Also known as: World War II artillery.
| Period | 1941-1945 |
|---|---|
| Standard guns | The 105mm howitzer, the 155mm howitzer and gun (the Long Tom), and heavier 8-inch and 240mm pieces |
| Innovation | The fire-direction center, massing many batteries on one target |
| Reputation | Speed, flexibility, and volume of accurate fire |
Massed and responsive fire
By the Second World War American artillery had become a model of effectiveness, resting on a family of modern guns: the 105mm howitzer as the division workhorse, the 155mm howitzer and the 155mm gun known as the Long Tom, and heavier 8-inch and 240mm pieces for the corps and army.
Its greatest strength lay less in the guns than in the system that directed them. The fire-direction center let widely separated batteries concentrate their fire on a single target within minutes, so that a call for fire could bring the massed guns of a division or more down at once. Combined with self-propelled mounts and, late in the war, the proximity fuze, this gave American artillery a speed, flexibility, and weight of accurate fire that was widely respected.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: historical references on American artillery.