Why Is Field Artillery Important
THE RECUPERATOR EVOLVED ARTILLERY 2 Field Artillery has been an essential part of every army because of how necessary it is to win a war. Any country who had the most advanced and supplied artillery would be the most advantaged army to win. So the little improvements being made over the years to the different kinds of guns were essential to remain a strong fighting force. There have been many advances made in artillery from the times when an arrow was so powerful to the 155mm rounds fired from howitzers on the battlefield today. Of all the advancements made to improve the effectiveness of artillery, the recuperator is the most important technology that cannons have ever received to help increase accuracy. In wars of the past before the recuperator, landing cannon fire accurately was extremely difficult because of the amount of pressure that the cannon powder would create. The pressure from the powder igniting forced the cannon
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ball out of the barrel, but at the same time puts a force back onto the cannon itself. This force would cause the whole cannon to move itself back and change the deflection and azimuth that the cannon barrel would be facing. If one round was right in the area the cannon team wanted it to land, the next round would essentially be far off target without adjusting and re-aiming the cannon. This was a problem that the military was not trying to fix. Little work was being done on the cannons that the united states had to help improve them because their belief at the time was that since those cannons won that last war, they will not need to change to win the next one (Melton, 2015). Without always trying to improve equipment, essentially the government was setting itself up to have to work harder to win the next war it would be in. Much more advancements started to be made in artillery after the civil war but the most important one coming during World War 1. The Dodge brothers that created the Dodge car company took on the task that most others didn’t want to do, and that was designing a
THE RECUPERATOR EVOLVED ARTILLERY 3 recuperator for the U.S.
Army. The recuperator unfortunately didn’t make it to the battle field in time to see any combat (Marshall, 1976). The first production was July 1st, 1918 and by the time a recuperator was delivered the war was long over, but production was up to 16 inspected pieces being made a day. So While the Recuperator didn’t get its opportunity to prove its worth during World War 1, it had its real opportunity during World War 2. The M114 towed 155mm howitzer began its life in the Second World War and didn’t retire until after it was being used in the Vietnam War. The recuperator made artillery so effective because its sole purpose was to lessen the force from the blast that moved the howitzer so that each round would keep a much tighter shot group therefore being mare deadly in
war. Artillery will continue to evolve and eventually be for more deadly that it is to this day. Todays Artillery is a devastating force that for now it is hard to imagine that it will need improvements. The M777 is a lightweight towed howitzer that can lay accurate fire on the battlefield so it can be used to even attack militants close to civilians. With a range of 19 miles it is definitely a long range weapon that needs to stay very accurate in order to ensure minimal collateral damage (Military Factory, 2016). While other technological advancements such as rifling and the types of metal used to make the tubes help with accuracy, none of those make rounds land as consistent as the recuperator. The max range of the M777 would be much shorter if it didn’t have the recuperator because the gun is so light that the force created while shooting would move the howitzer far too much for it to be practical. The M777 it’s towed and set in place by a gun section, which is labor intensive and time consuming. If the gun section was needed to set the gun in place again after every shot, it would take so long that the enemy would be moving out of the area and the gun wouldn’t be fulfilling its purpose. The M777 may not even
THE RECUPERATOR EVOLVED ARTILLERY 4 exist without the development of the recuperator because the howitzer that it replaced known as the M198 is very similar but much heavier. If there was no recuperator then it would be better to have kept the heavier howitzer to ensure less movement with each round shot. Although the light weight of the M777 is so important now because of the maneuverability it has thanks to its light weight. Transporting it can be done within several plans and whats even more impressive is that it can be flown underneath the MV-22 Osprey twin rotor helicopter and the CH-47 Chinook tandem rotor helicopter. So one advancement in technology nearly a century ago is still very important in the artillery being developed today because we need lighter artillery pieces that can be flown into firing points by helicopter. Some areas where soldiers patrol need the protection of artillery if they come into contact, but aren’t close enough to a place that have artillery that would have to be dropped off by larger fixed wing aircrafts such as larger Forward Operating bases. There’s not often a single invention that becomes something that is half as essential as the development of the recuperator. Cannons of the past that have fought wars without that key piece of technology were still important to have in order win the wars, but the inaccuracy of artillery in early wars made them more of a weapon of luck instead of a weapon of skill. While some would be better than others at trying to get multiple rounds to hit the same area, it was just not predictable enough to consider it to be accurate. The Dodge brothers most likely didn’t realize just how essential their contribution to war would become. Recuperators themselves have continued to improve over time as well which is why artillery is such a powerful force in modern war. Most Wars fought today are against insurgent type groups who hide among civilians so it is only possible to safely neutralize threats with artillery because the M777 has such great accuracy
5 thanks to the Dodge brothers’ invention. Obviously it is just one of many advances that has come around to help make artillery advance its effectiveness, but there is no single advancement that could be compare with the invention from all the way back in 1918 which is the howitzers recuperator.
ball out of the barrel, but at the same time puts a force back onto the cannon itself. This force would cause the whole cannon to move itself back and change the deflection and azimuth that the cannon barrel would be facing. If one round was right in the area the cannon team wanted it to land, the next round would essentially be far off target without adjusting and re-aiming the cannon. This was a problem that the military was not trying to fix. Little work was being done on the cannons that the united states had to help improve them because their belief at the time was that since those cannons won that last war, they will not need to change to win the next one (Melton, 2015). Without always trying to improve equipment, essentially the government was setting itself up to have to work harder to win the next war it would be in. Much more advancements started to be made in artillery after the civil war but the most important one coming during World War 1. The Dodge brothers that created the Dodge car company took on the task that most others didn’t want to do, and that was designing a
THE RECUPERATOR EVOLVED ARTILLERY 3 recuperator for the U.S.
Army. The recuperator unfortunately didn’t make it to the battle field in time to see any combat (Marshall, 1976). The first production was July 1st, 1918 and by the time a recuperator was delivered the war was long over, but production was up to 16 inspected pieces being made a day. So While the Recuperator didn’t get its opportunity to prove its worth during World War 1, it had its real opportunity during World War 2. The M114 towed 155mm howitzer began its life in the Second World War and didn’t retire until after it was being used in the Vietnam War. The recuperator made artillery so effective because its sole purpose was to lessen the force from the blast that moved the howitzer so that each round would keep a much tighter shot group therefore being mare deadly in
war. Artillery will continue to evolve and eventually be for more deadly that it is to this day. Todays Artillery is a devastating force that for now it is hard to imagine that it will need improvements. The M777 is a lightweight towed howitzer that can lay accurate fire on the battlefield so it can be used to even attack militants close to civilians. With a range of 19 miles it is definitely a long range weapon that needs to stay very accurate in order to ensure minimal collateral damage (Military Factory, 2016). While other technological advancements such as rifling and the types of metal used to make the tubes help with accuracy, none of those make rounds land as consistent as the recuperator. The max range of the M777 would be much shorter if it didn’t have the recuperator because the gun is so light that the force created while shooting would move the howitzer far too much for it to be practical. The M777 it’s towed and set in place by a gun section, which is labor intensive and time consuming. If the gun section was needed to set the gun in place again after every shot, it would take so long that the enemy would be moving out of the area and the gun wouldn’t be fulfilling its purpose. The M777 may not even
THE RECUPERATOR EVOLVED ARTILLERY 4 exist without the development of the recuperator because the howitzer that it replaced known as the M198 is very similar but much heavier. If there was no recuperator then it would be better to have kept the heavier howitzer to ensure less movement with each round shot. Although the light weight of the M777 is so important now because of the maneuverability it has thanks to its light weight. Transporting it can be done within several plans and whats even more impressive is that it can be flown underneath the MV-22 Osprey twin rotor helicopter and the CH-47 Chinook tandem rotor helicopter. So one advancement in technology nearly a century ago is still very important in the artillery being developed today because we need lighter artillery pieces that can be flown into firing points by helicopter. Some areas where soldiers patrol need the protection of artillery if they come into contact, but aren’t close enough to a place that have artillery that would have to be dropped off by larger fixed wing aircrafts such as larger Forward Operating bases. There’s not often a single invention that becomes something that is half as essential as the development of the recuperator. Cannons of the past that have fought wars without that key piece of technology were still important to have in order win the wars, but the inaccuracy of artillery in early wars made them more of a weapon of luck instead of a weapon of skill. While some would be better than others at trying to get multiple rounds to hit the same area, it was just not predictable enough to consider it to be accurate. The Dodge brothers most likely didn’t realize just how essential their contribution to war would become. Recuperators themselves have continued to improve over time as well which is why artillery is such a powerful force in modern war. Most Wars fought today are against insurgent type groups who hide among civilians so it is only possible to safely neutralize threats with artillery because the M777 has such great accuracy
5 thanks to the Dodge brothers’ invention. Obviously it is just one of many advances that has come around to help make artillery advance its effectiveness, but there is no single advancement that could be compare with the invention from all the way back in 1918 which is the howitzers recuperator.