Worlds first mountain gun able to be broken down

Mountain guns are

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

pieces designed for use in

mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, t ...

and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractors, or trucks. As such, they are sometimes called "pack guns" or "pack howitzers". During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

these small portable guns were widely used and were called "mountain howitzers". The first designs of modern

breechloading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breec ...

mountain guns with recoil control and the capacity to be easily broken down and reassembled into highly efficient units were made by Greek army engineers P. Lykoudis and

Panagiotis Danglis Panagiotis Danglis ( el, Παναγιώτης Δαγκλής; – 9 March 1924) was a Greek Army general and politician. He is particularly notable for his invention of the Schneider-Danglis mountain gun, his service as chief of staff in the Bal ...

(after whom the Schneider-Danglis gun was named) in the 1890s. Mountain guns are similar to

infantry support gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typicall ...

s. They are largely outdated, their role being filled by

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

s, mortars,

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...

recoilless rifle A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

s and

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

s. Most modern artillery is manufactured from light-weight materials and can be transported fully assembled by helicopters.

Images

File:80 mm French mountain gun with a 130 pound air mine attached.jpg, 80 mm French mountain gun with a air mine attached c. 1915 File:Bergkanon M1848 side view.jpg, Image:RML2.5inchMountaunGunAssembling1895.jpg, File:QF2.95inchMountainGunMule.jpg, File:German anti-tank gun & crew October 1918 AWM H13453.jpeg, Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1991-068-35, SS-Karstwehr-Bataillons, Artillerie-Ausbildung.jpg, File:3.7inchHowitzerInActionMawlu3November1944.jpg, File:Spanish-marines-man-105mm-howitzer-19811001.jpg, File:Italian Army exercise Lavaredo 2019 - 02.jpg,

External links

''Popular Science'', May 1941, '' "The Old Army Army Mule Takes Guns Where Wheels Won't Go" ''

''Assembling the Howitzer''
detail photos showing a 75mm howitzer's various sections being taken off mules and assembled {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain Gun *

See also

Images

External links