Subject:
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Re: A really simple technical question
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.build.military
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Date:
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Sat, 22 Mar 2003 13:52:53 GMT
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Viewed:
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427 times
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In lugnet.build.military, Andrew Summersgill writes:
> So, what's the difference between a "Howitzer" and a conventional artillery
> piece?
>
> Andrew.
Artillery can be divided in to three groups (see note on calibers below):
Cannons/Guns
Have a barrel length of at least 20 calibers, but usually more than 30 calibers.
Cannons have a maximum elevation of 45º.
The longer barrels make the cannons heavier than howitzers, but gives them
superior range (due to the higher muzzle velocity).
Howitzers
Have a barrel length between 12-20 calibers, but sometimes up to 30 calibers.
Elevations usually range from 30º to 60º.
Howitzers are lighter than cannons and fire with higher elevations. This
makes howitzers more useful in forested, rough hilly terrain and against
trenches.
Mortars
Have a barrel length under 12 calibers, nowadays up to 20 calibers.
They fire only indirect fire in high angles, elevations ranging usually from
45º to 80º.
Most mortars are muzzle loaded, have a smooth barrel, and the projectiles
have tail fins to stabilize the flight. These simple and inexpensive weapons
have a much shorter range. But they have a higher rate of fire and many are
light and thus man portable.
Note that it is difficult to give exact definitions because barrel length
has increased for all types of artillery pieces over time.
Calibers
The length of the barrel is represented by calibers: how many times the
barrel is longer than it's inner diameter.
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