Museum Collection: The M29C 81mm Mortar: Instant Thunder from the Sky

The M29C 81mm Mortar: Instant Thunder from the Sky

The M29C mortar gave American infantrymen the power of “instant thunder from the sky.” Introduced in the 1950s, the M29 series became the backbone of U.S. infantry fire support, but it was the M29C variant that saw its heaviest use in the jungles, rice paddies, and firebases of the Vietnam War. Designed to be portable yetdevastating, it could be broken down into barrel, bipod, and baseplate, carried on the backs of soldiers, and set up within moments wherever firepower was needed.

In Vietnam, the M29C was everywhere—on remote firebases defending perimeters through endless nights, with infantry companies moving through triple-canopy jungle, and at forward operating bases where it illuminated the night with flares, shielded advances with thick smoke, and hammered enemy positions with high-explosive rounds. Its maximum range of five kilometers gave infantrymen a way to strike targets beyond rifle fire yet close enough to matter in fast-moving engagements. Soldiers nicknamed it simply “the tube,” and at times both U.S. and enemy troops scavenged each other’s mortar rounds to turn them back in the fight.

The weapon’s reputation was twofold: its deep roar struck fear into those who faced it and brought life-saving relief to the Americans and their allies it protected. Though its origins traced back to Korea, where it proved itself across fog-covered hills, the M29C became synonymous with the Vietnam battlefield.

By the 1980s the M29 was phased out in favor of the M252, a lighter and more modern 81mm system. Yet the M29C lives on as a symbol of mid-20th-century warfare and can still be found in conflict zones around the world.

Note for collectors and enthusiasts: the M29C mortar on display has been rendered completely inert and demilled to ATF standards. As such, it is entirely legal to own in the United States. What you see here is not just a weapon of war, but a preserved artifact of history—carried, fired, and remembered by those who fought beneath its thunder.

Photo: Sgt James "Catfish" Hunter shows off the 81mm of B Co. 6th Bn, 31st Infantry, 9th ID. (Photo: Mathew Sirtola/Ghosts of the Battlefield)