Editing Assault gun (section)

== History ==

=== 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]]).

=== Since World War II ===
In the post-World War II era, most vehicles fitting into an "assault gun" category were developed as a light-weight, air-deployable, direct fire combat vehicles for use with airborne troops. Those weapons were either based on [[Military light utility vehicle|light utility vehicles]] or small [[tracked vehicles]] and the airborne troops thus always fought at a distinct disadvantage in terms of heavy weapons. The Soviet Union and the United States were the most attracted to the idea of providing this capability to traditionally light airborne forces. Their answers to the problem were similar, with the United States developing the [[M56 Scorpion]] and the Soviet Union developing the [[ASU-57]], both essentially airdroppable light anti-tank guns.

[[File:ASU-85 6 Dywizji Powietrznodesantowej.jpg|thumb|left|Soviet [[ASU-85]] air-deployable assault gun]]
The Soviets went on to develop an improved airdroppable assault gun, the [[ASU-85]], which served through the 1980s, while their [[SU-100]] remained in service with Communist countries, including Vietnam and Cuba, years after World War II. The US M56 and another armoured vehicle, the [[M50 Ontos]], were to be the last of the more traditional assault guns in US service. Improvised arrangements such as [[M113 Armored Personnel Carrier#Armament|M113 personnel carriers]] with recoilless rifles were quickly replaced by missile carrier vehicles in the anti-tank role.

The only vehicle with the qualities of an assault gun to be fielded after the removal of the M50 and M56 from service within the US military was the [[M551 Sheridan]]. The Sheridan's gun was a low-velocity weapon suitable in the assault role, but with the addition of the [[Shillelagh missile]] could double in the anti-tank role as well. The Sheridan, however, was not developed as an assault gun but as a light reconnaissance vehicle.

[[File:US Army soldiers in a M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System assigned to Apache Company, 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment in 2012.jpg|thumb|US [[M1128 mobile gun system]] assault gun]]

Currently, there appears to be a move toward wheeled vehicles fitting a "tank destroyer" or "assault gun" role, such as the [[M1128 mobile gun system]] of the [[United States Army]], the [[B1 Centauro]] wheeled tank destroyer of the [[Italian Army|Italian]] and [[Spanish Army|Spanish Armies]], the Chinese anti-tank gun [[PTL-02]] and [[Type 08|ZBL08 assault gun]], and the French [[AMX-10 RC]] heavy armoured car. While these vehicles might be useful in a direct fire role, none were developed with this specifically in mind, reminiscent of the use of tank destroyers by the US military in the assault gun role during World War II.