Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at trajectories with a steep angle of descent. In the taxonomies of artillery pieces used by European (and European-style) armies in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, the howitzer stood between the “gun” (which was characterized by a longer barrel, larger propelling charges, smaller shells, higher velocities and flatter trajectories) and the “mortar” (which has the ability to fire projectiles at even higher angles of ascent and descent).
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Military ArtillerySource
Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed., vol. 20) (New York, NY: The Encyclopaedia Britannica Company, 1910)
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