From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Sun Jan 19 2003 - 22:32:59 PST
Bruce,
>To those who know, why are some vehicles known as a
>"Gun Carriage" rather than a tank?
You will find that as with any new innovation, names were about as
plentiful as the weapons themselves :-) The terms are also often country
specific and inconsistantly used over time.
The US called some lightly armored vehicles which mounted guns "Gun
Carriages". This is not to be confused with "Gun Motor Carriages", which
sported anything from 20mm to 90mm gun/s. And neither of these should be
confused with "Howitzer Motor Carriages", which were basically armored
vehicles with howitzers in place of guns. But these should not be
confused with "Self Propelled Howitzers" because, well, they decided to
call 'em something different <g>. And of course, don't confuse the
latter with "Self Propelled Guns" which is basically the same thing but
with a gun instead of a Howitzer.
Then we get into the fun stuff :-) "Assault Guns", "Assault Artillery",
"Self Propelled Artillery", "Self Propelled Howitzers", and "Self
Propelled Guns" are often used to describe the same vehicles. Sometimes
distinctions are attempted based on the vehicle, sometimes the weapon,
sometimes the doctrine used, and sometimes the nation in question.
Er... how's that for a simple answer :-)
Steve
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