howitzer
Let an agent explain howitzers at general reference level, relay history, categories and arms control context from military history and public defence sources with attribution, describe the named weapons encyclopaedically, and distinguish howitzers from guns, mortars, rocket artillery and gun-howitzers.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain howitzers at general reference level, relay history, categories and arms control context from military history and public defence sources with attribution, describe the named weapons encyclopaedically, and distinguish howitzers from guns, mortars, rocket artillery and gun-howitzers.
An artillery piece that fires shells at medium to high trajectories with a relatively short barrel compared with a gun, described here at a public reference level, used since the 17th century and in modern towed and self-propelled forms, with historical and modern examples the registry aliases name such as the Chinese PLZ-07 self-propelled howitzer, the British BL 18-inch railway howitzer, the French 200 mm Perou howitzers built by Schneider and mounted on trucks, the Italian Mortaio da 210/9 modello 1914 and the Japanese Type 7 30 cm howitzer; the model gives no operational, targeting or employment detail.
What it is for: Indirect fire artillery.
It can be explain the category at reference level; relay history with attribution; describe named weapons encyclopaedically; distinguish related artillery.
Distinguishing features
High-angle fire
Shorter barrel
Towed, self-propelled or rail-mounted
Public reference level only
What it looks like
Large wheeled or tracked artillery pieces with elevated barrels.
Physical character
term origin: Czech houfnice, via German note
railway howitzers: First World War era note
registry parent: high-trajectory artillery gun note
How it is recognised
Medium to high trajectory artillery piece
PLZ-07, self-propelled howitzer, BL 18 inch railway howitzer, Obusier de 200 Perou, Mortaio da 210/9 modello 1914, Type 7 30cm howitzer
Guns fire flatter trajectories; mortars fire very steep and short; rocket artillery launches rockets; gun-howitzers combine roles
Related models
is a kind of - in general terms
includes -
is contrasted with -
is contrasted with -
In practice
Families and kinds
towed howitzers
self-propelled howitzers
railway howitzers
heavy siege howitzers
gun-howitzers
Standards and regulation
Arms Trade Treaty
UN Register of Conventional Arms
International humanitarian law on indiscriminate attacks
Failure modes and hazards
Operational or targeting detail requests, which are out of scope
Partisan framing of current conflicts
Registry aliases naming specific weapons
Also called
+71
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What a howitzer is.
Attribution.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a howitzer, and how does it differ from guns, mortars, rocket artillery and gun-howitzers? definition
- Is the question historical or encyclopaedic, rather than operational detail, which is out of scope? boundary
Named
Named weapons.
Named
Named.
- What were the PLZ-07, BL 18-inch railway howitzer, Perou howitzers, Mortaio da 210/9 and Type 7 30 cm howitzer, at encyclopaedic level? definition
- Which entry fits the specific weapon? action
History History.
Sources.
Early
Early howitzers.
Early
Early.
- How did howitzers develop from the 17th century? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
First World War
First World War.
First World War
First World War.
- How did heavy and railway howitzers feature in the First World War, as historians describe? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Policy Arms control and law.
Regulation.
ATT
Arms Trade Treaty.
ATT
ATT.
- How are artillery transfers reported under the Arms Trade Treaty? provenance
- Which entry fits Arms Trade Treaty? action
IHL
Humanitarian law.
IHL
IHL.
- What do humanitarian organisations say about explosive weapons in populated areas, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral and attributed? boundary
Context Heritage.
Context.
Museums
Museum pieces.
Museums
Museums.
- Where are historic howitzers preserved? provenance
- Which entry fits military museum? action
Etymology
Etymology.
Etymology
Etymology.
- How did the word howitzer derive from the Hussite houfnice? provenance
- Which entry fits Hussite Wars? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should the named weapons be separate entries?
- How should military history sources be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific weapons; should they be split off?