Do mortars whistle when flying through the air in real life?

Emissary

Some do, some don't. The "whistle" would be determined by the ballistics of the shell fired and it's velocity. The higher the velocity the higher pitched the whistle would be to a point where the frequency would be above human hearing explaining why some mortar shells "don't" whistle and are the most feared because they are coming in too fast for soldiers near their target to get out of the perimeter of it's impending impact.

?? ?_I am God_? ?? aka Luftwaffe

Yes, some do, some dont.

there's allot that make different types of sounds, then there's the silent type.

most ones that make noise do it as a fear tactic.

others that do not do it so they dont know what hit them / so they cant dodge out of the way.

upside

when they are dropping from the sky they do have that whistling sound to them.its a sound that sticks with you once you hear it the first you won' forget.I'm more bothered by the rpg sound.It kind of sounds like bottle rocket or something like that only louder and scarier.Flashbangs are like really intense m80s and bullets give that familiar whiz or pop sound and of course the all to familiar sound of a richochet bullet not sure how to describe that one though

angryarron

not all do
I was in Iraq at LSA Anaconda for a year
and all I heard were explosions
no whistles

ginkgoblu

It's a sound you will never get out of your head once you have heard it, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
What is scarier is when they are headed in your direction, they make a slightly different sound, with a bit of warble and it is enough to make you crazy but you don't have time to go crazy before they land.

frichalf

I have never heard a whistle and I have had mortars hit 20 feet away from me multiple times. But I am not sure about artillery, I would imagine that could whistle if you are the one getting hit with it

Nessa

I don't know about the ones used in war, I do professional pyro (fireworks) shows . It depends on the size, but yes some do and some dont.

jamie s

Yes, I heard it whistle before it hit the ocean in Kuwait..

Edit: But then again... I don't remember a sound when they would hit the base we were parked at in Iraq.. ummm... So I guess, I'd agree with the earlier answer.. Some do and some don't.. But I couldn't really tell ya if they were "mortars" or not either.. Now I'm confused.. hahha.. See what ya did!! lol..

conranger1

Only when coming down,

You will never hear the one that kills you!

cantsleepclownswillgetme71

Not like in the movies, but yes.

Victory Soldier

In general, you will only hear a whistle if the round has overflown you. The round is moving faster than the speed of sound, so if you hear it, you are well out of the blast range.

There is a slight exception -- the round might be dropping on you from a high trajectory -- in that very specific case, you might hear the whistle from the lateral travel, and the round is about to rock your world.

But mostly, if you hear it, it is outgoing or overflying.

dodgedifferent01

yes if you ever hear it you will never forget it. If you hear the whistle your more than likey ok but its when you dont hear it is when your screwed.

Geoff C

not quite like the movies but yes they do make a wistle. It is simple air moving over it that makes the wistle. Some are designed to make noise when in flight as a fear tactic to add even more fear into the enemy as they come in.

Dustin B

If it is moving fast enough. Things whistle when they really force the air out of the way.

jason

sometimes...some don't seem to make sound at all

Robert K

Sometimes, it's pretty freaky.

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