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Best Artillery of WWII ?

Discussion in 'The Guns Galore Section' started by Skua, Jan 22, 2005.

  1. churchill17sp

    churchill17sp New Member

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    I should have said that the 5.5" guns rather small size, 2 wheels, etc, makes it look very portable, for it's caliber 140mm.
    I have read that a hit from one of theses had enough mass/weight to "penetrate the top armor of a Tiger I".
     
  2. smeghead phpbb3

    smeghead phpbb3 New Member

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    I am suprised that no one has mentioned Italian aritllery, from what I hear artillery training was the only thing the Italians had going for them :p and it proved a real hinderance for the British in the desert... Italian artillery crews were shockingly accurate, often supressing the enemy indefinately despite being equipped with old WW1-era artillery, and were known to bravely fight to the death when the British broke through and attacked their gun positions... in terms of quality i nominate them...

    The only deficiency of Itialian artillery was that, like their German allies, their artillery doctrine was that of WW1... I have heard nothing good about German artillery, in the Wermacht often it took over 20 minutes between a request for artillery until the first shell landed, by which time the enemy could have moved on. British doctrine was better in the sense that alot of focus was placed upon firing quickly, and her majesty's shells usually began landing only two minutes after request/orders were given... AFAIK the U.S merely copied the British system, only for the U.S. army, artillery was readily available to every U.S. soldier on the battlefield, as they could afford to supply all their troops with radio's... In that way the U.S. had a clear advatage in fire control

    As for best demonstrated use of artillery, only the Soviets could fill that role... They placed focus upon rapid deployment of mass artillery, meaning that throughout the war their arillery coverage was unmatched by any other army, especially the Germans who were quite slow in ordering and deploying their guns. Any deficiencies in accuracy or fire control were negated by sheer volume and the versatility of their weapons; unlike other armies they employed massed mortars and rocket systems such as the katushya, giving them the superior artillery technology and the most versatile artillery force with guns for every situation... Soviet artillery was efficient not only in support and suppression, but also for altogether destroying an enemy force and that is what makes it the best

    Worst artillery of WW2? Japan: weak divisions, poor technology, and the crappiest artillery doctrine of all time... Japanese commanders were trained to think of the 'defensive' as a negative form of combat, and as such were reluctant to request supporting artillery fire (on the rare occasion that artillery was available in sufficient numbers)... The typical Japanese reaction to an attack was to launch a quick counterattack, ground-based counterattacks being preferred to any form of tactical artillery or air strike... The Japs really had no concept of suppressive fire
     

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