Field gun

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A WWI French 105 mm field gun

A field gun is a

siege cannons and mortars which are too large to be moved quickly, and would be used only in a prolonged siege
.

Perhaps the most famous use of the field gun in terms of advanced tactics was

Napoleon Bonaparte's use of very large wheels on the guns that allowed them to be moved quickly even during a battle. By moving the guns from point-to-point during a battle, enemy formations could be broken up to be handled by the infantry or cavalry
wherever they were massing, dramatically increasing the overall effectiveness of the attack.

World War I

German field guns captured by the NZEF displayed in London, 1918

As the evolution of artillery continued, almost all guns of any size became capable of being moved at some speed. With few exceptions, even the largest siege weapons had become mobile by road or rail by the start of

German super-heavy guns in World War II
were rail or caterpillar-track mobile.

In British use, field guns or light guns were anything up to 4.5 in (110 mm) in calibre, larger calibres were medium guns, and the largest calibres were heavy guns.

World War II

Since about the start of

155 mm Long Tom[1] (a development of a French World War I weapon) and the Soviet BS-3
– an artillery piece adapted from a naval gun and designed to double up as an anti-tank weapon.

One of the most produced field guns during the war was the Soviet 76 mm (3.0 in) ZiS-3 with over 103,000 produced. The ZiS-3 could be used in direct fire against armored vehicles, direct fire in infantry support, and indirect fire against distant targets. [2]

1960s and 1970s

The

M107 175 mm gun. The M107 was used extensively in the Vietnam War and proved effective in artillery duels with the North Vietnamese forces. It was considered a high-maintenance item and was removed from service with U.S. forces after a rash of cracked barrels. Production of the M107 continued until 1980 and the gun is still in service with the Israeli military. Reserve stocks are held by other former users such as the People's Army of Vietnam
.

Modern times

Since the 1980s and 1990s, the field gun has seen limited combat use. The class of small and highly mobile artillery has been filled with increasing capacity by the man-portable

M119 105 mm howitzer are used to provide fire support for infantry and armour at ranges where mortars are impractical. Man-packed mortars lack the range or hitting power of gun-artillery. In between is the rifled towed mortar
; this weapon (usually in 120 mm (4.7 in) calibre) is light enough to be towed by a truck or SUV, has a range of over 7.5 km (4.7 mi) and fires a projectile comparable in destructive power to a 152 mm (6.0 in)/155 mm (6.1 in) artillery shell.

See also

References

  1. OCLC 1285628816
    .
  2. ^ "Artillery | Definition, History, Types, & Facts | Britannica".

External links


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