1.
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
2.
Watervliet Arsenal
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The Watervliet Arsenal /ˈwɔːtərvliːt/ is an arsenal of the United States Army located in Watervliet, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River. It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, and today much of the artillery for the army, as well as gun tubes for cannons, mortars. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966, the arsenal was founded in 1813 to support the War of 1812, and was designated as the Watervliet Arsenal in 1817. It occupies 142 acres of land, approximately 8 miles north of Albany, the location is adjacent to the Hudson River. The site contains manufacturing, administrative offices and storage areas and it also houses the Armys Benet Laboratories, which does product development, improvement, research, and testing. The Arsenal has the historic Iron Building, which served as the home of the Watervliet Arsenal Museum, however, the museum was closed on October 1,2013 for security reasons. Recruiting Station Albany, the headquarters of a United States Marine Corps recruiting station, is located on the Arsenal, during the early stages of the War of 1812, attacks could be expected from many key ports and other locations. The original plot of land acquired by the Department of Ordnance was 12 acres, the cost for the land was US$2,585. During this period, production moved from the manufacturing of saddles, remnants of this period are still in operation today as evidenced by the continued use of historic Building 110, “The Big Gun Shop, ” for manufacturing missions. This gun shop once produced 16-inch guns and many weapons for the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
Railway gun
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A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World War I, smaller guns were often part of an armoured train. Railway guns have been rendered obsolete by advances in technology and their large size and limited mobility make them vulnerable to attack, and similar payloads can be delivered by aircraft, rocket, or missile. The design of a gun has three issues over and above those of an ordinary artillery piece to consider. The first method of traverse is to rely entirely on movement along a section of track or on a turntable with no provision to traverse the gun on its mount. The second is to traverse the rail car body on its trucks, generally this is limited to a few degrees of traverse to either side unless an elaborate foundation is built with a centre pivot and traversing rollers. The design of the foundation is the limit to the amount of traverse allowed in this latter case. The third choice is to allow the gun mount to rotate with respect to the rail car body. This usually requires the gun to be mounted on a pivot which. There are four methods to absorb the recoil force for railway guns, cradle recoil, top-carriage recoil, sliding recoil. Cradle recoil means that the gun recoils backward in its cradle and it is returned to battery, or the firing position, by either helical springs or by air in a pneumatic recuperator cylinder that is compressed by the force of recoil. This is the most common used for lighter railroad guns. Top-carriage recoil is where the gun is mounted in a carriage that moves on wheels on fixed rails. The gun and upper carriage recoil together, restrained by the hydraulic buffers. Return to battery is effected either by gravity, through the use of inclined rails and it is not well-suited to firing at high elevations because it cannot absorb much of the vertical component of the recoil force. The gun, car body and trucks all recoil together with the friction generated by the sliding on the girders absorbing the recoil force after moving only about 1 to 2 metres to the rear. The sleepers must be jacked up again to allow the gun to roll forward to its firing position and this was often done by handwheels driving gear trains attached to the wheels, or even by electric motors on more modern mounts. Almost all of type of mounts were of the non-traversing type and had to be fired from a curved section of track or turntable
9.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
10.
14"/50 caliber railway gun
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The 14/50 caliber railway guns were spare US Navy Mk 414 inch/50 caliber guns mounted on railway cars and operated by US Navy crews in France in the closing months of World War I. There was also a need for the Allies to bombard targets in the German rear areas to hinder German capability to stage attacks. The largest Allied guns in the area were British 12-inch Mk X guns which were outranged. Upon its entry into the war, the US chose its largest, the new 16-inch gun would have been preferable, but it was not yet available in numbers, spare 14-inch guns kept for the active fleet were used instead. Baldwin Locomotive Works delivered five trains for the United States Navy during April, each train transported and supported a 14/50 caliber Mk 4 gun mounted on a rail carriage with four 6-wheel bogies. The guns were diverted from the British zone in the north to further south, to the port of St. Nazaire. After delivery by ship, these trains were assembled in St. Nazaire in August, in fact, by late 1918 the French had already constructed many such curved spurs for their own guns and hence the US guns were often able to re-use these. The rails were removed from above the pit because the gun breech was too wide to pass between them. The gun could elevate up to 43°, which gave it a range of 42,000 yards. Any greater change of direction required the gun to be moved forward or backward along its curved track, the armored enclosed gun house lacked ventilation and caused condensation to form, which promoted rusting. The necessity to excavate a pit was also not acceptable as a long-term solution of recoil control. Hence the Mark I, while functioning as designed, was seen as only a compromise measure necessitated by wartime time constraints, the guns served to support General Pershings army offensive in the Meuse-Argonne sector of the Western Front in France. They operated as single-gun batteries designated Battery 1 to Battery 5, Battery 2, commanded by Lieutenant E. D. Duckett, US Navy, had the distinction of being the first all-US gun to fire in action on the Western Front. On 6 September 1918 they fired from the forest of Compiegne at the important German railway center of Tergnier in support of an Allied attack and they fired a total of 782 shells on 25 separate active days on the Western Front at ranges between 27 and 36 kilometers. This equated to an average of 156 rounds per gun, which was half the 300 rounds expected life of these guns before they would need refurbishment. The guns were fired for specific strategic purposes to conserve barrel life. Hence on many days they remained inactive or were being moved, the last shot was fired by Battery 4 at 10,57,30 a. m. on 11 November 1918, timed to land just before the scheduled Armistice at 11 a. m. One of these guns is on display outside the U. S. Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard, the US Army ordered three units identical to the Navy Mark I mountings in May 1918 and another three in July 1918, also from Baldwin Locomotive Works
11.
Panama Canal Zone
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The Panama Canal Zone was an unincorporated territory of the United States from 1903 to 1979, centered on the Panama Canal and surrounded by the Republic of Panama. Its border spanned two of Panamas provinces, when reservoirs were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the Zone. On February 26,1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed, from 1903 to 1979 the territory was controlled by the United States, which had built the canal and financed its construction. Proposals for a canal across the Isthmus of Panama date back to 1529, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón, a lieutenant of conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa, suggested four possible routes, one of which closely tracks the present-day canal. Saavedra believed that such a canal would make it easier for European vessels to reach Asia, although King Charles I was enthusiastic and ordered preliminary works started, his officials in Panama soon realized that such an undertaking was beyond the capabilities of 16th-century technology. One official wrote to Charles, I pledge to Your Majesty that there is not a prince in the world with the power to accomplish this, the Spanish instead built a road across the isthmus. Although additional canal building proposals were made throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw a number of canals built. The success of the Erie Canal in the United States and the collapse of the Spanish Empire in Latin America led to a surge of American interest in building an interoceanic canal. Beginning in 1826, US officials began negotiations with New Granada, jealous of their newly obtained independence and fearing that they would be dominated by an American presence, New Granadan officials declined American offers. The new nation was politically unstable, and Panama rebelled several times during the 19th century and his agreement was repudiated by the Jackson administration, which wanted rights to build a canal. In 1846, the new US envoy to Bogotá, Benjamin Bidlack, was surprised when, soon after his arrival, the resulting Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty allowed the United States to intervene militarily to ensure that the interoceanic road would not be disrupted. The treaty led the U. S. government to contract for service to Panama from ports on both coasts. When the California Gold Rush began in 1848, traffic through Panama greatly increased and this first transcontinental railroad opened in 1850. There were riots in Panama CIty in 1856, several Americans were killed, US warships landed Marines, who occupied the railroad station and kept the railroad service from being interrupted by the unrest. The demand was dropped in the face of resistance by New Granadan officials, through the remainder of the 19th century, the United States landed troops several times to preserve the railway connection. At the same time, it pursued a canal treaty with Colombia, one treaty, signed in 1868, was rejected by the Colombian Senate, which hoped for better terms from the incoming Grant administration. Under this treaty, the canal would have been in the middle of a 20-mile zone, under American management but Colombian sovereignty, the Grant administration did little to pursue a treaty, and in 1878, the concession to build the canal fell to a French firm. The French efforts eventually failed, but with Panama apparently unavailable, the Spanish–American War of 1898 added new life to the canal debate
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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
13.
Fort MacArthur
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Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. A small section remains in use by the United States Air Force as a housing. The fort is named in honor of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur and his son, Douglas MacArthur, would later command American forces in the Pacific during World War II. In 1888, President Grover Cleveland designated an area overlooking San Pedro Bay as a military reservation intended to improve the defenses of the expanding Los Angeles harbor area. Additional land was purchased in 1897 and 1910, and Fort MacArthur was formally created on October 31,1914, the fort was a training center during World War I, and the first large gun batteries for harbor defense were installed in 1917. By the end of World War II the large guns were already being removed, Battery Osgood-Farley is probably the best preserved example of a United States coastal defense gun emplacement, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. A second site, Battery John Barlow and Saxton, was added to the Register in 1982, during the early years of the Cold War, Fort MacArthur became a key part of the West Coasts anti-aircraft defenses, becoming the home base of the 47th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade. A Nike surface-to-air missile battery was activated at the fort in 1954, in 1975 Fort MacArthur became a sub-post of Fort Ord, and the Army transferred ownership of the forts Upper and Lower Reservations to the City of Los Angeles two years later. The Lower Reservation was cleared off and dredged and is now the citys Cabrillo Marina, Fort MacArthurs remaining Middle Reservation was transferred to the United States Air Force in 1982 for use by the Los Angeles Air Force Base as an administration and housing facility. In 1989, Madonna filmed some parts for her Like a Prayer video, the Upper Reservation is now a city park - San Pedros Angels Gate Park, home of the Korean Bell of Friendship. It is also used by television and motion picture companies. The artillery emplacements have been seen in the television series 24 and in movies as varied as Dragnet, Midway, hostelling International USA maintains a 57 bed youth hostel in the refurbished military barracks of the reservation. The Belmont Shore Model Railroad Club occupies a barracks in Angels Gate Park since the 1980s, the Club has built and maintained an approximate 2500 square foot N-scale model of 1950s Southern California railroading, from the Port to the San Joaquin Valley. The club is one of the oldest and largest permanent N scale model railroads in the U. S, the model railroad is open to the public during Open House weekends twice a year and on the second and third Tuesdays of the month. Angels Gate Cultural Center is located In Angels Gate Park on the bluff of San Pedro overlooking the Pacific with notable views of ocean, harbor and hills. The Center emerged from a group of San Pedro artists in the 1970s that created artist’s studio and exhibition space within the 1940-era Army barracks in Ft. MacArthur Upper Reservation. In 1977, San Pedro’s Angels Gate Park became a facility of the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Recreation and Parks, in 2005, Angels Gate Cultural Center successfully negotiated a 30-year lease with the Department of Recreation and Parks. Professional artists teach all classes through ongoing classroom residencies, Angels Gate Cultural Center continues to provide professional work-studio space for 52 artists, including musicians, ceramists, painters, sculptors, writers, photographers, printmakers and jewelers. S
14.
Panama Canal Railway
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The Panama Canal Railway is a railway line that runs parallel to the Panama Canal, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches 47.6 miles across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón to Balboa and it is operated by Panama Canal Railway Company, which is jointly owned by Kansas City Southern and Mi-Jack Products. The Panama Canal Railway currently provides freight and passenger service. The infrastructure of this railroad was of importance for the construction of the Panama Canal over a parallel route half a century after it opened. The principal incentive for the building of the line was the vast increase in traffic to California owing to the 1849 California Gold Rush. Construction on the Panama Railroad began in 1850 and the first revenue train ran over the length on January 28,1855. As railroad technology developed in the early 19th century and given the cost and difficulty of constructing a canal with the available technology, president Bolívar of La Gran Colombia commissioned a study into the possibility of building a railway from Chagres to the town of Panama City. This study was carried out between 1827 and 1829, just as railroads were being invented, the report stated that such a railway might be possible. This resulted in the United States acquiring a franchise for a railroad, however, the scheme was a victim of the business panic of 1837. In 1838 a French company was given a concession for the construction of a road, rail, or canal route across the isthmus. In 1847, a year before gold was discovered in California, the Atlantic lines ran from New York City, Havana, Cuba, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to Panamas Chagres River on the Caribbean Sea at a $300,000 subsidy. The proposed Pacific line ran with three steamships from Panama City, Panama to California and Oregon in the Pacific at a $200,000 subsidy, none of the steamships in the Pacific was built before the mail contract was let. In 1847, the actual east–west transit across the isthmus was by native dugout boats up the often dangerous Chagres River, and then by mules for the final 20 miles over the old Spanish trails. The trails had fallen into disrepair after some 50 years of little or no maintenance. A transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa would usually take four to eight days by dugout canoe, the transit was fraught with dangers and disease. William H. Aspinwall, the man who had won the bid for the building and operating of the Pacific mail steamships, conceived a plan to construct a railway across the isthmus. He and his partners created a company registered in New York, the Panama Railroad Company, raised $1,000,000 from the sale of stock, and hired companies to conduct engineering and route studies. Their venture happened to be well-timed, as the discovery of gold in California in January 1848 created a rush of emigrants wanting to cross the Isthmus of Panama and go on to California
15.
Inclinometer
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A clinometer or inclinometer is an instrument for measuring angles of slope, elevation or depression of an object with respect to gravity. It is also known as a meter, tilt indicator, slope alert, slope gauge, gradient meter, gradiometer, level gauge, level meter, declinometer. Clinometers measure both inclines and declines using three different units of measure, degrees, percent, and topo, astrolabes are inclinometers that were used for navigation and locating astronomical objects from ancient times to the Renaissance. In aircraft, the ball in turn coordinators or turn and bank indicators is sometimes referred to as an inclinometer. Inclinometers include examples such as Wells in-clinometer, the parts of which are a flat side, or base, on which it stands. The glass face of the disk is surrounded by a scale that marks the angle at which the surface of the liquid stands. A forester using a clinometer makes use of basic trigonometry, first the observer measures a straight-line distance D from some observation point O to the object. Then, using the clinometer, the measures the angle a between O and the top of the object. Then the observer does the same for the angle b between O and the bottom of the object, multiplying D by the tangent of a gives the height of the object above the observer, and by the tangent of b the depth of the object below the observer. Adding the two of course gives the height of the object. The forester stands at a distance from the base of the tree. The most common distances in the United States are 50 feet and 66 feet, to obtain accurate readings it is best to use taped measured distance instead of paced distances. For the most accurate readings it is best to use a distance that is not less than the height of the tree being measured, that is, the observer sights to the top of tree, if total height is the desired measurement. If the desired measurement is merchantable height—that is, the height producing timber that can be sold—the observer sights to a point on the tree above which no more merchantable timber is found, note that the observer should use slopes expressed as a percent. The observer then measures to the bottom of the tree, again using percents, the observer than takes the slope to the top of the tree, and subtracts the slope of the bottom of the tree from it. Note that when the ground slopes downwards, the observer will record a negative slope to the base of the tree, when this is subtracted from the slope to the top of the tree, it is actually being added. These numbers are divided by 100, and multiplied by the distance from the tree. There is still some error in this number, because the distance is measured along the ground, by standing at the base of the tree, the observer should mark his/her eye level
16.
Milliradian
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A milliradian, often called a mil or mrad, is an SI derived unit for angular measurement which is defined as a thousandth of a radian. Mils are used in adjustment of firearm sights by adjusting the angle of the sight compared to the barrel, Mils are also used for comparing shot groupings, or to compare the difficulty of hitting different sized targets at different distances. Using optics with mil markings in the one can make a range estimation of a known size target, or vice versa to determine a target size if the distance is known. In such applications it is useful to use a unit for target size that is a thousandth of the unit for range, for instance by using the metric units millimeters for target size and meters for range. This coincides with the definition of the milliradian where the arc length is defined as 1/1000 of the radius, a common adjustment value in firearm sights is 1 cm at 100 meters which equals 10 mm/100 m = 1/10 mil. The true definition of a milliradian is based on a circle with a radius of one. There are other definitions used for mapping and artillery which are rounded to more easily be divided into smaller parts. The milliradian was first used in the mid nineteenth century by Charles-Marc Dapples, degrees and minutes were the usual units of angular measurement but others were being proposed, with grads under various names having considerable popularity in much of northern Europe. However, Imperial Russia used a different approach, dividing a circle into equilateral triangles, around the time of the start of World War I, France was experimenting with the use of milliemes for use with artillery sights instead of decigrades. The United Kingdom was also trialing them to replace degrees and minutes and they were adopted by France although decigrades also remained in use throughout World War I. The United States, which copied many French artillery practices, adopted mils, before 2007 the Swedish defence forces used streck which is closer to the milliradian but then changed to NATO mils. After the Bolshevik Revolution and the adoption of the system of measurement the Red Army expanded the 600 unit circle into a 6000 mil one. Hence the Russian mil has a different origin than those derived from French artillery practices. In the 1950s, NATO adopted metric units of measurement for land, Mils, meters, and kilograms became standard, although degrees remained in use for naval and air purposes, reflecting civil practices. The approximation error by using the linear formula will increase as the angle increases. New shooters are often explained the principle of subtensions in order to understand that a milliradian is an angular measurement, subtension is the physical amount of space covered by an angle and varies with distance. Thus, the corresponding to a mil varies with range. Subtensions always change with distance, but a mil is always a mil regardless of distance, therefore ballistic tables and shot corrections are given in mils thereby avoiding the need of mathematical calculations
17.
Coast Artillery fire control system
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Both horizontal and vertical base position finding systems were used. These observations were communicated to personnel in battery plotting rooms, who used a device called a plotting board to indicate the targets observed location on a map of the area. The red 1 on the diagram at right indicates this first stage of the control process. Once several positions had been plotted for the target, plotting board operators estimated the position of the target at the instant a salvo, fired by the battery, was expected to land. The set forward point was expressed in terms of firing data, a range, before these firing data were sent to the guns, however, they were corrected for a variety of non-standard conditions, like temperature or wind strength and direction. The red 2 in the diagram at right indicates this stage in the control process. Special devices, like the board or the range correction board were used to produce corrected firing data. Fire control in the Coast Artillery involved a sequence of steps that was carried out over and over again while a target was being tracked and fired upon, first, observers sighted on the target and sent their observations to the plotting room. Next, plotters calculated the position and probable future movement, as well as adjustments to range. Then firing data were sent to the batteries and used by gun crews to point their guns, finally, spotters might spot the fall of the projectiles, sending this information back to the plotting room for use in correcting fire. After this, observers would sight on the position of the target, the time period between sequential sightings by the observers was called the observing interval. It was typically set at 20 sec. for controlling batteries of larger guns, not only did everyone in the fire control system have to stay in synch but certain functions had to be carried out at precise intervals if the accuracy of the system was to be maintained. Five seconds before the start of the cycle, the bell would ring. After a one second delay, it would ring again, and after another one-second gap the bell would ring a third time, and on this third ring the observations were made again and/or the guns were fired. If for some reason the firing data were not received in time by the guns, or if a hold-up or a misfire occurred, in such a case, the command Relay. was given at the guns. List of U. S. Army fire control and sighting material by supply catalog designation Gun Data Computer Fire-control system Seacoast defense in the United States Berhow, american Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide, Third Edition. Coast Defense Study Group website FM 4-15, Seacoast Artillery Fire Control and Position Finding
18.
Coincidence rangefinder
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A coincidence rangefinder is a type of rangefinder that uses mechanical and optical principles to allow an operator to determine the distance to a visible object. The device consists of a tube, with two lenses facing forwards at each end, and an operator eyepiece in the center. Two prism wedges which, when aligned result in no deviation of the light, are inserted into the path of one of the two lenses. By rotating the prisms in opposite directions using a differential gear, the coincidence range finder uses a single eyepiece. Light from the target enters the range finder through two windows located at end of the instrument. At either side the incident beam is reflected to the center of the bar by a pentaprism. The optical bar is made from a material with a low coefficient of thermal expansion so that optical path lengths do not change significantly with temperature. Since either beam enters the instrument at a different angle the resulting image, if unaltered. Therefore, in one arm of the instrument a compensator is adjusted by the operator to tilt the beam until the two images match, at this point the images are said to be in coincidence. The degree of rotation of the compensator determines the range to the target by simple triangulation, coincidence rangefinders made by Barr and Stroud used two eyepieces, and may be confused with stereoscopic units. The second eyepiece showed the operator a range scale so the user could range, a stereoscopic range finder uses two eyepieces and relies on the operators visual cortex to merge the two images into a single picture. A reference mark is inserted into each eyepiece. Again the range to the target is proportional to the degree of rotation of the prisms, the coincidence and stereoscopic methods utilize the same basic principles of geometrical optics for the determination of the distance to a target. The two methods differ radically, however, in the nature of the criterion presented for human judgement and these British instruments were of the split field coincident type. Until recently the British Services had tended strongly to the type of instrument while the American Services had adopted the stereoscopic principle for long-base instruments at least. The decisions of both the British and American Services apparently grow out of different interpretations of the experience of the Battle of Jutland in World War I and are of no concern in this place. Tests were run in November and December 1941 using the British seamen on the British instrument, bad weather conditions and various experimental difficulties and mishaps made it impossible to obtain a really satisfactory quantity of data before the tests hall to be terminated. Fixed target reading were made on targets from 2,700 to 14,500 yards
19.
Indirect fire
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Indirect fire is aiming and firing a projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire. Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and elevation angles, and may include correcting aim by observing the fall of shot and calculating new angles. There are two dimensions in aiming a weapon, In the horizontal plane, and In the vertical plane, which is governed by the distance to the target and the energy of the propelling charge. The projectile trajectory is affected by conditions, the velocity of the projectile. Direct fire sights may include mechanisms to compensate for some of these, handguns and rifles, machine guns, anti-tank guns, tank main guns, many types of unguided rockets, and guns mounted in aircraft are examples of weapons primarily designed for direct fire. NATO defines indirect fire as Fire delivered at a target which cannot be seen by the aimer, the implication is that azimuth and/or elevation aiming is done using instrumental methods. Hence indirect fire means applying firing data to azimuth and elevation sights, indirect fire can be used when the target is visible from the firing position. However, it is used when the target is at longer range. Longer range uses a higher trajectory, and in maximum range is achieved with an elevation angle of 45 degrees. Indirect fire is most commonly associated with field artillery and it is also used with mortars and naval guns against shore targets, sometimes with machine guns, and has been used with tank and anti-tank guns and by anti-aircraft guns against surface targets. It is reasonable to assume that original purpose of fire was to enable fire from a ‘covered position’, one where gunners can not be seen. The concealment aspect remains important, but from World War I equally important was the capability to concentrate the fire of many batteries at the target or set of targets. The physical laws of ballistics means that guns firing larger and heavier projectile can send them further than smaller-calibre guns firing lighter shells. By the end of the 20th century, the maximum range for the most common guns was about 24 to 30 km. During World War I, covered positions moved further back and indirect fire evolved to allow any point within range to be attacked, firepower mobility, without moving the firers. If the target cannot be seen from the gun position, there has to be a means of identifying targets, the position of some targets may be identified by a headquarters from various sources of information, observers on the ground, in aircraft, or in observation balloons. The development of electrical communication immensely simplified reporting, and enabled many widely dispersed firers to concentrate their fire on one target, until the introduction of smart munitions the trajectory of the projectile could not be altered once fired. For several centuries Coehorn mortars were fired indirectly because their fixed elevation meant range was determined by the amount of propelling powder
20.
Artillery sound ranging
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In land warfare, artillery sound ranging is a method of determining the coordinates of a hostile battery using data derived from the sound of its guns firing. The same methods can also be used to direct fire at a position with known coordinates. It is an application of location, which is location of the source of sounds that may originate in the air. Sound ranging was one of three methods of locating hostile artillery that rapidly developed in World War I, the others were aerial reconnaissance and flash spotting. A sound ranger used aural and stop-watch methods which first emerged before World War I, stop-watch methods involved spotting a gun firing, measuring the bearing to it and the length of time it took the sound to arrive. Aural methods typically involved a person listening to a pair of microphones a few kilometres apart, the basis of scientific sound ranging is to use pairs of microphones to produce a bearing to the source of the sound. The intersection of these gives the location of the battery. The bearings are derived from the differences in the time of arrival at the microphones, a scientific method of sound ranging system requires the following equipment. An array of 4 to 6 microphones extending several kilometres A system capable of measuring the wave arrival time differences between the microphones. A means of analyzing the differences to compute the position of the sound source. The basic method is to use microphones in pairs and measure the difference in the time of arrival of a wave at each microphone in the pair. From this a bearing to the origin of the sound can be found from the point midway between the two microphones, the intersection of at least three bearings will be the location of the sound source. Figure 1 illustrates the basic system, some systems may not allow arbitrary placement of the microphones. For example, they may require the microphones to be placed on a straight line and these constraints would be imposed to simplify the calculation of the artillery position and are not a characteristic of the general approach. The microphones also may be designed to pick up only the sound of the gun firing, There are three types of sounds that can be picked up by the microphone. Figure 2 shows an example of an artillery location problem, assume that we position three microphones with the following relative positions. Figure 2, Example of An Artillery Location Problem, assume that two time delays are measured. Microphone 1 to Microphone 2 time delay,0.455 s ⇒150 meters Microphone 1 to Microphone 3 time delay,0.606 s ⇒200 meters There are a number of ways to determine the range to the artillery piece
21.
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
22.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
23.
37 mm Gun M3
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The 37 mm Gun M3 was the first dedicated anti-tank gun fielded by United States forces in numbers. Introduced in 1940, it became the standard anti-tank gun of the U. S. infantry with its size enabling it to be pulled by a jeep. In the Pacific, where the Japanese tank threat was less significant, like many other light anti-tank guns, the M3 was widely used in the infantry support role and as an anti-personnel weapon, firing high-explosive and canister rounds. The M5 and M6 tank mounted variants were used in models of armored vehicles most notably in the Stuart Light Tank M3/M5, the Lee Medium Tank M3. In addition, the M3 in its version was mated to a number of other self-propelled carriages. In the mid-1930s, the United States Army had yet to field a dedicated anti-tank artillery piece, anti-tank companies of infantry regiments were armed with.50 in machine guns. Although there was some consideration had been given to replacing the machine guns with a more powerful anti-tank gun, Combat experience from Spain suggested that a light anti-tank gun, such as the German 37 mm PaK 35/36, was capable of neutralizing the growing threat posed by tanks. In January 1937, the Ordnance Committee recommended development of such a weapon, as the projected main user of the weapon, the Infantry Branch was chosen to oversee the work. They wanted a gun which could be moved around by the crew. The 37 mm was a caliber of anti-tank guns in the 1930s, other anti-tank guns of the same caliber included Swedish Bofors gun, Czechoslovakian vz.34. 37, Japanese Type 94 and Type 1, development and testing continued until late 1938. Several variants of gun and carriage were proposed until on 15 December a combination of the T10 gun and T5 carriage was officially adopted as the 37 mm Gun M3 and Carriage M4. Although the weapon followed the concept of the PaK36 and often referred to as a copy of it, the gun was manufactured by Watervliet Arsenal and the carriage by Rock Island Arsenal. The first pieces were delivered early in 1940, the production continued until 1943, some minor changes in the gun construction were introduced during production. The carriage received a shoulder guard and traverse controls. Although ordnance requested an upgrade of all M4 carriages to M4A1, another change was a threaded barrel end to accept a big five-port muzzle brake. Other sources mention the muzzle brake was intended to soften a recoil, in an attempt to increase the armor penetration of the M3, several squeeze bore adapters were tested, none were adopted. Experiments with rocket launchers on the M4 carriage did not produce anything practical either, the barrel was of one-piece forged construction, with uniform rifling
24.
75 mm Gun M2/M3/M6
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The lightweight M6 and M5 variants were developed to equip the M24 Chaffee and the B-25 Mitchell bomber respectively. The M3 was also used on the prototype M7 Medium Tank platform, the tank and field guns fired the same range of 75x350R ammunition. SQ was the setting, with PD used against structures. The field gun origins of the ordnance and ammunition ensured that the M2/3/6 series HE round was highly effective for its caliber, the M48 was available in two versions, standard and supercharge, which had an increased propellent charge for greater muzzle velocity and range. Other important rounds fired by the 75 mm tank guns included the T30 canister shot for use against troops in the open at short range and this, which was essentially a giant shotgun shell full of large numbers of steel balls, was used primarily in the Pacific. There was also the M88 base-ejecting smoke round and the M89 white phosphorus round, finally, there were two different armor-piercing rounds. The first armor-piercing round was the 6.32 kg M72 AP-T, the M72 was replaced by the 6.63 kg M61 and later the improved M61A1 APC Shell. This was actually an HE/APC-T type or rather an Armor Piercing Capped with Tracer filled with a quantity of High Explosive. The aerodynamic ballistic cap acted as a windscreen and improved performance, maintained velocity. The armor-piercing cap, made of a metal, helped to prevent shell shatter at higher velocities. Once the projectile had penetrated the target, an explosive charge at the base of the shell would detonate shattering the shell. The tracer helped in the aiming of a second shot, in practice, the majority of M61 rounds were shipped without the explosive filler. This ammunition type proved lethal to the Panzer III and IV, as tanks were protected by a maximum of 50mm of FHA with little slope. However, in March 1942, the introduced the Ausf. British tanks in the years of World War II relied on high-velocity, smaller-calibre anti-tank guns, such as the Ordnance QF2 pounder and Ordnance QF6 pounder. As tank guns, these had the disadvantage of either not having a truly effective High Explosive round or not even having a HE round at all. By 1944, this had become the standard British tank gun, equipping the Cromwell tank, m2 Used on the early M3 Lee. Equipped American and British vehicles such as the M4 Sherman, the models of the M3 Lee
25.
76 mm gun M1
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The 76 mm gun M1 was an American World War II–era tank gun developed by the U. S Ordnance Department in 1942 to supplement the 75 mm gun on the basic Medium tank M4. It was also used to arm the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 tank destroyer. Tested in early August 1942 and classified on August 17,1942 and it was not accepted for combat until July 1944. In January 1943, the decision was made to mount the 76 mm on the vehicle that would become the M18, by May 1944, it was being combat tested as the T70. The development of a weapon than the 75 mm gun was foreseen before the U. S. had combat experience with well-armored German tanks. The original Military specifications of 11 September 1941 for the M4 tank allowed for the mounting of weapons including the 3 inch gun. The 3 inch gun was considered too heavy at about 1,990 lb, new stronger steels were used to create a weapon weighing about 1,200 lb. It was a new gun with a similar to that of the 75 mm M3 Gun. It fired the same projectiles as the 3-inch M7 gun mounted on the 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10 tank destroyer and towed 3-inch Gun M5 anti-tank gun, the 76-mm designation was chosen to help keep the supply of ammunition from being confused between the two cannon. The 76 mm also differed in that successive models received a muzzle brake, aberdeen Proving Grounds began evaluations of the first test guns designated the T1 around August 1,1942. The first test guns had a length of 57 calibers. Another T1 test gun was produced with the shortened and a counterweight added to the breech to improve balance. The reduction in length by 15 inches did not reduce performance, by August 17, the Ordnance Department had classified the test gun with the shorter barrel as the 76-mm M1 and set up the precedent for the designation of M4 tanks armed with the gun to include “”. Tests of production M1 guns revealed that the cannon with its counterweight had issues with binding when trying to rotate the turret when the tank was resting at a steep angle. An 800 lb storage box was added to the rear to improve balance, with evaluations held in early 1943. This worked but was rejected by the Armored Forces due to the turret being cramped, a more satisfactory mounting was found in August 1943 by utilizing the turret design of the T23 tank on the M4 chassis to carry the 76 mm gun. The 76 mm M1A1 version of the cannon was created, having a longer recoil surface to help with balance by permitting the placement of the trunions further up front. The new M18 Gun Motor Carriage armed with the 76 mm was the result of the Tank Destroyers request for such a vehicle, by August 1943, the Ordnance Department M4 tank armed with 76 mm in the modified T23 turret was finally ready for production
26.
3-inch Gun M1918
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The 3-inch M1918 gun was a United States 3-inch anti-aircraft gun that entered service in 1918 and served until it was finally superseded by the 3 M3 gun in 1930. The M3 was subsequently replaced by the M1 90mm AA gun just prior to the opening of World War II, the M33 gun was later adapted for the anti-tank role, serving as the main armament of the M10 tank destroyer during World War II. The 3-inch M1917 was the United States Armys first dedicated anti-aircraft gun, only a few were built, as the similar 3-inch M1918 on a mobile mount was considered more useful and was produced in large numbers. Development of the M1917 started in 1915, and as the name implies, the gun was essentially an unmodified 3-inch M1903 coastal-defense gun barrel on a new fixed mount allowing it to be aimed to high elevations. A number were used during World War I on fixed mountings,116 were completed by April 1919, most of the weapons were deployed at United States Army Coast Artillery Corps installations after World War I. In the immediate post-war era it was developed as the 3-inch M2, in 1928 it was further improved in the 3-inch M4 by using a thicker removable liner that eased manufacturing. However, the M2 and M4 appear to have produced in small quantities. The M1917, M2, and M4 remained in service through World War II, for mobile use the original coastal gun was too heavy, so a smaller version was developed as the 3-inch M1918. This weapon was based on the 3-inch gun M1898, a predecessor of the M1903. This weapon had a barrel 50 calibers long instead of 55 calibers, the barrel of the M1918 was shortened to 40 calibers and a semi-automatic breech was added. Semi-automatic on this type of weapon meant that the breech would open automatically after firing, another upgrade was started in 1931 as the T8, and then T9, but these projects were cancelled in 1938 when the 90 mm gun was selected in their place. The gun was accepted for service as the 3-inch M5, a similar derivative of the T9 - the 3-inch M6 - was intended to be mounted on the M5 self-propelled gun, which was eventually abandoned. A final adaptation was the 3-inch M7, which included modifications for mounting on the M6 heavy tank. M7 saw wide use although it was supplanted to some extent by powerful weapons such as the 90mm M3. 3-inch Gun M1917 - Original fixed-place anti-aircraft gun introduced in 1917, M1918 - Mobile anti-aircraft gun using a cut-down version of the original M1917 gun and a new mount. M1 - Variant of the M1918 with a removable barrel liner, M2 - Variant of the M1917 with a removable barrel liner. M3 - Development of the M1917 with a removable barrel liner, M4 - Version of the M2 with a thicker liner for easier manufacturing. M5 - Version of the T9 adapted for anti-tank use, M6 - Version of the T9 as mounted in the 3in Gun Motor Carriage M5
27.
90 mm Gun M1/M2/M3
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The 90 mm Gun M1/M2/M3 served as a primary heavy American anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun, playing a role similar to the renowned German 88 mm gun. It was 90 mm in caliber, and had a 4.60 m barrel,53 calibers in length and it was capable of firing a 90×600 mm R shell 17,823 m horizontally, or a maximum altitude of 10,380 m. The 90 mm Gun was the USs primary anti-aircraft gun from just prior to the opening of World War II into the 1950s, when most anti-aircraft artillery was replaced by guided missile systems. As a tank gun, it was the weapon of the M36 tank destroyer and M26 Pershing tank. It was briefly deployed 1943-46 as a coast defense weapon with the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps, prior to World War II, the primary US anti-aircraft gun was the 3-inch M1918 gun, a widely used caliber for this class of weapon. Similar weapons were in British, Soviet and other arsenals, there had been several upgrades to the weapon over its history, including the experimental T8 and T9 versions developed in the early 1930s that were intended to enter service later in the decade. The new design seemed so much better than developments of the older 3-inch that work on the 3-inch T9 was canceled in 1938 just as it became production-ready. By 1940 the second development of the 90 mm design, the T2, was standardized as the 90 mm M1, while its larger cousin became the 120 mm M1 gun. A few hundred M1s were completed when several improvements were added to produce the 90 mm M1A1, the M1A1 included an improved mount and spring-rammer on the breech, with the result that firing rates went up to 20 rounds per minute. Several thousand were available when the US entered the war, production rates continued to improve, topping out in the low thousands per month. Like the German 88 and the British QF3.7 inch AA gun, the M1A1 found itself facing tanks in combat and it became the standard weapon from May 13,1943. In anti-aircraft use the guns were operated in groups of four. Radar direction was common, starting with the SCR-268 in 1941, which was not accurate enough to lay the guns. In 1944 the system was upgraded with the addition of the SCR-584 microwave radar, the M3 was also adapted as the main gun for various armored vehicles, starting with the experimental T7 which was accepted as the 90 mm M3. The test firing of the M3 took place on an M10 tank destroyer in early 1943, the M3 gun was used on the M36 tank destroyer, and the T26 Pershing tank. The M3 fired a M82 APC shot with a velocity of 2,650 feet per second. The HVAP could compete with the KwK 43s penetration performance when firing std. APCBC, but tungsten ammunition was always in short supply, an unsuccessful anti-tank variant was the T8 gun on the T5 carriage
28.
M101 howitzer
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The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was a howitzer developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U. S. light field howitzer in World War II, entering production in 1941, it quickly gained a reputation for accuracy and a powerful punch. The M101A1 fired 105-millimetre high explosive semi-fixed ammunition and had a range of 11,270 metres, all of these qualities of the weapon, along with its widespread production, led to its adoption by many countries after the war. Its ammunition type also became the standard for foreign countries later models. During the Second World War, U. S. artillery regiments consisted of an HQ detachment, one 155mm artillery battalion, both the 155mm and 105mm battalions had twelve guns each, divided into three batteries of four guns. That gave each regiment a total of twelve 155mm howitzers, with an HE M1 shell fired at 9000 meters, the probable error in range was 41 meters, while the probable error in line was 10 meters. The U. S. military artillery designation system was changed in 1962, the gun continued to see service in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Though a similar model, the M102 howitzer, shared the roles in battle. Today, the M101A1 has been retired by the U. S. military, though it continues to see service with many other countries. By the end of the Second World War,8,536 105mm towed howitzers had been built and post-war production continued at Rock Island Arsenal until 1953, by which time 10,202 had been built. The Canadian Forces continued to use the M2A1 as the C2 Howitzer until 1997, the changes include a longer barrel, a muzzle brake, reinforced trails and the removal of shield flaps. It remains the standard light howitzer of Canadian Forces Reserve units, the C3 is used by Reserve units in Glacier National Park in British Columbia as a means of avalanche control. In addition, the M101 has found a use in the U. S. as an avalanche control gun. Today upgraded M2A1 howitzers are still being used by the Peoples Army of Vietnam and it continues to remain as the primary tactical field-howitzer of the VPA. M2 Howitzers are still in limited service in the Australian Army Reserve, in regular service they were replaced by the 105mm L119 Hamel gun and the 155-millimetre M198 howitzers. Two M2 howitzers are employed in providing the gun salute at Kristiansten Fortress, in Trondheim. M101/M2 is one of three approved salute guns in the Norwegian armed forces, and have reduced to a caliber of 75 millimetres for this purpose. They are used for gun salute also at Rena and Setermoen, M2 - minor changes to the chamber to allow use of fixed ammunition
29.
Ordnance QF 6-pounder
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It was first used in North Africa in April 1942, and quickly replaced the 2 pounder in the anti-tank role, allowing the 25 pounder to revert to its intended artillery role. The United States Army also adopted the 6 pounder as their primary anti-tank gun under the designation 57 mm Gun M1. Limitations of the existing 2-pounders were apparent even as the gun was first entering service, the Woolwich Arsenal was entrusted with the development of a new gun with a calibre of 57 mm calibre. Guns of this calibre had been employed by the Royal Navy from the late 19th century, the design was complete by 1940, but the carriage design was not completed until 1941. The production was delayed by the defeat in the Battle of France. It was estimated that 100 6-pounders would displace the production of 600 2-pounders and this had the effect of delaying production of the 6-pounder until November 1941 and its entry into service until May 1942. Unlike the 2-pounder, the new gun was mounted on a conventional two-wheeled split trail carriage, the first mass production variant—the Mk II—differed from the pre-production Mk I in having a shorter L/43 barrel, because of shortage of suitable lathes. The subsequent Mk IV was fitted with a L/50 barrel, with muzzle brake, optional side shields were issued to give the crew better protection, but were apparently rarely used. The Churchill Marks III and IV, Valentine Mark IX and Crusader Mark III all began to service during 1942. The Valentine and Crusader both needed to lose a member from the turret. Those tanks designed to take the 6-pounder from the outset were the problematic Cavalier, the Cromwell, the 6-pounder was also fitted to the AEC Armoured Car Mark II. Although the 6-pounder was kept at least somewhat competitive through the war, the aim was to produce a gun with the same general dimensions and weight as the 6-pounder, but with improved performance. The first attempt was an 8-pounder of 59 calibre length, a second attempt was made with a shorter 48 calibre barrel, but this proved to have only marginally better performance than the 6-pounder. The program was cancelled in January 1943. Instead, the 6-pounder was followed into production and service by the next generation British anti-tank gun, the 17 pounder, which came into use from February 1943. As a smaller and more gun, the 6-pounder continued to be used by the British Army not only for the rest of World War II. A 57/42.6 mm squeeze bore adaptor was developed for the gun but was never adopted, in addition to the UK, the gun was produced in both South Africa, where the Combined Ordnance Factories produced 300, and Canada. The idea of manufacturing the 6 pounder in the US was expressed by the US Army Ordnance in February 1941, at that time, the US Army still favoured the 37mm Gun M3 and production was planned solely for lend lease
30.
3-inch Gun M5
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The 3 inch Gun M5 was an anti-tank gun developed in the United States during World War II. The gun combined a 3-inch barrel of the anti-aircraft gun T9, the M5 was issued exclusively to the US Army tank destroyer battalions starting in 1943. It saw combat in the Italian Campaign and in the Northwest Europe campaign, while the M5 outperformed earlier anti-tank guns in the US service, its effective employment was hindered by its heavy weight and ammunition-related issues. In 1940, the US Army just started to receive its first antitank gun, while it fitted the request of the Infantry for light, easy to manhandle anti-tank weapon, Artillery and Ordnance foresaw a need for a more powerful gun. This led to a number of expedient designs, such as adaptations of the 75 mm M1897 or towed variants of the 75 mm M3, late in 1940, the Ordnance Corps started another project - an anti-tank gun based on the 3 inch anti-aircraft gun T9. The barrel of the T9 was combined with breech, recoil system and carriage, the pilot of the weapon, named 3 inch Gun T10, was ready by September 1941. Although the subsequent testing revealed problems, it was clear that the gun, eventually standardized as M5 on carriage M1. In November 1943, a modified carriage was standardized as M6. In this carriage, a flat shield borrowed from the 105 mm howitzer was replaced by a new sloped one. In January 1944, AGF requested an upgrade of those built with the early carriage M1 to the carriage M6. The barrel was adapted from the 3 inch Gun T9, it had rifling with a right hand twist, with 28 grooves. It was combined with breech, recoil system and carriage from the 105 mm Howitzer M2, the breech was of horizontal sliding type, manual, the recoil system hydropneumatic. The carriage was of split trail type, equipped with a single equilibrator spring beneath the breech, despite the performance advantages, it turned out that no branch of the US Army wanted the new gun. The Infantry considered it too large and heavy, the other possible user, the Tank Destroyer Center, preferred more mobile self-propelled weapons. Finally, pressure from the head of Army Ground Forces, Gen. Lesley McNair, mcNairs opinion was apparently influenced by the experience of the North African Campaign, where self-propelled guns were found to be hard to conceal. On 31 March 1943, AGF ordered 15 self-propelled tank destroyer battalions to convert to a form, eventually. A towed TD battalion possessed 36 pieces, in three companies of 12, M3 Halftracks were issued as prime movers. The organization from 1 September 1944 authorized M39 Armored Utility Vehicle instead and those towed tank destroyer battalions were attached to US Army divisions to improve their anti-tank capabilities
31.
105mm Gun T8
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105mm Gun T8 was an anti-tank gun developed in the United States in mid-1940s. This guns design was influenced by German 88 mm Pak 43/41 anti-tank guns captured by the U. S. Army in France, the development started in October 1944, the gun reached trials in February 1946. Soon afterwards the project was cancelled, in December,1942, Allied forces reported that new German armored vehicle designs were resistant to 57 mm anti-tank guns, the largest anti-tank gun available. The US Ordnance Department began preliminary studies on a gun similar to the German 88 mm Pak 43/41 anti-aircraft gun which was then successfully being used as an anti-tank gun. The first proposal was a combination of the 90 mm M1 Anti-aircraft gun mated to the M2 recoil mechanism from the M2A1105 mm howitzer, the example was designated 90 mm anti-tank gun T8 on carriage T5. The T5 gun carriage proved unacceptable due to structural weaknesses found while towing off-road, after two redesigned carriages were tested, the T5E2 was classified as limited standard. After additional trials at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the T8 gun was found to be too heavy, alternative carriages were tested, with no carriage found acceptable. Two new gun/carriages were proposed and tested, the final design selected was the T20E1 gun with the T15 carriage. Three T8 guns were completed in 1944, and a batch of 400 was ordered. One of the three guns was sent to Europe with the Zebra mission in February,1945, the Zebra team was sent to the ETO to respond to the criticism of the inadequate anti-tank guns that were then in service. B were found to be armored beyond the anti-tank guns then in use or proposed, work was started on a 105 mm version of the T8 using the T19 split trail carriage in October 1944. The T8105 mm anti-tank gun weighed about eight tons and it had a split trail carriage and magnesium wheels with synthetic rubber tires. In transportation, the mount could be rotated 180 degrees in order to reduce the length of the piece, the gun fired a 17.7 kg armor-piercing projectile at 945 m/s, resulting in the penetration of 210 mm at 1,000 m,0 degrees. Two pilot guns and carriages were built, one of those is on display in the United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland,12.8 cm Pak 44 anti-tank gun 2.8 cm sPzB4137 mm Gun M3 Hogg, Ian V. Allied Artillery of World War Two, ISBN 1-86126-165-9 Zaloga, Steven J. US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45
32.
M116 howitzer
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The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was an artillery piece used by the United States. It was designed in the 1920s to meet a need for a howitzer that could be moved across difficult terrain, the gun and carriage was designed so that it could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals. The gun saw combat in World War II with the United States Army, with US Marine Corps, in addition to the pack / air portable configuration, the gun was mounted on a conventional carriage to serve as a field artillery piece. The M2 and M3 are derived vehicle mounted howitzers used in the 75mm HMC M8, in addition, the M1 in its original version was mated to a number of other self-propelled carriages, though only one of those – 75mm HMC T30 – reached mass production. The 75 mm pack howitzer was designed in the United States in the 1920s to meet a need for a piece that could be moved across difficult terrain. In August 1927, the weapon was standardized as Howitzer, Pack, due to meager funding, production rates were low, by 1940, only 91 pieces were manufactured. It was not until September 1940 that the howitzer was put into mass production, by then, the M1 had been succeeded by the slightly modified M1A1. The only significant changes during the production period were carriage improvements. The original carriage M1 was of box type, with wooden wheels. The requirement for a lightweight howitzer for airborne troops led to the introduction of the M8 carriage, another requirement, from the cavalry branch of the US Army, resulted in a completely different family of field howitzer split trail carriages M3A1 / M3A2 / M3A3. However, only limited numbers of the M1 field howitzer variant were built, the howitzer M1 or M1A1 consisted of tube and breech, which were joined together by interrupted threads, allowing for quick assembly and disassembly. One eighth of a turn was required to connect or disconnect tube, the tube had uniform, right hand rifling with one turn in 20 calibers. The breech was of horizontal sliding type, with continuous-pull firing mechanism. Both recoil buffer and recuperator were located under the barrel, the pack howitzer carriage M1 had dismantling construction. The carriage was of box type, with steel-rimmed wooden wheels. The carriage M8 was identical, except for axle arms and wheels, the howitzer on carriage M8 could be broken down into seven mule loads or into nine parachute loads. It could also be towed by vehicle such as 1/4 ton jeep, the field howitzer carriages of the M3 family were non-dismantling, split trail. All these were fitted with metal wheels with pneumatic tires, all had an additional retractable support, in firing position, the firing base could be lowered and wheels raised, leaving the weapon to rest on the firing base and trails
33.
M3 howitzer
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The 105 mm Howitzer M3 was a U. S. light howitzer designed for use by airborne troops. The gun utilized the barrel of the 105 mm Howitzer M2, the howitzer was used by the U. S. Army during World War II. It was issued to units and the cannon companies of infantry regiments. The process of building airborne forces in 1941 led to a requirement for an air portable 105 mm howitzer. The weapon, initially designated T7, featured a barrel from the 105mm Howitzer M2, shortened by 27 inches and combined with a recoil system, a prototype reached trials at Aberdeen Proving Ground in March 1942. The howitzer was designed to fire the ammunition as the longer M2. However, it turned out that shorter barrel resulted in burning of the propelling charge. The problem could be solved by use of burning powder. Otherwise the design was considered acceptable and was standardized as 105 mm Howitzer M3 on Carriage M3, the carriage was soon succeeded by the M3A1, which had trails made from thicker plate. Even stronger tubular trails were designed, but never reached production, the production started in February 1943 and continued until May 1944, an additional bunch was produced in April–June 1945. 1/4 ton jeeps were used as prime movers, later increased to four battalions, one, between 1943 and 1945, was converted to 105mm M3. The weapon was finally authorized as an option by the December 1944 TO&E and, by 1945, the M3 was also issued to the cannon companies of infantry regiments. Often the cannon companies were integrated into the division artillery, the infantry used 1½ ton cargo trucks as the prime mover. A small number of M3s were supplied via lend lease channels to France, United Kingdom and they were used early in the Korean War as ROK divisional artillery. Argentina Brazil Dominican Republic France Mexico United Kingdom United States Philippines Gun variants, T7, t10 - variant with elevation increased to 65 degrees. Carriage variants, M3 - based on M3A1 carriage for the 75 mm field howitzer, M3A1 - had stronger trails, made from 1/8 inch plate instead of 3/32 inch. M3A2 - was fitted with shield, there were two proposals for a self-propelled artillery piece armed with the M3. 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T38 - based on the M3 halftrack,105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T82 - based on the Light Tank M5A1 chassis
34.
4.5-inch Gun M1
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The 4.5 inch Gun M1 was a field gun developed in the United States in the beginning of World War II. It shared the same carriage with the 155mm Howitzer M1 and fired the same ammunition as the British BL4.5 inch Medium Field Gun. The weapon was used by the US Army in Northwest Europe late in the war for corps support, in 1920 the US Army Ordnance started to work on a new medium field gun. Since the US Army had already employed the 4.7 inch Gun M1906 during World War I, the development resulted in 4.7 inch Gun M1922E on Carriage M1921E. Due to lack of funding, the design never reached production, in 1939 the program was restarted, the renewed design, designated 4.7 inch Gun T3, was ready by early 1940, it utilized the same carriage as the concurrently developed 155 mm howitzer. At this stage, the decided to change the weapon to use the British 4.5 inch ammunition. The modified gun was standardized in April 1941 as 4.5 inch Gun M1 on Carriage M1, the production started in September 1942 and continued until February 1944. The M1 was very similar in construction and appearance to the 155mm Howitzer M1, the only significant difference was its tube of 4.5 inch caliber. The tube had uniform right hand twist, with one turn in 32 calibers, the unbalanced weight of the barrel was supported by two equilibrator springs. The breach was of interrupted screw type, the recoil system hydropneumatic, the carriage was of split trail type, unsprung and had wheels with pneumatic tires. In firing position, the weapon was supported by a retractable pedestal, the gun was equipped with M12 panoramic sight. The M1 equipped 16 or 17 field artillery battalions in the Northwest Europe, M5 High Speed Tractor was assigned as prime mover. The weapon was declared obsolete in September 1945, the gun had good range, nearly five km longer than its 155 mm howitzer sibling and longer than the 155 mm Gun M1918MI. It was out-ranged by another 155 mm gun, the Long Tom, on the other side, the 4.5 inch gun was criticized for insufficient power of its high-explosive shell. The shell was produced from low grade steel, which necessitated thick walls, as a result, it carried only about two kg of TNT or substitute, in fact less than the 105 mm high-explosive shell. Additionally, it was felt that having a number of guns of atypical caliber unnecessarily complicated logistics. 4.7 inch Gun M1920 on Carriage M1920,4.7 inch Gun M1922E on Carriage M1921E. 4.5 inch Gun M1 on Carriage M1, the weapon was experimentally mounted on a lengthened chassis of the M5 light tank, in mount M1
35.
M114 155 mm howitzer
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The M114155 mm howitzer was a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1942 as an artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean War, in some countries, the M114 still remains in service. So development began anew with a designed to be used for either the 155 mm howitzer or the 4. 7-inch gun. This was completed by 15 May 1941 when the Howitzer M1 on the Carriage M1 was standardized, the howitzer itself differed from the older model by a lengthened barrel of 20 calibers and a new breech mechanism. Uniquely it was the sole slow-cone interrupted screw mechanism to enter service after 1920 and this meant that two separate movements were necessary to open the breech, versus the single movement of the steep cone mechanism that simultaneously rotated and withdrew the breech. The M1A1 was redesignated as the M114A1 in 1962, the carriage was also used by the 4.5 inch Gun M-1. It went through a number of changes over time. The original Warner electric brakes were replaced by Westinghouse air brakes on the M1A1, both the M1 and M1A1 carriages used a mid-axle firing pedestal that was extended by a ratchet mechanism. The M1A2 replaced the ratchet with a system and also modified the traveling lock. The T-9 and T-10 carriages were projects using low-grade steel alloys that were canceled when no longer needed. The T-16 was a carriage using high-grade steel that was estimated to save some 1,200 lb, work began in July 1945 and continued after the war. A mid-1960s variant was the 155mm XM123 & M123A1 auxiliary-propelled howitzers, the extra weight on the left trail displaced the howitzer after each round was fired requiring it to be realigned and the project was abandoned. The concept was copied from the Soviet 85mm SD-44 auxiliary-propelled antitank gun developed in 1954, the non howitzer was experimentally mounted on a lengthened chassis of the M5 light tank. The resulting vehicle received the designation 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage T64, a single prototype was built before the T64 project was abandoned in favor of T64E1, based on the M24 Chaffee light tank chassis. This was eventually adopted as the M41 Howitzer Motor Carriage and saw action in the Korean War, towards the end of the Korean War the US Army replaced the M41 self-propelled howitzer with the M44 self-propelled howitzer. The gun fired separate loading, bagged charge ammunition, with up to seven different propelling charges, muzzle velocity, range and penetration in the tables below are for maximum charge in form of complete M4A1 propelling charge. Afghanistan Argentina Tunisia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Cameroon Chile Ecuador Iran South Korea Lebanon Morocco Pakistan,144 in service with the Pakistan Army. S
36.
Canon de 155mm GPF
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The Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux mle.1917 was a 155 mm cannon used by the French Army during the first half of the 20th century. It was also adopted by the United States as the M1917, and it was also manufactured in the USA from 1917, after the US switched to metric artillery based on French patterns. Some of the guns were emplaced in Panama mounts on Corregidor, Caballo. A number of them were removed from their emplacements and used as roving batteries, the gun was later mounted on a self-propelled mount as the M12 Gun Motor Carriage and saw action in 1944-45. This gun was designed by Colonel L. J. F. Filloux to fill a vital French Army requirement for an artillery piece. The design proved a success and became the heavy field gun of the French from 1917 to the end of World War I. The weapon was pressed into service quickly, to remedy the shortage of weapons in the French inventory. This weapon became the Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux mle 1917, during World War 1, the gun was eventually taken on by the American Expeditionary Force as a standard long-range artillery piece. At the beginning of World War II the French guns were pulled out of reserve storage, the US M1918 155mm GPF was a copy of the French 1917 field gun and used by the US Army, Philippines and US Marines up to 1945. United States Army paid for, and subsequently copied, the Model 1918 gun, during World War 2 the 155mm guns were taken out of storage and utilized for coastal defense on American shores and across allied territories such as the Philippines and Australia. They were also used in Philippines, Guadalcanal and North Africa until more modern artillery was available, ultimately, both the US Army and Marine Corps phased out their M1918 guns for the 155-mm M1A1 Long Tom beginning in 1942. The M1918 was also fitted to the M12 Gun Motor Carriage as a self-propelled gun, in 1940, France fielded 450 of these guns. Many of them were captured and used by Germany for the rest of the war, in German service it was known as the 15.5 cm K418, it served with heavy artillery battalions in Afrika Korps and on coastal defense duties. On D-Day in 1944, the German Army had over 50 of the 155-mm French guns in sites on the northern French beaches, a battery of six of these guns near four empty emplacements for larger guns was the cause of the actions at Pointe du Hoc in June 1944. Many of these survive as memorials. D. D-Day, The Greatest Invasion - A Peoples History Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, ISBN 1-58234-314-4 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 Touzin, Pierre, Vauvillier, Les Matériels de lArmée Française, Les canons de la victoire, 1914-1918. 155-Millimeter Gun Materiel, Model of 1918 Handbook of artillery, including mobile, anti-aircraft and trench matériel US Army Ordnance Dept, May 1920
37.
M115 howitzer
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The M115203 mm howitzer, also known as the M1158 inch howitzer, was a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. Until the 1950s it was designated the 8 inch Howitzer M1, the original design started in 1919 but lapsed until resurrected in 1927 as a partner-piece for a new 155 mm gun. It was standardized as 8 inch Howitzer M1 in 1940, the M115/M1 was towed by the M35 Prime Mover gun tractor or a Mack 7⅓ ton 6×6 truck. The M115 was towed with 21 men per gun, and was shipped over to Germany Oct 1961 in response to the Berlin Crisis, like the British BL8 inch Howitzer of the First World War, the M115 uses a Welin screw for its breech. The carriage was the same as used for the US155 mm gun and was adopted by the British for their 7.2 inch Mark 6 howitzer. It consists of equilibrator assemblies, elevating and traversing mechanisms, two single-wheel, single-axle heavy limber, and a bogie with eight tires and two trails. Four spades, carried on the trails, are used to emplace the weapon, the British 8 inch howitzer was produced in England and under license in the US, for the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I, as the 8-inch Howitzer MK. It was in service with the US Army till replaced by the M115, there are no reports of the MK. VI or another marks being used during World War II, the first photos of the M115 type 8 inch cannon on its redesign carriage appeared in 1931 but development was slowed by the Great Depression. The M115 saw U. S. service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It was also adopted as a weapon by a number of nations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and saw service in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. United States Republic of China Croatia, former operator,24 systems Denmark, former operator 1953–1992,12 systems Greece, former operator Italy, - Gruppo Artiglieria Pesante Rovigo, 1° Gr. A. Pe. - Gruppo Artiglieria Pesante Adige, Gruppo A. U. C. -T. M, the resulting vehicle was initially designated 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T89 and eventually standardized as 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage M43. A total of 48 units were built,8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T80 – based on T23 Medium Tank chassis, never advanced past proposal stage. 8 inch Howitzer Motor Carriage T84 – based on T26 Medium Tank chassis, the howitzer was mounted on a purpose-built tracked chassis to become the 8 inch Self-Propelled Howitzer M110. Notably accuracy and rate of fire suffered from having to depress the cannon tube to loading elevation for each round in order to use the track-mounted auto loader, the howitzer fired separate loading, bagged charge ammunition, with seven different propelling charges, from 1 to 7. The M454 Nuclear shell had its own M80 cartridge with three propelling charges, hunnicutt, R. P. Pershing, A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series. Technical Manual TM 9-1901, Artillery Ammunition, missing Lynx TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and fire Control Material TM 9-335 TM 9-1350 Media related to M115203 mm howitzer at Wikimedia Commons
38.
8-inch Gun M1
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The 8 inch gun M1 was a 203 mm towed heavy gun developed in the United States. It was used by the US Army and the British Army in World War II, use of the carriage of the 240 mm howitzer M1 eased development, but the gun was very troublesome and wasnt standardized until January 1944. The main problems were excessive bore wear and poor accuracy, thus it entered production at a low rate and in small numbers. It also shared transport wagons with the 240 mm howitzer, one six-wheeled wagon carried the M2 carriage and the other carried the barrel as shown below, This separate configuration required the use of the M2 truck-mounted crane for set up. List of U. S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation SNL D-33 M6 Tractor Hogg, allied Artillery of World War Two. New York, Ballantine Books,1970 ISBN0019067100 TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery, TM 9-336 British Artillery in World War II United States. Service of the piece, 8-inch gun M1 and 240-MM howitzer M1
39.
240 mm howitzer M1
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The 240 mm Howitzer M1, popularly nicknamed the Black Dragon, was a towed howitzer used by the United States Army. The 240 mm M1 was designed to replace the World War I era 240 mm Howitzer M1918 which was based on a 1911 French design and was outdated by World War II, the project to replace the M1918 began in 1941. The 240 mm howitzer was the most powerful weapon deployed by US field artillery units during World War II and it was the largest field piece used by the US Army during the war except for naval ordnance adapted into railway guns. The weapon addressed the requirement for heavy field artillery capable of attacking heavily reinforced targets like those likely to be found along the Siegfried Line. The 240 mm howitzer M1 was designed together with the longer ranged 8-inch Gun M1 and it was also used in the Pacific campaign, notably in the Battle of Manila, but few targets there were heavily-fortified enough to justify its use. The US army retained the 240 mm howitzer after World War II, the howitzer remained in US service until ammunition stocks were exhausted in the late 1950s. The 240 mm howitzer M1 is still in service with the Taiwans Republic of China Army, stationed in hardened bunkers of the frontline Kinmen and Matsu Islands. The first operational use of the super heavy 240 mm Howitzer was by the U. S. 5th Army at the Anzio Beachhead in Italy in January 1944, along with the 8-inch gun – super heavy artillery was used as counter-battery fire against German guns in their class. Their fire was accurate enough not only to knock enemy artillery out of action, US super heavy artillery also played a role in countering the infamous Anzio Annie railway gun and putting it out of action. In Italy, the 240 mm Howitzer was highly valued for its capability to destroy key bridges at long range, Army Ordnance officers credited the devastating fire power and incredible accuracy of the 240mm howitzer in playing a decisive role in the Italian Campaign. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, the weapon was used in the destruction of the monastery at Monte Cassino already damaged by air attacks. In the Italian theater, a number of the 240 mm howitzers also saw action in the service of the British Eighth Army. Despite their initial misgivings over the deployment of such a heavy and unwieldy weapon, 5th Army commanders dubbed the 240 mm Howitzer as, the 240 mm howitzer would go on to see extensive service in the Western Front reducing reinforced targets requiring super heavy artillery. They were utilized in two units in Korea, the 213th and 159th Field Artilleries, the weapons went into action on May 1,1953. On that day, the first round was fired by Baker battery 213th at a target on top of a hill called ‘the donut’ by aerial observers. In the late 50s, several M1s were transferred to the Republic of China and stationed in the front line Kinmen, the guns were put on rails to enable the howitzers to deploy outside for fire missions and to retreat inside their hardened bunkers/tunnels for protection when needed. List of U. S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation SNL D-31 Hogg, allied Artillery of World War Two. ISBN 0-01-906710-0 Zaloga, Steven J. Brian Delf – US Field Artillery of World War II Osprey Publishing, World War II Tanks & Artillery Krause Publications, ISBN 0-87341-297-4
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M2 mortar
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The M2 Mortar is a 60 milimeter smoothbore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used by U. S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for light infantry support. The U. S. M260 mm mortar was developed from the heavier 81 mm M1 Mortar to provide an alternative to company-level fire support. The M2 attempted to bridge the gap between the 81 mm mortar and the hand grenade, normally employed by the weapons platoon of a U. S. infantry company, the M2 is of the usual mortar pattern of the day. It consists of a metal tube on a rectangular baseplate, supported by a simple bipod with the elevation. The firing pin was fixed in the cap of the tube. During the late 1920s, the US Army began examining mortars to act as an infantry support weapon. The War Department eventually settled on a 60 mm design from Edgar Brandt, a French ordnance engineer, the model was standardized as the Mortar,60 mm M2. Testing took place in the late 1930s, and the first order for 1,500 M2 mortars was placed in January 1940, the weapon was used throughout World War II by the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps. It saw service again in the Korean War, and by French forces in campaigns in Indochina. During the Vietnam War, the M2 was again used by the U. S. Army and Marines, ultimately, the M2 was replaced by the M224 in 1978. China also locally produced the M2 mortar, which was designated as the Type 31, each mortar shell had a screw-on cap in its base. Inside the hollow in the tail, it contained a 20-gauge M5A1 Ignition Cartridge and this was a paper shotgun shell filled with ballistite powder. The mortar had a pin in the bottom of the tube. When the shell was dropped down the tube, the firing pin struck the Ignition Cartridge in the shells tail, when the cartridge detonated, the explosive gases exited the base of the shell through two bleed holes. This propelled the shell out of the tube in an arc, unassisted, the mortar shell had a range of about 200 to 325 yards. To increase the range, bags of booster charges were fastened to the tailfins with clips. Up to four bags could be fitted to the shells tail, the M2 Mortar could fire several types of ammunition. M49A2 High explosive with Point Detonating fuze M52B1, An explosive shell used against infantry and it has a minimum range of 200 yards when fired without a boosting charge at a 70° angle and a maximum range of 2017 yards when fired with four boosting charges at a 45° angle
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M1 mortar
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The M1 mortar is an American 81 millimeter caliber mortar. It was based on the French Brandt mortar, the M1 mortar was used from World War II until the 1950s when it was replaced by the lighter and longer ranged M29 mortar. Weight, Tube 44.5 lb Mount 46.5 lb Base plate 45 lb Total 136 pounds M43A1 Light HE,6.87 lb, range min 200 yd, range max 3290 yd, 80% frag radius 25 yd. M53 Short Delay fuze. M43A1 Light Training An empty version of the M43A1 Light HE with an inert fuze and it was used as a training shell until it was replaced by the M68 Training Practice shell. M45 Heavy HE,10.62 lb, range max 2558 yd, equipped with a delay fuze so some penetration is possible for demolition use. M56 Heavy HE,15.01 lb, range max 1300 yards, early shells used the M53 fuze, but it was replaced by the M77 Timed Super Quick fuze. M57 WP Bursting Smoke,10.74 lb, range max 2470 yd, designed to lay down screening smoke, m57 FS Chemical Smoke,10.74 lb, range max 2470 yd, laid down dense white fog consisting of small droplets of hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. In moderate concentrations, it is irritating to the eyes, nose. M68 Training Practice,9.50 lb to 10.10 lb, an inert teardrop-shaped cast iron shell without provision for a fuze well that was used to simulate the M43 Light HE shell. The casing on early models was painted black but post-World War 2 versions are painted blue and it came in 9 different weights to allow it to simulate shell firing with and without booster charges. Weight Zone One simulated a shell with the maximum of 8 booster charges, m301 Illuminating shell, range max 2200 yd, attached to parachute, burned brightly for about 60 seconds, illuminating an area of about 150 yards diameter. It used the M84 time fuze, which was adjustable from 5 to 25 seconds before priming charge detonated, releasing the illuminator, the M1 Mortars shells sometimes used the same fuzes as the shells for the M2 60mm Mortar. An adapter collar was added to the fuzes to allow them to fit the larger shells. M43 Mechanical Timing Fuze, Clockwork timed delay fuze, m45 Point Detonating Fuze, Selective fuze that could be set for time delay or super-quick detonation on impact. Replaced by the M52 and M53 fuzes, M48 Point Detonating Fuze, Selective Powder Train burning fuze that can be set to Super Quick or Delay ignition on impact. The factory pre-set delay time was stamped on the shell body, if the Super-Quick flash ignition failed, the Delay fuse kicked in. If set on Delay, the Super Quick flash igniter mechanism was immobilized to prevent premature ignition, models, M48, M48A1, M48A2, & M48A3. M51 Point Detonating Fuze, Selective Powder Train burning fuze that can be set to Super Quick or Delay ignition after impact and it is a modification of the M48 fuze with the addition of a booster charge
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