Howitzer
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Image:15in howitzer Menin Rd 5 October 1917.jpg A howitzer or hauwitzer is a type of field artillery. The name derives from the Czech word houfnice, denoting a 15th century cannon used by Hussites during the Hussite Wars. Howitzers are distinguished from other types of cannon artillery by their trajectory in that they tend to fire at high angles and deliver plunging fire. In addition to this, the barrel of a howitzer is commonly below 30 calibers (the length of the barrel is less than 30 times as long as the diameter of the bore), whereas other cannon and field guns tend to fire at no more than 45° and have a caliber of 30 or over. Development of the gun-howitzer, a weapon that can fire at both high and low angles was continued after the Second World War. With much longer barrels than howitzers, barrel lengths of 39, 45 or longer are now common, they have replaced separate guns and howitzers on the battlefield.
Howitzers are still either towed, or now self-propelled where they mix the maneuverability and to some extent the protection of tanks with their heavy firepower. Small howitzers can be towed by a light vehicle or carried by helicopter. Most are towed by five-ton or larger trucks. The "pack" howitzer (such as the 25 Pounder Short Mark 1) has existed since before the First World War. It can be disassembled into several main components and carried by mule through very difficult terrain, although the gun size is still a limiting factor and smaller howitzers have generally been abandoned in favor of larger guns with greater capabilities.
Modern self-propelled howitzers such as the South African G6 fire 105 to 155 mm diameter shells up to about 25–30 km at a maximum rate of about 10 per minute.
The Dutch, German, Italian and Greek armies have been using or will be using PzH 2000 howitzer (155 mm, self-propelled) shortly.
The Big Bertha was a large, 42 centimeter howitzer used in the German push of 1914. The gun was based on a similar 42 centimeter gun manufactured for a short while by Krupp for the German military.
Image:DSCN5244 fortlaramie12poundermtnhowitzer e.jpg
That similar, older 42 centimeter gun was based almost completely on a gun designed by Louis Gathmann in the late 1800s. Louis was known as the inventor of the "Big Berthas" up through his death in June of 1917.
In November 1990 British customs officers seized parts of a 1000 mm howitzer destined for the Iraq Project Babylon "supergun", which, had it been built, would have been the largest gun ever constructed.
Examples
Image:Canon 155mm TRF1 fh000024.jpg
- SSPH1 Modern 155 mm self propelled gun-howitzer
- 25 pounder - WW2 gun-howitzer
- 25 Pounder Short Mark 1 - WW2 pack howitzer
- M107 - typical modern howitzer shell
- L118 howitzer Modern 105 mm, towed gun-howitzer (also L119 variant)
- M198 howitzer Modern 155 mm, towed gun-howitzer
- M109 howitzer Modern 155 mm self-propelled howitzer
- M110 howitzer Post WW2 8 inch self-propelled howitzer
- For more examples, see List of artilleryde:Haubitze
es:Obús fr:Obusier nl:Houwitser ja:榴弾砲 no:Haubits pl:Haubica pt:Obus ru:Гаубица sl:Havbica fi:Haupitsi sv:Haubits vi:Lựu pháo zh:榴弹炮