Self-propelled artillery

Self-propelled artillery (also called mobile artillery or locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move towards its target.

This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the large share of an army's total firepower.

Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and rocket artillery.

A self-propelled gun (SPG) is a form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern times is most commonly used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers.

In the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire vehicles, such as assault guns and tank destroyers.

An assault gun is a form of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle.

During the Thirty Years' War, early 17th century experiments were made with early types of horse artillery.

A precursor of modern self-propelled artillery, it consisted of light cannons or howitzers attached to light but sturdy two-wheeled carriages called caissons or limbers, with the individual crewmen riding on horses.

However, they protect their crews against shrapnel and small arms and are therefore usually included as armoured fighting vehicles.

The British Gun Carrier Mark I, the first Self-propelled artillery, was fielded in 1917.

The next major advance can be seen in the Birch gun developed by the British for their motorised warfare experimental brigade (the Experimental Mechanized Force) after the end of the War.

The Birch Gun was the world's first practical self-propelled artillery gun, built at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich in 1925.

The British Gun Carrier Mark I was the first example of a self-propelled gun, fielded in 1917 during World War I.

The 6-inch howitzer could be fired while mounted, making the Gun Carrier Mark I the first modern self-propelled gun, a weapon capable of independent action and having tactical mobility on the battlefield.

For example, the first British design, "Bishop", carried the 25 pdr gun-howitzer, but in a mounting that severely limited the gun's performance.

The Bishop was a British self-propelled artillery vehicle based on the Valentine tank and armed with the 25 pounder gun-howitzer, which could fire an 87.6 mm 11.5 kg HE shell or an armour-piercing shell.

It was replaced by the more effective Sexton. These were usually lightly armoured vehicles with an open-topped hull; the US M7 Priest, British Sexton (25 pdr) and German Wespe and Hummel being typical examples.

The 25pdr SP, tracked, Sexton was a self-propelled artillery vehicle of the Second World War.

In effect, the carrier replaced the use of a separate horse team or internal combustion engine powered artillery tractor, and allowed a new way for the gun to be used.

In modern warfare, towed artillery has given way in part to self-propelled artillery, it is also common to find auxiliary power units built into the gun carriage to provide limited battlefield mobility.

These were usually lightly armoured vehicles with an open-topped hull; the US M7 Priest, British Sexton (25 pdr) and German Wespe and Hummel being typical examples.

The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle produced during World War II.

A related and novel program was the development of the Soviet Katyusha self-propelled multiple rocket launchers, which were unarmored trucks with a simple rocket rack on the back, a cheap and crushingly effective weapon, provided area saturation was called for rather than accurate fire.

The Katyushas of World War II, the first self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on ordinary trucks.

Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and rocket artillery.

Modern rocket artillery such as the US M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System is highly mobile and are used in similar fashion to other self-propelled artillery.

The British Gun Carrier Mark I was the first example of a self-propelled gun, fielded in 1917 during World War I.

Lacking tanks or motorised artillery, the Germans were unable to consolidate their gains.

They are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher.

In the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire vehicles, such as assault guns and tank destroyers.

In particular self-propelled artillery are ideally suited for this role on account of their mobility, armor protection, and faster rate of fire compared to other weapons.

Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and rocket artillery.

A mortar carrier, or self-propelled mortar, is a self-propelled artillery piece in which a mortar is the primary weapon.

These were usually lightly armoured vehicles with an open-topped hull; the US M7 Priest, British Sexton (25 pdr) and German Wespe and Hummel being typical examples.

Existing chassis were converted to self-propelled artillery vehicles, such as the Marder II conversion providing mobility to the PaK 40/7.5 cm anti-tank gun.

The German 105mm howitzer-armed StuH 42 based on the StuG III, and the immense 152mm howitzer-armed, Soviet ISU-152, both fully casemated in their design, are examples of this type of self-propelled artillery.

The ISU-152 self-propelled gun combined three battle roles: heavy assault gun, heavy tank destroyer and heavy self-propelled artillery.

These were usually lightly armoured vehicles with an open-topped hull; the US M7 Priest, British Sexton (25 pdr) and German Wespe and Hummel being typical examples.

The self-propelled artillery already in service with the Wehrmacht had proven of limited value.

Numerous vehicles have been used to mount mortars, from improvised civilian trucks used by insurgents, to modified IFV's, such as variants of the M3 half track and M113 APC, to vehicles specifically intended to carry a mortar, such as the 2S31 Vena.

The M3 and its variants were produced by many manufacturers including Diamond T, White Motor Company and Autocar and were designed for a wide variety of uses, such as a self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon or self-propelled artillery.

This shoot-and-scoot ability is very useful in a mobile conflict and particularly on the advance.

The Israeli Merkava MBT carried a 60mm mortar in the small troop compartment in the rear, which fired through an opening in the roof, allowing the crew to remain protected.

Following the model of contemporary self-propelled howitzers, the turret assembly is located closer to the rear than in most main battle tanks.

One example of the increased firepower provided by modern mobile howitzers is the latest version, the G6-52, of the 155 mm G6 howitzer.

The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 Rhino, is a South African mine-protected self-propelled howitzer.