Abstract: A howitzer suitable for deployment on a ground plane, the howitzer having an ordnance for firing a projectile. The ordnance can include a barrel defining a barrel axis and having a muzzle towards the front end of the howitzer and a breech assembly at the back end of the barrel; a cradle for holding the ordnance at a traverse and an elevation; two trunnion pins located on the cradle, which co-locate with receiving trunnion bearings on a saddle, wherein in a first position said breech is located forward of the trunnion, in a second position, at the end of the recoil stroke, the breech is retracted substantially behind the trunnion, wherein a recoil stroke is variable depending on the selection of the elevation.

Abstract: A howitzer suitable for deployment on a ground plane, the howitzer having an ordnance for firing a projectile. The ordnance can include a barrel defining a barrel axis and having a muzzle towards the front end of the howitzer and a breech assembly at the back end of the barrel; a cradle for holding the ordnance at a traverse and an elevation; two trunnion pins located on the cradle, which co-locate with receiving trunnion bearings on a saddle, wherein in a first position said breech is located forward of the trunnion, in a second position, at the end of the recoil stroke, the breech is retracted substantially behind the trunnion, wherein a recoil stroke is variable depending on the selection of the elevation.