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Assault gun
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== Concept, doctrine and design == The concept of the assault gun can be simplified into: a [[Armoured fighting vehicle|protected]] [[Self-propelled artillery|self propelled]] [[infantry gun]], intended for the [[infantry brigade]]s, in order to give infantry: mobile heavy [[direct fire]] capability against protected enemy positions and threats, which can move with infantry in assaults, and secondarily give some armored protection against enemy fire. Historically, the concept of assault guns was very similar to that of the [[infantry tank]], as both were combat vehicles intended to accompany infantry formations into battle, but where assault gun designs often skipped tank features and design elements deemed unnecessary for reasons of cost and [[doctrine]].<ref name="Gudmundsson">{{cite book |last=Gudmundsson |first=Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUs-hHd89xAC&pg=PA114 |title=On Armor |date=2004 |publisher=Prager Books |isbn=978-0812216202 |location=Westport, Connecticut |pages=114–126}}</ref> However, during [[World War II]] assault guns were more mobile than tanks and could be utilized as both direct and [[indirect fire]] artillery.<ref name=Gudmundsson/> Although they could approximate the firepower of a tank, assault guns mostly fired [[High explosive shell|high explosive shells]] at relatively low velocities, which were well suited for their role of knocking out hard points such as fortified positions and buildings.<ref name=Gudmundsson/> They were not intended to be deployed as tank substitutes or dedicated [[tank destroyer]]s.<ref name=Gudmundsson/> Nevertheless, as the conflict progressed, the increasing proliferation of tanks on the battlefield forced many assault gun units to engage armor in defense of the infantry, and led to armies becoming more dependent on multipurpose designs which combined the traditionally separate roles of an assault gun and a tank destroyer.<ref name=Wehrmacht2>{{cite book|last=Tucker-Jones|first=Anthony|title=German Assault Guns and Tank Destroyers 1940 - 1945: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives|date=2016|page=114|publisher=Pen & Sword Books, Ltd|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|isbn=978-1473845992}}</ref> German and Soviet assault guns introduced during World War II usually carried their main armament in a fully enclosed [[casemate]] rather than a [[gun turret]].<ref name="Levine">{{cite book |last=Levine |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68hFznwxoNIC&pg=PA21 |title=D-Day to Berlin: The Northwest Europe Campaign, 1944-45 |date=2000 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0811733861 |location=Mechanicsburg |pages=21–22}}</ref> Although this limited the [[field of fire]] and traverse of the armament, it also had the advantage of a reduced silhouette and simplified the manufacturing process.<ref name=Levine/> The United States never developed a purpose-built assault gun during the war, although it did modify preexisting armored fighting vehicles for that role, including the [[M4 Sherman]] (as the M4(105)), the [[M5 Stuart]] (as the [[M8 Scott]]), and the [[M3 half-track]] (as the [[T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage]]).<ref name="Colt">{{cite book |last1=Gabel |first1=Christopher |url=https://archive.org/details/campcolttodesert0000unse |title=Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of U.S. Armored Forces |last2=Estes |first2=Kenneth |date=August 1999 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0813121307 |editor1-last=Hoffman |editor1-first=George |location=Lexington, Kentucky |pages=149–156, 479–481 |editor2-last=Starry |editor2-first=Donn |url-access=registration}}</ref> The classic assault gun concept was largely abandoned during the postwar era in favor of tanks or multipurpose tank destroyers attached to infantry formations, which were also capable of providing direct fire support as needed. In the United States and most Western countries, the assault gun ceased to be recognized as a unique niche, with individual examples being classified either as a self-propelled howitzer or a tank,<ref name="Knox1">{{cite journal |last=Underhill |first=Garrett |date=November–December 1972 |title=The Story Of Soviet Armor: Assault Guns And Self-Propelled Artillery |journal=[[Armor magazine|Armor]] |location=Fort Knox, Kentucky |publisher=US Army Armor Center |pages=28–38}}</ref> one exception being [[Sweden]], which continued to develop casemate assault guns post-war, such as the [[Infanterikanonvagn 72]], all the way into the 1960s before settling on a turreted design in 1968, becoming the [[Infanterikanonvagn 91]].<ref name="fromtheswedisharchives ikv91">{{cite web |last=sp15 |date=Sep 29, 2018 |title=Swedish tanks: Ikv 91 revisited |url=https://fromtheswedisharchives.wordpress.com/2018/09/29/swedish-tanks-ikv-91-revisited/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=From the swedish archives |publisher=[[WordPress.com]]}}</ref> The Soviet Union continued funding development of new assault guns as late as 1967, although few of its postwar designs were adopted in large numbers.<ref name="Knox2">{{cite journal |last=Warford |first=James |date=July–September 2016 |title=Armored Vehicle Development Behind The Curtain: The Secret Life Of The Soviet SU-122-54 Assault Gun |journal=[[Armor magazine|Armor]] |location=Fort Knox, Kentucky |publisher=US Army Armor Center |pages=12–14}}</ref> In Soviet and Eastern European armies, the traditional assault gun was primarily superseded by tank destroyers, such as the [[SU-100]], which is capable of supporting either infantry or armor.<ref name="Knox1"/> Since the 1980s, the multi-purpose assault gun concept has seen a resurgence, mainly in the form of turreted wheeled designs, such as the South African [[Rooikat]] and Italian [[B1 Centauro]]. Today, modern assault guns include the Japanese [[Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle]] and the American [[M1128 mobile gun system|M1128 Stryker]] and [[M10 Booker]].
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