Class of artillery gun
A WWI
French 105 mm field gun
A
field gun
is a
field artillery
piece. Originally the term referred to smaller
guns
that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances (
field artillery
), as opposed to guns installed in a fort (
garrison artillery
or
coastal artillery
), or to
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
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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
World War I
, and evolution after that point tended to be towards smaller weapons with increased mobility. Even the
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
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Since about the start of
World War II
, the term has been applied to long-range artillery pieces that fire at a relatively low angle, as opposed to
howitzers
which can fire at higher angles. Field guns also lack a specialized purpose, such as anti-tank or coastal artillery. By the later stages of World War II the majority of artillery in use was either in the form of howitzers of 105 mm (4.1 in) to 155 mm (6.1 in), or in form of hybrid anti-tank/field guns that had high enough muzzle velocity to be used in both roles. The most common field guns of the era were the British 5.5 in (140 mm), the American
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
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The
U.S. Army
tried the long-range gun again from the early 1960s to the late 1970s with 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
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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
mortar
in 60 mm (2.4 in) or 81 mm (3.2 in)/82 mm (3.2 in) calibre and has replaced every artillery piece smaller than 100 mm (3.9 in).
Gun-howitzers
fill the middle ground, with the world rapidly standardizing on either the
155 mm
NATO
or 152 mm (6.0 in) Russian (former
USSR
) standards. The need for a long-range weapon is filled by
rockets
,
missiles
, and
aircraft
. Modern gun-artillery such as the
L118
105 mm light gun or the
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
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References
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External links
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