How′it-zer.
A cannon, differing from ordinary guns in being shorter and lighter in proportion to its bore, and used for throwing hollow projectiles with comparatively small charges. A 6-pdr. gun weighs 100 pounds more than a 12-pdr. howitzer. Their charge of powder for a 12-pdr. field howitzer is 3/4 pound of powder; that for a 12-pdr. mountain howitzer is 1/2 pound of powder. A smaller chamber at the bottom of the bore receives the powder. a, mountain-howitzer. b, field-howitzer. c, siege-howitzer, model of 1850. d, the siege-howitzer, 1861, has a chamber the size of the bore. See mountain-howitzer. [1139]Howitzers. |