in the panzer divisions. 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. 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 Sherman tank were armed with the 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 75 mm short howitzer. The Churchill, Centaur and Cromwell tanks were all produced in versions armed with 95 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 cruiser tank and the Matilda II Infantry tank were produced in versions armed with the 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 AVRE version of the Churchill Tank was armed with a Spigot mortar that fired a HE-filled projectile (nicknamed the Flying Dustbin) . Its task was to attack fortified positions such as bunkers at close range (see Hobart's Funnies). Post-war use In the post-WWII 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 jeeps 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 air-droppable light anti-tank guns. The Soviets went on to develop an improved air-droppable 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