, Munitions

Image source: FAS M879 Full Range Practice Cartridge

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin: United States
Built by: Day & Zimmermann
Type: 81 mm full-range mortar practice cartridge
Service note: Type-classified in August 1986 and documented in modern M252/M252A1 mortar ammunition portfolios
Designer: U.S. Army
Designed: Type-classified standard in August 1986
Produced: Modern production and sustainment

Specifications

Caliber: 81 mm
Cartridge role: Full-range target-practice / fire-adjustment training round
Firing system: M252 and M252A1 81 mm mortar systems
Fuze: M751 point-detonating practice fuze, a facsimile of the M734 multi-option fuze
Effects: Flash, bang, and smoke signature for forward-observer adjustment
Range: 70 m minimum to 5,800 m maximum in U.S. Army portfolio data
Weight: 9.1 lb / 4.14 kg
Length: 19.55 in in U.S. Army portfolio data
DODIC: C875

Variants

M879 is the full-range 81 mm practice round; the shorter-range M880 is a separate 1/10-range training cartridge in the same mortar ammunition lane.

Variant

Configuration

Designation notes

M880 81 mm short-range practice cartridge, 81 mm short-range mortar practice cartridge, Munitions

M880 81 mm short-range practice cartridge

Short-range 1/10-range companion training round

FAS lists M879 and M880 as distinct 81 mm practice cartridges, with M879 covering full-range training and M880 covering short-range training.

Sources: FAS Mortar Cartridges Index

Firing Weapon

The M879 is ammunition for 81 mm mortar crews rather than a standalone weapon.

Firing weapon

Weapon type

Firing evidence

Mortar launcher, 81mm, 81 mm crew-served medium mortar, Artillery

Mortar launcher, 81mm

81 mm crew-served medium mortar family

The U.S. Army portfolio describes the M879 FRPC for use in the M252/M252A1 mortar system, which is covered in the catalog's 81 mm mortar launcher family record.

Sources: PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017

Related Weapon Systems

M880 81 mm short-range practice cartridge, 81 mm short-range mortar practice cartridge, Munitions

MunitionsM880 81 mm short-range practice cartridge81 mm short-range mortar practice cartridgeThe M880 is a U.S. 81 mm short-range practice mortar cartridge for limited-area mortar training. FAS describes it as a 1/10-range round for the M252, M29, and M303 81 mm insert, with an M775 practice fuze that gives crews flash, bang, and smoke feedback while allowing refurbishment and repeated training use.

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ArtilleryMortar launcher, 81mm81 mm crew-served medium mortarThe 81 mm mortar launcher is a crew-served medium-mortar class for high-angle indirect fire with high-explosive, smoke, illumination, and training ammunition. This entry treats the L16/M252/M252A1 line as representative of modern 81 mm launchers while keeping conflict-use claims model-specific where sources allow: Boko Haram/ISWAP reporting identifies recovered 81 mm mortar equipment without a model, CJTF-OIR imagery identifies Iraqi M252 training at Camp Taji, and Task Force Southwest imagery identifies U.S. Marine M252 use at Camp Shorab in Afghanistan.

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Artillery81/82 mm mortar81/82 mm crew-served medium mortarThe 81/82 mm mortar family covers the modern crew-served, muzzle-loaded, smoothbore indirect-fire class descended from the Stokes mortar lineage and still fielded worldwide in variant-specific forms. This is a family-level page: 81 mm L16/M252/M252A1/F2-type systems and 82 mm Soviet/Russian-pattern systems such as 2B14 and 2B24 share a medium-mortar battlefield role but are not interchangeable hardware. Conflict rows stay at the caliber or named-system level supported by the source, including Boko Haram/ISWAP recovered 81 mm equipment, Iraqi M252 training under Operation Inherent Resolve, U.S. Marine M252 use and Afghan Border Police 82 mm sustainment in Afghanistan, PKK 81/82 mm mortar use where no single model is identified, and Chadian 82 mm mortar training before operations in Mali.

Sources

PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017Publisher: U.S. Army PEO Ammunition | Note: Supports the M879 full-range practice role, M252/M252A1 firing-system relationship, M751 practice fuze, flash/bang/smoke effect, range, weight, length, contractor, and DODIC C875. | Accessed: 2026-07-13 FAS M879 Full Range Practice CartridgePublisher: FAS | Note: Supports M879 component list, 81 mm mortar training role, ballistic-match context, M751 practice fuze description, charge-zone data, cartridge weight, type-classification date, and image provenance. | Accessed: 2026-07-13 FAS Mortar Cartridges IndexPublisher: FAS | Note: Supports the placement of M879 and M880 in the 81 mm mortar-cartridge family and distinguishes full-range and short-range practice entries. | Accessed: 2026-07-13