Howitzer

A howitzer or hauwitzer is a type of field artillery. The name comes from the Czech houfnice, denoting a 15th century cannon used by Hussites. 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. The gun-howitzer, a weapon that can fire at both high and low angles has been developed since 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.

See also

Examples of howitzers and gun-howitzers

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• 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
• M198 howitzer Modern 155 mm, towed gun howitzer
• M110 howitzer Post WW2 8 inch self-propelled howitzer

For more examples, see List of artillery

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