Editing Field gun (section)

==World War II==
Since about the start of [[World War II]], the term has been applied to long-range artillery pieces that fire at a relatively low angle, as opposed to [[howitzer]]s which can fire at higher angles. Field guns also lack a specialized purpose, such as anti-tank or coastal artillery. By the later stages of World War II the majority of artillery in use was either in the form of howitzers of {{convert|105|mm|abbr=on}} to {{convert|155|mm|abbr=on}}, or in form of hybrid anti-tank/field guns that had high enough muzzle velocity to be used in both roles. The most common field guns of the era were the British {{convert|5.5|in|abbr=on}}, the American [[155 mm Long Tom]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doyle |first=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1285628816 |title=155 Mm Gun M1 "Long Tom" : US Army Field Gun in World War II and Korea |publisher=[[Schiffer Publishing]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-7643-6339-9 |oclc=1285628816}}</ref> (a development of a [[France|French]] World War I weapon) and the Soviet [[100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)|BS-3]] &ndash; an artillery piece adapted from a naval gun and designed to double up as an anti-tank weapon.

One of the most produced field guns during the war was the Soviet {{convert|76|mm|abbr=on}} [[76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3)|ZiS-3]] with over 103,000 produced. The ZiS-3 could be used in direct fire against armored vehicles, direct fire in infantry support, and indirect fire against distant targets. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/artillery | title=Artillery &#124; Definition, History, Types, & Facts &#124; Britannica }}</ref>