Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are similar to infantry support guns, and are generally capable of being broken down into smaller loads (for transport by horse, human, mule, tractor, and/or truck).
Due to their ability to be broken down into smaller "packages", they are sometimes called pack guns or pack howitzers. During the U.S. Civil War these small portable guns were widely used and were called "mountain howitzers."
The first designs of modern breechloading mountain guns with recoil control and able to be easily broken down and reassembled into highly efficient units were made by two Greek army engineers, P. Lykoudis and Panagiotis Danglis (after whom the Schneider-Danglis gun was named) in the 1890s.
Mountain guns are largely outdated, their role being filled by mortars, multiple rocket launchers, recoilless rifles and wire-guided missiles. Most modern artillery is manufactured from light-weight materials and can be transported fully assembled by helicopters.
Famous quotes containing the words mountain and/or gun:
“I thought of Chatterton, the marvellous boy,
The sleepless soul that perished in his pride;
Of him who walked in glory and in joy
Following his plough, along the mountain side:
By our own spirits are we deified:
We poets in our youth begin in gladness;
But thereof come in the end despondency and madness.”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“Resorts advertised for waitresses, specifying that they “must appear in short clothes or no engagement.” Below a Gospel Guide column headed, “Where our Local Divines Will Hang Out Tomorrow,” was an account of spirited gun play at the Bon Ton. In Jeff Winney’s California Concert Hall, patrons “bucked the tiger” under the watchful eye of Kitty Crawhurst, popular “lady” gambler.”
—Administration in the State of Colo, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)