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What is the definition of artillery?
What is an artillery gun?
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The term "artillery" also designates a combat arm of most military services when used organizationally to describe units and formations of the national armed forces that operate the weapons. Tactics Artillery illuminating ammunition used in a shooting exercise on Simplon Pass, Switzerland.
- Overview
- Rifled bores
artillery, in military science, crew-served big guns, howitzers, or mortars having a calibre greater than that of small arms, or infantry weapons. Rocket launchers are also commonly categorized as artillery, since rockets perform much the same function as artillery projectiles, but the term artillery is more properly limited to large gun-type weapons using an exploding propellant charge to shoot a projectile along an unpowered trajectory.
For three centuries after the perfection of cast-bronze cannon in the 16th century, few improvements were made in artillery pieces or their projectiles. Then, in the second half of the 19th century, there occurred a series of advances so brilliant as to render the artillery in use when the century closed probably 10 times as efficient as that which marked its opening. These remarkable developments took place in every aspect of gunnery: in the pieces, with the successful rifling of cannon bores; in the projectiles, with the adoption of more stable elongated shapes; and in the propellants, with the invention of more powerful and manageable gunpowders.
In the middle years of the 19th century, smoothbore field artillery was placed at a disadvantage by the adoption of rifled small arms, which meant that infantry weapons could now outrange artillery. It therefore became vital to develop rifling for artillery weapons as well. The advantages of rifling were well known, but the technical difficulties of adapting the principle to heavy weapons were considerable. Several systems had been tried; these generally involved lead-coated projectiles that could engage shallow rifling grooves or projectiles fitted with studs that would fit into deeper rifling. None had proved adequate.
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Jan 23, 2024 · Artillery is the muscle of the military’s long-range firepower capabilities. Modern artillery systems employ precision to deliver devastating effects on target. Effective use of artillery involves understanding its advantages and limitations.
Jan 2, 2018 · But Gibbon also went into great detail on the history of gunpowder and how it was made, the care of horses—very important in the era of horse-drawn artillery— and how to deploy cannons in various types of defensible positions.
Jan 14, 2021 · Used to devastating effect in recent conflicts, artillery and long-range deep fires are a vital asset to the modern military arsenal. Harry Lye explores their utility and asks why they are still relevant in a world of uncrewed aerial systems and loitering munitions.
artillery, In modern military science, big guns such as cannons, howitzers, or mortars operated by crews and of a calibre greater than 15 mm. The earliest artillery, introduced in the 14th century, were cannons and mortars of bronze, brass, or iron mounted on two-wheeled carriages.
Artillery weapons include some of the most potent, sophisticated - and loudest - equipment in the British Army. Field Artillery guns and rocket launchers can bring massive firepower to bear, while sophisticated air defence missiles allow our troops freedom to operate without interference from enemy attack aircraft.
