Artillery: Difference between revisions

{{other uses|Artillery (disambiguation)}}

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{{War|weapons|width=220px}}

'''Artillery''' is a class of heavy militaryare [[ranged weapons]] that launch [[Ammunition|munitions]] far beyond the range and power of [[infantry]] [[firearms]]. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach [[defensive wall]]s and [[fortification]]s during [[siege]]s, and led to heavy, fairly immobile [[siege engine]]s. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile [[field artillery]] [[cannon]]s developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern [[self-propelled artillery]] vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower.{{citation needed}}

Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armorarmour. Since the introduction of [[gunpowder]] and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannonscannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to [[Shell (projectile)|shell]]-firing [[Field gun|gun]]s, [[howitzer]]s, and [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]] (collectively called ''cannonbarrel artillery'', ''guncannon artillery'', or ''tubegun artillery''), and [[rocket artillery]]. In common speech, the word "artillery" is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings, although these assemblages are more properly called "equipment". However, there is no generally recognized generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth: the United States uses "artillery piece", but most English-speaking armies use "gun" and "mortar". The projectiles fired are typically either "[[round shot|shot]]" (if solid) or "shell" (if not solid). Historically, variants of solid shot including [[Canister shot|canister]], [[chain shot]] and [[grapeshot]] were also used. "Shell" is a widely used generic term for a projectile, which is a component of [[ammunition|munitions]].

In the 20th century, technology-based target acquisition devices (such as radar) and systemstechniques (such as [[sound ranging]] and [[flash spotting]]) emerged in order to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operatedutilized by one or more of the artillery arms. The widespread adoption of [[indirect fire]] in the early 20th century introduced the need for specialist data for field artillery, notably [[Surveying|survey]] and meteorological, and in some armies, provision of these are the responsibility of the artillery arm. The majority of combat deaths in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], [[World War I]], and [[World War II]] were caused by artillery.<ref name=bellamy>{{cite book|first = Christopher |last =Bellamy|title = Oxford Companion to Military History|chapter = artillery|chapter-url = https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198606963.001.0001/acref-9780198606963-e-97 |date = 2004|publisher = Oxford University Press|isbn =978-0-19-860696-3}}</ref> In 1944, [[Joseph Stalin]] said in a speech that artillery was "the god of war".<ref name=bellamy/>

Although not called asby that suchname, siege engines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first known [[catapult]] was developed in [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] in 399 BC.<ref>{{cite book|title = The Catapult: A History|first = Tracey Elizabeth|last = Rihll|date = 2007|publisher = Westholme Publishing|isbn = 9781594160356}}</ref> Until the introduction of [[gunpowder]] into western warfare, artillery was dependent upon mechanical energy which not only severely limited the kinetic energy of the projectiles, it also required the construction of very large engines to storeaccumulate sufficient energy. A 1st-century BC Roman catapult launching {{cvt|6.55|kg|lb}} stones achieved a kinetic energy of 16,000 [[Joule#Kilojoule|jouleskilojoules]], compared to a mid-19th-century [[12-pounder gun]], which fired a {{cvt |4.1|kg|lb}} round, with a kinetic energy of 240,000 jouleskilojoules, or a 20th-century US battleship that fired a {{cvt|1225|kg|lb}} projectile from its main battery with an energy level surpassing 350,000,000 [[Joule#Megajoule|joulesmegajoules]].

Some armed forces use the term [[Crew-served weapon|"gunners"]] for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery.

[[File: M777 Light Towed Howitzer 1.jpg|thumb|7-person gun crew firing a US [[M777 howitzer|M777 Light Towed Howitzer]], [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]], 2009]]

The term "artillery" also designates a [[Combat Arms|combat arm]] of most [[military service]]s when used organizationally to describe [[Military organization|units]] and [[Military organization|formations]] of the national armed forces that operate the weapons.

The gunners' increasing proximity to and participation in direct combat against other combat arms and attacks by aircraft made the introduction of a gun shield necessary. The problems of how to employ a fixed or horse-towed gun in mobile warfare necessitated the development of new methods of transporting the artillery into combat. Two distinct forms of artillery were developed: the towed gun, used primarily to attack or defend a fixed-line; and the self-propelled gun, intended to accompany a mobile force and to provide continuous fire support and/or suppression. These influences have guided the development of artillery ordnance, systems, organizations, and operations until the present, with artillery systems capable of providing support at ranges from as little as 100&nbsp;m to the intercontinental ranges of [[ballistic missile]]s. The only combat in which artillery is unable to take part in is [[Close combat|close-quarters combat]], with the possible exception of artillery reconnaissance teams.<ref>{{cite web|last1= Šotnar|first1=Jiří|last2=Carbol|first2=Michal|last3=Blaha|first3=Martin|title= Modernization of artillery reconnaissance|url=http://inase.org/library/2014/varna/bypaper/AMCSE/AMCSE-17.pdf|website= INASE|publisher=Applied Mathematics, Computational Science and Engineering|access-date=March 17, 2015|archive-date= April 17, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180417100510/http://inase.org/library/2014/varna/bypaper/AMCSE/AMCSE-17.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Another suggestion is that it comes from the Italian ''arte de tirare'' (art of shooting), coined by one of the first theorists on the use of artillery, [[Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia|Niccolò Tartaglia]]. The term was used by [[Girolamo Ruscelli]] (died 1566) in his ''Precepts of Modern Militia'' published posthumously in 1572.

{{see also|History of cannons|History of gunpowder}}

During medieval times, more types of artillery were developed, most notably the counterweight trebuchet. Traction trebuchets, using manpower to launch projectiles, have been used in ancient China since the 4th century as anti-personnel weapons. However,The much more powerful counterweight trebuchet was invented in the 12theastern century,Mediterranean theregion counterweightin trebuchetthe was12th introducedcentury, with the earliest mention of itdefinite beingattestation in 1187.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-09-05 |title=Arms and Men: The Trebuchet |url=https://www.historynet.com/weaponry-the-trebuchet/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=Historynet |language=en-US}}</ref>

Early Chinese artillery had vase-like shapes. This includes the "long range awe inspiring" cannon dated from 1350 and found in the 14th century [[Ming Dynastydynasty]] treatise ''[[Huolongjing]]''.<ref name="needham314316">{{Harvnb|Needham|1987|pages=314–16}}</ref> With the development of better metallurgy techniques, later cannons abandoned the vase shape of early Chinese artillery. This change can be seen in the bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon", an early example of [[field artillery]].<ref name="Science and Civilisation in China">{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Needham|year=1987|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|title=Science & Civilisation in China, volume 7: The Gunpowder Epic|isbn=978-0-521-30358-3|pages=317–19}}</ref> These small, crude weapons diffused into the Middle East (the ''[[Inventions in medieval Islam#Military|madfaa]]'') and reached Europe in the 13th century, in a very limited manner.

As small smooth-bore tubesbarrels, these were initially cast in iron or bronze around a core, with the first drilled bore ordnance recorded in operation near Seville in 1247.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} They fired lead, iron, or stone balls, sometimes large arrows and on occasions simply handfuls of whatever scrap came to hand. During the [[Hundred Years' War]], these weapons became more common, initially as the [[Bombard (weapon)|bombard]] and later the [[cannon]]. CannonCannons were always [[muzzle-loader]]s. While there were many early attempts at [[Breechloader|breech-loading]] designs, a lack of engineering knowledge rendered these even more dangerous to use than muzzle-loaders.

In 1415, the Portuguese invaded the Mediterranean port town of [[Ceuta]]. While it is difficult to confirm the use of firearms in the siege of the city, it is known the Portuguese defended it thereafter with firearms, namely ''bombardas'', ''colebratas'', and ''falconetes''. In 1419, Sultan Abu Sa'id led an army to reconquer the fallen city, and Marinids brought cannons and used them in the assault on Ceuta. Finally, hand-held firearms and riflemen appear in Morocco, in 1437, in an expedition against the people of [[Tangiers]].<ref>Cook, Weston F., Jr. 1993 ''Warfare and Firearms in Fifteenth century Morocco, 1400–1492.''</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2011}} It is clear these weapons had developed into several different forms, from small guns to large artillery pieces.

The artillery revolution in Europe caught on during the [[Hundred Years' War]] and changed the way that battles were fought. In the preceding decades, the English had even used a gunpowder-like weapon in military campaigns against the Scottish.<ref>([[Sieges of Stirling Castle]])</ref> However, at this time, the cannons used in battle were very small and not particularly powerful. Cannons were only useful for the defense of a [[castle]], as demonstrated at [[battleSiege of Breteuil|Breteuil]] in 1356, when the besieged English used a cannon to destroy an attacking French assault tower.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=T.W.|title=Military Technologies of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-nrZqzQs3jMC&q=Battle%20of%20Breteuil%20cannon&pg=PA242|access-date=17 November 2017|isbn=978-0-275-99536-2|date=2008-12-30|publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref> By the end of the 14th century, cannoncannons were only powerful enough to knock in roofs, and could not penetrate castle walls.

However, a major change occurred between 1420 and 1430, when artillery became much more powerful and could now batter strongholds and fortresses quite efficiently. The English, French, and Burgundians all advanced in military technology, and as a result the traditional advantage that went to the defense in a siege was lost. The cannonCannons during this period were elongated, and the recipe for gunpowder was improved to make it three times as powerful as before.<ref>{{cite journal

The army of [[Mehmet the Conqueror]], which conquered [[Constantinople]] in 1453, included both artillery and foot soldiers armed with gunpowder weapons.<ref name=Nicolle2>{{cite book|last=Nicolle|first=David|author-link=David Nicolle|title=Constantinople 1453: The end of Byzantium|url=https://archive.org/details/constantinopleen00nico_981|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2000|pages=[https://archive.org/details/constantinopleen00nico_981/page/n66 29]–30|isbn=978-1-84176-091-9|location=London}}</ref> The [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] brought to the siege sixty-nine guns in fifteen separate [[Artillery battery|batteries]] and trained them at the walls of the city. The barrage of Ottoman cannon fire lasted forty days, and they are estimated to have fired 19,320 times.<ref name=Nicolle3>{{cite book|last=Nicolle|first=David|title=Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300–1774|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=1983|pages=29–30|isbn=978-0-85045-511-3}}</ref> Artillery also played a decisive role in the [[Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs]] of 1444. Early cannon were not always reliable; King [[James II of Scotland]] was killed by the accidental explosion of one of his own cannon, imported from Flanders, at the siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460.

The new [[Ming Dynasty]] established the "Divine Engine Battalion" (神机营), which specialized in various types of artillery. Light cannons and cannons with multiple volleys were developed. In a campaign to suppress a local minority rebellion near today's Burmese border, "the Ming army used a 3-line method of arquebuses/muskets to destroy an elephant formation.".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ot6rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |title = Enotenplato, the Chronicle of Military Doctrine |date = August 23, 2019 |publisher = Lulu.com |isbn = 978-0-35980699-7}}</ref>

When the Portuguese and Spanish arrived at Southeast Asia, they found that the local kingdoms were already using cannons. One of the earliest reference to cannon and [[artillerymen]] in Java is from the year 1346.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beauvoir|first=Ludovic|title=Voyage autour du monde: Australie, Java, Siam, Canton, Pekin, Yeddo, San Francisco|publisher=E. Plon|year=1875}}</ref> Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised and even outgunned on occasion.<ref>{{cite book|title=Changes of regime and social dynamics in West Java : society, state, and the outer world of Banten, 1750–1830 |last1= Atsushi |first1= Ota|date=2006|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-15091-1|location= Leiden}}</ref> Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 said that the inhabitants of Java were great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They made many one-pounder cannons (cetbang or [[Lantaka|rentaka]]), long muskets, ''spingarde'' (arquebus), ''schioppi'' (hand cannon), [[Greek fire]], guns (cannons), and other fire-works. EveryIn placeall areaspects the Javanese were considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=John Winter|url=https://archive.org/details/travelsofludovic00vartrich/page/254/mode/2up?q=|title=The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508|publisher=Hakluyt Society|year=1863}}</ref>{{Rp|254}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stanley|first=Henry Edward John|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcoa00barbrich/page/n7/mode/2up|title=A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa |publisher= The Hakluyt Society|year=1866}}</ref>{{Rp|198}}<ref>{{Cite book |last= Partington |first= J. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&pg=PA224|title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder|date=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0|language=en}}</ref>{{Rp |224}} In 1513, the [[Djong (ship)#HistoryEuropean age of discovery|Javanese fleet]] led by Pati Unus sailed to attack [[Portuguese Malacca]] "with much artillery made in Java, for the Javanese are skilled in founding and casting, and in all works in [[iron]], over and above what they have in [[India]]".<ref name= ":02022">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNsk7tLkMU4C |title=Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past|last= Wade|first= Geoff |publisher= Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |year=2012|location=Singapore |isbn= 978-981-4311-96-0 |editor-last=Wade |editor-first=Geoff |location=Singapore |editor-last2=Tana |editor-first2=Li}}</ref>{{Rp |162}}<ref name=":22222">{{Cite book |last=Crawfurd |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/adescriptivedic00crawgoog/page/n8/mode/2up?q= |title=A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries |publisher=Bradbury &and Evans |year=1856}}</ref>{{Rp|23}} By the early 16th century, the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] had already started locally-producing large guns, somewhich of them still survived until the present day andwere dubbed as "sacred cannon[s]" or "holy cannon[s]". and have survived up to the present day - though in limited numbers. These cannons varied between 180 and 260 pounders, weighing anywhere between 3–8 tons, measuring between 3–6 m.<ref>''Modern Asian Studies''. Vol. 22, No. 3, Special Issue: Asian Studies in Honour of Professor Charles Boxer (1988), pp. 607–28.</ref>

[[File:TheTsarCannonJuly2004Tsar Cannon, Tsar Pushka, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Tsar Cannon]] (caliber 890 mm), cast in 1586 in Moscow. It is the largest bombard in the world.]]

Shells, explosive-filled fused projectiles, were alsoin developeduse inby the 17th15th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NPS SailingInterpretive ShipSeries: Artillery Through the Ages - Explosive Shells |date=1955 Ammunition|url=https://www.globalsecuritynps.orggov/militaryparkhistory/systemsonline_books/shipsource/sail-ammois3/is3d1.htm |access-date= 20212023-0105-2714 |website=National GlobalPark securityService |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230514204212/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/source/is3/is3d1.htm |archive-date= 2023-05-14 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shell {{!}} ammunition |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/shell-ammunition |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The development of specialized pieces—shipboard artillery, howitzers and [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]]—was also begun in this period. More esoteric designs, like the multi-barrel ''[[ribauldequin]]'' (known as "organ guns"), were also produced.{{dubious |date=October 2018}}

Modern [[rocket artillery]] can trace its heritage back to the [[Mysorean rockets]] of India[[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]]. Their first recorded use was in 1780 during the battles of the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War|Second]], [[Third Mysore War|Third]] and [[Fourth Mysore War]]s. The wars fought between the [[British East India Company]] and the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] in [[Mughal IndiaHindustan|India]] made use of the rockets as a weapon. In the [[Battle of Pollilur (1780)|Battle of Pollilur]], the [[Siege of Seringapatam (1792)]] and in [[Battle of Seringapatam]] in 1799, these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British."<ref name= r&ms>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1357360/rocket-and-missile-system/ |title= Rocket and missile system| first1=Frederick C. III | last1 = Durant | first2=Stephen Oliver | last2 = Fought | first3= John F. Jr. | last3 = Guilmartin |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=December 19, 2011}}</ref> After the wars, several Mysore rockets were sent to England, but experiments with heavier payloads were unsuccessful. In 1804 William Congreve, considering the Mysorian rockets to have too short a range (less than 1,000 yards) developed rockets in numerous sizes with ranges up to 3,000 yards and eventually utilizing iron casing as the [[Congreve rocket]] which were used effectively during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the [[War of 1812]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tipu's missile launch pad in shambles|url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/06/23/stories/2005062310360300.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071001030520/http://www.hindu.com/2005/06/23/stories/2005062310360300.htm |url-status= dead|archive-date=October 1, 2007|access-date=December 16, 2011|date=June 23, 2005 |newspaper= [[The Hindu]]|location=Karnataka, India}}</ref>

With the Napoleonic Wars, artillery experienced changes in both physical design and operation. Rather than being overseen by "mechanics", artillery was viewed as its own service branch with the capability of dominating the battlefield. The success of the French artillery companies was at least in part due to the presence of specially trained artillery officers leading and coordinating during the chaos of battle.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tactics and Grand Tactics of the Napoleonic Wars|last=Jeffery|first=George|publisher=Courier|year=1982}}</ref> [[Napoleon]], himself a former artillery officer, perfected the tactic of massed artillery batteries unleashed upon a critical point in his enemies' line as a prelude to a decisive infantry and cavalry assault.

}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/William_Armstrong|title=William Armstrong|website = Grace's Guide to British Industrial History|date = 4 October 2018}}</ref> Three of its features particularly stand out.

What made the gun really revolutionary lay in the technique of the construction of the gun barrel that allowed it to withstand much more powerful explosive forces. The "[[built-up gun|built-up]]" method involved assembling the barrel with [[wrought-iron]] (later [[mild steel]] was used) tubes of successively smaller diameter.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/local/rbl6.htm |title=Armstrong Rifled Breech Loading (RBL) 6-Pounder |url-status=dead |archiveurlarchive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020220090540/http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/local/rbl6.htm |archivedatearchive-date=February 20, 2002}}</ref> The tube would then be heated to allow it to expand and fit over the previous tube. When it cooled the gun would contract although not back to its original size, which allowed an even pressure along the walls of the gun which was directed inward against the outward forces that the gun's firing exerted on the barrel.<ref>Holley states that [[Daniel Treadwell]] first patented the concept of a central steel tube kept under compression by wrought-iron coils.. and that Armstrong's assertion that he (Armstrong) first used a wrought-iron A-tube and hence did not infringe the patent, was disingenuous, as the main point in Treadwell's patent was the tension exerted by the wrought-iron coils, which Armstrong used in exactly the same fashion. Holley, Treatise on Ordnance and Armour, 1865, pp. 863–70</ref>

The first cannon to contain all 'modern' features is generally considered to be the [[Canon de 75 modèle 1897|French 75]] of 1897.<ref>Chris Bishop, [https://books.google.com/books?id=MuGsf0psjvcC&pg=PA137 "Canon de 75 modèle 1897"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126000655/https://books.google.com/books?id=MuGsf0psjvcC&pg=PA137 |date=November 26, 2022 }}, The encyclopedia of weapons of World War II, p. 137</ref><ref name=roberts>Priscilla Mary Roberts, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TogXVHTlxG4C&pg=PA726 "French 75 gun"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126000657/https://books.google.com/books?id=TogXVHTlxG4C&pg=PA726 |date=November 26, 2022 }}, World War One, p. 726</ref> The gun used cased ammunition, was breech-loading, had modern sights, and a self-contained firing mechanism. It was the first [[field gun]] to include a [[Hydraulic recoil mechanism|hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism]], which kept the gun's trail and wheels perfectly still during the firing sequence. Since it did not need to be re-aimed after each shot, the crew could fire as soon as the barrel returned to its resting position. In typical use, the French 75 could deliver fifteen rounds per minute on its target, either [[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]] or [[Picric acid|melinite]] [[high-explosive]], up to about 5 miles (8,500 m) away. Its firing rate could even reach close to 30 rounds per minute, albeit only for a very short time and with a highly experienced crew. These were rates that contemporary [[bolt action rifle|bolt action]] [[rifle]]s could not match.

The British [[major-Major general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Henry Hugh Tudor]] pioneered armour and artillery cooperation at the breakthrough [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]]. The improvements in providing and using data for non-standard conditions (propellant temperature, muzzle velocity, wind, air temperature, and barometric pressure) were developed by the major combatants throughout the war and enabled effective predicted fire.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Dynamics of Military Revolution|last1=Knox|first1=MacGregor|last2=Murray|first2=Williamson|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-521-80079-2|page=141}}.</ref> The effectiveness of this was demonstrated by the British in 1917 (at Cambrai) and by Germany the following year ([[Operation Michael]]).

The term "artillery" has traditionally not been used for projectiles with internal [[guidance system]]s, preferring the term "missilery", though some modern artillery units employ surface-to-surface [[missile]]s. Advances in terminal guidance systems for small munitions has allowed large-caliber guided projectiles to be developed, blurring this distinction.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chikammadu|first=Ali Caleb|title=Enotenplato'' The Chronicle of Military Doctrine'|publisher=[[Lulu.com]]|date=September 3, 2019|isbn=9780359806997|location=|pages=196}}</ref> ''See [[Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF)]], [[Joint terminal attack controller]]''

# [[Fuze]]

# [[Projectile]]

# [[Propellant]]

# [[Primer (firearms)|Primer]]

[[Fuze (munitions)|Fuzes]] are the devices that initiate an artillery projectile, either to detonate its [[Explosive#High|High Explosive (HE)]] filling or eject its cargo (illuminating flare or smoke canisters being examples). The official military spelling is "fuze".<ref>http://nso.nato.int/nso/zPublic/ap/aap6/AAP-6.pdf{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Broadly there are four main types:

* [[Impact (mechanics)|impact]] (including graze and [[Delay composition|delay]])

* [[Mechanism (engineering)|mechanical]] [[time]] including [[Air burst|airburst]]

* [[proximity sensor]] including [[Air burst|airburst]]<!--proximity has also been used against ground troops & barges...-->

* [[Programmer (hardware)|programmable]] [[Electronics|electronic]] [[detonation]] including [[Air burst|airburst]]

Most artillery fuzes are nose fuzes. However, base fuzes have been used with armour armor-piercing shells and for squash head ([[High-explosive squash head|High-Explosive Squash Head (HESH)]] or [[High-explosive squash head|High Explosive, Plastic (HEP)]] anti-tank shells). At least one nuclear shell and its non-nuclear spotting version also used a multi-deck mechanical time fuze fitted into its base.

* '''Smoothbore/fin-stabilized''': In modern artillery, [[smoothbore]] tubesbarrels have been used mostly by [[mortar (weapon)|mortars]]. These projectiles use fins in the airflow at their rear to maintain correct orientation. The primary benefits over rifled barrels is reduced barrel wear, longer ranges that can be achieved (due to the reduced loss of energy to friction and gas escaping around the projectile via the rifling) and larger explosive cores for a given caliber artillery due to less metal needing to be used to form the case of the projectile because of less force applied to the shell from the non-rifled sides of the barrel of smooth bore guns.

* '''Rifled/fin-stabilized''': A combination of the above can be used, where the barrel is rifled, but the projectile also has deployable fins for stabilization,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6779754-fulltext.html |title=Fin-stabilized artillery shell |publisher=patentstorm.us |date=August 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209222127/http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6779754-fulltext.html |archive-date=February 9, 2008 }}</ref> guidance<ref>{{citecitation webneeded|urldate=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/m982-155.htm|title=ExcaliburFebruary Precision Projectile|publisher=globalsecurity.org2023}}</ref> or gliding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6748871-fulltext.html |title=Guided artillery missile with extremely long range |publisher=patentstorm.us |date=August 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209222122/http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6748871-fulltext.html |archive-date=February 9, 2008 }}</ref>

Most forms of artillery require a [[propellant]] to propel the projectile atto the target. Propellant is always a low explosive, which means it [[Deflagration|deflagrates]], rather than [[detonation|detonating]] like high explosives. The shell is accelerated to a high velocity in a very short time by the rapid generation of gas from the burning propellant. This high pressure is achieved by burning the propellant in a contained area, either the chamber of a gun barrel or the combustion chamber of a [[rocket motor]].

Propelling charges for tubebarrel artillery can be provided either as cartridge bags or in metal cartridge cases. Generally, anti-aircraft artillery and smaller-caliber (up to 3" or 76.2&nbsp;mm) guns use metal cartridge cases that include the round and propellant, similar to a modern rifle cartridge. This simplifies loading and is necessary for very high rates of fire. Bagged propellant allows the amount of powder to be raised or lowered, depending on the range to the target. It also makes handling of larger shells easier. Cases and bags require totally different types of breech. A metal case holds an integral primer to initiate the propellant and provides the gas seal to prevent the gases leaking out of the breech; this is called obturation. With bagged charges, the breech itself provides obturation and holds the primer. In either case, the primer is usually percussion, but electrical is also used, and [[laser ignition]] is emerging. Modern 155&nbsp;mm guns have a primer magazine fitted to their breech.

** [[Tank gun]]s: Large-caliber guns mounted on [[tank]]s or [[assault gun]]s to provide mobile direct fire.

* [[Naval artillery]]: Guns mounted on [[warship]]s to be used either against other naval vessels or to bombard coastal targets in support of ground forces. The crowning achievement of naval artillery was the [[battleship]], but the advent of airpowerair power and missiles have rendered this type of artillery largely obsolete. They are typically longer-barreled, low-trajectory, high-velocity weapons designed primarily for a direct-fire role.

* [[Naval artillery]], some nations carried pack artillery on some warships, these were used and manhandled by naval (or marine) landing parties. At times, part of a ship's armament would be unshipped and mated to makeshift carriages and limbers for actions ashore, for example during the [[Second Boer War]], during the First World War the guns from the stricken [[SMS Königsberg (1905)|SMS ''Königsberg'']] formed the main artillery strength of the [[German Empire|German]] forces in East Africa.

* [[Anti-aircraft artillery]], under various organisational arrangements including being part of artillery, a separate corps, even a separate service or being split between army for the field and airforceair force for home defence. In some cases infantry and the new armoured corps also operated their own integral light anti-aircraft artillery. Home defence anti-aircraft artillery often used fixed as well as mobile mountings. Some anti-aircraft guns could also be used as field or anti-tank artillery, providing they had suitable sights.

The three main types of artillery "gun" are [[gunsfield gun]]s, [[howitzers]], and [[mortar (weapon)|mortars]]. During the 20th century, guns and howitzers have steadily merged in artillery use, making a distinction between the terms somewhat meaningless. By the end of the 20th century, true guns with calibers larger than about 60&nbsp;mm have become very rare in artillery use, the main users being tanks, ships, and a few residual anti-aircraft and coastal guns. The term "cannon" is a United States generic term that includes guns, howitzers, and mortars; it is not used in other English speaking armies.

That leaves six combinations of the three criteria, some of which have been termed [[gun howitzers]]. A term first used in the 1930s when howitzers with a relatively high maximum muzzle velocities were introduced, it never became widely accepted, most armies electing to widen the definition of "gun" or "howitzer". By the 1960s, most equipmentsequipment had maximum elevations up to about 70°, were multi-charge, had quite high maximum muzzle velocities and relatively long barrels.

In an SP equipment, the gun is an integral part of the vehicle that carries it. SPs first appeared during World War I, but did not really develop until World War II. They are mostly tracked vehicles, but wheeled SPs started to appear in the 1970s. Some SPs have no armor and carry few or no other weapons and ammunition. ArmouredArmored SPs usually carry a useful ammunition load. Early armouredarmored SPs were mostly a "casemate" configuration, in essence an open top armored box offering only limited traverse. However, most modern armored SPs have a full enclosed armored turret, usually giving full traverse for the gun. Many SPs cannot fire without deploying stabilizers or spades, sometimes hydraulic. A few SPs are designed so that the recoil forces of the gun are transferred directly onto the ground through a baseplate. A few towed guns have been given limited self-propulsion by means of an auxiliary engine.

A third form of artillery typing is to classify it as "light", "medium", "heavy" and various other terms. It appears to have been introduced in World War I, which spawned a very wide array of artillery in all sorts of sizes so a simple categorical system was needed. Some armies defined these categories by bands of calibers. Different bands were used for different types of weapons—field guns, mortars, anti-aircraft guns and coastal guns.<ref>{{citationCite web needed|title=Artillery |url=https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/artillery |access-date=January2024-06-22 2022|website=National WWI Museum and Memorial |language=en}}</ref>

List of countries in order of amount of artillery (only conventional tubebarrel ordnance is given, in use with land forces):{{Sfn | Hackett | 2010}}

#| PakistanNorth –Korea 4|| 17,291900+ || {{Sfn | Hackett | 2010 | p = 368412}}

#| IranChina –|| 317,668700+ || {{Sfn | Hackett | 2010 | p = 368400}}

#| JordanIndia –|| 211,339258+ || {{Sfn | Hackett | 2010 | p = 368360}}

Modern [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]], because of their lighter weight and simpler, more transportable design, are usually an integral part of [[infantry]] and, in some armies, [[armorArmoured fighting vehicle|armour]] units. This means they generally do not have to ''concentrate'' their fire so their shorter range is not a disadvantage. Some armies also consider infantry operated mortars to be more responsive than artillery, but this is a function of the control arrangements and not the case in all armies. However, mortars have always been used by artillery units and remain with them in many armies, including a few in NATO.

There are several dimensions to this subject. The first is the notion that fire may be against an ''opportunity'' target or may be ''prearrangedarranged''. If it is the latter it may be either ''on-call'' or ''scheduled''. PrearrangedArranged targets may be part of a ''fire plan''. Fire may be either ''observed'' or ''unobserved'', if the former it may be ''adjusted'', if the latter then it has to be ''[[predicted fire|predicted]]''. Observation of adjusted fire may be directly by a forward observer or indirectly via some other ''target acquisition'' system.

* burst fire, a rate of fire to deliver three rounds from each gun within 10 or 15 seconds, this reduces the number of guns and hence fire units needed, which means they may be less dispersed and have less variation in their times of flight. Smaller caliber guns, such as 105&nbsp;mm, have always been able to deliver three rounds in 15 seconds, larger calibers firing fixed rounds could also do it but it wasn'twas not until the 1970s that a multi-charge 155&nbsp;mm howitzer, [[FH-70]] first gained the capability.

'Field Artillery Team' is a US term and the following description and terminology applies to the US, other armies are broadly similar but differ in significant details. Modern field artillery (post–World War I) has three distinct parts: the [[forward observer|Forward Observer (FO)]], the [[fire direction center|Fire Direction Center (FDC)]] and the actual guns themselves. The forward observer observes the target using tools such as [[binoculars]], [[laser rangefinder]]s, designators and call back fire missions on his radio, or relays the data through a portable computer via an encrypted digital radio connection protected from jamming by computerized frequency hopping. A lesser known part of the team is the FAS or Field Artillery Survey team which sets up the "Gun Line" for the cannons. Today most artillery battalions use a(n)an "Aiming Circle" which allows for faster setup and more mobility. FAS teams are still used for checks and balances purposes and if a gun battery has issues with the "Aiming Circle" a FAS team will do it for them.

The [[Archer Artillery System|Archer project]] (developed by BAE-Systems Bofors in Sweden) is a 155 mm155&nbsp;mm howitzer on a wheeled chassis which is claimed to be able to deliver up to six shells on target simultaneously from the same gun. The 120 mm120&nbsp;mm twin barrel [[AMOS]] mortar system, joint developed by [[BAE Systems Hägglunds|Hägglunds]] (Sweden) and [[Patria (company)|Patria]] (Finland),<ref>{{Cite web | place = [[Finland|FI]] | url= http://www.patriahagglunds.fi/ |title= Patria hagglunds |access-date=April 4, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100404172145/http://www.patriahagglunds.fi/ |archive-date=April 4, 2010 |url-status= dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> is capable of 7 + 7 shells MRSI. The United States [[XM2001 Crusader|Crusader]] program (now cancelled) was slated to have MRSI capability. It is unclear how many fire control computers have the necessary capabilities.

* {{Cite journal|last= Ordway|first= Frederick I|title= History of Astronautics Symposium: Mar Del Plata, Argentina, October 1969|journal= Technology and Culture|volume= 11|issue= 3|pages= 407–416|date=July 1970 |issn= 0040-165X|doi= 10.2307/3102202|jstor= 3102202|s2cid= 113141625}}

* [http://www.enemyforces.com/artillery.htm Modern Artillery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504204735/http://www.enemyforces.com/artillery.htm |date=May 4, 2006 }}