One common feature that sets self-propelled artillery apart, though, is that instead of turrets, they often have gun casemates, which are essentially like the kind of fortified gun emplacements regular artillery guns are shielded behind.

Tanks also have thicker armour, making them more suited to this direct combat role.Īs is often the case with technology, there are, of course, exceptions - such as the Jagdtiger pictured below – since supporting other units sometimes exposes SPGs/SPA to considerable fire, such as when they serve in an anti-tank role. They have turrets that allow for easy rotation of their guns, which fire at a flatter trajectory more suited for direct fire upon their intended targets. Tanks, on the other hand, usually go into battle directly rather than supporting a battle indirectly. Or it can continue driving itself to keep up with other armoured vehicles and units that it is intended to support. SPA can drive itself to where it is needed and fire from there. The key is it is more mobile than a field gun, which needs to be towed. Like a field gun that is positioned somewhere on the battlefield (often behind frontline troops), its job is to support infantry or other units. The use of and potential roles for SPA are also varied, and complex, though the basic difference with a tank is that SPA is meant to be mobile artillery. Since howitzers are not always technically classed as artillery, SPA is sometimes referred to more comprehensively as SPGs (self-propelled guns), and they can in fact also carry other weapons like mortars and rockets.

The uninformed could be forgiven for confusing the two - both are armoured vehicles on tank tracks, and both have large guns.Īnother way to describe it might be to say that SPA has either large guns, or howitzers (which are essentially guns that fire at a higher trajectory, allowing for indirect fire.)

To the untrained eye, there may seem to be similarities in the look of self-propelled artillery (SPA) and tanks - and indeed there are, but both have been developed for specific roles on the battlefield.

Military tank with mortor type gun