1.
Battle of Bir Hakeim
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The Battle of Bir Hakeim took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala. The 1st Free French Brigade defended the position from 26 May –11 June against much larger Axis forces of Panzerarmee Afrika. Rommel continued to advance and invaded Egypt, slowed by British delaying actions until the First Battle of El Alamein in July, where the Axis advance was stopped. Both sides used the battle for propaganda, Winston Churchill renamed the Free French as the Fighting French and Hitler called the French the second best fighters after the Germans. Both sides accumulated supplies for an offensive to forestall their opponent and General Claude Auchinleck, Commander in Chief of Middle East Command, hoped for the Eighth Army to be ready by May. British code-breakers tracked the dispatch of convoys to Libya as the British anti-shipping offensive from Malta was neutralised by Axis bombing, as the Eighth Army was not ready to take the offensive, Ritchie planned to fight a defensive battle on the Gazala line. Auchinleck saw the former as more likely while Ritchie favoured the latter, Auchinleck suggested that British armour be concentrated near El Adem, where it would be well placed to meet either threat. H and J and the Panzer IV at 600–800 m, the frontal armour of the Grant was thick enough to withstand the 50 mm Pak 38 anti-tank gun at 900 m and the short-barrelled 50 mm KwK38 gun carried by the Panzer III at 250 m. The first 112 × 6-pounder anti-tank guns had arrived and been allotted to the brigades of the armoured divisions. At the meeting of Axis leaders at Berchtesgaden on 1 May, the Panzerarmee was to pause at the Egyptian border, while the Axis captured Malta in Operation Herkules and then Rommel was to invade Egypt. The Panzerarmee had finished converting to the up-armoured Panzer III Ausf, H and received nineteen Panzer III Ausf. J with a long-barrelled 50 mm KwK39 gun, G with long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK40 guns had also arrived. The Abwehr had broken some British military codes and in late 1941 penetrated Black, the used by Bonner Fellers. The British divulged much tactical information to Fellers, who reported it to the Axis as well as Washington. The 1,400 km advance to Gazala succeeded, because the port of Benghazi was open, the capture of Malta would not alter the constraints of port capacity and distance, protecting convoys and the use of a large port close to the front would still be necessary. Unternehmen Venezia, the Axis plan of attack, was for tanks to make an advance around the Bir Hacheim box at the southern extremity of the Gazala line. On the left side of the manoeuvre, the Italian 132nd Armoured Division Ariete would neutralise the Bir Hacheim box. The Axis tanks would be in a next day to thrust westwards against the Eighth Army defensive boxes between Gazala and Alem Hamza, meeting the eastwards attack by the Italian X and XXI corps
2.
1908 Pattern Webbing
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The 1908 Pattern Web Infantry Equipment was an innovative type of webbing equipment issued to the British Army during World War I. As a stop-gap measure, the leather 1903 Bandolier Equipment, based on used by the Boer Commandos, was issued. In 1906, Major Burrows of the Royal Irish Fusiliers working with the Mills Equipment Company, the American parent company of Mills had previously produced woven cotton webbing equipment for the US Army, but no European army had yet adopted it. The new Webb-Burrows equipment, initially known as the Aldershot design, was presented to a committee chaired by the Surgeon-General, following the success of these trials, the webbing equipment was accepted by the Army Council in December 1907. The 1908 equipment, when assembled, formed a single piece. Ammunition was stored in two sets of attached to the belt at the front, and the straps from these passed over the shoulders. The back pack, or valise, was attached to these diagonal straps, the D shaped buckles and the strap ends were made of brass. In Battle Order which was intended to be worn in combat, the valise was detached, the 1908 Pattern Web Equipment was the main equipment with which the British and Imperial armies fought the First World War. Twenty years after the end of conflict, the 1908 webbing was replaced by the 1937 Pattern Web Equipment. Some British infantry units in India and Hong Kong were still using the 1908 webbing in 1941, the valise and haversack from the 1908 webbing continued to be used in the 1938 webbing
3.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
4.
Commonwealth of Nations
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The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the states as free. The symbol of free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, the other Commonwealth members have different heads of state,31 members are republics and five are monarchies with a different monarch. Member states have no obligation to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their values of democracy, free speech, human rights. These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2, 20% of the worlds land area, and spans all six inhabited continents. She declared, So, it marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. As long ago as 1884, however, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had described the changing British Empire—as some of its colonies became more independent—as a Commonwealth of Nations. Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, the Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. Newfoundland never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th province in 1949. Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively, after World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, there remain the 14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word British was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature, burma and Aden are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Hoped for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four minute mile in 1954, however, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt morale of Britain and the Commonwealth as a whole. More broadly, there was the loss of a role of the British Empire. That role was no longer militarily or financially feasible, as Britains withdrawal from Greece in 1947 painfully demonstrated, Britain itself was now just one part of the NATO military alliance in which the Commonwealth had no role apart from Canada
5.
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
6.
Bren light machine gun
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The Bren gun, usually called simply the Bren, was a series of light machine guns made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or vehicle-mounted, the Bren was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB33 light machine gun, which in turn, was a modified version of ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s, the later Bren featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. The name Bren was derived from Brno, Moravia, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz.26 was originally designed, the original and main designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer. In the 1950s many Brens were rebarrelled to accept the 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge and it was replaced in the British Army as the section LMG by the L7 general-purpose machine gun, a heavier belt-fed weapon. This was, in turn, supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5. 56×45mm NATO round, the Bren is still manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories as the Gun, Machine 7. 62mm 1B. At the close of the First World War in 1918, the British Army was equipped with two automatic weapons, the Vickers medium machine gun and the Lewis light machine gun. The Vickers was heavy and required a supply of water to keep it in operation, although the BAR was recommended, the sheer number of Lewis guns available and the difficult financial conditions meant that nothing was done. Various new models of machine gun were tested as they became available, and in 1930. This time the weapons tested included the SIG Neuhausen KE7, the Vickers-Berthier, following these trials, the British Army adopted the Czechoslovak ZB vz.26 light machine gun manufactured in Brno in 1935, although a slightly modified model, the ZB vz. 27, rather than the ZB vz.26 which had submitted for the trials. The design was modified to British requirements under new designation ZGB33, the magazine was curved in order to feed the rimmed.303 British cartridge, a change from the various rimless Mauser-design cartridges such as the 8mm Mauser round previously used by Czech designs. These modifications were categorised in various numbered designations, ZB vz,32, and finally the ZGB33, which was licensed for manufacture under the Bren name. The vented gas drove a piston which in turn actuated the breech block, each gun came with a spare barrel that could be quickly changed when the barrel became hot during sustained fire, though later guns featured a chrome-lined barrel which reduced the need for a spare. To change barrels, the catch in front of the magazine was rotated to unlock the barrel. The carrying handle above the barrel was used to grip and remove the hot barrel without burning the hands, the Bren was magazine-fed, which slowed its rate of fire and required more frequent reloading than British belt-fed machine guns such as the larger.303 Vickers machine gun. The magazines also prevented the ammunition from getting dirty, which was more of a problem with the Vickers with its 250-round canvas belts, the sights were offset to the left, to avoid the magazine on the top of the weapon. The position of the sights meant that the Bren could be fired only from the right shoulder, in the British and Commonwealth armies, the Bren was generally issued on a scale of one per rifle section, with three rifle sections in each platoon
7.
Pacific War
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The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in the Pacific and East Asia. It was fought over a vast area that included the Pacific Ocean and islands, the South West Pacific, South-East Asia, and in China. The Pacific War saw the Allied powers pitted against the Empire of Japan, the formal and official surrender of Japan took place aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. In Allied countries during the war, The Pacific War was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the War against Japan. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War, as chosen by a decision on 10 December 1941. Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident into the Greater East Asia War, in Japan, the Fifteen Years War is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The Phayap Army sent troops to invade and occupy northeastern Burma, also involved were the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime. The official policy of the U. S. Government is that Thailand was not an ally of the Axis, Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Formosa. To a small extent, some Vichy French, Indian National Army, Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian, the Italians had access to concession territory naval bases in China, while the Germans did not. After Japans attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war, mexico, Free France and many other countries also took part, especially forces from other British colonies. Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War, China, the Central Pacific, South East Asia, U. S. sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War, the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater. However these were not operational commands, in the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area. In 1945, for a period just before the Japanese surrender. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and was ready to move deeper into China, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to fight about 300,000 Japanese troops in Shanghai, the Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanking in December 1937 and committed which was known as Nanking Massacre. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang, but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan, the Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the United States—condemned Japan, especially after the Panay incident
8.
Royal Air Force
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The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdoms aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. The RAF describe its mission statement as, an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission. The mission statement is supported by the RAFs definition of air power, Air power is defined as the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events. Today the Royal Air Force maintains a fleet of various types of aircraft. The majority of the RAFs rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces, most of the RAFs aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on operations or at long-established overseas bases. It was founded on 1 April 1918, with headquarters located in the former Hotel Cecil, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps, at that time it was the largest air force in the world. The RAFs naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm, was founded in 1924, the RAF developed the doctrine of strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed Article XV squadrons for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from countries, and exiles from occupied Europe. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe, the largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, during the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the Royal Air Force was in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E and these were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the Royal Navys Polaris submarines, the nuclear deterrent passed to the navys submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAFs strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one and this tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period
9.
.303 British
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The.303 British or 7. 7×56mmR, is a. 303-inch calibre rimmed rifle cartridge first developed in Britain as a black-powder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee–Metford rifle. In 1891 the cartridge was adapted to use smokeless powder and it was the standard British and Commonwealth military cartridge from 1889 until the 1950s when it was replaced by the 7. 62×51mm NATO. The.303 British has 3.64 ml cartridge case capacity, americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈17 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 254 mm,5 grooves, Ø lands =7.70 millimetres, Ø grooves =7.92 millimetres, land width =2.12 millimetres and the primer type is Berdan or Boxer. Rulings the.303 British can handle up to 365.00 MPa Pmax piezo pressure, regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C. I. P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers. This means that.303 British chambered arms in C. I. P, regulated countries are currently proof tested at 456.00 MPa PE piezo pressure. The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure for this cartridge is 49,000 psi piezo pressure, the measurement. 303-inch is the nominal size of the bore measured between the lands which follows the older black powder nomenclature. Measured between the grooves, the size of the bore is. 311-inch. Bores for many.303 military surplus rifles are found ranging from around. 309-inch up to. 318-inch. Recommended bullet diameter for standard.303 British cartridges is. 312-inch, the bolt thrust of the.303 British is relatively low compared to many other service rounds used in the early 20th century. The original.303 British service cartridge employed black powder as a propellant, and was adopted for the Lee–Metford rifle, ballistite was a stick-type smokeless powder composed of soluble nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. Unlike Cordite, Riflelite was a powder, and contained no nitroglycerine. After extensive testing, the Committee on Explosives selected Cordite for use in the Mark II.303 British service cartridge, the initial.303 Mark I and Mk II service cartridges employed a 215-grain, round-nosed, copper-nickel full-metal-jacketed bullet with a lead core. After tests determined that the bullet had too thin a jacket when used with cordite. This led to the introduction of the Cartridge S. A. Ball.303 inch Cordite Mark III, similar hollow-point bullets were used in the Mk IV and Mk V loadings, which were put into mass production. The design of the Mk IV hollow-point bullet shifted bullet weight rearwards, improving stability, the remaining stocks were used for target practice. The concern about expanding bullets was brought up at the 1899 Hague Convention by Swiss, the British and American defense was that they should not focus on specific bullet designs, like hollow-points, but instead on rounds that caused superfluous injury. The parties in the end agreed to abstain from using expanding bullets, as a result, the Mark III and other expanding versions of the.303 were not issued during the Second Boer War
10.
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
11.
Scabbard
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A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of materials over the millennia, including leather, wood. Most commonly, scabbards were worn suspended from a belt or shoulder belt called a baldric. Wooden scabbards were usually covered in fabric or leather, and leather versions also usually bore metal fittings for added protection, japanese blades, however, typically have their sharp cutting edge protected by a wooden scabbard called a saya. Many scabbards like the ones the Greeks and Romans used were small and they were designed for holding the sword rather than protecting it. All-metal scabbards were popular items for a display of wealth among elites in the European Iron Age, little is known about the scabbards of the early Iron Age, due to their wooden construction. However, during the Middle and late Iron Ages, the scabbard became important especially as a vehicle for decorative elaboration, after 200 BC fully decorated scabbards became rare. A number of ancient scabbards have been recovered from weapons sacrifices, the fur was probably kept oily, keeping the blade free from rust. The fur would also allow a smoother, quicker draw, entirely metal scabbards became popular in Europe early in the 19th century and eventually superseded most other types. Metal was more durable than leather and could withstand the rigors of field use. In addition, metal offered the ability to present a military appearance. Nevertheless, leather scabbards never entirely lost favor among military users and were used as late as the American Civil War. Some military police forces, naval shore patrols, law enforcement, Scabbards were historically, albeit rarely, worn across the back with the intention of being quickly unsheathed, but only by a handful of Celtic tribes, and only with very short lengths of sword. This is because it is almost impossible to draw any true two-handed sword, some more well-known examples of this include the back scabbard depicted in the movie Braveheart and the back scabbard seen in the video game series The Legend of Zelda. Among the Parisii of Yorkshire, for example, the sword was worn across the back. Holster Media related to Scabbards at Wikimedia Commons
12.
Enfield revolver
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The Enfield Revolver was a self-extracting British handgun designed and manufactured at the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, initially in the.476 calibre The. The term Enfield Revolver is not applied to Webley Mk VI revolvers built by RSAF Enfield between 1923 and 1926, the Enfield No.2 is an unrelated.38 calibre revolver that was the standard sidearm of British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. NWMP Commissioner Acheson G. Irvine ordered 200 Mark IIs in 1882, priced at C$15.75 each, Irvine liked them so much that, in one of his final acts as Commissioner, he ordered another 600, which were delivered in September 1885. His replacement, Lawrence W. Herchmer, reported the force was entirely outfitted with Enfields and was pleased with them, the first batch was stamped NWMP-CANADA after delivery, later purchases were not. They were top-break single- or double-action, and fitted with lanyard rings, worn spindle arms would fail to hold empty cases on ejection, and worn pivot pins could cause barrels to become loose, resulting in inaccuracy. Its deep rifling would allow firing of slugs of between.449 and.476 in diameter, complaints began arising as early as 1887, influenced in part by the British switching to Webleys, and by 1896, hinge wear and barrel loosening were a real issue. Beginning in late 1904, the Mark II began to be phased out in favor of the.45 calibre Colt New Service revolver, but the Enfield remained in service until 1911. The.476 Enfield cartridge the Enfield Mk I/Mk II were chambered for fired a 265 gr lead bullet, loaded with 18 gr of black powder. The Enfield Mk I/Mk II had a frame, and when the barrel was unlatched. The idea was that the cylinder moved forward far enough to permit fired cases to be completely extracted, but not far enough to permit live cartridges from being removed in the same manner. The system was obsolete as soon as the Enfield Mk I was introduced, barnes, Frank C. ed. by John T. Amber. Cartridges of the World, p.175.476 Ely/.476 Enfield Mk-3, hogg, Ian V. and John Walter. Pistols of the World, 4th Ed. Maze, Robert J. Howdah to High Power, phillips, Roger F. & Klancher, Donald J. Arms & Accoutrements of the Mounted Police 1873-1973. Bloomfield, ON, Museum Restoration Service,1982, the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Museum of Technology, Pistol Revolver.476 inch Enfield Model 1882
13.
Sten
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The STEN was a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm and used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They were notable for having a design and very low production cost making them effective insurgency weapons for resistance groups. STEN is an acronym, from the names of the chief designers. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield, over four million Stens in various versions were made in the 1940s. The Sten emerged while Britain was engaged in the Battle of Britain, the army was forced to replace weapons lost during the evacuation from Dunkirk while expanding at the same time. Prior to 1941 the British were purchasing all the Thompson submachine guns they could from the United States, the Americans entry into the war at the end of 1941 placed an even bigger demand on the facilities making Thompsons. In order to equip a sufficient fighting force to counter the Axis threat. Shepherd had been recalled to service after having retired and spending time at BSA. The Sten shared design features, such as its side-mounted magazine configuration, with the Royal Navys Lanchester submachine gun, in terms of manufacture, the Lanchester was entirely different, being made of high-quality materials with pre-war fit and finish, in stark contrast to the Stens austere execution. The Lanchester and Sten magazines were even interchangeable, the Sten used simple stamped metal components and minor welding, which required minimal machining and manufacturing. Much of the production could be performed by small workshops, with the firearms assembled at the Enfield site, over the period of manufacture the Sten design was further simplified, the most basic model, the Mark III, could be produced from five man-hours of work. Some of the cheapest versions were made from only 47 different parts and it was distinctive for its bare appearance, and its horizontal magazine. The Sten has been described as, highly unreliable, prone to jamming and it was unsuitable for guerrilla operations in open country because it encouraged waste of ammunition. But it was easy and cheap to produce – a gun was said to cost fifteen shillings – and was supplied to the Resistance in huge quantities, the Sten underwent various design improvements over the course of the war. Most changes to the process were more subtle, designed to give greater ease of manufacture. Build quality ranged from good to poor Sten guns of late 1942 and beyond were, in general, highly effective weapons. The Sten was replaced by the Sterling submachine gun from 1953 and was withdrawn from British service in the 1960s. The other Commonwealth nations made or adopted their own replacements, the Sten was a blowback-operated submachine gun firing from an open bolt with a fixed firing pin on the face of the bolt
14.
Enfield No. 2
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The Enfield No.2 was a British top-break revolver using the. 38/200 round manufactured from 1932 to 1957. It was the standard British/Commonwealth sidearm in the Second World War, alongside the Webley Mk VI, while the.455 had proven to be an effective weapon for stopping enemy soldiers, the recoil of the.455 cartridge complicated marksmanship training. By using such a long, heavy, round-nosed lead bullet in a, at the time, the.38 calibre Smith & Wesson cartridge with 200-grain lead bullet, known as the. 38/200, was also a popular cartridge in civilian and police use. Consequently, the British firm of Webley & Scott tendered their Webley Mk IV revolver in. 38/200 calibre.38, but internally slightly different. The Enfield-designed pistol was accepted under the designation Revolver, No 2 Mk I, and was adopted in 1931, followed in 1938 by the Mk I*. Webley sued the British Government for £2,250, being involved in the research. By way of compensation, however, the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors awarded Webley & Scott £1,250. RSAF Enfield was unable to manufacture enough No.2 revolvers to meet the wartime demands. There were two variants of the Enfield No 2 Mk I revolver. The first was the Mk I*, which had a hammer and was double-action only. The majority of Enfields produced were either Mk I* or modified to that standard. When used in the manner in which British forces trained, the No 2 Mk I* is at least as accurate as any other service pistol of its time, because of the relatively light double-action trigger pull. Some unit Armourers are known to have retrofitted the Enfield No 2 Mk I* back to the Mk I variant, despite officially being declared obsolete at the end of World War II, the Enfield were not completely phased out in favour of the Browning Hi-Power until April 1969. The Enfield No 2 is very fast to reload—as are all British top-break revolvers—because of its automatic ejector, the Enfield No.2 Mk I was designed for use with the Cartridge S. A. Ball Revolver.380 inch Mk. I and Mk. Iz, a deviation of the.38 Smith & Wesson cartridge and it had a 200 gr. unjacketed round-nose, lead bullet of.359 inch diameter that developed a muzzle velocity of 620–650 ft/s. The new cartridge was accepted into Commonwealth Service as Cartridge, Pistol.380 Mk IIz, the 380/200 Mk I lead bullet cartridge was continued in service, originally restricted to training and marksmanship practice. However, after the outbreak of war, supply exigencies forced British authorities to use both the 380/200 Mk I and the.380 Mk IIz loadings interchangeably in combat, U. S. ammunition manufacturers such as Winchester-Western supplied 380/200 Mk I cartridges to British forces throughout the war. The vast majority of Enfield No 2 revolvers were made by RSAF Enfield, albion Motors in Scotland made the Enfield No 2 Mk I* from 1941 to 1943, whereupon the contract for production was passed onto Coventry Gauge & Tool Co
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Royal Tank Regiment
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The Royal Tank Regiment is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the Great War. Today, it is the regiment of the British Armys 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps, the formation of the Royal Tank Regiment followed the invention of the tank. Tanks were first used at the Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War, at that time the six tank companies were grouped as the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps. On 28 July 1917, the Heavy Branch was separated from the rest of the Corps by Royal Warrant and given official status as the Tank Corps. The formation of new battalions continued and, by December 1918,26 had been created though only 25 battalions were equipped with tanks, the first commander of the Tank Corps was Hugh Elles. The Corps saw much action at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, after the war, the Tank Corps was trimmed down to a central depot and four battalions, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th battalions. On 18 October 1923, it was given the title Royal making it the Royal Tank Corps by Colonel-in-Chief King George V. It was at time that the motto, Fear Naught, the black beret. In 1933, the 6th Battalion, RTC was formed in Egypt by combining the personnel of the 3rd, in 1934, the 1st Battalion, RTC was formed in England with personnel drawn from the 2nd, 3rd & 5th Battalions. With the preparations for war in the late 1930s, two more Regular Army Battalions were formed, the 7th in 1937 and the 8th in 1938. In the latter half of 1938, six TA Infantry Battalions were converted to Tank Battalions, eight of the Regular Army Companies were later converted into independent Light Tank Companies, all twelve Companies had been disbanded by the outbreak of the Second World War. On 4 April 1939, the Royal Tank Corps was renamed the Royal Tank Regiment, the eight Yeomanry Armoured Car Companies of the RTR were activated and transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps. Before the Second World War, Royal Tank Corps recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall and they initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a further six years with the reserve. They trained at the Royal Tank Corps Depot at Bovington Camp, at the outbreak of war, the regiment consisted of 20 battalions,8 regular and 12 territorial. 11 RTR formed part of 79th Armoured Division, initially equipped with Canal Defence Light tanks, it converted to Buffalo not long after D-Day, prime Minister Winston Churchill was ferried across the Rhine in a Buffalo from C Squadron, 11RTR. The Regiments numerous units took part in battles in the Second World War, including the Battle of Dunkirk, El Alamein, Italian Campaign, Burma Campaign. On 2 August 2014, 1RTR and 2RTR amalgamated at Bulford, the new regiment is titled the Royal Tank Regiment
16.
Royal Armoured Corps
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The Royal Armoured Corps provides the armour capability of the British Army, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It was created as an association of armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments. Today it comprises fourteen regiments - ten Regular and four Yeomanry, the RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just before World War II started, by combining regiments from the cavalry of the line which had mechanised with the Royal Tank Corps. As the war went on and other cavalry and Territorial Army Yeomanry units became mechanised. A significant number of infantry battalions converted to the armoured role as RAC regiments. In addition, the RAC created its own training and support regiments, finally, in 1944, the RAC absorbed the regiments of the Reconnaissance Corps. The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into regiments which operate main battle tanks, those in vehicles. Of these, three regiments are designated Dragoon Guards, two as Hussars, one as Lancers and one as Dragoons, the remaining regiment is the Royal Tank Regiment. In the regular army, there are three armoured regiments, three armoured regiments and three light cavalry regiments. In the army reserve, there is one armoured regiment and three cavalry regiments. Through this, operational and training cycles are aligned, resources shared, in the Royal Armoured Corps this manifests with each yeomanry unit being paired with a regular unit of the same role. Thus, The 1st Queens Dragoon Guards is paired with Royal Yeomanry, the Scots Dragoon Guards are paired with the Scottish & North Irish Yeomanry. The Light Dragoons with the Queens Own Yeomanry, the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, uniquely as the lone armoured reserve regiment, is paired with the Kings Royal Hussars, the Queens Royal Hussars and the Royal Tank Regiment. Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are based in the UK and this was formed in 2014 by the amalgamation of the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, and the Light Cavalry Band. The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps is stationed at Catterick, additonally the Royal Yeomanry operates an Army Reserve Band, which, alongside the bands of the Household Division, and The Honourable Artilley Regimental Band, form the state bands. The reorganisation of the Army announced in 2004 led to significant changes to the Royal Armoured Corps, reorganisation that began in 2003 would see three armoured regiments removed from Germany to the UK, with one re-roled as an FR regiment. In addition, three Challenger 2 squadrons will be converted to Interim Medium Armour Squadrons, while each FR regiment will gain a Command and these proposals were intended to reduce the size of the army to around 82,000. Armoured regiments would consist of Type 56 regiments, each with three Sabre Squadrons and a command and recce squadron, jackal regiments will be part of the Adaptable Force, comprising three Sabre Squadrons
17.
Mills bomb
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Mills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army, william Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the Mills bomb at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was inspired by a design by Belgian captain Leon Roland. Roland and Mills were later engaged in a patent lawsuit, the Mills bomb was adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915, and designated the No.5. The Mills bomb underwent numerous modifications, the No.23 was a variant of the No.5 with a rodded base plug which allowed it to be fired from a rifle. This concept evolved further with the No,36, a variant with a detachable base plate to allow use with a rifle discharger cup. The final variation of the Mills bomb, the No, 36M, was specially designed and waterproofed with shellac for use initially in the hot climate of Mesopotamia in 1917, but remained in production for many years. By 1918 the No.5 and No.23 were declared obsolete, the Mills was a classic design, a grooved cast iron pineapple with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin. The Mills was a grenade, after throwing the user had to take cover immediately. A competent thrower could manage 15 metres with reasonable accuracy, the British Home Guard were instructed that the throwing range of the No.36 was about 30 yards with a danger area of about 100 yds. The heavy segmented bodies of pineapple type grenades result in a pattern of fragmentation. After the Second World War Britain adopted grenades that contained segmented coiled wire in smooth metal casings, 36M Mk. I remained the standard grenade of the British Armed Forces and was manufactured in the UK until 1972, when it was completely replaced by the L2 series. The 36M remained in service in parts of the world such as India and Pakistan. Mills bombs were still being used in combat as recently as 2004 e. g. the incident which killed US Marine Jason Dunham, the No.5 Mk.1 was the first version. The lever was protected by metal ears flanking the top that could be used to locate it in darkness and it was first issued in May,1915 but wasnt in general issue until mass production caught up a year later in 1916. The Mk.2 had a stronger safety lever. 23, the model, first appeared in 1917. The No.23 Mk.1 had a redesigned, narrower baseplug that was centrally threaded underneath so it could attach the rifle rod, the Mk.2 and Mk.3 were product-improved versions designed to make it cheaper and easier to produce
18.
Thompson submachine gun
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The Thompson submachine gun is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1918, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a sight in the media of the time. The Thompson was favored by soldiers, criminals, police, and civilians alike for its large.45 ACP cartridge, accuracy and it has since gained popularity among civilian collectors for its historical significance. Although the original fully automatic Thompsons are no longer produced, numerous semi-automatic civilian versions are still being manufactured by Auto Ordnance and these retain a similar appearance to the original models, but they have various modifications in order to comply with US firearm laws. The Thompson Submachine Gun was developed by General John T. Thompson who originally envisioned an auto rifle to replace the bolt action service rifles then in use. Thompson found a backer, Thomas F. Ryan. It was primarily developed in Cleveland, Ohio, the principal designers were Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne, and George E. Goll. By late 1917, the limits of the Blish Principle were discovered, rather than working as a locked breech and it was found that the only cartridge currently in U. S. service suitable for use with the lock was the.45 ACP round. Thompson then envisioned a one-man, hand-held machine gun in.45 ACP as a broom for use in the ongoing trench warfare of World War I. Payne designed the gun itself and its stick and drum magazines, the project was then titled Annihilator I and by 1918, most of the design issues had been resolved. However, the war ended two days before prototypes could be shipped to Europe, at an Auto-Ordnance board meeting in 1919 to discuss the marketing of the Annihilator, with the war now over, the weapon was officially renamed the Thompson Submachine Gun. While other weapons had developed shortly prior with similar objectives in mind. Thompson intended the weapon as an automatic trench-broom to sweep enemy troops from the trenches and this concept had already been developed by German troops using their own Bergmann MP18, the worlds first submachine gun, in concert with Sturmtruppen tactics. The Thompson first entered production as the M1921 and it was available to civilians, although poor sales resulted from the expense of the weapon, the Thompson gun, with one Type XX20 shot stick magazine, was priced at $200.00 in 1921. M1921 Thompsons were sold in quantities to the United States Postal Inspection Service. Federal sales were followed by sales to several departments in the US and minor international sales to various armies and constabulary forces, chiefly in Central. The Marines used their Thompsons in the Banana Wars and in China, the major complaints against the Thompson were its weight, inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards, and the lack of penetrating power of the.45 ACP pistol cartridge. Some of the first batches of Thompsons were bought in America by agents of the Irish Republic, the first test of a Thompson in Ireland was performed by West Cork Brigade commander Tom Barry in presence of IRA leader Michael Collins
19.
Lanchester submachine gun
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The Lanchester is a submachine gun manufactured by the Sterling Armaments Company between 1941 and 1945. It is a copy of the German MP28/II and was manufactured in two versions, Mk.1 and Mk. 1*, the latter was a version of the original Mk.1, with no fire selector. It was primarily used by the British Royal Navy during the Second World War and it was given the general designation of Lanchester after George Herbert Lanchester who was charged with producing the weapon at the Sterling Armaments Company. Following the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, the Royal Air Force decided it required a submachine gun for airfield defence, with no time available for the usual research and development of a new weapon, it was decided to create a direct copy of the German MP28. The British Admiralty decided to join with the RAF in adopting the new weapon, ultimately, it was within the Royal Navy that most of the Lanchesters that were produced went into service. The Lanchester was envisioned as a used for guarding prisoners and accompanying naval landing. It was a solid, well-made submachine gun of high quality materials, in many ways the complete opposite of its direct contemporary. The rifling differed from the German original in details to accommodate various lots of 9mm ammunition then being acquired for service use, the Lanchester also reused furniture from the Lee–Enfield. Produced in two versions, Mk.1 and Mk. 1*, the Mk. 1* was a simplified version of the original Mk.1, which omitted the fire mode selector and used simplified sights. The first contract of 13 June 1941 produced an initial 50,000 Lanchesters that were all for the Royal Navy use. The British Army by now had supplies of the US-produced Thompson SMG, the final contract was issued on 9 October 1943. Production averaged 3,410 units per month over 28 months, according to contract records, Sterling was to have made guns serially numbered from 1 to 9999, then A1 to about A64580. Certain numbers of Mk.1 were modified latter in the war, the key differences being the removal of the fire-selector switch and addition of simplified rear sights. This modification makes it difficult to exactly the production runs for each model. There were four Lanchester assembly plants, though Lanchester assembly contracts were awarded to only three firms. Sterling assembly of the Lanchester was split between the Sterling Engineering Company Ltd in Dagenham, and the Sterling Armaments Company in Northampton, some early version do not appear to be code marked at all except by the serial number prefix of S, A, or SA. Sterling-made MK.1 Lanchester guns are marked on top of the housing as follows. XXXX The Lanchester is an open-bolt, self-loading blowback-operated weapon with an option on early versions
20.
Vickers K machine gun
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The high rate of fire was needed for the small period of time when the gunner would be able to fire at an attacking aircraft. The weapon was adopted for land use during World War II. The Vickers K was a development of the Vickers-Berthier light machine gun, the VB, like the Bren light machine gun, used a tilting locking breechblock. However, unlike the Bren, the VB locked its breech only at the last moment of forward travel and this enabled the development of the Vickers K also known as the Vickers Gas Operated or Vickers GO. With lighter moving parts and the VB locking design, the Vickers K had a rate of fire between 950 and 1,200 rounds per minute, faster than the German MG34. The weapon was adopted for British service as the VGO and it was test-flown with a large 300-round pan magazine, and beat the.303 Browning in reliability. However, the pan would have caused problems to accommodate. When the belt-fed Browning Mark II was selected as the standard armament for RAF aircraft. It continued to be used by the Fleet Air Arm until 1945, some were made in 7. 7mm for the Belgians before the war and at least one example survives in a European museum. The Vickers class K/Vickers G. O. machine gun is a gas operated weapon and its gas cylinder is located below the barrel, and a long stroke gas piston operates a vertically tilting bolt. Feed is from top-mounted flat pan magazines with a capacity of 100 rounds. The gun is fitted with a spade grip at the rear of receiver. In ground use, it was mounted on single or twin pintle mounts on various jeeps. Originally intended for RAF airfield defence units, these guns were remanufactured from original Vickers G. O. No.1 Mk.1 aircraft guns, a number of these ‘Vickers G. O. Land Service’ machine guns found their way to a variety of British Commando, the Land variant has the spade grip replaced with a semi bullpup short stock at the rear and a pistol grip with trigger below the receiver. A short forend or a carrying handle are added below the gas cylinder. New iron sights are provided on folding bases, a camera gun version was made for training. The body was of cast metal, the grip and trigger mechanism were realistic
21.
Boys anti-tank rifle
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The Rifle, Anti-Tank. 55in, Boys commonly known as the Boys Anti-tank Rifle, was a British anti-tank rifle in use during the Second World War. It was often nicknamed the elephant gun by its users due to its size, there were also different cartridges, with a later version offering better penetration. Although adequate against light tanks and tankettes in the part of the war. The eponymous creator of this firearm was Captain H, C Boys who was a member of the British Small Arms Committee and a designer at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield. It was initially called Stanchion but was renamed after Captain Boys as a mark of respect when he died a few days before the rifle was approved for service in November 1937. A bolt action rifle fed from a magazine, the weapon was large and heavy with a bipod at the front. In order to combat the recoil caused by the large 0.55 inch round, the barrel was mounted on a slide, the cartridge was an adaptation of the.50 BMG, with a belt added firing a 47.6 gram bullet. At its introduction, the weapon was effective on light armour at 100 yards, there were two main service loads used during the Second World War, The W Mark 1 and the W Mark 2 ammunition. The W Mark 1 could penetrate 23.2 mm of armour at 100 yards, about the used on the frontal armour of a half-track or armoured car. Later in the conflict, a more effective round was developed, the W Mark 2, the Boys effective range against unarmoured targets, was much greater. Despite its recoil slide and rubber-cushioned buttpad, the recoil of the weapon was said to be painful, frequently causing neck strains, consequently, the Boys was almost never fired as a free weapon except in emergencies. The Boys rifle was used in the stages of World War II against lightly armoured German tanks. Britain also supplied a number of Boys anti-tank rifles to Finland in 1939 and 1940 during the Winter War with the Soviet Union. The weapon was popular with the Finns, because it could deal with Soviet T-26 tanks, a shortened version was issued in 1942 for issue to airborne forces and saw use in Tunisia, where it proved completely ineffective because of the reduced velocity caused by the shortened barrel. Another limitation was that the Boys rifle was relatively heavy and unwieldy to carry, from Walt Disney Studios to counter the rifles jinx reputation. Nonetheless, in the European theatre it was replaced by the PIAT in 1943. Using armour-piercing, armour-piercing incendiary, and armour-piercing incendiary tracer ammunition, the heavier Browning, however, was not man-portable at 38 kg without tripod,58 kg with tripod. The weapon was standard issue to British and Commonwealth forces which attempted to stem the Japanese onslaught through the Pacific theatre, at Milne Bay, the weapon proved completely ineffective
22.
Two-inch mortar
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It was more portable than larger mortars, and the two-inch had greater range and firepower than rifle grenades. The British Army had two types of mortars in service at the outbreak of the Second World War, one of which was a weapon for use with infantry platoons. The two-inch mortar had been developed during the 1930s after the British Army had inspected weapons of a similar calibre in service with other European countries, including the Spanish 50mm version. Although deemed unsuitable for the British Army as it stood, the Spanish mortar did serve as the point from which the Armament Research Department could begin development of its own weapon. In November 1937 ten examples of the new mortar were readied with 1,600 rounds each of high-explosive, the resulting trials confirmed the reliability and dependability of the weapon. Over the duration of the war the two-inch mortar was developed into eight separate marks, some were successful and others less so, one of the latter, the Weston version, was developed in 1944, but was found to be less than satisfactory when used on soft ground. This weapon had the advantage of being fitted with an automatic recocking feature of the firing mechanism, but despite this it was withdrawn from use. The standard service version of the 2-inch mortar had a length of 21 inches. Originally the two-inch mortar was fitted with a large collimating sight with elevating and cross-level bubbles and it was replaced with a simple white line painted up the length of the barrel. The firer only had to line this up in the direction of the target, while this method of operation appeared rather haphazard, it worked well and the practice continued long after the war. The mortar evolved in other directions too, with the large base plate being replaced by a simple curved model. Due to its size, and for simplicity, the mortar had no forward strut or bipod that most larger designs needed. The barrel was held at the angle by one soldier while the other loaded and fired the round. It could achieve a rate of some eight rounds per minute. The bombs were cylindrical with a perforated four-finned tail, for the HE projectiles an impact fuze was fitted in the nose of the bomb. The illuminating round weighed 1 lb and the smoke round weighed 2.25 lb, a whole range of other ammunition was also developed, including a specialised bomb that cast a lightweight explosive-filled net over minefields which could be detonated, clearing a path. Variants of the weapon itself included the Mk VII* with a barrel, for use by airborne units, the Mk VII for use in Universal carriers. Post war, the mortar was kept in service to fire smoke
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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
