1.
Yugoslavia
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Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe during most of the 20th century. The Serbian royal House of Karađorđević became the Yugoslav royal dynasty, Yugoslavia gained international recognition on 13 July 1922 at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris. The country was named after the South Slavic peoples and constituted their first union, following centuries in which the territories had been part of the Ottoman Empire, renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 3 October 1929, it was invaded by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941. In 1943, a Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed by the Partisan resistance, in 1944, the king recognised it as the legitimate government, but in November 1945 the monarchy was abolished. Yugoslavia was renamed the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946 and it acquired the territories of Istria, Rijeka, and Zadar from Italy. Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito ruled the country as president until his death in 1980, in 1963, the country was renamed again as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The constituent six socialist republics that made up the country were the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Serbia, and SR Slovenia. Serbia contained two Socialist Autonomous Provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, which after 1974 were largely equal to the members of the federation. After an economic and political crisis in the 1980s and the rise of nationalism, Yugoslavia broke up along its republics borders, at first into five countries, eventually, Serbia and Montenegro accepted the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee about shared succession. Serbia and Montenegro themselves broke up in 2006 and became independent states, the concept of Yugoslavia, as a single state for all South Slavic peoples, emerged in the late 17th century and gained prominence through the Illyrian Movement of the 19th century. The name was created by the combination of the Slavic words jug, Yugoslavia was the result of the Corfu Declaration, as a project of the Serbian Parliament in exile and the Serbian royal Karađorđević dynasty, who became the Yugoslav royal dynasty. The country was formed in 1918 immediately after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and it was commonly referred to at the time as the Versailles state. Later, the government renamed the country leading to the first official use of Yugoslavia in 1929, on 6 January 1929 King Alexander I suspended the constitution, banned national political parties, assumed executive power and renamed the country Yugoslavia. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions and he imposed a new constitution and relinquished his dictatorship in 1931. None of these three regimes favored the policy pursued by Alexander I, Alexander attempted to create a centralised Yugoslavia. He decided to abolish Yugoslavias historic regions, and new internal boundaries were drawn for provinces or banovinas, the banovinas were named after rivers. Many politicians were jailed or kept under police surveillance, the effect of Alexanders dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity. During his reign the flags of Yugoslav nations were banned, Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son Peter II and a regency council headed by his cousin, Prince Paul
2.
Howitzer
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In the taxonomies of artillery pieces used by European armies in the 17th to 20th centuries, the howitzer stood between the gun and the mortar. Howitzers, like other artillery equipment, are organized in groups called batteries. The English word howitzer comes from the Czech word houfnice, from houf, crowd, haufen, sometimes in the compound Gewalthaufen, also designated a pike square formation in German. This is particularly true in the forces of the United States. Because of this practice, the howitzer is used in some armies as a generic term for any kind of artillery piece that is designed to attack targets using indirect fire. Thus, artillery pieces that bear resemblance to howitzers of earlier eras are now described as howitzers. Most other armies in the reserve the word howitzer for guns with barrel lengths 15 to 25 times their caliber. The British had a method of nomenclature. In the 18th century, they adopted projectile weight for guns replacing the old naming system of culverin, saker, mortars had been categorized by calibre in inches in the 17th century and this was inherited by howitzers. The modern howitzers were invented in Sweden towards the end of the 17th century, originally intended for use in siege warfare, they were particularly useful for delivering cast-iron shells filled with gunpowder or incendiary materials into the interior of fortifications. In the middle of the 18th century, a number of European armies began to introduce howitzers that were enough to accompany armies in the field. Though usually fired at the high angles of fire used by contemporary siege howitzers. Rather, as the guns of the day were usually restricted to inert projectiles. Many, for the sake of simplicity and rapidity of fire, the Abus gun was an early form of howitzer in the Ottoman Empire. In 1758 the Russian Empire introduced a type of howitzer, with a conical chamber, called a licorne. The most famous of these gun-howitzers was the Napoleon 12-pounder, a weapon of French design that saw service in the American Civil War. The longest-serving artillery piece of the 19th century was the mountain howitzer, in 1859, the armies of Europe began to rearm field batteries with rifled field guns. These new field pieces used cylindrical projectiles that, while smaller in caliber than the spherical shells of smoothbore field howitzers, moreover, their greater range let them create many of the same effects that previously required the sharply curved trajectories of smoothbore field howitzers
3.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
4.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
5.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
6.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
7.
Syrian Civil War
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The Syrian Civil War is an armed conflict taking place in Syria. Syrian opposition groups formed the Free Syrian Army and seized control of the area surrounding Aleppo, over time, some factions of the Syrian opposition split from their original moderate position to pursue an Islamist vision for Syria, joining groups such as al-Nusra Front and ISIL. In 2015, the Yekîneyên Parastina Gel joined forces with Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Russia and Hezbollah militarily engaged in support of the Syrian government, while beginning in 2014, a coalition of NATO countries began launching airstrikes against ISIL. International organizations have accused the Syrian government, ISIL, and some groups of severe human rights violations. The conflict has caused a major refugee crisis, over the course of the war a number of peace initiatives have been launched, including the March 2017 Geneva peace talks on Syria led by the United Nations, but fighting continues. Syria became an independent republic in 1946, although democratic rule ended with a coup in March 1949, a popular uprising against military rule in 1954 saw the army transfer power to civilians. From 1958 to 1961, a union with Egypt replaced Syrias parliamentary system with a highly centralized presidential government. The secular Baath Syrian Regional Branch government came to power through a successful coup détat in 1963, for the next several years Syria went through additional coups and changes in leadership. In March 1971, Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite, declared himself President, on 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. They labeled Assad the enemy of Allah and called for a jihad against his rule, the government survived a series of armed revolts by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, from 1976 until 1982. Upon Hafez al-Assads death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad was elected as President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma, a Sunni Muslim born and educated in Britain, initially inspired hopes for democratic reforms. The Damascus Spring, a period of social and political debate, the Damascus Spring largely ended in August 2001 with the arrest and imprisonment of ten leading activists who had called for democratic elections and a campaign of civil disobedience. In the opinion of his critics, Bashar al-Assad had failed to deliver on promised reforms, Syrian Arabs, together with some 600,000 Palestinian Arabs, make up roughly 74 percent of the population. Syria Muslims are 74 percent Sunnis, and 13 percent Shias,3 percent were Druze, not all of the Sunnis are Arabs. Bashar is married to a Sunni, with whom he has several children and he is affiliated with the sect that his parents belong to, the minority Alawite sect which comprises an estimated 8-12 percent of the total population. Assyrians, an indigenous Eastern Aramaic-speaking Christian Semitic people, numbering approximately 500,000, are mainly in northeast Syria. A larger population lives over the border in northern Iraq, other ethnic groups include Armenians, Circassians, Turkmens, Greeks, Mhallami, Kawliya, Yezidi, Shabaks, and Mandeans. Socioeconomic inequality increased significantly after free market policies were initiated by Hafez al-Assad in his later years, the country also faced particularly high youth unemployment rates
8.
Rheinmetall
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Rheinmetall AG is an automotive parts supplier and military technology group headquartered in Düsseldorf. In fiscal 2015, the companys 20,676 employees generated sales of €5.18 billion, Rheinmetall was the tenth-largest European defence contractor in 2011. The Groups Automotive unit had sales in fiscal 2015 of €2.59 billion, Rheinmetall AG is listed on the German MDAX, its shares are traded on all German stock exchanges. KSPG is the management company of Rheinmetall AGs automotive technology branch, development of new products takes place in close cooperation with major automakers. The company has been organized into three operating divisions since May 2012, Hardparts, Mechatronics, and Motor Service. The companys activities fall into seven units, including Kolbenschmidt, Large Pistons, Pierburg, Pierburg Pump Technology, Plain Bearings, Aluminium Technology. Rheinmetall AGs Defence arm is one of the leading producers of systems and equipment for ground, air. Rheinmetall Defence has three divisions, Weapon and Munition, Electronic Solutions, and Vehicle Systems and its subsidiaries and affiliates are embedded in these three divisions. Though based in Germany, Rheinmetall Defence now has production plants, at the start of the twentieth century Dreysesche Gewehrfabrik, Munitions- und Waffenfabrik was added to Rheinmetall. After World War I, as a result of the treaty limitations imposed upon Germany, in 1935, the Reich took majority shareholding. The railway locomotive manufacturer August Borsig GmbH was taken over in 1933 and this led to the merger in 1936 giving Rheinmetall-Borsig AG. The Reichswehr placed a contract with Rheinmetall for a tank design leading to the Neubaufahrzeug, the company went on to produce guns for tanks used by the Wehrmacht and anti-tank guns. Production facilities were damaged by Allied bombing during World War II leading to relocation in eastern Germany, in the immediate post-war military production was banned and it was not until 1956 that arms production started again. The company name changed to Rheinmetall Berlin AG, at present the case is on trial in Indian courts. Acquisitions Chempro GmbH, 51% share ADS Gesellschaft für aktive Schutzsysteme mbH Zaugg Elektronik AG Stork PWV Rheinmetall Denel Munition Ltd, simrad Optronics ASA Swiss Simtec Vingtech Corp
9.
Gun barrel
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A gun barrel is a part of firearms and artillery pieces. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, a gun barrel must be able to hold in the expanding gas produced by the propellants to ensure that optimum muzzle velocity is attained by the projectile as it is being pushed out by the expanding gas. Modern small arms barrels are made of known and tested to withstand the pressures involved. Artillery pieces are made by various techniques providing reliably sufficient strength, early firearms were muzzle-loading, with powder, and then shot loaded from the muzzle, capable of only a low rate of fire. During the 19th century effective mechanical locks were invented that sealed a breech-loading weapon against the escape of propellant gases, the early Chinese, the inventors of gunpowder, used bamboo, a naturally tubular stalk, as the first barrels in gunpowder projectile weapons. Early European guns were made of iron, usually with several strengthening bands of the metal wrapped around circular wrought iron rings. The Chinese were the first to master cast-iron cannon barrels, early cannon barrels were very thick for their caliber. Bore evacuator Bore snake Cannon Muzzle Polygonal rifling Rifling Slug barrel Smoothbore
10.
Caliber (artillery)
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In artillery, caliber or calibre is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length. Rifled barrels introduce ambiguity to measurement of caliber, a rifled bore consists of alternating grooves and lands. The distance across the bore from groove to groove is greater than the distance from land to land, the depth of rifling grooves increases in larger calibers. United States Navy guns typically used rifling depth between one-half and one percent of caliber, projectile bourrelet diameter specification was 0.015 inches less than land to land diameter with a minus manufacturing tolerance so average clearance was about 0.012 inches. Driving band diameter was groove to groove diameter plus 0.02 inches, the length of the barrel is often quoted in calibers. For example, US Naval Rifles 3 in or larger, the effective length of the barrel is divided by the barrel diameter to give a dimensionless quantity.81 As an example, the main guns of the Iowa-class battleships can be referred to as 16/50 caliber. They are 16 inches in diameter and the barrel is 800 inches long, the bore to barrel length ratio is called caliber in naval gunnery,81 but is called length in army artillery. Before World War II, the US Navy used 5/51 caliber as surface-to-surface guns, by the end of World War II, the dual purpose 5/38 caliber was standard naval armament against surface and air targets. All three had a diameter of 5 inches. At sea, a weapon had to perform, without fail, there was no ready replacement, nor one that could be readily supplied. Over time, the terms of pound and bore became confused and blurred, eventually, when the technology existed, the bore came to be the standard measure. For naval rifles, the change was to actual bore. They then began to measure the length of the weapon in calibers. These were a measure of the bore of the barrel versus the rifled bore of the barrel. In other words, a 12/45 is 12×45= the length of the bore of that gun in inches. This explains the differences in both penetration and long range performance of naval rifles over the years. In addition to the improvements in overall performance, the increase in barrel length also allowed, in some circumstances. For example, the American 14/45, as introduced in the New York-class battleships, later improvements to the design, lengthening the rifle itself and also altering the breech, allowed a 1400 lb. projectile and, overall, a greater barrel life
11.
Shell (projectile)
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A shell is a payload-carrying projectile that, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used, originally, it was called a bombshell, but shell has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages, shells are usually large-calibre projectiles fired by artillery, combat vehicles, and warships. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by a nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base. Solid cannonballs did not need a fuse, but hollow munitions filled with something such as gunpowder to fragment the ball, needed a fuse, percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism hit the target. Therefore, shells needed a fuse that was ignited before or during firing. The earliest record of shells being used in combat was by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376, shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop, as described in their book, these hollow, gunpowder-packed shells were made of cast iron. At least since the 16th Century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe, a hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt, Germany dated to the 17th Century. Lots of the grenades obtained their orignal blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. Early powder burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire put down the barrel to light the fuse, other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse. Nevertheless, shells came into use in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, it was known that the fuse towards the muzzle could be lit by the flash through the windage between the shell and the barrel, the use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in the 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder and they were usually made of cast iron, but bronze, lead, brass and even glass shell casings were experimented with. The word bomb encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter and they were about two thirds the weight of solid shot of the same calibre. To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses towards the muzzle, in 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognised that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardised sabot thickness as a half inch. The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading, despite the use of exploding shell, the use of smoothbore cannons, firing spherical projectiles of shot, remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s. By the late 18th century, artillery could use canister shot to defend itself from infantry or cavalry attack and this involved loading a tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls instead of the usual cannonball
12.
Explosive material
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An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material, which may be composed of a single ingredient or a combination of two or more. Materials that detonate are said to be high explosives and materials that deflagrate are said to be low explosives, Explosives may also be categorized by their sensitivity. Sensitive materials that can be initiated by a small amount of heat or pressure are primary explosives. A wide variety of chemicals can explode, a number are manufactured specifically for the purpose of being used as explosives. The remainder are too dangerous, sensitive, toxic, expensive, unstable, in contrast, some materials are merely combustible or flammable if they burn without exploding. The distinction, however, is not razor-sharp, though early thermal weapons, such as Greek fire, have existed since ancient times, the first widely used explosive in warfare and mining was black powder, invented in 9th century China. This material was sensitive to water, and it produced copious amounts of dark smoke, the first useful explosive stronger than black powder was nitroglycerin, developed in 1847. Since nitroglycerin is a liquid and highly unstable, it was replaced by nitrocellulose, TNT in 1863, smokeless powder, dynamite in 1867, World War I saw the adoption of TNT trinitrotoluene in artillery shells. World War II saw a use of new explosives. In turn, these have largely replaced by more powerful explosives such as C-4. However, C-4 and PETN react with metal and catch fire easily, yet unlike TNT, C-4 and PETN are waterproof, the largest commercial application of explosives is mining. In Materials Science and Engineering, explosives are used in cladding, a thin plate of some material is placed atop a thick layer of a different material, both layers typically of metal. Atop the thin layer is placed an explosive, at one end of the layer of explosive, the explosion is initiated. The two metallic layers are forced together at high speed and with great force, the explosion spreads from the initiation site throughout the explosive. Ideally, this produces a metallurgical bond between the two layers and it is possible that some fraction of the surface material from either layer eventually gets ejected when the end of material is reached. Hence, the mass of the now welded bilayer, may be less than the sum of the masses of the two initial layers, there are applications where a shock wave, and electrostatics, can result in high velocity projectiles. Thus, explosives are substances that contain an amount of energy stored in chemical bonds. Consequently, most commercial explosives are compounds containing -NO2, -ONO2 and -NHNO2 groups that
13.
Caliber
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In guns, particularly firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel, or the diameter of the projectile it fires, in hundredths or sometimes thousandths of an inch. For example, a 45 caliber firearm has a diameter of.45 of an inch. Barrel diameters can also be expressed using metric dimensions, as in 9mm pistol, when the barrel diameter is given in inches, the abbreviation cal can be used. Good performance requires a bullet to closely match the diameter of a barrel to ensure a good seal. While modern cartridges and cartridge firearms are referred to by the cartridge name. Firearm calibers outside the range of 17 to 50 exist, but are rarely encountered. Larger calibers, such as.577.585.600.700, the.950 JDJ is the only known cartridge beyond 79 caliber used in a rifle. Referring to artillery, caliber is used to describe the length as multiples of the bore diameter. A 5-inch 50 calibre gun has a diameter of 5 in. The main guns of the USS Missouri are 1650 caliber, makers of early cartridge arms had to invent methods of naming the cartridges, since no established convention existed then. One of the early established cartridge arms was the Spencer repeating rifle, later various derivatives were created using the same basic cartridge, but with smaller-diameter bullets, these were named by the cartridge diameter at the base and mouth. The original No.56 became the. 56-56, and the smaller versions. 56-52. 56-50, the. 56-52, the most common of the new calibers, used a 50-cal bullet. Optionally, the weight in grains was designated, e. g. 45-70-405. Variations on these methods persist today, with new cartridges such as the.204 Ruger, metric diameters for small arms refer to cartridge dimensions and are expressed with an × between the bore diameter and the length of the cartridge case, for example,7. 62×51 NATO. This indicates that the diameter is 7. 62mm, loaded in a case 51mm long. Similarly, the 6. 5×55 Swedish cartridge has a diameter of 6.5 mm. An exception to rule is the proprietary cartridge used by U. S. maker Lazzeroni. The following table lists commonly used calibers where both metric and imperial are used as equivalents
14.
Breech-loading weapon
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A breech-loading gun is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel. Modern mass production firearms are breech-loading, early firearms, on the other hand, were almost entirely muzzle-loading. In field artillery, breech loading allows the crew to reload the gun without exposing themselves to fire or repositioning the piece. The main challenge for developers of breech-loading firearms was sealing the breech and this was eventually solved for smaller firearms by the development of the self-contained metallic cartridge. For firearms too large to use cartridges, the problem was solved by the development of the interrupted screw, breech-loading swivel guns were invented in the 14th century. The breech-loading swivel gun had a rate of fire, and was especially effective in anti-personnel roles. Breech-loading firearms are known from the 16th century, Henry VIII possessed one, which he apparently used as a hunting gun to shoot birds. More breech-loading firearms were made in the early 18th century, one such gun known to have belonged to Philip V of Spain, and was manufactured circa 1715, probably in Madrid. It came with a ready-to load reusable cartridge, patrick Ferguson, a British Army officer, developed in 1772 the Ferguson rifle, a breech-loading flintlock firearm. Later on into the century there were attempts in Europe at an effective breech-loader. There were concentrated attempts at improved cartridges and methods of ignition, the cartridge was loaded through the breech and fired with a needle. The needle-activated central-fire breech-loading gun would become a feature of firearms thereafter. The corresponding firearm was also developed by Pauly, Pauly made an improved version, which was protected by a patent on 29 September 1812. In 1846 another Paris Frenchman, Benjamin Houllier, patented the first fully metallic cartridge containing powder in a metallic shell, Houllier commercialised his weapons in association with the gunsmiths Blanchard or Charles Robert. In English-speaking countries the Flobert cartridge corresponds to the.22 BB, the first centrefire cartridge was introduced in 1855 by Pottet, with both Berdan and Boxer priming. The Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr or Dreyse needle gun, was a single-shot breech-loading rifle using a rotating bolt to seal the breech and it was so called because of its. 5-inch needle-like firing pin, which passed through a paper cartridge case to impact a percussion cap at the bullet base. It began development in the 1830s under von Dreyse and eventually a version of it was adopted by Prussia in the late 1840s. The paper cartridge and the gun had numerous deficiencies, specifically, however, the rifle was used to great success in the Prussian army in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866
15.
Recoil
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Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it is discharged. To apply this counter-recoiling force, modern mounted guns may employ recoil buffering comprising springs and hydraulic recoil mechanisms, early cannons used systems of ropes along with rolling or sliding friction to provide forces to slow the recoiling cannon to a stop. Recoil buffering allows the maximum counter-recoil force to be lowered so that strength limitations of the gun mount are not exceeded, however, the same pressures acting on the base of the projectile are acting on the rear face of the gun chamber, accelerating the gun rearward during firing. This results in the required counter-recoiling force being proportionally lower, modern cannons also employ muzzle brakes very effectively to redirect some of the propellant gasses rearward after projectile exit. This provides a force to the barrel, allowing the buffering system. The same physics affecting recoil in mounted guns and cannons applies to hand-held guns, hands, arms and shoulders have considerable strength and elasticity for this purpose, up to certain practical limits. For this reason, establishing recoil safety standards for small arms remains challenging, a change in momentum of a mass requires a force, according to Newtons first law, known as the law of inertia, inertia simply being another term for mass. That force, applied to a mass, creates an acceleration, according to Newtons second law, the law of momentum -- changing the velocity of the mass changes its momentum. It is important to understand at this point that velocity is not simply speed, velocity is the speed of a mass in a particular direction. In a very technical sense, speed is a scalar, a magnitude, in summation, the total momentum of the system equals zero, surprisingly just as it did before the trigger was pulled. There are two conservation laws at work when a gun is fired, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy, recoil is explained by the law of conservation of momentum, and so it is easier to discuss it separately from energy. The nature of the process is determined by the force of the expanding gases in the barrel upon the gun. It is also determined by the force applied to the gun. The recoil force only acts during the time that the ejecta are still in the barrel of the gun, except for the case of zero-recoil, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force but lasts for a longer time. Since the recoil force and the force are not matched. In the zero-recoil case, the two forces are matched and the gun will not move when fired. In most cases, a gun is very close to a free-recoil condition, an example of near zero-recoil would be a gun securely clamped to a massive or well-anchored table, or supported from behind by a massive wall. For example, placing the butt of a large caliber gun directly against a wall, the recoil of a firearm, whether large or small, is a result of the law of conservation of momentum
16.
Gun laying
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Gun laying is the process of aiming an artillery piece, such as a gun, howitzer or mortar on land, or at sea, against surface or air targets. It may be laying for direct fire, where the gun is aimed similarly to a rifle, or indirect fire, the term includes automated aiming using, for example, radar-derived target data and computer-controlled guns. Gun laying means moving the axis of the bore of the barrel in two planes, horizontal and vertical. A gun is traversed – rotated in a horizontal plane – to align it with the target, Gun laying is a set of actions to align the axis of a gun barrel so that it points in the required direction. This alignment is in the horizontal and vertical planes, Gun laying may be for direct fire, where the layer sees the target, or indirect fire, where the target may not be visible from the gun. Gun laying has sometimes called training the gun. Laying in the vertical plane uses data derived from trials or empirical experience, for any given gun and projectile types, it reflects the distance to the target and the size of the propellant charge. It also incorporates any differences in height between gun and target, with indirect fire, it may allow for other variables as well. With indirect fire the horizontal angle is relative to something, typically the guns aiming point, depending on the gun mount, there is usually a choice of two trajectories. The dividing angle between the trajectories is about 45 degrees, it varies due to gun dependent factors. Below 45 degrees the trajectory is called low angle, above is high angle, the differences are that low angle fire has a shorter time of flight, a lower vertex and flatter angle of descent. All guns have carriages or mountings that support the barrel assembly, early guns could only be traversed by moving their entire carriage or mounting, and this lasted with heavy artillery into World War II. Mountings could be fitted into traversing turrets on ships, coast defences or tanks, from circa 1900 field artillery carriages provided traverse without moving the wheels and trail. The carriage, or mounting, also enabled the barrel to be set at the elevation angle. With some gun mounts it is possible to depress the gun, some guns require a near-horizontal elevation for loading. An essential capability for any elevation mechanism is to prevent the weight of the barrel forcing its heavier end downward and this is greatly helped by having trunnions at the centre of gravity, although a counterbalance mechanism can be used. It also means the elevation gear has to be enough to resist considerable downward pressure. However, mortars, where the forces were transferred directly into the ground
17.
TNT
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Trinitrotoluene, or more specifically 2,4, 6-trinitrotoluene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H23CH3. This yellow-colored solid is used as a reagent in chemical synthesis. The explosive yield of TNT is considered to be the measure of bombs. In chemistry, TNT is used to charge transfer salts. TNT was first prepared in 1863 by German chemist Julius Wilbrand and its potential as an explosive was not appreciated for several years, mainly because it was so difficult to detonate and because it was less powerful than alternatives. Its explosive properties were first discovered by another German chemist, Carl Häussermann, the German armed forces adopted it as a filling for artillery shells in 1902. The British started replacing lyddite with TNT in 1907, TNT is still widely used by the United States military, as well as construction companies around the world. The majority of TNT currently used by the US military is manufactured by Radford Army Ammunition Plant near Radford, in industry, TNT is produced in a three-step process. First, toluene is nitrated with a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acid to produce mononitrotoluene, the MNT is separated and then renitrated to dinitrotoluene. In the final step, the DNT is nitrated to trinitrotoluene using a mixture of nitric acid. Nitric acid is consumed by the process, but the diluted sulfuric acid can be reconcentrated and reused. The rinse water from sulphitation is known as red water and is a significant pollutant, control of nitrogen oxides in feed nitric acid is very important because free nitrogen dioxide can result in oxidation of the methyl group of toluene. This reaction is exothermic and carries with it the risk of a runaway reaction leading to an explosion. In the laboratory,2,4, 6-trinitrotoluene is produced by a two-step process, a nitrating mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids is used to nitrate toluene to a mixture of mono- and di-nitrotoluene isomers, with careful cooling to maintain temperature. The nitrated toluenes are then separated, washed with dilute sodium bicarbonate to remove oxides of nitrogen, towards the end of the nitration, the mixture is heated on a steam bath. The trinitrotoluene is separated, washed with a solution of sodium sulfite. TNT is one of the most commonly used explosives for military, industrial, TNT has been used in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing, a process used to recover oil and gas from shale formations. The technique involves displacing and detonating nitroglycerin in hydraulically induced fractures followed by wellbore shots using pelletized TNT, TNT is valued partly because of its insensitivity to shock and friction, with reduced risk of accidental detonation compared to more sensitive explosives such as nitroglycerin
18.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
19.
Wespe
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Kfz.124 Wespe, also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II, was a German self-propelled artillery vehicle developed and used during the Second World War. It was based on a modified Panzer II chassis, in 1940, during the Battle of France, it was apparent that the intermediate tank of the German forces, the Panzer II, was unsuitable as a main battle tank. Though mechanically sound, it was both under-gunned and under-armoured, the chassis, however, proved servicable for providing mobility to the 10.5 cm field howitzer. Existing chassis were converted to self-propelled artillery vehicles, just as had been done with the Marder II, the design for the Wespe was produced by Alkett, and was based on the Panzer II Ausf. Alkett had earlier worked with Alfred Becker to convert captured French armoured vehicles into self-propelled artillery carriers, amongst other modifications to the Panzer II, the engine was moved forward and the chassis was slightly lengthened to gain sufficient space for the rear-mounted 10.5 cm leFH18 howitzer. The superstructure was armored, with 10 mm armor plate and was open at the top. The vehicles were produced by FAMOs Ursus plant in Warsaw, the Wespe was in production from February 1943 until June 1944, when Soviet forces approached the frontier. By that time,676 had been produced, an additional 159 were modified to serve as mobile artillery ammunition carriers. The Wespe first saw combat in 1943 on the Eastern Front, the vehicles were allocated to the armored artillery battalions of Panzer divisions along with heavier Hummel self-propelled artillery. The Wespe brought greater mobility to the formations of the panzer divisions. The Wespe was very popular with its due to its reliability. Surviving Panzer II tanks - A PDF file presenting the Panzer II tanks still existing in the world Tanks Encyclopedia - Wespe
20.
Self-propelled artillery
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Self-propelled artillery is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move towards its target. Within the term are covered self-propelled guns and rocket artillery and they are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large howitzer, field gun, a mortar or some form of rocket or missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield, in the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire vehicles, such as assault guns and tank destroyers. These have been heavily armoured vehicles, the former providing close fire-support for infantry, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles may superficially resemble tanks, but they are generally lightly armoured, too lightly to survive in direct-fire combat. However, they protect their crews against shrapnel and small arms and are usually included as armoured fighting vehicles. Many are equipped with guns for defense against enemy infantry. The key advantage of self-propelled over towed artillery is that it can be brought into action much faster, before the towed artillery can be used, it has to stop, unlimber and set up the guns. To move position, the guns must be limbered up again, by comparison, self-propelled artillery can stop at a chosen location and begin firing almost immediately, then quickly move on to a new position. This shoot-and-scoot ability is useful in a mobile conflict and particularly on the advance. Conversely, towed artillery was and remains cheaper to build and maintain and it is also lighter and can be taken to places that self-propelled guns cannot reach. Since the Vietnam War, heavy transport helicopters have also used for rapid artillery deployment. So, despite the advantages of the artillery, towed guns remain in the arsenals of many modern armies. During the Thirty Years War, early 17th century experiments were made with early types of horse artillery, batteries towed light field guns where most or all of the crew rode horses into battle. The gunners were trained to quickly dismount, deploy the guns and provide instant fire support to cavalry, the Russian army organized small units of horse artillery that were distributed among their cavalry formations in the early 18th century. While not forming large batteries and employing only lighter 2- and 3-pound guns, they were still effective and this inspired Frederick the Great to organize the first regular horse artillery unit in 1759. The British Gun Carrier Mark I was the first example of a self-propelled gun and it was based on the first tank, the British Mark I and carried a heavy field gun. The gun could either be fired from the vehicle, or removed, in effect, the carrier replaced the use of a separate horse team or internal combustion engine powered artillery tractor, and allowed a new way for the gun to be used. The next major advance can be seen in the Birch gun developed by the British for their motorised warfare experimental brigade after the end of the War
21.
10.5 cm leFH 18
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The 10.5 cm leFH18 was a German light howitzer used in World War II and the standard artillery piece of the Wehrmacht, adopted for service in 1935 and used by all divisions and artillery battalions. A major advance on its predecessor the 10, the leFH18 was further developed as the leFH 18M and leFH 18/40. Beginning in 1942, self-propelled versions were created by fitting the howitzer on a Panzer II and it was also used to equip German allies and neutral countries in Europe prior to and during the war. During the 1920s, the Reichswehr carried out analyses that indicated the 105mm projectile was more effective than a 75mm equivalent, on 1 June 1927, the Army Ordnance Office issued Secret Command Matter No. 59/27, calling for the development of a new field howitzer. The project was assigned Priority Level II, most important work, rheinmetall-Borsig of Düsseldorf drew up the blueprints and made the initial calculations in 1928. Design work was complete in 1930, with production commencing in the early 1930s, at the outbreak of World War II, the Wehrmacht had 4,862 leFH18 howitzers. Deliveries from September 1939–February 1945 totaled 6,933 leFH18 on wheeled carriages, in 1943, the howitzer cost on average 16,400 RM,6 months and 3,200 man hours to make. The leFH18 improved in most areas on its predecessor, the 10.5 cm leFH16, a completely new three-point split trail gun carriage provided more stability and increased the traverse to 56 degrees. The sighting mechanism made it easier to fire at moving targets, the new gun carriage resulted in a major weight increase to over two tons. A barrel brake containing a water jacket and an equalizer in the upper carriage also checked the recoil. The protective shield was a reinforced, tapered shield with flattened sides that could be folded down, the barrel was good for 10,000 to 12,000 shots. The howitzer could fire 28 different shell types, the main high explosive shell was nearly a kilogram lighter and contained a heavier explosive charge. The leFH proved an adaptable design, with a total of 28 different variants manufactured, the pre-production wooden-spoke wheels were replaced beginning in 1936 with more durable light-metal cast wheel discs and removable tires that made the howitzer easier to tow. The motorized version was fitted with wider solid-rubber tires, a combination of wooden wheels and rubber tires was a frequent occurrence. Towards the end of the war, even older wooden wheels from the leFH16 were used, the howitzer was designed from the start to be transported either by horse or motor vehicle. The heavy weight made horse-drawn transport difficult, especially in the mud, the motorized version was attached directly without a limber to either a SdKfz 6 or Sd. Kfz. 11 prime mover and could achieve a march speed of 40 km/h
22.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
23.
Muzzle brake
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A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to the muzzle of a firearm or cannon that redirects propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire. They have been used in forms for rifles and pistols to help control recoil. They are used on pistols for practical pistol competitions, and are usually called compensators in this context, the interchangeable terms muzzle rise, muzzle flip, or muzzle climb refer to the tendency of a handheld firearms front end to rise after firing. Firearms with less height from the line to the barrel centerline tend to experience less muzzle rise. The muzzle rises primarily because, for most firearms, the centerline of the barrel is above the center of contact between the shooter and the grip and stock. The reactive forces from the bullet and propellant gases exiting the muzzle act directly down the centerline of the barrel. If that line of force is above the center of the points, this creates a moment or torque rotational force that makes the firearm rotate. The M1946 Sieg automatic rifle had a muzzle brake that made the rifle climb downward. Muzzle brakes are simple in concept, such as the one employed on the 90 mm M3 gun used on the M47 Patton tank and this consists of a small length of tubing mounted at right angles to the end of the barrel. Brakes most often utilize slots, vents, holes, baffles, the strategy of a muzzle brake is to redirect and control the burst of combustion gases that follows the departure of a projectile. All muzzle brake designs share a basic principle, they partially divert combustion gases at a sideways angle. The momentum of the diverted gases thus does not add to the recoil, the angle toward which the gases are directed will fundamentally affect how the brake behaves. If gases are directed upward, they exert a downward force. Construction of a brake or compensator can be as simple as a diagonal cut at the muzzle end of the barrel to direct some of the escaping gas upward. On the AKM assault rifle, the brake also angles slightly to the right to counteract the movement of the rifle under recoil. Another simple method is porting, where holes or slots are machined into the barrel near the muzzle to allow the gas to escape, more advanced designs use baffles and expansion chambers to slow escaping gases. This is the principle behind a linear compensator. Ports are often added to the chambers, producing the long
24.
Battle of Stalingrad
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Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses, the German offensive to capture Stalingrad began in August 1942, using the German 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble, the fighting degenerated into house-to-house fighting, and both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November 1942, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the Volga River. On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus, the Axis forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler ordered that the stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out, instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air. Heavy fighting continued for two months. By the beginning of February 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad had exhausted their ammunition, the remaining units of the 6th Army surrendered. The battle lasted five months, one week, and three days, elsewhere, the war had been progressing well, the U-boat offensive in the Atlantic had been very successful and Rommel had just captured Tobruk. In the east, they had stabilized their front in a running from Leningrad in the north to Rostov in the south. There were a number of salients, but these were not particularly threatening, neither Army Group North nor Army Group South had been particularly hard pressed over the winter. Stalin was expecting the main thrust of the German summer attacks to be directed against Moscow again, with the initial operations being very successful, the Germans decided that their summer campaign in 1942 would be directed at the southern parts of the Soviet Union. The initial objectives in the region around Stalingrad were the destruction of the capacity of the city. The river was a key route from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to central Russia and its capture would disrupt commercial river traffic. The Germans cut the pipeline from the oilfields when they captured Rostov on 23 July, the capture of Stalingrad would make the delivery of Lend Lease supplies via the Persian Corridor much more difficult. On 23 July 1942, Hitler personally rewrote the operational objectives for the 1942 campaign, both sides began to attach propaganda value to the city based on it bearing the name of the leader of the Soviet Union. The expansion of objectives was a significant factor in Germanys failure at Stalingrad, caused by German overconfidence, the Soviets realized that they were under tremendous constraints of time and resources and ordered that anyone strong enough to hold a rifle be sent to fight. If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish this war, Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture the vital Soviet oil fields there
25.
Kinetic energy penetrator
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A kinetic energy penetrator is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour. Like a bullet, this ammunition does not contain explosives and uses energy to penetrate the target. Modern KEP munitions are typically of the armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot type, early cannons fired kinetic energy ammunition, initially consisting of round balls of worked stone and later of round balls of metal. From the beginning, combining high energy with projectile density. Similarly, the foremost purpose of weapons has generally been to defeat armour or other defensive structures, whether stone castle walls, ship timbers. Kinetic energy ammunition, in its various forms, has consistently been the choice for those weapons due to the need for high muzzle energy, the development of the modern KE penetrator combines two aspects of artillery design, high muzzle velocity and concentrated force. High muzzle velocity is achieved by using a projectile with a low mass, firing a small size projectile wrapped in a lightweight outer shell, called a sabot, raises the muzzle velocity. Once the shell clears the barrel, the sabot is no longer needed and this leaves the projectile traveling at high velocity with a smaller cross-sectional area and reduced aerodynamic drag during the flight to the target. Germany developed modern sabots under the name treibspiegel to give extra altitude to its anti-aircraft guns during the Second World War, the name sabot is the French word for clog. Concentration of force into an area was initially attained by replacing the single metal shot with a composite shot using two metals, a heavy core inside a lighter metal outer shell. These designs were either as armour-piercing composite rigid, high-velocity armor-piercing. On impact, the core had a more concentrated effect than plain metal shot of the same weight. However, the air resistance and other effects were the same as for the shell of identical size, between 1941 and 1943, the British combined the two techniques in the armour-piercing discarding sabot round. The sabot replaced the metal shell of the APCR. While in the gun the shot had a base area to get maximum acceleration from the propelling charge but once outside. High-velocity armor-piercing rounds were introduced by the United States Army. The principle of the kinetic energy penetrator is that it uses its kinetic energy, if the armor is defeated, the heat and spalling generated by the penetrator going through the armor, and the pressure wave that would develop, ideally destroys the target. The opposite technique to KE-penetrators uses chemical energy penetrators, there are two types of these shells in use, high-explosive anti-tank and high-explosive squash head
26.
Driving band
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The driving band or rotating band is part of an artillery shell, a band of soft metal near the middle of the shell, typically made of gilding metal, copper or lead. The shell is stabilised for yaw in the barrel by a bourrelet band nearer the front of the projectile, the bourrelet is slightly smaller than the driving band, it does not engage with the rifling and serves only to keep the projectile travelling straight in the bore. As the shell weight increases it becomes difficult to engineer the driving band without the propellant gases blowing past the driving band or blowing the driving band off the shell. Some weapons that operate at high rates of fire, such as the GAU-8 Avenger Gatling cannon, the advantage in using plastic as a swage material in such cases is reduced wear on the barrel rifling, extending the life and average accuracy of the weapon. In a small-arms rifle, the bullet is typically covered in copper or a similarly soft alloy. Driving bands pre-cut for the rifling have been used for muzzle loaded weapons, freely rotating bands can be used to reduce the spin imparted to the round as is preferable for HEAT warheads or fin-stabilised projectiles fired from general-purpose rifled barrels. Swaging Obturate Rotating gas-check Big Bullets for Beginners
27.
10.5 cm leFH 16
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The 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 was a field howitzer used by Germany in World War I and World War II. It was introduced in 1916 as a successor to 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09, featuring a longer barrel and it had the same carriage as the 7.7 cm FK16. The Treaty of Versailles limited the Reichswehr to only 84 light field howitzers, the leFH16 remained the standard German howitzer until 1937, when the 10.5 cm leFH18 began to replace them in the artillery battalions. Guns turned over to Belgium as reparations after World War I were taken into German Army service after the conquest of Belgium as the 10.5 cm leFH327, engelmann, J. Deutsche leichte Feldhaubitzen 1935-1945. Translated by Johnston, D. Atglen, PA, Schiffer Publishing, Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945, Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern, Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany, C. A. Starke,1974 Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Weapons of the Third Reich, An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York, Doubleday,1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3 Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two, mechanicsville, PA, Stackpole Books,1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X Jäger, Herbert. German Artillery of World War One
28.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
29.
10.5 cm leFH 18/40
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The 10.5 cm leFH 18/40 was a German light howitzer used in World War II. The 10.5 cm leFH 18/40 supplemented the 10.5 cm leFH18 and it was designed in an effort to lighten the weight of the 105 mm artillery piece and to make it easier to produce. Generally it did not equip independent artillery battalions until after the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, some were also exported to Finland, where they were known as 105 H 33-40. The Romanian Army acquired a number of leFH 18/40 in 1943, in March 1942 a requirement was issued for a lighter howitzer by the Wehrmacht that must also be ready as soon as possible and capable of rapid production. This requirement was met by mounting the barrel of the leFH 18M on the carriage for a 7.5 cm PaK40 antitank gun, the new carriage used torsion bars running the full length of the carriage to suspend the wheels. The original wheels of the PaK40 mounting were too small for use by the howitzer and were replaced by larger pressed-steel wheels with rubber tires. The new mounting increased the rate of fire as well as making the howitzer somewhat lighter, the leFH 18/40 shared the different muzzle brakes used by the leFH 18M. 10.5 cm leFH1810.5 cm leFH 18M Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945, Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern, Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany, C. A. Starke,1974 Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Weapons of the Third Reich, An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York, Doubleday,1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3 Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two, mechanicsville, PA, Stackpole Books,1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X
30.
7.5 cm Pak 40
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The 7.5 cm Pak 40 was a German 75 millimetre anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the Second World War. The Pak 40 formed the backbone of German anti-tank guns for the part of World War II, mostly in towed form. Approximately 20,000 Pak 40s were produced, the KwK40 armed many of the German mid-war tank and destroyer designs, replacing the Pak 40 in the later role. Depending on the source, the Pak 40 may be referred to as the 7. 5/L46, there were two versions of the KwK40, which would be referred to as the 7. 5/L43 or 7. 5/L48. Development of the Pak 40 began after reports of new Soviet tank designs began to reach Berlin in 1939, the 5 cm Pak 38 was still in testing at this point, but it appeared it would not be powerful enough to deal with these newer designs. Contracts were placed with Krupp and Rheinmetall to develop what was essentially a 7.5 cm version of the Pak 38, however, while the Pak 38 made extensive use of light alloys to reduce overall gun weight, these were now earmarked for Luftwaffe. As a result, the Pak 40 used steel throughout its construction and was heavier than the 5 cm model. To simplify production, the Pak 38s curved gun shield was replaced by one using three flat plates, the first pre-production guns were delivered in November 1941. In April 1942, the Wehrmacht had 44 guns in service, by 1943, the Pak 40 was the standard German anti-tank gun until the end of the war, and was supplied by Germany to its allies. Some captured guns were used by the Red Army, after the war, the Pak 40 remained in service in several European armies, including Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Norway, Hungary and Romania. About 20,000 Pak 40s were produced, and about 3,500 more were used to arm tank destroyers, the unit manufacturing cost amounted to 2,200 man-hours at 12,000 RM. The weapon was effective against almost every Allied tank until the end of the war, the Pak 40 was much heavier than the Pak 38, its decreased mobility meant that it was difficult or even impossible to move without an artillery tractor on boggy ground. The Pak 40 was first used in the USSR where it was needed to combat the newest Soviet tanks, in addition, there was an APCR shot for the Pak 40, a munition which - reliant on supplies of tungsten - eventually became very scarce. According to the German Panzertruppen News Journal,5,000 APCR rounds were expected in Dec.1942 as replenishment for the Winter offensive. The main differences amongst the rounds fired by 75 mm German guns were in the length, the Pak 40 used a percussion primer, while the vehicle mounted 75 mm guns used electrical primers. Other than minor differences with the driving bands, all German 75 mm guns used the same 75mm projectiles. The longer cartridge case of the Pak 40 allowed a larger charge to be used, the muzzle velocity was about 790 m/s as opposed to 740 m/s for the KwK40 L/43 and 750 m/s for the L/48. For unknown reasons, some 75 mm APCBC cartridges appear to have produced with a charge that gave a muzzle velocity of about 770 m/s
31.
Self-propelled gun
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A self-propelled gun is a form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers. Self-propelled guns are mounted on a wheeled or tracked chassis. As such the gun can be maneuvered under its own power as opposed to a gun that relies upon a vehicle or other means to be moved on the battlefield. Self-propelled guns are combat support weapons, they are employed by combat support units fighting in support of, or attached to, self-propelled guns are best at providing indirect fire but can give direct fire when needed. It may be armoured, in case it is considered an armoured fighting vehicle. Typically, self-propelled guns are more lightly armoured and may not have turrets, the greatest tactical advantage in the case of artillery guns is clearly the greater degree of mobility they have compared to towed artillery. A secondary advantage in the case of – even lightly – armoured guns is the protection offered to the gun crews. The first attempts to give artillery a greater degree of manoeuvrability was in World War I, although mechanical tractors had been used to tow some artillery, most were still towed by horses. The Gun Carrier Mark I was a piece that was transported by. Between the wars, in the development of their armoured warfare tactics and it carried an 18 pounder gun on a chassis derived from their then medium tank and as such was able to keep up and cross the same ground as the tanks it was intended to support. As well as use as a gun, the gun could be elevated sufficiently for use against aircraft. Self-propelled guns and howitzers are used in the way as their towed variety. Self-propelled artillery can also include other types of weapons not considered a self-propelled gun. Assault guns are artillery pieces, meant to support infantry by direct fire with high explosive ammunition
32.
Panzer II
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The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II, the Panzer II was the most numerous tank in the German Panzer divisions beginning with the invasion of France. It was used in both North Africa against the Western Allies and on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union, the Panzer II was supplanted by the Panzer III and IV by 1940/1941. By the end of 1942, it had largely removed from front line service and it was used for training. The turrets of the then-obsolete PzKpfw Is and PzKpfw IIs were reused as gun turrets on specially built defensive bunkers, in 1934, delays in the design and production of the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks were becoming apparent. Designs for a tank were solicited from Krupp, MAN, Henschel. The final design was based on the Panzer I, but larger, production began in 1935, but it took another eighteen months for the first combat-ready tank to be delivered. The Panzer II was designed before the experience of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39 showed that shell-proof armor was required for tanks to survive on a modern battlefield, prior to that, armor was designed to stop machine gun fire and high-explosive shell fragments. The Panzer II A, B, and C had 14 mm of slightly sloped homogenous steel armor on the sides, front, many IIC were later given increased armor in the front of the vehicle. Starting with the D model, the front armor was increased to 30 mm, the Model F had 35 mm front armor and 20 mm side armor. This amount of armor could be penetrated by towed antitank weapons, such as the Soviet 45mm and French canon de 25, most tank versions of the Panzer II were armed with a 2 cm KwK30 L/55 autocannon. Some later versions used the similar 2 cm KwK38 L/55 and this autocannon was based on the 2 cm FlaK30 anti-aircraft gun, and was capable of firing at a rate of 600 rounds per minute from 10-round magazines. A total of 180 shells were carried, the Panzer II also had a 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 machine gun mounted coaxially with the main gun. The 2 cm autocannon proved to be ineffective against many Allied tanks, and experiments were conducted with a view to replacing it with a 37 mm cannon, but nothing came of this. Prototypes were built with a 50 mm tank gun, but by then the Panzer II had outlived its usefulness as a tank regardless of armament, all production versions of the Panzer II were fitted with a 140 PS, gasoline-fuelled six-cylinder Maybach HL62 TRM engine and ZF transmissions. Models A, B, and C had a top speed of 40 km/h, all versions had a range of 200 km. The Panzer II had a crew of three men, the driver sat in the forward left hull with the gearbox on the right. The commander sat in a seat in the turret, and was responsible for aiming and firing the cannon and co-axial machine gun and he had a radio on the left and several 20mm ammunition storage bins
33.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
34.
2 cm KwK 30
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The 2 cm KwK30 L/55 was a German 2 cm cannon used primarily as the main armament of the German SdKfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank. It was used during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War and it was produced by Mauser and Rheinmetall-Borsig from 1935. Direct ground-attack was not considered a priority for the Luftwaffe, however, an improved version, the 2 cm KwK38 L/55, was used on the SdKfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II. It was also used on the Sd. Kfz. 251/17 Schützenpanzerwagen anti-aircraft vehicle, late war, it was issued as a platoon commanders vehicle to replace the Sd. Kfz. 251/10 Schützenpanzerwagen. The 2 cm KwK30 used the 20 x 138B cartridge, average penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armor plate laid back at 30° from the vertical
35.
5 cm KwK 39
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The 5 cm KwK39 L/60 was a German 5 cm calibre gun used during the Second World War, primarily as the main armament of later models of the German Panzerkampfwagen III tank from 1941 onwards. It was produced when the well-armoured T-34 and KV-1 tanks were encountered in ever increasing numbers on the Eastern Front and it was later superseded by the 7.5 cm KwK40 L/43. It was also mounted on the SdKfz 234/2 Puma armoured car and it was developed as a variant of the 5 cm Pak 38 towed anti-tank gun. On the Panzer III, it replaced the 5 cm KwK38, which had an L/42 calibre length, however, even the 5 cm KwK39 gun with a longer barrel, higher muzzle velocity and more penetration was not sufficient against newer Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. Therefore, as went on, the Panzer III was no longer effective as a medium tank that could engage in fights with enemy tanks. So, a new role for the Panzer III tank was found. On the Panzer III, the 5 cm KwK39 was phased out in favor of the shorter but larger calibre 7.5 cm KwK37 L/24 low velocity guns that could fire more effective HE and HEAT rounds. HE howitzer type rounds with explosive forces and shrapnel were very effective against infantry, machine gun nests, however, early HEAT rounds were somewhat unreliable. They were useful against hardened fortifications and had a good, though limited, thus, they were used against enemy tanks mostly in an emergency. With these changes, the Panzer III with the 7.5 cm KwK became a support tank late in its career, while the new. F2 to fight the KV and T-34 tanks, average penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armour plate laid back at 30° from the vertical. PzGr Weight of projectile,2.06 kg Muzzle velocity,835 m/s PzGr,39 Weight of projectile,2.06 kg Muzzle velocity,835 m/s PzGr. 40 Weight of projectile,0.9 kg Muzzle velocity,1,180 m/s PzGr. 40/1 Weight of projectile,1.06 kg Muzzle velocity,1,130 m/s 5 cm Sprgr. Patr.38 Weight of projectile,1.82 kg Muzzle velocity,550 m/s Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf, several earlier models were re-equipped with this gun. 234/2 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen Puma Bordkanone-series BK5 heavy-caliber autocannon 5 cm KwK38 British Ordnance QF 2-pounder Soviet 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 United States 37 mm Gun M3
36.
7.5 cm KwK 37
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It was designed as a close-infantry support artillery gun firing a high-explosive shell, but was also effective against the early war tanks it faced during the period. Starting from March 1942, new variants of the Panzer IV, when older Panzer IVs were upgunned, their former KwK37 guns were reused to arm later Panzer III tanks and other infantry support vehicles. In 1943 depleted stocks and continued demand from producing Panzer III Ausf, N required restarting production of a slightly revised version under the designation 7.5 cm K51 L/24. KwK37 used shell 75×243 mm. R K. Gr. rot. Pz, a, C, D, E, and F1 StuG III Ausf
37.
7.5 cm KwK 40
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The design of the KwK40 was adapted from the similar towed anti-tank gun, the 7.5 cm Pak 40. It replaced the short-barrel 7.5 cm KwK37 L/24 close-support gun and it came in two versions, with L/43 and L/48 barrel lengths, the former used during 1942 and early 1943, and the latter after that point. Along with the Pak 40, the KwK 40/StuK40 was the most numerous anti-tank gun of the German army, when mounted on a casemate-armored assault gun-designated vehicle instead of a turreted tank, the weapon was called Sturmkanone 40. Both the KwK40 and StuK40 were developed from the towed 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun, the length of the ammunition used was shortened to allow for easier storage of said ammunition in velicles the KwK40 and StuK40 would be mounted on. The KwK40 L/43 was mounted on the Panzer IV from April 1942 until June 1943, All 225 vehicles of the Panzer IV F2 mounted the L/43 with a ball shaped muzzle brake. About a 1,000 out of the 1,687 vehicles of the Panzer IV Ausf, G mounted the L/43 with a double baffle muzzle brake. The StuG III with the L/43 gun was designated as Ausf, F. of which only 120 were equipped with the L/43. All StuG III production runs through Ausf, f/8 to G mounted the longer L/48. The 780 original Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyers mounted the Pak 39 variant of the L/48 gun, the L/48 was 334 mm longer and slightly more powerful than the L/43. L/48 became the gun from June 1942 until the end of World War II. The gun was fitted with a firing mechanism and the breech operated semi-automatically. Following number of vehicles mounted L/48 version from June 1942-April 1945 Approximately 6,000 vehicles of Ausf, G, H, J out of 8,800 Panzer IV7,720 vehicles of StuG III Ausf. G +246 of Ausf. F +250 vehicles of StuG III Ausf. F/8 All 1,139 vehicles of StuG IV780 Jagdpanzer IV As with the 7.5 cm Pak 40, five types of muzzle brakes were used, gradually increasing the area of exposure to the blast. The front flange and rear disk type was used from March 1944, KwK40 used shell 75×495 mm. R Pzgr. R. P. G1 Primer, electric, model C/22 or C/22 St. Pzgr, R. P.7,7 Primer, electric, model C/22 or C/22 St. Gr. P. -AO Primer, electric, model C/22 or C/22 St. Gr,38 HL/C KwK407.5 cm Sprgr. Patr.34 KwK40 L/48 Muzzle velocity,550 m/s Projectile, Sprgr. 34 Projectile weight,5.75 kg Explosive filler,0.66 kg of amatol Fuze, a. Z.23 umg. nose fuze Round weight,8.71 kg Cartridge case height,495 mm Propelling charge,0.755 kg of Gu
38.
7.5 cm KwK 42
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The 7.5 cm KwK42 L/70 was a 7.5 cm calibre German tank gun developed and built by Rheinmetall-Borsig AG in Unterlüß during the Second World War. The gun was used to equip the SdKfz.171 Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank, when mounted on a tank destroyer it was designated as the 7.5 cm Pak 42 anti-tank gun. The increased muzzle velocity and operating pressure of the new gun required a new armour piercing projectile to be designed, 39/42 was the result, and apart from the addition of wider driving bands it was otherwise identical to the older 7.5 cm PzGr. The wider driving bands added an extra weight, from 6.8 kg for the old PzGr.39. The gun was fired electrically, the primer was initiated using an electric current rather than a firing pin, once the round was loaded the breech closed automatically and the weapon was ready to be fired again. Three different types of ammunition were used, APCBC-HE, APCR, Weapons of the Third Reich, An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York, Doubleday,1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3 Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two
39.
8.8 cm KwK 36
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The 8.8 cm KwK36 L/56 was an 88 mm electrically fired tank gun used by the German Heer during World War II. This was the armament of the PzKpfw VI Tiger I tank. It was developed and built by Krupp and it shared the same caliber as the 8.8 cm FlaK36 anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun, but the KwK36 was not derived from it. There are multiple similarities between the pair, but the two must be considered merely parallel designs, the KwK36 could fire the same ammunition as the FlaK18 or 36, differing only in primer, percussion for the FlaK, electric for the KwK36. Also the ballistics were identical and both guns had a 56 caliber barrel, the KwK36 was built to practically the same design as the 7.5 cm and 5.0 cm guns already used in German tanks, but with the structure scaled up considerably. The breech ring was square in section and 320 millimetres on a side, the L56 in the designation is a traditional measurement for artillery pieces. L refers to the length of the interior of a gun tube in proportion to the size of its bore, the inside diameter of a gun tube is considered one caliber. The designation L56 means the barrel is 56 calibers long, or 56 times 88 mm =4,928 mm, thus, it is not an absolute unit of measurement, it is a proportionate one, and thus is rarely used while considering overall dimensions. Rather, it is used to denote how much velocity a gun will generate for its bore size, the longer the tube is in relation to its bore, the higher the muzzle velocity it can generate. A longer gun barrel allows the gas from the shells charge to act on the projectile longer than a short barrel, imparting it more velocity. For the Tiger IIs 8.8 cm KwK43 L/71,71 times 88 mm is 6248 mm, shorter tubes are most useful for indirect fire, such as howitzers or infantry support. For anti-armour purposes using traditional solid shot, a long to very-long tube is needed, the KwK36 was very accurate, high-powered and its high muzzle velocity produced a very flat trajectory. This allowed its gunners a higher margin of error in estimating range, in British firing trials during the war, a British gunner scored five successive hits from 1,200 yards at a 16 by 18 inches target. Another five rounds were fired at targets moving at 15 miles per hour, although smoke obscured the gunners observation, the sighting system resulted in excellent firing accuracy for the 8.8 cm KwK36 gun on the Tiger I. The guns performance was dependent on distance to target and type of ammunition loaded. For kinetic penetration, the speed of the projectile upon impact is crucial, due to errors in estimating the range and many other factors, the probability of a first shot hit under battlefield conditions was much lower than at the firing range. Observing the tracer from the first round in battle, the average, Type, Armour-piercing, capped, ballistic cap projectile with explosive filler and tracer. Projectile weight,10.20 kg Muzzle velocity,773 m/s Explosive filler,0.059 kg Type, Armour-piercing, projectile weight,7.30 kg Muzzle velocity,930 m/s Type, high explosive anti-tank round with a shaped charge
40.
8.8 cm KwK 43
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The 8.8 cm KwK43 L/71 was an 88 mm 71 calibre tank gun designed by Krupp and used by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was mounted as the armament on the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B Tiger II and the 8.8 cm PaK43, at 6.24 m, the length of the KwK 43s barrel was over 1.3 metres longer than of that of the 8.8 cm KwK36 L/56 used for the Tiger I. All guns of the PaK/KwK43 series could use the same ammunition interchangeably, the KwK43 and PaK43 were initially manufactured with monobloc barrels meaning the barrel was made from one piece. However, due to the extremely high muzzle velocity and operating pressures when fired. As a result, the change was made to manufacture the PaK/KwK43 with a two-piece barrel instead of a monobloc barrel and this had minimal to no effect on the performance of the gun, but made replacing a worn-out barrel much faster and easier than before. In addition, the increased operating pressures of the new gun in turn required a new armour-piercing shell to be designed. The wider driving bands of the PzGr. 39/43 increased the weight of the shell to 10.4 kilograms as a result. Over that set amount, it was feared that the expected barrel wear combined with the driving bands of the PzGr. 39-1 could lead to a loss of pressure in the gun. The new PzGr. 39/43 could be fired without loss of pressure until the barrel was worn out, PzGr. 39-1 FES & Al all up weight,10.2 kg PzGr. 39/43 FES & Al all up weight,10. The first column shows the accuracy obtained during controlled test firing to determine the pattern of dispersion, the figures in the second column include the variation expected during practice firing due to differences between guns, ammunition and gunners. These accuracy tables do not reflect the probability of hitting a target under battlefield conditions. Due to errors in estimating the range and many other factors, however, the average, calm gunner, after sensing the tracer from the first round, could achieve the accuracy shown in the second column. The Nashorn was the first vehicle to carry the KwK/PaK43 series of guns. The series included, PaK43, PaK 43/41, PaK 43/1, and PaK 43/2, all with monobloc barrels, PaK 43/3 and 43/4 with two-piece barrels, british Ordnance QF17 pounder Soviet 100 mm D-10T United States 90 mm T15E1/T15E2 Bibliography
41.
2.8 cm sPzB 41
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2.8 cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 or Panzerbüchse 41 was a German anti-tank weapon working on the squeeze bore principle. Officially classified as a heavy rifle, it would be better described. Although the sPzB41 was classified as a heavy anti-tank rifle, like the latter, it had a recoil mechanism, carriage and shield. The only significant feature the weapon had in common with anti-tank rifles was a lack of elevation, the design was based on a tapering barrel, with the caliber reducing from 28 mm at the chamber end to only 20 mm at the muzzle. The barrel construction resulted in a high muzzle velocity - up to 1,400 m/s. The bore was fitted with a muzzle brake, the horizontal sliding breech block was quarter-automatic, it closed automatically once a shell was loaded. The gun was equipped with a sight for distances up to 500m. The recoil system consisted of a recoil buffer and spring-driven recuperator. The carriage was of the split type, with suspension. Wheels with rubber tires could be removed, making the gun significantly lower and therefore easier to conceal, the guns construction allowed toolless dismantling to five pieces, the heaviest of which weighed 62 kg. The cone-bore principle was first patented in 1903 by a German designer, in the 1920s and 1930s, another German engineer, Gerlich, conducted experiments with coned-bore barrels that resulted in an experimental 7 mm anti-tank rifle with a muzzle velocity of 1,800 m/s. Based on these works, Mauser-Werke AG developed a 28/20 mm anti-tank weapon initially designated Gerät 231 or MK.8202 in 1939–1940, in June–July 1940, an experimental batch of 94 pieces was given to the army for trials. They resulted in modifications and in 1941 mass production of what became 2.8 cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 started. The last gun was built in 1943, the reason for the discontinuance was the lack of tungsten for projectiles. The sPzB41 was used by some motorized divisions and by some Jäger, Gebirgsjäger and Fallschirmjäger units, some guns were supplied to anti-tank and sapper units. The weapon was employed on the Eastern Front from the beginning of hostilities, until the end of the war and also saw combat in the North African Campaign,2.8 cm sPzB41 leFl 41, a variant developed for paratrooper units. It used a carriage without suspension, the wheels were replaced by small rollers. The resulting weapon weighed only 139 kg, the carriage supported a 360° field of fire, elevation ranged from -15° to 25°
42.
3.7 cm Pak 36
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The Pak 36 was a 3.7 cm calibre German anti-tank gun used during the Second World War. It was the main weapon of Wehrmacht infantry units until mid-1941. It was followed in this role by the 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun, design of a horse-drawn,3.7 cm anti-tank gun by Rheinmetall commenced in 1924 and the first guns were issued in 1928. Re-designated the 3.7 cm Pak 35/36, it began to replace the 3.7 cm Pak L/45 in 1934 and it formed the basis for many other nations anti-tank guns during the first years of World War II. The KwK36 L/45 was the gun, but used as the main armament on several tanks. The Soviets used the Pak 36 carriage design for their 45 mm M1937 AT gun. In June 1941, Soviet tank forces consisted of 10,661 T-26,2,987 T-37/T-38/T-40/T-50s,59 T-35,442 T-28,7,659 BT,957 T-34, and 530 KVs for a combined total of approximately 23,295 tanks. By late 1941, the introduction of the T-34 on the Eastern Front made the Pak 36 obsolete. However, despite its continued impotence against the T-34, it remained the standard weapon for many units until 1942. The advantages of the Pak 36 were its, relative ease of handling and mobility, good quality optics/aiming devices, ease of concealment due to its small size, the Pak 36 began to be replaced by the new 5 cm Pak 38 in mid-1941. As it was replaced, many were removed from their carriages. The guns were passed off to the forces of Germanys allies fighting on the Eastern Front, such as the 3rd. The Pak 36 also served with the armies of Italy, Finland, Hungary, although the Pak 36 quickly became ineffectual in the European and Russian theatres, in China the gun was still viable as an effective anti-tank gun. It could destroy the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go and Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks, for example, during the Battle of Taierzhuang, Chinese Pak 36s destroyed a good number of Japanese tanks. Pzgr Projectile weight,0.685 kg Muzzle velocity,745 m/s Pzgr 40 This was a type of ammunition, being lighter and with a higher muzzle velocity. Projectile weight,0.368 kg Muzzle velocity,1,020 m/s Penetration figures given for Pzgr 40 and an armoured plate 30 degrees from the horizontal. In 1943, the introduction of the Stielgranate 41 shaped charge meant that the Pak 36 could now penetrate most armour, the Pak 36s, together with the new shaped charges, were issued to Fallschirmjäger units and other lightly equipped troops. The guns low weight meant that it could be moved by hand
Nazi Germany
Finland
Syria