howitzer
Sign in to saveThe howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire breaks at 45 degrees or 800 mils (NATO). With their long-range capabilities, howitzers can be used to great effect in a battery formation with other artillery pieces, such as long-barreled guns, mortars, and rocket artillery. Howitzers were valued for their ability to fire explosive shells and incendiary materials into fortifications.
AI overview
A howitzer is an artillery weapon that combines the capabilities of both cannons and mortars, allowing it to fire at both low and high angles to strike targets at various ranges and positions. Howitzers have historically been valued because they can work together with other artillery pieces to deliver explosive shells and incendiary materials, making them particularly effective at attacking fortified positions.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Weapon.name
- Howitzer
- Weapon.image
- 300px
- Weapon.caption
- Firing of a 155 mm howitzer by the 90th Field Artillery Battalion, US 24th Infantry Division, during the Korean War
- Weapon.type
- Artillery
- Weapon.is_ranged
- yes
- Weapon.is_artillery
- yes
- Weapon.barrels
- 1
- Weapon.range
- Varies by model
- Weapon.max_range
- Typically several kilometers to tens of kilometers
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Early modern period
- 20th century
- Types
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire breaks at 45 degrees or 800 mils (NATO). With their long-range capabilities, howitzers can be used to great effect in a battery formation with other artillery pieces, such as long-barreled guns, mortars, and rocket artillery. Howitzers were valued for their ability to fire explosive shells and incendiary materials into fortifications.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, howitzers evolved to become more mobile and versatile. The introduction of rifling in the mid-19th century led to significant changes in howitzer design and usage. By the early 20th century, howitzers were classified into different categories based on their size and role, including field howitzers, siege howitzers, super-heavy siege howitzers, and defence howitzers.