PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-567
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 567
FEBRUARY 2000
PS 567
43
FEB 00
M252 Mortar . . .
Bipod Strap
The rivets that hold the strap pop off
easily. No rivets means no strap and
no way to lock the legs during travel.
Check for missing or loose rivets. If
you find any, get support to replace
them.
If they don’t, have support take apart
the buffers to clean and lube the springs
and other parts with GPL.
Locking Ring
A loose locking ring means the blast
attenuator can fly off during firing. Spot
a loose ring by looking for shiny spots
between the attenuator cone and the
ring.
Cure a loose ring by staking the lock-
ing ring into the groove recess of the
attenuator cone with a punch. But do
that no more than three times. After
that, staking does no good, so send the
tube to support.
Buffers
Water gets in the mount buffers
and corrodes the spring. Bad springs
mean the buffers can’t handle the shock
of firing, which causes the barrel clamp
to slip. Test for bad springs by pushing
down and pulling up on the buffers.
They should move smoothly back into
position with no free travel.
sometimes they need more lubing. If
binding handles are forced, the mortar
mount can be damaged. Support needs
to clean and lube binding handle
assemblies.
Eyeball the locking leg knob and
locking nut for the cotter pin. No pin
means the knob or nut can work loose
and the M252 collapses during firing.
Replace a missing cotter pin.
If the plug still won’t stay tight, turn
in the tube. Forcing the plug tighter
will damage the tube.
Look for erosion around the firing
pin, too. If you spot any, the tube needs
to go to support.
Handles
Rotate the traversing, elevating and
cross-leveling handles to check for
binding. Support lubes these assemblies
during the semiannual services, but
Get loose rivets
replaced
Push and
pull on buffers—
recoil should
be smooth
Replace missing pin
Get support
to lube handles
Tighten loose
breech plugs
Breech Plug
A loose breech plug ruins accuracy
and causes misfires and fatal accidents.
If you can turn the plug by hand, or if
you spot discoloration around the plug,
it needs tightening. Use your wrenches
to tighten the plug in the tube. If the
seal’s shot, replace it.
whatSAMATTA
you?
oh,
now
you
ask!
ow often do M252 mortar crews
ponder this question when they get to
the range? Too often, and usually be-
cause the M252s sat ignored in the arms
room for months. Here are a few things
you armorers can do to make sure your
M252s are ready to hit the range.
PS 567
42
FEB 00
Stake loose locking rings, but no
more than three times
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