The US Army used long-range guns again in the 1960s with the M107 175 mm gun. The M107 was used in the Vietnam War and proved effective in artillery battles with the North Vietnamese forces. This gun needed a lot of repairs, and after the barrels began to crack it was removed from service. Production of the M107 continued through the 1980s, and the gun is still used by the Israeli military forces.
Today there is no longer a use for the field gun. The role for small and highly mobile artillery has been taken over by the mortar which can be carried by a soldier. These have replaced almost every artillery piece smaller than 105 mm. Gun-howitzers fill the middle ground, mostly the 155 mm NATO or 152 mm former USSR models. The need for a long-range weapon is filled by rocket artillery, or aircraft. Modern gun-artillery such as the L118 105mm light gun is used to provide fire support for infantry and armour at ranges where mortars are impractical. Soldier carried mortars lack the range or hitting power of gun-artillery. In between is the rifled towed mortar. This weapon (usually in 120mm calibre) is light enough to be towed by a Land Rover, has a range of over 6,000m and fires a bomb with the power of an artillery shell.
L118 Light Gun
The L118 Light Gun is a howitzer. It was first made for the British Army in the 1970s. It has been moved around the globe a lot since then. The United States use a changed version of the L118 called the M119A1. The proper name for it is "Gun, 105mm, Field, L118" but it is usually just called "the Light Gun".
The L118 can be towed by a medium-weight vehicle. It can also be moved around by a Chinook helicopter.
From 1961 until the 1970s, the British Army used the 105 mm Pack Howitzer L5 as its light howitzer. This howitzer was used a lot. It was first designed in Italy for the Alpini. It was light enough to be lifted by Westland Wessex helicopters or towed by Land Rovers. However, it could not fire very far (had a short range), had bad sights and was not very popular.
In 1965 the British Army asked for a new 105 mm howitzer because the pack howitzer "lacked range and lethality" (had a short range and was not very lethal).
The new gun was soon called the 'Light Gun'. It was designed by the government Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE). Prototypes were tested in 1968. However, it was noticed that more weight was needed for a gun to be as sturdy and strong as was needed. Several guns were redesigned because of this.
The first guns were made by Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Nottingham. This has now been merged into BAE Systems Land and Armaments.
The L118 was first used by the British Army in 1976. The new weapon was heavier than the Pack Howitzer. However, new, better helicopters like the Puma and Westland Sea King, which could carry the L118, were also beginning to be used at the same time.
Since the end of the 1990s, the British Army has used Pinzgauer ATVs as the vehicles that move the guns around. In Arctic service (and some other places) the L118 is moved around by the Hägglunds Bv 206. It has skis put on it if it is moving on snow.
In 1982, the L118 was used a lot during the Falklands War. 30 guns were moved to the Falkland Islands. Since then, British forces have used the L118 in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan.
On 30 November 2001, an L118 Light Gun became the One O'Clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle. This fires every day at one o'clock except on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
The Light Gun took many features from the QF 25 pounder. However, the L118 is light compared to the QD 25 pounder.
The L118 has a special system called the Automatic Pointing System. This allows the gun to be unpacked and in action in 30 seconds.
The L118 fires 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition. It has two proper cartridges for combat and a blank one for ceremonies etc.
Some ammunition types in British service are:
WP (white phosphorus) smoke shell has never been used by the UK for the L118.
New ammunition for the L118 is being developed. It will be even more damaging and have more range.
During the early 1990s, all UK L118s had a radar and its supply of power.
A program that started making improvements to UK guns in 2007 tried to make the gun lighter and some features better. To make the gun weigh less, some steel parts were replaced with titanium.
The L119 has a different barrel. It is a bit shorter. It fires different ammunition, giving the gun a range of . In British service, the L119 was only used for training. The last British L119s were retired in 2005.
The L119 was changed more and made under a license for the United States Army.
Chocolate (color)
The color chocolate is a tone of dark brown that resembles chocolate. The color "chocolate" is shown on the right of the screen.
The first written use of "chocolate" as a color name in English was in 1737.
List of field guns
Field guns are one of two main types of field artillery. Field guns fire a heavy shell on a relatively level trajectory from a longer barrel. This gives very high muzzle velocity and good range performance. Field guns are best for giving long range fire support and counter-battery fire. This list has two categories; field guns that were moved (towed) by horses or vehicles, and guns that could move themselves (self propelled) guns.
Blush
Blush or rouge is a type of cosmetic put on the cheeks, usually in red or pink. It can be a powder or a cream. Blush is almost always used by girls and not often used by boys except for in acting.
Blush was first used by Egyptians in 3000 BC. In the 1800s, wearing cosmetics made people think a woman had bad character, so people from that time would pinch their cheeks to make them red.
Battle of Nagashino
The was an armed conflict in 1575. The battle took place near Nagashino Castle (長篠城) on the plain of Shitaragahara (設楽原) in the Mikawa province (三河) of Japan.
Forces under Takeda Katsuyori (武田勝頼) attacked the castle. The Takeda attacked the castle because it threatened supply lines.
Okudaira Sadamasa (奥平貞昌) commanded the 500 defenders of the castle. The defenders had 200 matchlocks and at least once cannon.
Both Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康) and Oda Nobunaga (織田信長) sent troops to break the siege and their combined forces defeated the Takeda attack.
Nobunaga's use of firearms to defeat Takeda's cavalry is considered as a turning point in Japanese warfare. His tactical innovation was the wooden stockades and rotating volleys of fire which led to a decisive victory at Nagashino.
The Battle of Nagashino and the last years of the Takeda clan are dramatised in Akira Kurosawa's 1980 movie "Kagemusha" (Shadow Warrior).
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition between specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles. Racers compete, two at a time, to be the first to cross a finish line. Races are run from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, usually a ¼-mile straight track.
The race track, known as a dragstrip, usually uses an electronic timing system to decide the winner.
Before each race, each driver is allowed to perform a burnout by spinning the driving tires. Burnouts heat the driving tires and lay rubber down at the beginning of the track to improve traction. The drivers then line up at the starting line.
Races are started electronically by a system known as a Christmas tree.