Editing Assault gun (section)

=== World War II ===
[[File:Su76 nn.jpg|thumb|The Soviet [[SU-76]] was easily constructed in small factories incapable of producing proper tanks.]]

Assault guns were primarily developed during [[World War II]] by the forces of [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. Early in the war, the Germans began to create makeshift assault guns by mounting their [[infantry support weapon]]s on the bed of a [[truck]] or on obsolete [[tank]]s with the turret removed. Later in the war, both the Germans and the Soviets introduced fully [[armoured warfare|armoured]] purpose-built assault guns into their arsenals.

Early on, the Soviets built the [[KV-2]], a variant of the [[KV-1 (tank)|KV-1]] heavy tank with a short-barreled [[152 mm howitzer M1938 (M-10)|152 mm howitzer]] mounted in an oversized turret. This was not a success in battle, and was replaced with a very successful series of turretless assault guns: the [[SU-76]], [[SU-122]], and the heavy [[SU-152]], which were followed by the [[ISU-122]] and [[ISU-152]] on the new [[Iosif Stalin tank|IS]] heavy tank [[chassis]].

[[File:StuG III Ausf C-D.jpg|thumb|left|The German [[Stug III]] assault gun, here in one of its early configurations, armed with a 75 mm [[StuK 37]] howitzer]]
The primary German assault gun was the {{Lang|de|[[Sturmgeschütz III]]}} (StuG III). At about the same time (March 1942) as the howitzer-like KwK 37 gun was dropped from the Panzer IV's use, its ''Sturmkanone'' equivalent in the StuG III up to that time, was likewise replaced with a longer-barreled, high-velocity dual-purpose [[7.5 cm KwK 40|75 mm gun]] that had also been derived from the successful [[PaK 40]] anti-tank towed artillery piece. The Germans also built a number of other fully armoured turretless assault guns, including the [[StuG IV]], [[Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B|StuIG 33B]], {{Lang|de|[[Brummbär]]}} and {{Lang|de|[[Sturmtiger]]}}. This last one was a very heavy vehicle, and was built only in small quantities.

[[Battalion]]s of assault guns, usually StuG IIIs, commonly replaced the intended [[panzer]] battalion in the German {{Lang|de|[[panzergrenadier]]}} [[division (military)|divisions]] due to the chronic shortage of tanks, and were sometimes used as makeshifts even in the [[panzer division]]s.<ref>Thomas L. Jentz (1996): Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force, vol.2, 1943-1945, p.68</ref> Independent battalions were also deployed as "stiffeners" for [[infantry]] divisions, and the StuG III's [[anti-tank]] capabilities bolstered dwindling tank numbers on the Eastern and Western fronts.

[[File:M8 HMC.JPG|thumb|US [[World War II]] assault gun [[M8 Scott]]]]
US and UK forces also deployed vehicles designed for a close support role, but these were conventional tanks whose only significant modification was the replacement of the main gun with a howitzer. Two versions of the American [[M4 Sherman|Sherman tank]] were armed with the [[M101 howitzer|M4 105 mm howitzer]], the M4(105) and the M4A3(105); these were designated assault guns in US usage of the term. The [[M8 Scott]], based on the chassis of the [[M5 Stuart]] light tank, was also an assault cannon and carried a [[M116 howitzer|75 mm short howitzer]]. The [[Churchill tank|Churchill]], Centaur and [[Cromwell tank|Cromwell]] tanks were all produced in versions armed with [[Ordnance QF 95 mm Howitzer|95&nbsp;mm howitzers]]: the Churchill Mark V and Mark VIII, the Centaur Mark IV and the Cromwell Mark VI. Earlier British tanks, such as the [[Crusader tank|Crusader cruiser tank]] and the [[Matilda II|Matilda II Infantry tank]] were produced in versions armed with the [[Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer|3-inch howitzer]]; the first versions of the Churchill tank also had this gun in a hull mounting. American [[tank destroyer]] units were often used in the assault gun role for infantry support.

The [[Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers|AVRE]] version of the Churchill tank was armed with a [[Mortar (weapon)#Spigot mortar|spigot mortar]] that fired a {{convert|40|lb|kg|abbr=on}} [[High explosive|HE]]-filled projectile (nicknamed the ''Flying Dustbin'') {{convert|150|yd|m}}. Its task was to attack fortified positions such as [[bunker]]s at close range (see [[Hobart's Funnies]]).