1.
Full metal jacket bullet
–
A full metal jacket bullet is a small-arms projectile consisting of a soft core encased in a shell of harder metal, such as gilding metal, cupronickel, or less commonly a steel alloy. In military nomenclature, it is often labeled ball ammunition, the harder gilding was less prone to deformation than softer exposed lead, which improved feeding. Jacketed bullets had been in use since at least 1882, in general, a bullet jacket allows for higher muzzle velocities than bare lead without depositing significant amounts of metal in the bore. It also prevents damage to bores from steel or armor-piercing core materials, historically, the first successful full metal jacket rifle bullets were invented by Col. Eduard Rubin of the Swiss Army in 1882. Full metal jacket bullets were first used as ammunition in 1886. By design, fully jacketed projectiles have less capacity to expand after contact with the target than a hollow-point projectile. While this can be an advantage, it can also be a disadvantage as an FMJ bullet may pierce completely through a target, leading to severe wounding. Furthermore, a projectile that goes completely through a target can cause unintentional damage downrange of the target, the bullet design inspired the title of the film Full Metal Jacket, by Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford. Hollow-point bullet Soft-point bullet Huon, Jean, military Rifle and Machine Gun Cartridges. International Peace Conference at The Hague, which entered force on September 4,1900. Photos showing terminal effects of British Mark 7.303 bullets
Full metal jacket bullet
–
An example of FMJ bullets in their usual shapes: pointed ("
spitzer ") loaded in the
7.62×39mm rifle and round-nosed loaded in the
7.62×25mm pistol cartridges.
Full metal jacket bullet
–
.25 ACP
Full metal jacket bullet
–
.32 ACP
Full metal jacket bullet
–
7.62×25mm Tokarev
2.
Rifle
–
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called lands, which contact with the projectile. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin lends gyroscopic stability to the projectile and prevents tumbling and this allows the use of aerodynamically-efficient bullets and thus improves range and accuracy. The word rifle originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a rifled gun, the word rifle is now used for any long hand-held aimed device activated by a trigger, such as Air rifles and the Personnel halting and stimulation response rifle. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports, formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze, some fire in an automatic mode. Thus, modern automatic rifles overlap to some extent in design, in fact, many light machine guns are adaptations of existing automatic rifle designs. A militarys light machine guns are chambered for the same caliber ammunition as its service rifles. Generally, the difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight, cooling system. Modern military rifles are fed by magazines, while machine guns are generally belt-fed, many machine guns allow the operator to quickly exchange barrels in order to prevent overheating, whereas rifles generally do not. Most machine guns fire from a bolt in order to reduce the danger of cook-off. Machine guns are often crewed by more than one soldier, the rifle is an individual weapon, the term rifle is sometimes used to describe larger crew-served rifled weapons firing explosive shells, for example, recoilless rifles. In many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, the origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. This might also have led to a increase in accuracy. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smooth bore muskets, the black powder used in early muzzle-loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters, muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle
Rifle
Rifle
–
Rifling in a
.35 Remington microgroove rifled barrel
Rifle
Rifle
3.
Soviet Union
–
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
Soviet Union
–
Vladimir Lenin addressing a crowd with Trotsky, 1920
Soviet Union
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Flag
Soviet Union
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Stalin and
Nikolai Yezhov, head of the
NKVD. After Yezhov was executed, he was
edited out of the image.
Soviet Union
4.
Warsaw Pact
–
The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the regional economic organization for the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. While the Warsaw Pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to NATO, instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact led to the expansion of military forces and its largest military engagement was the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, which, in part, resulted in Albania withdrawing from the pact less than a month later. The Pact began to unravel in its entirety with the spread of the Revolutions of 1989 through the Eastern Bloc, beginning with the Solidarity movement in Poland, East Germany and Poland withdrew from the Pact in 1990. On 25 February 1991, the Pact was declared at an end at a meeting of defence, the USSR itself was dissolved in December 1991, although most of the former Soviet republics formed the Collective Security Treaty Organization shortly thereafter. Throughout the following 20 years, the seven Warsaw Pact countries outside the USSR each joined NATO, in the Western Bloc, the Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance is often called the Warsaw Pact military alliance—abbreviated WAPA, Warpac, and WP. Therefore, although ostensibly an international collective security alliance, the USSR dominated the Warsaw Treaty armed forces, the strategy behind the formation of the Warsaw Pact was driven by the desire of the Soviet Union to dominate Central and Eastern Europe. The Soviets wanted to keep their part of Europe theirs and not let the Americans take it from them and this policy was driven by ideological and geostrategic reasons. Ideologically, the Soviet Union arrogated the right to define socialism and communism, geostrategic principles also drove the Soviet Union to prevent invasion of its territory by Western European powers. Before the creation of the Warsaw Pact, Czechoslovak leadership, fearful of a rearmed Germany, sought to create a security pact with East Germany and these states protested strongly against the re-militarization of West Germany. The Warsaw Pact was primarily put in place as a consequence of the rearming of West Germany inside NATO, Soviet leaders, like many European countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain, feared Germany being once again a military power and a direct threat. The terrible consequences of German militarism remained a fresh memory among the Soviets, previously, in March 1954, the USSR, fearing the restoration of German militarism in West Germany, requested admission to NATO. The Soviet request to join NATO arose in the aftermath of the Berlin Conference of January–February 1954. James Dunn, who met in Paris with Eden, Adenauer and Robert Schuman, affirmed that the object should be to avoid discussion with the Russians, according to John Gaddis there was little inclination in Western capitals to explore this offer from USSR. But Eden, Dulles and Bidault opposed the proposal, the Soviets then decided to make a new proposal to the governments of the USA, UK and France to accept the participation of the USA in the proposed General European Agreement. Again all proposals, including the request to join NATO, were rejected by the UK, US, emblematic was the position of British General Hastings Ismay, supporter of NATO expansion, who said that NATO must grow until the whole free world gets under one umbrella. He opposed the request to join NATO made by the USSR in 1954 saying that the Soviet request to join NATO is like an unrepentant burglar requesting to join the police force, in April 1954 Adenauer made his first visit to the USA meeting Nixon, Eisenhower and Dulles. Ratification of EDC was delaying but the US representatives made it clear to Adenauer that EDC would have to become a part of NATO, memories of the Nazi occupation were still strong, and the rearmament of Germany was feared by France too
Warsaw Pact
–
Logo Military unit Organization The Warsaw Pact. Union of peace and socialism
Warsaw Pact
–
Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance
Warsaw Pact
–
Soviet philatelic commemoration: At its 20th anniversary in 1975, the Warsaw Pact remains On Guard for Peace and Socialism.
Warsaw Pact
–
Warsaw Pact "Big Seven" threats
5.
Egypt
–
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
Egypt
–
The
Giza Necropolis is the oldest of the
ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.
Egypt
–
Flag
Egypt
–
The Greek Ptolemaic queen
Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar,
Caesarion at the
Temple of Dendera.
Egypt
–
The 1803
Cedid Atlas, showing
Ottoman Egypt.
6.
Cambodia
–
Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC
Cambodia
–
Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century.
Cambodia
–
Flag
Cambodia
–
Khmer army going to war against the
Cham, from a relief on the
Bayon.
Cambodia
–
Angkor Wat
7.
North Korea
–
North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang is both the capital as well as its largest city. To the north and northwest the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok, the country is bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone separating the two. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948 two separate governments were formed, the communist Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in the north, an invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War. The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, and no peace treaty was ever signed. North Korea officially describes itself as a self-reliant socialist state and formally holds elections, critics regard it as a totalitarian dictatorship. Various outlets have called it Stalinist, particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality around Kim Il-sung, International organizations have assessed human rights violations in North Korea as belonging to a category of their own, with no parallel in the contemporary world. Over time, North Korea has gradually distanced itself from the world communist movement, Juche, an ideology of national self-reliance, was introduced into the constitution as a creative application of Marxism–Leninism in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises, most services such as healthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered from a famine that resulted in the deaths of between 0.24 and 3.5 million people, and the continues to struggle with food production. North Korea follows Songun, or military-first policy and it is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world, after China, North Korea is an atheist state with no official religion and where public religion is discouraged. The name Korea derives from the name Goryeo, the name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a shortened form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After the division of the country into North and South Korea, the two sides used different terms to refer to Korea, Chosun or Joseon in North Korea, in 1948, North Korea adopted Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea as its new legal name. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was occupied by Japan, Japan tried to suppress Korean traditions and culture and ran the economy primarily for its own benefit. Korean resistance groups known as Dongnipgun operated along the Sino-Korean border, some of them took part in allied action in China and parts of South East Asia. One of the leaders was the communist Kim Il-sung, who later became the leader of North Korea
North Korea
–
Jikji, the first known book printed with movable metal type in 1377. Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris
North Korea
–
Flag
North Korea
–
Gyeongbok Palace is the largest of the
Five Grand Palaces built during the
Joseon Dynasty.
North Korea
–
Three Koreans shot for pulling up rails as a protest against seizure of land without payment by the Japanese
8.
Vietnam
–
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
Vietnam
–
A
Đông Sơn bronze drum, c.800 BC.
Vietnam
–
Flag
Vietnam
–
The
Imperial City in
Huế.
Vietnam
–
French Indochina in 1913.
9.
Finland
–
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
Finland
–
Hakkapeliitta featured on a 1940 Finnish stamp
Finland
–
Flag
Finland
–
Now lying within Helsinki,
Suomenlinna is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.
Finland
–
Pioneers in Karelia (1900) by
Eero Järnefelt
10.
Venezuela
–
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, Guyana on the east, Venezuela covers 916,445 km2 and has an estimated population of 31775371. The territory now known as Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples and it gained full independence as a separate country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments. This new constitution changed the name of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Venezuela is a presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District. Venezuela also claims all Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River, oil was discovered in the early 20th century, and Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves and has been one of the worlds leading exporters of oil. Previously an underdeveloped exporter of commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports. The recovery of oil prices in the early 2000s gave Venezuela oil funds not seen since the 1980s, the Venezuelan government then established populist policies that initially boosted the Venezuelan economy and increased social spending, significantly reducing economic inequality and poverty. However, such policies later became controversial since they destabilized the economy, resulting in hyperinflation, an economic depression. According to the most popular and accepted version, in 1499, the stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, so he named the region Veneziola Piccola Venezia. The name acquired its current spelling as a result of Spanish influence, where the suffix -uela is used as a term, thus. The German language 16th century-term for the area, Klein-Venedig, also means little Venice, however, Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gave a different account. In his work Summa de geografía, he states that they found people who called themselves the Veneciuela. Thus, the name Venezuela may have evolved from the native word and it is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish conquest, it has been estimated at around one million. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historic groups such as the Kalina, Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, the Timoto-Cuica culture was the most complex society in Pre-Columbian Venezuela, with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks and their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops, regional crops included potatoes and ullucos
Venezuela
–
The signing of Venezuela's independence, by
Martín Tovar y Tovar
Venezuela
–
Flag
Venezuela
–
The
Battle of Carabobo, during the
Venezuelan War of Independence
Venezuela
–
José Gregorio Monagas abolished slavery in 1854.
11.
Bullet
–
The word bullet is a firearm term. A bullet is a projectile expelled from the barrel of a firearm, the term is from Middle French and originated as the diminutive of the word boulle which means small ball. Bullets are made of a variety of materials and they are available singly as they would be used in muzzle loading and cap and ball firearms, as part of a paper cartridge, and much more commonly as a component of metallic cartridges. Bullets are made in a numbers of styles and constructions depending on how they will be used. Many bullets have specialized functions, such as hunting, target shooting, training, defense, a bullet is not a cartridge. In paper and metallic cartridges a bullet is one component of the cartridge, bullet sizes are expressed by their weight and diameter in both English and Metric measurement systems. For example.22 caliber 55 grain bullets or 5. 56mm 55 grain bullets are the same caliber, the word bullet is often used colloquially to refer to a cartridge, which is a combination of the bullet, paper or metallic case/shell, powder, and primer. This use of bullet, when cartridge is intended, leads to confusion when the components of a cartridge are discussed or intended, the bullets used in many cartridges are fired at a muzzle velocity faster than the speed of sound. Meaning they are supersonic and thus can travel a substantial distance, bullet speed through air depends on a number of factors such as barometric pressure, humidity, air temperature, and wind speed. Subsonic cartridges fire bullets slower than the speed of sound and so there is no sonic crack and this means that a subsonic cartridge such as.45 ACP can be effectively suppressed to be substantially quieter than a supersonic cartridge such as the.223 Remington. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the target by impact. The first use of gunpowder in Europe was recorded in 1247 and it had been used in China for hundreds of years. Later in 1364 hand cannon appeared, early projectiles were made of stone. Stone was used in cannon and hand cannon, in cannon it was eventually found that stone would not penetrate stone fortifications which gave rise to the use of heavier metals for the round projectiles. Hand cannon projectiles developed in a similar following the failure of stone from siege cannon. The first recorded instance of a ball from a hand cannon penetrating armor occurred in 1425. In this photograph of shot retrieved from the wreck of the Mary Rose which was sunk in 1545, the round shot are clearly of different sizes and some are stone while others are cast iron. The development of the hand culverin and matchlock arquebus brought about the use of cast lead balls as projectiles, bullet is derived from the French word boulette, which roughly means little ball
Bullet
–
Lead sling bullets, ca. 100
g with a winged thunderbolt engraved on one side and the inscription "Take that" (ΔΕΞΑΙ) on the other side. Athens, 4th century BC.
Bullet
–
A modern
cartridge consists of the following: 1. the bullet, as the
projectile; 2. the
case, which holds all parts together; 3. the propellant, for example
gunpowder or
cordite; 4. the rim, which provides the extractor on the firearm a place to grip the casing to remove it from the chamber once fired; 5. the
primer, which ignites the propellant.
Bullet
–
Matchlock musket balls, alleged to have been discovered at Naseby battlefield.
Bullet
–
This bullet mold was designed for use with the.44 caliber
Colt Army Model 1860 revolver. The mold includes chambers for casting round balls and conical
Minié ball. This mold is from the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society.
12.
Grain (unit)
–
A grain is a unit of measurement of mass, and, for the troy grain, equal to exactly 7001647989100000000♠64.79891 milligrams. It is nominally based upon the mass of a seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat, rather, expressions such as thirty-two grains of wheat, taken from the middle of the ear appear to have been ritualistic formulas, essentially the premodern equivalent of legal boilerplate. Another book states that Captain Henry Kater, of the British Standards Commission, the grain was the legal foundation of traditional English weight systems, and is the only unit that is equal throughout the troy, avoirdupois, and apothecaries systems of mass. The unit was based on the weight of a grain of barley. The fundamental unit of the pre-1527 English weight system known as Tower weights, was a different sort of known as the wheat grain. The Tower wheat grain was defined as exactly 45⁄64 of a troy grain.79891 milligrams, 7000100000000000000♠1 gram is approximately 7001154323600000000♠15.43236 grains. The unit formerly used by jewellers to measure pearls, diamonds, or other stones, called the jewellers grain or pearl grain, is equal to 1⁄4 of a carat. The grain was also the name of a traditional French unit equal to 6995531150000000000♠53.115 mg. In both British Imperial and U. S. customary units, there are precisely 7,000 grains per avoirdupois pound, the grain is commonly used to measure the mass of bullets and propellants. The term also refers to a particle of gunpowder, the size of which varies according to requirements. In archery, the grain is the unit used to weigh arrows. In dentistry, gold foil, used as a material to restore teeth, is measured in grains, in North America, the hardness of water is often measured in grains per US gallon of calcium carbonate equivalents. Otherwise, water hardness is measured in the metric unit parts per million, one grain per US gallon is approximately 6995171000000000000♠17.1 ppm. Soft water contains 1–4 gpg of calcium carbonate equivalents, while hard water contains 11–20 gpg, though no longer recommended, grains are still used occasionally in medicine as part of the apothecaries system, especially in prescriptions for older medicines such as aspirin or phenobarbital. For example, the dosage of a standard 6996325000000000000♠325 mg tablet of aspirin is sometimes given as 7000500000000000000♠5 grains, in that example the grain is approximated to 6995650000000000000♠65 mg, though the grain can also be approximated to 6995600000000000000♠60 mg, depending on the medication and manufacturer. The apothecaries system has its own system of notation, in which the symbol or abbreviation is followed by the quantity in lower case Roman numerals. For amounts less than one, the quantity is written as a fraction, or for one half, therefore, a prescription for tablets containing 325 mg of aspirin and 30 mg of codeine can be written ASA gr
Grain (unit)
–
The small golden disk close to the 5 cm marker is a piece of pure
gold weighing one troy grain. Shown for comparison are a tape measure and coins of major world currencies.
Grain (unit)
–
A box of
.38 Special cartridges that have 148-grain bullets
Grain (unit)
–
The 5-grain aspirin. The usage guidance label on a bottle of aspirin indicates that the dosage is "325 mg (5 gr)".
Grain (unit)
–
Bottle of 1 / 4 grain
phenobarbital tablets
13.
Rifling
–
In firearms, rifling consists of helical grooves in the internal surface of a guns barrel, which impart a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to stabilize the projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability. Rifling is often described by its twist rate, which indicates the distance the rifling takes to complete one revolution, such as 1 turn in 10 inches. A shorter distance indicates a faster twist, meaning that for a given velocity the projectile will be rotating at a spin rate. Barrels intended for long, small-diameter bullets, such as the ultra-low-drag, 80-grain 0.223 inch bullets, extremely long projectiles such as flechettes may require high twist rates, these projectiles must be inherently stable, and are often fired from a smoothbore barrel. Muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle. Consequently, on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the barrel when fired, barrel rifling was invented in Augsburg, Germany in 1498. In 1520 August Kotter, an armourer of Nuremberg, Germany improved upon this work, though true rifling dates from the mid-16th century, it did not become commonplace until the nineteenth century. The most successful weapons using rifling with black powder were breech loaders such as the Queen Anne pistol, the grooves most commonly used in modern rifling have fairly sharp edges. More recently, polygonal rifling, a throwback to the earliest types of rifling, has become popular, polygonal barrels tend to have longer service lives because the reduction of the sharp edges of the land reduces erosion of the barrel. Supporters of polygonal rifling also claim higher velocities and greater accuracy, polygonal rifling is currently seen on pistols from CZ, Heckler & Koch, Glock, Tanfoglio, and Kahr Arms, as well as the Desert Eagle. Such guns have achieved significant increases in velocity and range. Examples include the South African G5 and the German PzH2000, gain-twist rifling begins with very little change in the projectiles angular momentum during the first few inches of bullet travel after ignition during the transition from chamber to throat. This enables the bullet to remain undisturbed and trued to the case mouth. After engaging the rifling the bullet is progressively subjected to accelerated angular momentum as burning powder propels it down the barrel. By only gradually increasing the rate, torque is spread along a much longer section of barrel. Gain-twist rifling was used as early as the American Civil War, colt Army and Navy revolvers both employed gain-twist rifling
Rifling
–
Rifling of a 105 mm
Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun.
Rifling
–
Rifling in a
.35 Remington microgroove rifled barrel.
Rifling
–
Traditional rifling of a 9 mm handgun barrel.
Rifling
–
Rifling in a French 19th century cannon.
14.
Primer (firearm)
–
In firearm ballistics, the primer is a component of pistol, rifle, and shotgun rounds. Early primers were simply the same black powder used to fire the weapon and this external powder was connected though a tube in the barrel that led to the main charge. As powder wont burn when wet, this led to difficulty, or even the inability, modern primers are shock sensitive chemicals. In smaller weapons the primer is usually integrated into the rear of a cartridge, in larger weapons like cannon the primer is a separate component placed inside the barrel to the rear of the main propellant charge. The first step to firing a firearm of any sort is igniting the propellant, the earliest firearms were cannons, which were simple closed tubes. There was an aperture, the touchhole, drilled in the closed end of the tube. This hole was filled with finely ground powder, which was ignited with a hot ember or torch. With the advent of firearms, this became an undesirable way of firing a gun. The first attempt to make the process of firing a small arm easier was the matchlock, the matchlock incorporated a lock that was actuated by a trigger, originally called a tricker. The lock was a lever which pivoted when pulled. The match was a burning fuse made of plant fibers that were soaked in a solution of nitrates, charcoal, and sulfur. This slow-match was ignited before the gun was needed, and it would slowly burn, after the gun was loaded and the touchhole primed with powder, the burning tip of the match was positioned so that the lock would bring it into contact with the touchhole. To fire the gun, it was aimed and the trigger pulled and this brought the match down to the touchhole, igniting the powder. With careful attention the slow-burning match could be burning for long periods of time. The next revolution in technology was the wheel-lock. It used a spring-loaded, serrated steel wheel which rubbed against a piece of iron pyrite, a key was used to wind the wheel and put the spring under tension. Once tensioned, the wheel was held in place by a trigger, when the trigger was pulled, the serrated edge of the steel rubbed against the pyrite, generating sparks. These sparks were directed into a pan, called the flash pan, the flashpan usually was protected by a spring-loaded cover that would slide out of the way when the trigger was pulled, exposing the powder to the sparks
Primer (firearm)
–
Percussion caps
Primer (firearm)
–
Fired rimfire and centerfire casings
15.
Soft-point bullet
–
A soft-point bullet, also known as a soft-nosed bullet, is a jacketed expanding bullet with a soft metal core enclosed by a stronger metal jacket left open at the forward tip. A soft-point bullet is intended to expand upon striking flesh to cause a wound diameter greater than the bullet diameter, jacketed soft point is usually abbreviated JSP in the ammunition and reloading industry. Lead-alloy bullets used with gunpowder firearms were unsatisfactory at the bullet velocities available from rifles loaded with nitrocellulose propellants like cordite. The lead-alloy core was swaged into a cup of the metal covering the front and sides of the core. The bullet jacket may be described as an envelope, steel envelope, or hard envelope. Reversing the direction of jacket placement leaves the exposed core on the forward tip of the bullet creating a soft-point bullet. Soft-point bullets expose the soft lead-alloy core on the part of the bullet most likely to be deformed when striking a target. The sides of the bullet remain covered by the jacket to reliably impart stabilizing rotation from rifling, a core of pure lead is softer than a core of lead alloyed with metals like antimony and tin. Some jacket alloys have greater strength than others, and, for any given alloy and annealing process. Energy available to expand the bullet is proportional to the square of the velocity at which the bullet strikes the target, if the bullet passes through the target, the energy represented by the square of the velocity of the departing bullet has no effect on the target. Soft point bullets may not expand if they strike a target at low velocity, varmint rifle bullets with thin jackets are intended to expand rapidly and disintegrate upon encountering minimum resistance. Bullets intended for hunting are designed to increase their forward diameter while remaining intact to penetrate deeply enough to damage internal organs likely to cause rapid death. Big-game bullets sometimes have a specialized jacket including a center baffle between a forward core intended to expand and another core intended to remain intact. Alternative designs include a jacket with a thicker belt around the central part of the bullet intended to resist expansion while the thinner forward part of the bullet jacket ruptures. Some bullets have a formed from a soft alloy in the forward part of the bullet bonded to a harder alloy core in the rear of the bullet. Others have a jacket which is thicker near the base of the bullet, soft-point bullets are similar to jacketed hollow-point bullets, because both have a jacket open on the forward tip. Bullets with an amount of core exposed forward of the jacket might have a hollow point within that core. Jacketed flat point may describe either soft-point or full metal jacket bullets with a flat, until recently, flat-point bullets were required in centerfire rifles with tubular magazines, such as the Winchester rifle, where the rounds are stored front-to-back
Soft-point bullet
–
Left to right:
.303 British,
6.5×50mmSR Arisaka and
.30-06 Springfield soft point ammunition
Soft-point bullet
–
.357 Magnum rounds. Left: Jacketed Flat/Soft Point (JFP / JSP). Right:
Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP). JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to the tip. Note the notches on the tip of the JHP which assist in the expansion of the bullet on impact with soft tissue.
Soft-point bullet
–
A
stripper clip of soft-point
.303 British ammunition
16.
Rim (firearms)
–
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called flanged cartridges, almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing rim, in spite of the fact that some cartridges are known as rimless cartridges. These types are rimmed, rimless, semi-rimmed, rebated rim and these categories describe the size of the rim in relation to the base of the case. The rimmed cartridge, sometimes called flanged cartridge, is the oldest of the types and has a rim that is larger in diameter than the base of the cartridge. Rimmed cartridges use the rim to hold the cartridge in the chamber of the firearm, because the rimmed cartridge headspaces on the rim, the case length is of less importance than rimless cartridges. This allows some firearms chambered for similar rimmed cartridges to safely chamber and fire shorter cartridges, rimmed cartridges are well suited to certain types of actions, such as revolvers, where the rim helps hold the cartridge in position, and break-action firearms. Semi-automatic handguns have been chambered in rimmed cartridges as well, for example a LAR Grizzly or Desert Eagle in.357 or.44 Magnum, under the metric cartridge designation system, a capitalized R added at the end of the designation denotes a rimmed cartridge. For example,7. 62×54mmR is a cartridge, while 7. 62×51mm is a rimless cartridge.45 Auto Rim. Examples of rimmed handgun cartridges include the.38 Special.357 Magnum, rimmed rifle cartridge examples include the.22 Hornet.303 British and 7. 62×54mmR. Rimless cases are not well suited to break-open and revolver actions, though they can be used with modifications, such as a spring-loaded extractor or, in a revolver. Crimping affects the length of the cartridge, and thus cannot be used on cartridges which headspace on the case mouth. Examples of rimless handgun cartridges include the 9mm Parabellum.40 S&W, rimless rifle examples include the.223 Remington.308 Winchester. 30-06 Springfield and 7. 92×57mm Mauser. On a semi-rimmed case the rim projects slightly beyond the base of the case, the tiny rim provides minimal interference feeding from a box magazine, while still providing enough surface to headspace on. Semi-rimmed cases are less common than the other types, if the chamber is cut shallow, so the case headspaces off the mouth, the rim is used for extraction only, a standard chamber will use the rim for both headspacing and extraction. Examples of more commonly encountered rimless handgun cartridges are.25 ACP.32 ACP and.38 ACP, while the.308 Marlin Express.338 Marlin Express and.444 Marlin are rifle cartridges that are semi-rimmed. Rebated rim cartridges have a rim that is smaller in diameter than the base of the case. Functionally the same as a case, the rebated rim provides some additional benefits when considered in conjunction with other cartridges. One example of a rebated rim cartridge is the.50 Action Express, by using the same rim dimensions as the.44 Magnum, a Desert Eagle could be converted from.44 Magnum to.50 AE by merely changing the barrel and magazine
Rim (firearms)
–
Rimmed.357 Magnum revolver ammunition
Rim (firearms)
–
Rimless 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridges
Rim (firearms)
–
Semi-rimmed.32 ACP pistol cartridges
17.
Intermediate cartridge
–
As their recoil is significantly reduced compared to high power rifle cartridges, fully automatic rifles firing intermediate cartridges are relatively easy to control. This allowed for the development of the rifle, a selective fire weapon that is more compact. The first intermediate cartridge to see service was the German 7. 92×33mm Kurz used in the StG44. Other notable examples include the Soviet 7. 62×39mm used in the AK-47 and AKM series, and these rifles weighed over 8 lb, and they were longer than 40 in and as such inappropriate for close combat. They fired cartridges capable of killing out to 1,000 m, in close quarter combat, all the major armies began employing submachine guns such as the PPSh-41, Thompson M1928A1, and the MP-40, all of which fired pistol cartridges. Compared with the rifles, these submachine guns could provide high rates of controllable fire. Bolt-action rifles in use at the time were long and heavy, the bolt-action rifles were effective up to 800–1,000 metres in the hands of a trained marksman, but typical combat ranges were much shorter, around 150–300 metres, rarely exceeding 500 metres. Therefore, the potential of the ammunition at longer ranges was seldom needed. The resulting cartridge would have the accuracy of the former for typical combat ranges, the first cartridge fulfilling this requirement may have been the Japanese 6. 5×50mm Arisaka used by the Russian Fedorov Avtomat rifle since 1915. The Fedorov was arguably the first assault rifle, later came the US.30 Carbine, developed as a weapon for officers and rear area soldiers unlikely to be involved in infantry assault, but needing a weapon more effective than a pistol
Intermediate cartridge
–
Service rifle cartridge cases: (Left to right) full power cartridges
7.62×54mmR,
7.62×51mm NATO, intermediate cartridges:
7.62×39mm,
5.56×45mm NATO,
5.45×39mm.
Intermediate cartridge
–
Sturmgewehr 44 (Germany). Its development began in earnest with the Maschinenkarabiner project
18.
Cartridge (firearms)
–
Military and commercial producers continue to pursue the goal of caseless ammunition. A cartridge without a bullet is called a blank, One that is completely inert is called a dummy. Some artillery ammunition uses the same concept as found in small arms. In other cases, the shell is separate from the propellant charge. In popular use, the bullet is often misused to refer to a complete cartridge. The cartridge case seals a firing chamber in all directions excepting the bore, a firing pin strikes the primer and ignites it. The primer compound deflagrates, it does not detonate, a jet of burning gas from the primer ignites the propellant. Gases from the burning powder pressurize and expand the case to seal it against the chamber wall and these propellant gases push on the bullet base. In response to pressure, the bullet will move in the path of least resistance which is down the bore of the barrel. After the bullet leaves the barrel, the pressure drops to atmospheric pressure. The case, which had been expanded by chamber pressure. This eases removal of the case from the chamber, brass is a commonly used case material because it is resistant to corrosion. A brass case head can be work-hardened to withstand the pressures of cartridges. The neck and body portion of a case is easily annealed to make the case ductile enough to allow reforming so that it can be reloaded many times. Steel is used in some plinking ammunition, as well as in military ammunition. Steel is less expensive than brass, but it is not feasible to reload, Military forces typically consider small arms cartridge cases to be disposable, one-time-use devices. However, case weight affects how much ammunition a soldier can carry, conversely, steel is more susceptible to contamination and damage so all such cases are varnished or otherwise sealed against the elements. One downside caused by the strength of steel in the neck of these cases is that propellant gas can blow back past the neck
Cartridge (firearms)
–
A variety of rifle cartridges: (1).17HM2 (2).17HMR (3)
.22LR (4).22 Win Mag R/F.22 WMR (5).17/23 SMc (6)
5mm/35 SMc (7)
.22 Hornet (8)
.223 Remington (9)
.223 WSSM (10)
.243 Win (11)
P.O. Ackley#Wildcats & Ackley Improved Cartridges.243 Win Improved (Ackley) (12).25-06 Rem (13).270 Win (14)
.308 Win (15)
.30-06 Springfield (16)
.45-70 Government (17)
.50-90 Sharps
Cartridge (firearms)
–
Historic British cartridges
Cartridge (firearms)
–
Chassepot paper cartridge (1866).
Cartridge (firearms)
–
(From Left to Right): A
.577 Snider cartridge (1867), a
.577/450 Martini-Henry cartridge (1871), a later drawn brass.577/450
Martini-Henry cartridge, and a
.303 British Mk VII SAA Ball cartridge.
19.
World War II
–
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
World War II
–
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
World War II
–
The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
World War II
–
Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
World War II
–
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
20.
RPD
–
The RPD is a 7. 62mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7. 62×39mm M43 cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the DP machine gun chambered for the 7. 62×54mmR round and it is a precursor of most squad automatic weapons. It was succeeded in Soviet service by the RPK, work on the weapon commenced in 1943. Three prominent Soviet engineers were asked to submit their own designs, Vasily Degtyaryov, Sergei Simonov, although the RPD was ready for mass production during the final stages of World War II, large scale delivery of the weapon did not begin until 1953. During the Vietnam War, the RPD served the Vietcong as their light machine gun. After the introduction of the Kalashnikov-pattern support weapons, such as the RPK and PK machine guns in the 1960s, however, the RPD remains in active service in many African and Asian nations. Apart from the former Soviet Union, the weapon was manufactured in China, Egypt, North Korea and, since 1956, the movement of these flaps and the resulting locking and unlocking action is controlled by carefully angled surfaces on the bolt carrier assembly. The weapon fires from an open bolt, the bolt is equipped with a spring-loaded casing extraction system and a fixed insert inside the receiver housing which passes between the feed horns of the bolt serves as the ejector. Spent cartridge casings are ejected downward through an opening in the carrier and receiver. The RPD has a manually operated lever-type safety mechanism that secures the weapon against accidental firing by blocking the bolt catch when engaged, unlike Degtyarovs earlier firearm patents, the RPDs return spring is located inside the butt. Like many other rugged Russian-made firearms, the chamber and bore are chrome-lined, greatly decreasing the risk of corrosion, the weapon has a non-removable barrel with a 3-position gas adjustment valve used to control the performance of the gas system. It is also equipped with an integral bipod, wooden shoulder stock, foregrip. The firearm strips down into the major groups, the receiver and barrel, bolt, bolt carrier, feed tray and feed cover, the recoil mechanism. The machine gun feeds from the side from a segmented. Two combined belts, containing a total of 100 rounds, are stored in a container resembling a drum that is attached to the base of the receiver. Instead of the drum, the gun can be fed by a loose belt, the feed system is operated by a roller connected to the reciprocating bolt carrier assembly and the belt is pulled during the rearward motion of the bolt carrier. The noteworthy flaw in the magazines design is its unreliability in dirty conditions, it can become clogged with filth. The RPD is equipped with a set of iron sights
RPD
–
RPD
RPD
–
Feeding system of RPD machine gun
RPD
–
RPD light machine gun.
RPD
–
An
Egyptian marine aims his RPD.
21.
RPK
–
Rocketplane Kistler was a reusable launch system firm originally based in Oklahoma. It was formed in 2006 after Rocketplane Limited, Inc. acquired Kistler Aerospace, NASA announced that Rocketplane Kistler had been chosen to develop crew and cargo launch services. However, having missed financial milestones NASA terminated funding for the project and it filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010. In February 2006, Kistler was purchased by the majority owner of Rocketplane Limited, Inc, Kistler Aerospace continued to operate until its closure under the name Rocketplane Kistler. Meanwhile Rocketplane Limited, Inc. changed its name to Rocketplane Global, Inc. with a company, Rocketplane. The plan called for flights between 2008 and 2010. Rocketplane Kistler would receive up to $207 million if they met all NASA milestones, in November 2006, Rocketplane Kistler and Alliant Techsystems announced that Alliant Techsystems would become the lead contractor for Rocketplane Kistler’s K-1 launch vehicle. In February 2007 RpK renegotiated its COTS agreement, agreeing to raise the $500 million of required private financing before the end of May, by August 2007, RpK had failed to obtain that financing, forcing them to cut their workforce. On September 7,2007, NASA notified Rocketplane Kistler that the COTS agreement would be terminated in 30 days due to continued inability to meet its financial milestones, NASA announced in October 2007 that it had terminated funding for the project. Due to financial difficulties, the company had laid off most of its employees by February 2009, and consolidated operations in Wisconsin. Rocketplane Inc. along with its subsidiaries, Rocketplane Kistler and Rocketplane Global, the company collected $18 million in state tax breaks, but its Rocketplane XP spacecraft never materialized. Company closed its Oklahoma City headquarters and relinquished its hangar at Burns Flat, on June 15,2010 Rocketplane Inc. as well as its subsidiaries and its CEO, George French, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Secured liabilities were claimed at $3.7 million, with unsecured liabilities listed at just under $3.7 million, in December 2011 all of the assets of Rocketplane Kistler were acquired by Space Assets LLC, and a new company Kistler Space Systems was founded. Rocketplane XP Rocketplane Limited official site Rocketplane Kistler official site Appealing COTS, RpK’s Avenues for Relief Video Animation of the K-1 reusable rocket concept
RPK
–
Computer rendering of
K-1 launch vehicle approaching the
International Space Station
RPK
22.
SKS
–
The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic carbine chambered for the 7. 62×39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. Its complete designation, SKS-45, is an initialism for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova,1945, the SKS-45 was manufactured at Tula Arsenal from 1949-1958 and at Izhevsk Arsenal in just 1953 and 1954, resulting in a total Soviet production of about 2.7 million carbines. In the early 1950s, the Soviets took the SKS carbine out of service and replaced it with the AK-47, however. It is still used as a ceremonial firearm today, the SKS was widely exported, and was also licensed for production by then Eastern Bloc nations, Romania and East Germany, as well as China, where it was designated the Type 56 Carbine. The East German version was known as the Karabiner S, the Albanian as the Model 561, the SKS is popular on the civilian surplus market as a hunting and marksmanship semi-automatic rifle in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Its age and numbers make it inexpensive to purchase. The SKS was the second firearm to be chambered for the 7. 62×39mm M43 round, the SKS has a conventional layout, with a wooden stock and rifle grip. It is a rifle that has a spring-loaded bolt carrier. The bolt is locked to contain the pressure of ignition at the moment of firing by tilting downwards at its rear and being held by a lug pressed into the receiver. At the moment of firing, the carrier is pushed rearwards, which causes it to lift the bolt, unlocking it. This allows the case to be ejected and a new round from the magazine to be carried into the chamber. As a result, it has a higher muzzle velocity than those arms that replaced it. The SKSs ten-round internal box magazine can be loaded either by hand or from a stripper clip, cartridges stored in the magazine can be removed by pulling back on a latch located forward of the trigger guard. In typical military use the clips are disposable. If necessary they can be reloaded multiple times and reused, because of this design, care must be taken during cleaning to ensure that the firing pin can freely move and does not stick in the forward position within the bolt. SKS firing pins that are stuck in the position have been known to cause accidental slamfires. This behavior is likely with the hard primer military-spec ammo for which the SKS was designed. For collectors, slamfires are more likely when the still has remnants of Cosmoline embedded in it that retard firing pin movement
SKS
–
SKS Carbine from the collections of
Armémuseum, Stockholm, Sweden
SKS
–
SKS with the magazine closed (top) and open. The magazine release is circled.
SKS
–
The SKS can be quickly reloaded using disposable 10-round stripper clips. Note that the safety is in the fire position
SKS
–
SKS rear sight
23.
AK-47
–
The AK-47, or AK as it is officially known is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7. 62×39 mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known in the Soviet documentation as Avtomat Kalashnikova, Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year of World War II. In 1946, the AK-47 was presented for military trials, and in 1948. An early development of the design was the AKS, which was equipped with a metal shoulder stock. In the spring of 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces, as of 2004, Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s. During World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle used by German forces made an impression on their Soviet counterparts. The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new cartridge, the 7. 92×33mm Kurz. On 15 July 1943, a model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the Peoples Commissariat of Arms of the USSR. The Soviets soon developed the 7. 62×39mm M43 cartridge, the semi-automatic SKS carbine, shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS in Soviet service. Mikhail Kalashnikov began his career as a designer in 1941, while recuperating from a shoulder wound. I was a soldier, and I created a gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the date of its first manufacture,1947. The AK-47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations, Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG44. Kalashnikovs team had access to weapons and had no need to reinvent the wheel. Kalashnikov himself observed, A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures. But one thing is clear, before attempting to create something new, I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so. There are claims about Kalashnikov copying other designs, like Bulkins TKB-415 or Simonovs AVS-31, Kalashnikov started work on a submachine gun design in 1942 and with a light machine gun in 1943. Early in 1944, Kalashnikov was given some M19437. 62×39mm cartridges and it was suggested to him that this new weapon might well lead to greater things, and he undertook work on the new rifle
AK-47
–
AK-47 with first generation bayonet
AK-47
–
AKMS with a stamped Type 4B receiver (top), and an AK-47 with a milled Type 2A receiver
AK-47
–
A Type 2 AK-47, the first machined receiver variation
AK-47
–
1955 AK-47 with a milled Type 3A receiver showing the milled lightening cut on the side above the magazine that for Type 3 receivers is slanted to the barrel axis
24.
Polar climate
–
The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers. Every month in a polar climate has a temperature of less than 10 °C. Regions with polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth, the sun shines for long hours in the summer, and for many fewer hours in the winter. A polar climate results in treeless tundra, glaciers, or a permanent or semi-permanent layer of ice and it has cool summers and very cold winters. There are two types of climate, ET, or tundra climate, and EF, or ice cap climate. A tundra climate is characterized by having at least one month whose average temperature is above 0 °C, in a tundra climate, trees cannot grow, but other specialized plants can grow. In an ice cap climate, no plants can grow, many high altitude locations on Earth have a climate where no month has an average temperature of 10 °C or higher, but as this is due to elevation, this climate is referred to as Alpine climate. Alpine climate can mimic either tundra or ice cap climate, on Earth, the only continent where the ice cap polar climate is predominant is Antarctica. All but a few isolated areas on the island of Greenland also have the ice cap climate. Coastal regions of Greenland that do not have permanent ice sheets have the less extreme tundra climates, large areas in northern Canada and northern Alaska have tundra climate, changing to ice cap climate in the most northern parts of Canada. These subantarctic lowlands are found closer to the equator than the coastal tundras of the Arctic basin, some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice year-round, and nearly all parts of the Arctic experience long periods with some form of ice on the surface. Average January temperatures range from about −40 to 0 °C, average July temperatures range from about −10 to 10 °C, with some land areas occasionally exceeding 30 °C in summer. The Arctic consists of ocean that is surrounded by land. As such, the climate of much of the Arctic is moderated by the ocean water, in summer, the presence of the nearby water keeps coastal areas from warming as much as they might otherwise, just as it does in temperate regions with maritime climates. The climate of Antarctica is the coldest on the whole of Earth, Antarctica has the lowest temperature ever recorded, −89.2 °C at Vostok Station. It is also dry, averaging 166 millimetres of precipitation per year. Even so, on most parts of the continent the snow melts and is eventually compressed to become the glacial ice that makes up the ice sheet. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, there have been several attempts at quantifying what constitutes a polar climate
Polar climate
–
A
polar bear with cub
Polar climate
–
Solar radiation has a lower intensity in polar regions because it travels a longer distance through the atmosphere, and is spread across a larger surface area.
25.
Desert
–
A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation, about one third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the regions where little precipitation occurs. Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation falls, by the temperature that prevails. Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night put strains on the rocks which consequently break in pieces, although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter and the resulting fragments and this picks up particles of sand and dust and wafts them aloft in sand or dust storms. Wind-blown sand grains striking any solid object in their path can abrade the surface, rocks are smoothed down, and the wind sorts sand into uniform deposits. The grains end up as level sheets of sand or are piled high in billowing sand dunes, other deserts are flat, stony plains where all the fine material has been blown away and the surface consists of a mosaic of smooth stones. These areas are known as desert pavements and little further erosion takes place, other desert features include rock outcrops, exposed bedrock and clays once deposited by flowing water. Temporary lakes may form and salt pans may be left when waters evaporate, there may be underground sources of water in the form of springs and seepages from aquifers. Where these are found, oases can occur, plants and animals living in the desert need special adaptations to survive in the harsh environment. Plants tend to be tough and wiry with small or no leaves, water-resistant cuticles, some annual plants germinate, bloom and die in the course of a few weeks after rainfall while other long-lived plants survive for years and have deep root systems able to tap underground moisture. Animals need to cool and find enough food and water to survive. Many are nocturnal and stay in the shade or underground during the heat of the day and they tend to be efficient at conserving water, extracting most of their needs from their food and concentrating their urine. Some animals remain in a state of dormancy for long periods and they then reproduce rapidly while conditions are favorable before returning to dormancy. People have struggled to live in deserts and the surrounding lands for millennia. Nomads have moved their flocks and herds to wherever grazing is available, the cultivation of semi-arid regions encourages erosion of soil and is one of the causes of increased desertification. Many trade routes have been forged across deserts, especially across the Sahara Desert, large numbers of slaves were also taken northwards across the Sahara
Desert
–
Valle de la Luna (« Valley of the Moon ») in the
Atacama Desert of
Chile, the world's driest hot desert
Desert
–
Sand dunes in the
Rub' al Khali ("Empty quarter") of
Saudi Arabia
Desert
–
Cold desert: snow surface at Dome C Station, Antarctica
Desert
–
The
Agasthiyamalai hills cut off
Tirunelveli in
India from the
monsoons, creating a
rainshadow region.
26.
List of weather records
–
This is a list of weather records, a list of the most extreme occurrences of weather phenomena for various categories. Many weather records are measured under specific conditions—such as surface temperature and this list does not include remotely sensed observations such as satellite measurements, since those values are not considered official records. The standard measuring conditions for temperature are in the air,1.5 metres above the ground, the following lists include all officially confirmed claims measured by those methods. Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by 30 to 50 °C, a ground temperature of 84 °C has been recorded in Port Sudan, Sudan. A ground temperature of 93.9 °C was recorded in Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California, United States on 15 July 1972, this may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded. The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 90 and 100 °C for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity, the Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in 5 of the 7 years measured. These measurements reflect averages over a region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature. Satellite measurements of the temperature of Antarctica, taken between 1982 and 2013, found a coldest temperature of −93.2 °C on 10 August 2010. Although this is not comparable to an air temperature, it is believed that the air temperature at this location would have lower than the official record lowest air temperature of −89.2 °C. There are reports of higher than the listed world record of 56.7 °C during phenomena known as heat bursts. There are also made by satellite analysis, including one of 66.8 °C measured in the Flaming Mountains of China in 2008. These temperatures have never confirmed, and are not recognized as world records. The former highest official temperature on Earth, held for 90 years by ‘Aziziya, Libya, was de-certified by the WMO in January 2012 as the record for the worlds highest surface temperature. Burt proposes that the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth is still at Death Valley,53.9 °C was recorded another four times,20 July 1960,18 July 1998,20 July 2005, and 7 July 2007. On 21 July 2016, Mitribah in Kuwait also recorded a temperature of 54.0 °C, tying Death Valleys highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth. * Temperature record may be according to Christopher Burt. Fastest temperature rise,27 °C from −20 °C to 7 °C in two minutes, Spearfish, South Dakota, on 22 January 1943, most consecutive days above 37.8 °C,160 days, Marble Bar, Western Australia from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924. Surface temperature, Heat records are measured by air temperature above the ground, remote sensing can estimate ground or skin surface temperatures, the MODIS satellite found in a brief survey a ground temperature of 70.7 °C, in the Lut Desert of Iran, the hottest detected
List of weather records
–
The Tri-State Tornado holds many records, including the longest known tornado track, fastest speed for a significant tornado, and the deadliest tornado outside of
Bangladesh.
List of weather records
–
A world map showing areas with
Köppen BWh (hot desert climate). The temperatures in these regions have the potential to exceed 50 °C (122 °F) during the hottest seasons.
List of weather records
–
A picture of the Aurora, Nebraska hailstone, measured at 47.6 cm (18.75 in) in
circumference
27.
AK-74
–
The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s by Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov as the replacement for the earlier AKM. It uses a smaller 5. 45×39mm cartridge, replacing the 7. 62×39mm chambering of earlier Kalashnikov-pattern weapons, the rifle first saw service with Soviet forces engaged in the 1979 Afghanistan conflict. The head of the Afghan bureau of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence claimed that the CIA paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the mujahadeen during the Soviet–Afghan War, presently, the rifle continues to be used by the majority of countries of the former USSR. Additionally, licensed copies were produced in Bulgaria, the former East Germany, besides former Soviet republics and eastern European countries, Mongolia, North Korean Special Forces, and Vietnamese Peoples Naval infantry use AK-74s. The AK-74 was designed by А. D, kryakushins group under the design supervision of Mikhail Kalashnikov and is an adaptation of the 7. 62×39mm AKM assault rifle and features several important design improvements. These improvements were primarily the result of converting the rifle to the high velocity 5. 45×39mm cartridge. In fact, some models are reported to have been converted AKMs. Compared to the preceding AKM the AK-74 has better range, firing accuracy. The AK-74 and AKM share an approximate 50% parts commonality, the rifles operation during firing and reloading is identical to that of the AKM. After ignition of the primer and propellant, rapidly expanding propellant gases are diverted into the gas cylinder above the barrel through a vent near the muzzle. The moving assembly has about 5, like previous Kalashnikov-pattern rifles, the AK-74 does not have a gas valve, excess gases are ventilated through a series of radial ports in the gas cylinder. Other minor modifications were made to the bolt and carrier assembly, the rifle received a new barrel with a chrome-lined bore and 4 right-hand grooves at a 200 mm rifling twist rate. The front sight base and gas block were redesigned, the gas block contains a gas channel that is installed at a 90° angle in relation to the bore axis to reduce bullet shear at the port hole. A pair of brackets are cast into the gas block assembly and are used to attach a BG-15c or GP-25 underslung 40 mm grenade launcher. A flat plate near the end of the brake produces a forward thrust when emerging exhaust gases strike its surface, the muzzle brake prevents backblast from reaching the firer, although it is reported to be harsh on bystanders as the muzzle gases are dispersed to the sides. The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation in the field, horizontal adjustment requires a special drift tool and is done by the armory before issue or if the need arises by an armorer after issue. The sight line elements are approximately 48.5 mm over the bore axis, the point-blank range battle zero setting П on the 5. 45×39mm AK-74 rear tangent sight element corresponds to a 400 m zero, compared to the 300 m zero for 7. 62×39mm AKs. For the AK-74 combined with the 7N6 or 7N10 service cartridges the 400 m battle zero setting limits the apparent bullet rise within approximately −5 to +40 cm relative to the line of sight
AK-74
–
Early AK-74 assault rifle with bakelite magazine and laminated wood furniture
AK-74
–
AK-74 5.45×39mm wound ballistics
AK-74
–
The AK-74 stripped down to its major components.
AK-74
–
An AK-74M muzzle device venting propellant gases
28.
Service rifle
–
The service rifle of a given army or armed force is that which it issues as standard to its soldiers. In modern forces, this is typically a highly versatile and rugged assault rifle, battle rifle or carbine suitable for use in all theatres. These may include urban warfare and jungle warfare environments, most armies also have service pistols/side arms. Originally, rifles used in combat were not standard-issue weapons like the service rifles of today. Rifles were for specialist marksmen only, whilst the ordinary infantry were issued less accurate smoothbore muskets which had a rate of fire, with bore diameters as high as 19 mm. By the middle of the 19th century, however, rifles were becoming more and more common on the battlefield, originally, these combat rifles were single-shot muzzle-loading weapons, but as technology advanced through the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the technique of loading rounds. By this time almost all prominent armies in the world had some sort of service rifle. During the Second World War, there was yet another leap forward in design which was to influence service rifles even today. That is, the use of a fired cartridges gas emissions to automatically rechamber rounds into the once a bullet had been fired. These weapons were known as gas-operated firearms and these rifles usually fired a full-sized cartridge, such as the. 30-06 Springfield or.303 British, as opposed to an intermediate rifle cartridge. The first of these was the Sturmgewehr 44, used by Nazi Germany in the stages of the Second World War. The StG44 was not issued in numbers, and was never adopted as Germanys service rifle. The Haitian Army was disbanded by the United States, and replaced in 1915 by the Gendarmerie dHaïti, the Haitian Army was again disbanded in 1995. Tibet was de facto independent from 1912 until the 1950s, and fielded the Tibetan Army List of assault rifles
Service rifle
–
The bolt-action
M1903 Springfield was used as the USA's service rifle from 1905 to just before
World War II, when it was replaced by the gas-operated
M1 Garand. It was in limited use up to the
Vietnam War.
Service rifle
–
StG 58
Service rifle
–
FARA 83
Service rifle
–
StG 77
29.
Russian language
–
Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
Russian language
–
Russian language street sign in
Russia.
Russian language
–
Russian minimarket in
Limassol, Cyprus; translation: "Teremok market. Russian goods. Phone number: 96 74 19 63"
Russian language
–
This page from an "ABC" book printed in Moscow in 1694 shows the letter
П.
Russian language
–
The
Ostromir Gospels of 1056 is the second oldest
East Slavic book known, one of many medieval
illuminated manuscripts preserved in the
Russian National Library.
30.
Semi-automatic firearm
–
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm, is one that performs all steps necessary to prepare it to discharge again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the firearms feed device. Typically, this includes extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism. For the other forms, the mechanism would require cycling manually prior to firing the next round. An automatic or a selective-fire firearm set to fire automatically would be able to discharge continuously as long as the trigger is held until the magazine or feed device runs out of ammunition. Obviously, this additional feature complicates the design of the sear and disconnector, the first successful design for a semi-automatic rifle is attributed to German-born gunsmith Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher, who unveiled the design in 1885. The Model 85 was followed by the equally innovative Mannlicher Models 91,93 and 95 semi-automatic rifles.5 mm ammunition that were fed into the M1894 by a stripper clip. The Auto-5 relied on long recoil operation, this remained the dominant form in semi-automatic shotguns for approximately 50 years. Production of the Auto-5 was ended in 1999, in 1903 and 1905, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company introduced the first semi-automatic rimfire and centerfire rifles designed especially for the civilian market. The Winchester Model 1903 and Winchester Model 1905 operated on the principle of blowback in order to function semi-automatically, johnson, the Model 1903 achieved commercial success and continued to be manufactured until 1932 when the Winchester Model 63 replaced it. Winchester introduced a medium caliber semi-automatic sporting rifle, the Model 1907 as an upgrade to the Model 1905, utilizing a system of operation. Both the Models of 1905 and 1907 saw limited military and police use, in 1906, Remington Arms introduced the Remington Auto-loading Repeating Rifle. Remington advertised this rifle, renamed the Model 8 in 1911 and this is a locked-breech, long recoil action designed by John Browning. The Model 81 superseded the Model 8 in 1936 and was offered in.300 Savage as well as the original Remington calibers, the first semi-automatic rifle adopted and widely issued by a major military power was the Fusil Automatique Modele 1917. This is a breech, gas-operated action which is very similar in its mechanical principles to the future M1 Garand in the United States. The M1917 was fielded during the stages of WWI but it did not receive a favorable reception. However its shortened and improved version, the Model 1918, gave complete satisfaction during the Moroccan Rif War from 1920 to 1926, the Lebel bolt-action rifle remained the standard French infantry rifle until replaced in 1936 by the MAS-36 despite the various semi-automatic rifles designed between 1918 and 1935. In 1937, the American M1 Garand was the first semi-automatic rifle to replace its nations bolt-action rifle as the infantry weapon. The gas-operated M1 Garand was developed by Canadian-born John Garand for the U. S. government at the Springfield Armory in Springfield, after years of research and testing, the first production model of the M1 Garand was unveiled in 1937
Semi-automatic firearm
–
The
M1 Garand was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry in any nation's army.
Semi-automatic firearm
–
The
Fusil Automatique Modele 1917 was the first semi-automatic rifle to be widely issued in the infantry in any nation's army.
Semi-automatic firearm
–
Remington 1100 Tactical Shotgun in 12 gauge – an example of a semi-automatic
shotgun
Semi-automatic firearm
–
The SKS is a semi-automatic Russian rifle
31.
Selective fire
–
Selective fire means the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, multi-short burst, and/or automatic firing mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector which varies depending on the weapons design, some selective-fire weapons have burst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum number of shots fired automatically in this mode. The most common limits are two or three rounds per trigger pull, fully automatic fire refers to the ability for a weapon to fire continuously until either the feeding mechanism is emptied or the trigger is released. Semi-automatic refers to the ability to fire one round per trigger pull and this capability is most commonly found on assault rifles and military weapons of the 20th and 21st centuries. Early attempts at this technology were hindered by one or both of two obstacles, over-powerful ammunition and mechanical complexity, the latter led to excessive weight and unreliability in the firearm. Another is the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle developed during the first World War, the BAR and its subsequent designs incorporated a variety of selective-fire functions. The selector lever is located on the side of the receiver and is simultaneously the manual safety. The next version had a unique rate-of-fire reducer mechanism purchased from FN Herstal with two rates of automatic fire and this reducer mechanism was later changed to one designed by the Springfield Armory. The final version provided two selectable rates of automatic fire only. During World War II the Germans began development of the function which resulted in the FG42 battle rifle developed in 1942 at the request of the German Air Force in 1941. Another German design that used selective fire was the StG44 that was the first of its kind to see major deployment and is considered by historians to be the first modern assault rifle. The selective-fire function was seen in the Russian AK-47, the British EM-2. This allows for rapid and aimed fire, in some weapons, the selection is between different rates of automatic fire and/or varying burst limiters. The selection is often by a small rotating switch often integrated with the safety catch or a separate from the safety. This is useful for situations where a rapid volley of rounds is more effective for suppressing a close enemy rather than a single-round burst. The current U. S. standard assault rifle, the M16A4, in this design, it retains the count of previously fired rounds and may fire fewer than three rounds. Other designs reset the count with each pull, allowing a uniform three-round burst as long as rounds remain. A common version of the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun fires single shots, three-round-bursts, a special variant uses a two-round-burst to minimize the chances of missing with a third round
Selective fire
–
The
SIG 550 has four modes: safe (At which the rifle cannot be fired) (S), one round (1), three-round burst (3) and full automatic (obscured by the switch lever).
32.
Light machine gun
–
A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are used as squad automatic weapons. Modern light machine guns often fire smaller-caliber cartridges than medium machine guns, some LMGs, such as the Russian RPK, are modifications of existing assault rifle designs and designed to share the same ammunition. Adaptations to the original rifle generally include a magazine, a heavier barrel to resist overheating, a more robust mechanism to support sustained fire. Deployed on a tripod and used for sustained-fire it is a machine gun, if deployed with a bipod with the operator in prone position. Light machine guns are designed to be fired from the hip or on the move as a form of suppressive fire intended to pin down the enemy. Marching fire is a tactic that relies on this capability. Lighter modern LMGs have enabled them to be issued down at the fireteam level, many light machine guns were magazine-fed. Others, such as the MG34, could be fed either from a belt or from a magazine, light machine guns were first introduced in World War I to boost the firepower of advancing infantry. The following were either exclusively light machine guns, had a machine gun variant or were employed in the light machine gun role with certain adaptations. 26 Medium machine gun Heavy machine gun Squad automatic weapon General-purpose machine gun Assault rifle
Light machine gun
–
The
FN Minimi, one of the most widespread modern
5.56 mm light machine guns amongst
NATO countries.
Light machine gun
–
Heckler & Koch MG4 of the
German Army.
Light machine gun
–
Bren light machine gun.
Light machine gun
–
.30-06 BAR Model 1918
33.
Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov
–
In 1900 Vladimir Fyodorov graduated from Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy and was transferred to the artillery committee of the Chief Artillery Directorate. Automatic weapons designed by Fyodorov were used during World War I, after the October Revolution, Vladimir Fyodorov was appointed head and technical director of the first Soviet weapons plant, which produced submachine guns of his design. In 1921, he organized and headed a bureau at the automatic small arms factory. In 1922, Fyodorov designed the Fyodorov-Shpagin machine gun, in 1931-1933, Fyodorov worked as a standardization consultant at a weapons and machinegun trust. He then published a number of works on automatic weapons and was appointed a small arms consultant at Narkomat, between 1946 and 1953, Fyodorov was a member of the Academy of Artillery Sciences. He was a tutor of Vasily Degtyaryov, Georgi Shpagin, Sergei Simonov, Vladimir Fyodorov authored a number of scientific works on the history, design, production, and combat use of small firearms. Hero of Labour Two Orders of Lenin Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Order of the Red Star
Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov
–
Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov in 1900
34.
Fedor Tokarev
–
Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev was a Russian weapons designer and deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1937 to 1950. For his contributions to Soviet arms design Tokarev received the Hero of Socialist Labor award and he also designed the prototype of the FT-1 / ФТ-1 panoramic camera. Applied for admittance to the Military Technical School,1900 – Graduated as a Cossack commissioned officer, age 29, and returned to his old unit, the 12th Don Cossack Regiment as Master Gunsmith. 1910 – Submitted his version of a conversion of the bolt-action Model 1891 Mosin–Nagant rifle to semi-automatic fire, age 391927 – Designed Tokarev Model 1927 submachine gun prototype. 1940–41 – Defended habilitation in technical sciences, received the Hero of Socialist Labor award and the USSR State Prize. Tokarevs son Nikolai also became a prominent firearms designer and he worked for several decades in Tula and designed several machine guns and anti-aircraft guns that were used by the Soviet Army in the 1930s–1940s. List of Russian inventors Fedor Vasil’evich Tokarev Руслан Чумак, «Я буду работать, пока дышу. », ОРУЖИЕ, БОЕПРИПАСЫ, СНАРЯЖЕНИЕ 2011/6, pp. 32–38
Fedor Tokarev
–
Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev Фёдор Васи́льевич То́карев
35.
Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov
–
Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov was a Russian weapons designer, he is one of the fathers of the modern assault rifle. His early work preceded both the M1 Garand, and the later M1 Carbine, AK-47, and M16 series, born in 1894 in Fedotovo, Simonov began work in a foundry immediately after completing his elementary school studies. After the Russian Revolution, Simonov continued further at the Moscow Polytechnic Institute, by 1926 he had become a quality-control inspector at Tula, and by 1927, had been promoted into the Soviet Design and Development Department where he worked directly under Fyodorov. The Simonov AVS-36, which entered service in the 1930s would see service in the part of World War II. The 7. 62×54mmRs rim was detrimental to reliable, rapid function of a semi-automatic rifle, the design was proven with the 14. 5×114mm PTRS-41 ammo. The SKS could have scaled to fire the 7. 62×54mmR. By 1943, advances in thinking - and confirmed data showed engagements took place between 100 meters to 300 meters — led to the adoption of a shorter, less powerful round, the 7. 62×39mm M1943. Field trials of the new rifle proved the weapon and, in 1944 a pre-production run of the SKS went to the Belorussian Offensive for battlefield trials
Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov
–
Sergej G. Simonov (center), soviet small-arms desinger, during tests of a new version of PTRS anti tank rifle (august 1943)
36.
Science and technology in the Soviet Union
–
In the Soviet Union, science and technology served as an important part of national politics, practices, and identity. Many great scientists, who worked in Imperial Russia, continued to work in the USSR, the Soviet government made the development and advancement of science a national priority, emphasizing science at all levels of education and showering top scientists with honours. Very large numbers of engineers graduated every year, Soviet scientists won acclaim in several fields, marked by a highly developed pure science and innovation at the theoretical level, though interpretation and application fell short. They were at the edge of science in fields such as mathematics and in several branches of physical science, notably theoretical nuclear physics, chemistry. Soviet technology was most highly developed in the fields of nuclear physics, due to a crash program directed by Igor Kurchatov, the Soviet Union was the second nation to develop an atomic bomb, in 1949, four years after the United States. The Soviet Union detonated a bomb in 1953, a mere ten months after the United States. The Soviets maintained a strong space program until economic problems led to cutbacks in the 1980s, although the sciences were less rigorously censored than other fields such as art, there were several examples of suppression of ideas. In the most notorious, agronomist Trofim Lysenko refused to accept the theory of heredity usually accepted by modern genetics. Unlike some Western countries, most of the work in the USSR was conducted not at universities. The more prestigious of them were parts of the USSR Academy of Sciences, others were within the system of specialized academies, the core of fundamental science was the USSR Academy of Sciences, originally set up in 1925 and moved from Leningrad to Moscow in 1934. It consisted of 250 research institutes and 60,500 full-time researchers in 1987, Medical research was coordinated by the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, which after 1992 was reorganized into the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Agricultural research was organized under the aegis of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Soviet Union, a large part of research was conducted in NIIs — scientific research institutes. There have been a number of NIIs, each specialized in a particular field. All research, including sciences, was to be founded on the philosophy of dialectical materialism. Humanities and social sciences were tested for strict accordance with historical materialism. After World War II, many scientists were forbidden from cooperation with foreign researchers, the scientific community of the Soviet Union became increasingly closed. In addition to that, the party continued declaring various new theories pseudo-scientific, genetics, pedology and psychotechnics were already banned in 1936 by a special decree of the Central Committee. On August 7,1948, the V. I, Soviet scientists were forced to redact prior work, and even after this ideology, known as Lysenkoism, was demonstrated to be false, it took many years for criticism of it to become acceptable
Science and technology in the Soviet Union
–
Soviet Union
37.
GRAU index
–
The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of Armament and Munition of the Russian Armed Forces, the organization dates back to 1862 when it was established under the name Главное артиллерийское управление. The R from rockets was added to the title in 1960, in particular, the GRAU is responsible for assigning GRAU indices to Russian army munitions and equipment. As of March 2014, the current Chief of the GRAU is Lieutenant General Nikolay Parshin, GRAU indices are of the form <number> <letter> <number>, with the optional suffix <letter> <number>. A specially assigned codename may follow the index, for example, «2 S19 Msta-S», the 2S19 Msta self-propelled howitzer. Several common misconceptions surround the scope and originating body of these indices, the GRAU designation is not an industrial designation, nor is it assigned by the design bureau. In addition to its GRAU designation, a piece of equipment could have a design name, an industrial name. The first part of a GRAU index is a number indicating which of the main categories of equipment a given item belongs to. The second part, a Cyrillic character, indicates the subcategory, the third part, a number, indicates the specific model. The optional suffix can be used to differentiate variants of the same model. ru and it has been released under the GFDL by the copyright holder. Dictionary of GRAU designations at aviation. ru Lennox, Duncan
GRAU index
GRAU index
38.
C. J. Chivers
–
Christopher John Chivers, is an American journalist and author who reports for The New York Times. In the summer of 2007, he was named the newspapers Moscow bureau chief and he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 as part of a team of New York Times reporters and photographers awarded for their dispatches from Pakistan and Afghanistan. His book, The Gun, a work of history published under the Simon & Schuster imprint, was released in October,2010, Chivers attended the school of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. At Cornell, Chivers played Defensive Line for Sprint Football all four years, after graduating in 1987 from Cornell, Chivers served as an infantry officer in the U. S. Marine Corps until 1994. Following graduation from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Chivers reported for the Providence Journal on the Providence city government from 1995 to 1999, for the Times, Chivers covered the New York Police Department from 1999 to 2001, when he became a foreign correspondent. He has reported from Afghanistan, Israel, Iraq and all of the former Soviet nations, in Russia he has covered Chechnya and Beslan. In Uzbekistan, he covered the Andijan massacre in 2005, as in those conflicts, the improvised weapons and munitions of Sunni Islamists was an important focus of his reporting on Libya in 2011 and on Syria in 2012. In 2013 Chivers published an article in the New York Times about the ordeal of Matt Schrier as hostage in the hands of Syrian rebels while Schriers cellmate Peter Theo Curtis still was held captive. Chivers disclosed that Curtis had helped Schrier escape, putting Curtis in jeopardy, in 1997, Chivers received the Livingston Award for International Reporting for a series published in the Providence Journal-Bulletin on the collapse of commercial fishing in the North Atlantic. Two of Chivers stories from Afghanistan were cited in the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, with Steven Lee Myers, Chivers received a citation for best newspaper reporting from abroad from the Overseas Press Club for coverage of the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis in the Times. Chivers is the recipient of the 2007 Michael Kelly Award and the National Magazine Award For Reporting for his reconstruction of the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis written for Esquire magazine and that Esquire article has been optioned for a feature film by Imagine Entertainment. Chivers was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, in 2008 he, his wife, and five children returned to the United States from Russia. Chivers and his family reside in Rhode Island
C. J. Chivers
–
C.J. Chivers
39.
Tombac
–
Tombac, as it is spelled in French, or tombak, is a brass alloy with high copper content and 5–20% zinc content. Tin, lead or arsenic may be added for colouration and it is a cheap malleable alloy mainly used for medals, ornament, decoration and some munitions. In older use, the term may apply to brass alloy with a content as high as 28–35%. The term tombak is derived from tembaga, an Indonesian/Malay word of Javanese origin meaning copper, tembaga entered Dutch usage concurrent with their colonisation of Indonesia. Likely, the term was used generically to describe Indonesian high-copper brass items and it is one of the very few Indonesian loan words used in English, German, or Dutch. Tombac is easy and soft to work by hand, hand tools can easily punch, cut, enamel, repousse, engrave, gild and it has a higher sheen than most brasses or copper, and does not easily tarnish. Historically, it was used by the Javanese as a gold finish for objects dart. Most commonly, tombac in modern society is used in medals and awards of lesser importance, the Pickelhaube and cuirass of the Imperial German and Prussian Army were at one time made of tombac. German, particularly Prussian, field uniforms, had buttons and decorative fittings made of tombac, currently, tombac foils are used in arts and crafts for decorative articles, especially as an economic alternative to very expensive gold leaf. Industry uses tombac foil for heating foils and etch applications, gilding metal is a type of tombac which is one of the most common jacketing materials for full metal and hollow-point jacketed bullets. The 1980 Olympic Bronze medals were actually tombac, during World War II, Canada minted nickels in tombac in 1942 and 1943. The German military used it for some combat medals during World War II, the Swedish armed forces adopted a special-service round for the Carl Gustav m/45 submachine gun with a tombac-plated steel jacket surrounding the lead core of the bullet loaded in the cartridge. Tumbaga National Pollutant Inventory - Copper and compounds fact sheet Tombac - DiracDelta Science & Engineering Encyclopedia The Line Pickelhaube Schlenk German tombak manufacturer
Tombac
–
Ottoman tombac ewer and basin set - 1870 - Collection of
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum - Brought to museum in 1926 from the tomb of
Sultana Pertevniyal.
Tombac
–
A "bronze" medal (actually tombac) from the
1980 Summer Olympics
40.
Tool steel
–
Tool steel refers to a variety of carbon and alloy steels that are particularly well-suited to be made into tools. Their suitability comes from their distinctive hardness, resistance to abrasion and deformation, as a result, tool steels are suited for their use in the shaping of other materials. With a carbon content between 0. 5% and 1. 5%, tool steels are manufactured under controlled conditions to produce the required quality. The presence of carbides in their plays the dominant role in the qualities of tool steel. The four major alloying elements in tool steel that form carbides are, tungsten, the rate of dissolution of the different carbides into the austenite form of the iron determines the high temperature performance of steel. Proper heat treatment of these steels is important for adequate performance, the manganese content is often kept low to minimize the possibility of cracking during water quenching. There are six groups of tool steels, water-hardening, cold-work, shock-resistant, high-speed, hot-work, the choice of group to select depends on cost, working temperature, required surface hardness, strength, shock resistance, and toughness requirements. The more severe the service condition, the higher the content and consequent amount of carbides required for the tool steel. Tool steels are used for cutting, pressing, extruding, and coining of metals, the AISI-SAE grades of tool steel is the most common scale used to identify various grades of tool steel. Individual alloys within a grade are given a number, for example, A2, O1, W-group tool steel gets its name from its defining property of having to be water quenched. W-grade steel is essentially high carbon plain-carbon steel and this group of tool steel is the most commonly used tool steel because of its low cost compared to others. They work well for parts and applications where high temperatures are not encountered. Its hardenability is low, so W-group tool steels must be subjected to a rapid quenching, requiring the use of water and these steels can attain high hardness and are rather brittle compared to other tool steels. W-steels are still sold, especially for springs, but are less widely used than they were in the 19th. This is partly because W-steels warp and crack much more during quench than oil-quenched or air hardening steels, the toughness of W-group tool steels are increased by alloying with manganese, silicon and molybdenum. Up to 0. 20% of vanadium is used to fine grain sizes during heat treating. 0. 76–0. 90% carbon, forging dies, hammers,0. 91–1. 10% carbon, general purpose tooling applications that require a good balance of wear resistance and toughness, such as rasps, drills, cutters, and shear blades. 1. 11–1. 30% carbon, files, small drills, lathe tools, razor blades, and other light-duty applications where more wear resistance is required without great toughness
Tool steel
–
Steels and other iron–carbon alloy phases
41.
Heat treatment
–
↔ Heat Treatment is the second album by rock and roll singer-songwriter Graham Parker and The Rumour. A close follow-up to the album, Howlin Wind, Heat Treatment was well received by critics and contains signature Parker songs like the rollicking title track, Pourin It All Out. Thats What They All Say is a Dylan-esque putdown from a realist perspective, black Honey is a dark, downcast sequel to the debuts upbeat first track White Honey. Hotel Chambermaid was covered many years later by Rod Stewart, the Rumour was credited on the back cover and the label, but not on the albums front cover. In 2001, Vertigo/Mercury issued a remastered and expanded CD, including two tracks from The Pink Parker EP. The album finished second in the 1976 Village Voice critics poll of the years best albums along with his previous album, Howlin Wind, released the same year, All songs written by Graham Parker except as indicated
Heat treatment
–
Heat Treatment
42.
Vietnam War
–
It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
Vietnam War
–
Clockwise, from top left: U.S. combat operations in
Ia Drang, ARVN Rangers defending
Saigon during the 1968
Tet Offensive, two
Douglas A-4C Skyhawks en route for airstrikes against North Vietnam after the
Gulf of Tonkin incident, ARVN recapture
Quảng Trị during the 1972
Easter Offensive, civilians fleeing the
1972 Battle of Quảng Trị, burial of 300 victims of the 1968
Huế Massacre.
Vietnam War
–
A Japanese naval officer surrenders his sword to a British Lieutenant in Saigon on 13 September 1945.
Vietnam War
–
The
Geneva Conference, 1954
Vietnam War
–
U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles greet President
Ngô Đình Diệm of
South Vietnam in Washington, 8 May 1957.
43.
Boat-tail bullet
–
External ballistics or exterior ballistics is the part of ballistics that deals with the behavior of a projectile in flight. Gun-launched projectiles may be unpowered, deriving all their velocity from the propellants ignition until the exits the gun barrel. External ballistics is also concerned with the free-flight of other projectiles, such as balls, arrows etc. When in flight, the main or major forces acting on the projectile are gravity, drag, and if present, wind, if in powered fight, thrust, and if guided, the forces imparted by the control surfaces. In small arms external ballistics applications, gravity imparts a downward acceleration on the projectile, drag, or the air resistance, decelerates the projectile with a force proportional to the square of the velocity. Wind makes the projectile deviate from its trajectory, during flight, gravity, drag, and wind have a major impact on the path of the projectile, and must be accounted for when predicting how the projectile will travel. Meso variables can become significant for firearms users that have to deal with angled shot scenarios or extended ranges, at extremely long ranges, artillery must fire projectiles along trajectories that are not even approximately straight, they are closer to parabolic, although air resistance affects this. In super gun artillery cases, like the Paris gun, very subtle effects that are not covered in this article can further refine aiming solutions. The CP behind the CG condition yields stable projectile flight, meaning the projectile will not overturn during flight through the due to aerodynamic forces. Projectiles like small arms bullets and artillery shells must deal with their CP being in front of their CG, to stabilize such projectiles the projectile is spun around its longitudinal axis. The spinning mass creates gyroscopic forces that keep the bullets length axis resistant to the destabilizing overturning torque of the CP being in front of the CG, the effect of gravity on a projectile in flight is often referred to as projectile drop or bullet drop. It is important to understand the effect of gravity when zeroing the sighting components of a gun, to plan for projectile drop and compensate properly, one must understand parabolic shaped trajectories. In order for a projectile to impact any distant target, the barrel must be inclined to an elevation angle relative to the target. This is due to the fact that the projectile will begin to respond to the effects of gravity the instant it is free from the constraints of the bore. The imaginary line down the axis of the bore and out to infinity is called the line of departure and is the line on which the projectile leaves the barrel. Due to the effects of gravity a projectile can never impact a target higher than the line of departure, when a positively inclined projectile travels downrange, it arcs below the line of departure as it is being deflected off its initial path by gravity. Projectile/Bullet drop is defined as the distance of the projectile below the line of departure from the bore. Even when the line of departure is tilted upward or downward, projectile drop does not describe the actual trajectory of the projectile
Boat-tail bullet
–
Typical trajectory graph for a
M4 carbine and
M16A2 rifle using identical
M855 cartridges with identical projectiles. Though both trajectories have an identical 25 m near zero, the difference in muzzle velocity of the projectiles gradually causes a significant difference in trajectory and far zero. The 0 inch axis represents the line of sight or horizontal sighting plane.
Boat-tail bullet
–
Schlieren photo /
Shadowgraph of the
detached shock or bow shockwave around a bullet in supersonic flight, published by
Ernst Mach in 1888.
Boat-tail bullet
–
Play media
44.
Berdan primer
–
A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge with a primer located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component, centerfire cartridges have supplanted the rimfire variety in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. The stronger base of a cartridge is able to withstand higher pressures which in turn give a bullet greater velocity. Larger caliber rimfire cartridges require greater volumes of priming explosive than centerfire cartridges, reducing the amount of priming explosive would reduce the reliability of rimfire cartridge ignition, and increase the probability of misfire or dud cartridges. Economies of scale are achieved through interchangeable primers for a variety of centerfire cartridge calibers. The expensive individual brass cases can be reused after replacing the primer, gunpowder, the forward portion of some empty cases can be reformed for use as obsolete or wildcat cartridges with similar base configuration. Modern cartridges larger than.22 caliber are mostly centerfire, actions suitable for larger caliber rimfire cartridges declined in popularity until the demand for them no longer exceeded manufacturing costs, and they became obsolete. An early form of ammunition, without a percussion cap, was invented between 1808 and 1812 by Jean Samuel Pauly. This was also the first fully integrated cartridge, true centerfire ammunition was invented by the Frenchman Clement Pottet in 1829. However, Pottet would not perfect his design until 1855, the centerfire cartridge was improved by Benjamin Houllier, Gastinne Renette, Charles Lancaster, George Morse, Francois Schneider, Hiram Berdan and Edward Mounier Boxer. The identifying feature of centerfire ammunition is the primer which is a cup containing a primary explosive inserted into a recess in the center of the base of the cartridge. The firearm firing pin crushes this explosive between the cup and an anvil to produce hot gas and a shower of incandescent particles to ignite the powder charge, Berdan priming is less expensive to manufacture and is much more common in military-surplus ammunition made outside the United States. Berdan primers are named after their American inventor, Hiram Berdan of New York who invented his first variation of the Berdan primer and patented it on March 20,1866, in U. S. A small copper cylinder formed the shell of the cartridge, and this system worked well, allowing the option of installing a cap just before use of the propellant-loaded cartridge as well as permitting reloading the cartridge for reuse. S. Berdan primers have remained essentially the same functionally to the present day, Berdan primers are similar to the caps used in the caplock system, being small metal cups with pressure-sensitive explosive in them. Modern Berdan primers are pressed into the pocket of a Berdan-type cartridge case. Inside the primer pocket is a bump, the anvil, that rests against the center of the cup. Berdan cases are reusable, although the process is rather involved, the used primer must be removed, usually by hydraulic pressure or a pincer or lever that pulls the primer out of the bottom
Berdan primer
–
Centerfire Cartridge
Berdan primer
–
The primer of this unfired cartridge has been sealed with red lacquer to prevent oil or moisture from reaching the powder charge and priming explosive.
Berdan primer
–
Large (top row) and small (bottom row) pistol cartridge Boxer primers. (L–R fired, unfired, and inside view.) The tri-lobe object inside the primer is the anvil.
Berdan primer
–
The same cartridge (
.45 ACP shown here) can have different primer sizes depending on manufacturer.
45.
Ballistic coefficient
–
In ballistics, the ballistic coefficient of a body is a measure of its ability to overcome air resistance in flight. It is inversely proportional to the negative acceleration — a high number indicates a low negative acceleration and this is roughly the same as saying that the projectile in question possesses low drag, although some meaning is lost in the generalization. BC is a function of mass, diameter, and drag coefficient, here are several methods to compute i or Cd, i =2 n ⋅4 n −1 n Where, i = Coefficient of form. N = number of calibers of the projectiles ogive, where n is unknown, n =4 Where, n = number of calibers of the projectiles ogive. L = length of the head in number of calibers, or A drag coefficient can also be calculated mathematically, C d =8 ρ ⋅ v 2 ⋅ π ⋅ d 2 Where, Cd = drag coefficient. ρ = density of the projectile, V = projectile velocity at range. π ≈3.14159 d = measured cross section of projectile in m or in or From standard physics as applied to “G” models, i = C G C p Where, CG = drag coefficient of 1.00 from any “G” model, reference drawing, projectile. Cp = drag coefficient of the actual test projectile at range, when needed, these terms and denotations shall be followed in bold font to denote the accepted Wikipedia standard. All Ordnance size and velocities are nominal or averaged as is historically and mathematically customary, in 1537, Niccolò Tartaglia did some test firing to determine the maximum angle and range for a shot. His conclusion was near 45 degrees and he noted that the shot trajectory was continuously curved. In 1636, Galileo Galilei published results in Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences and he found that a falling body had a constant acceleration. This allowed Galileo to show that a trajectory was a curve. Circa 1665, Sir Isaac Newton derived the law of air resistance, newtons experiments on drag were through air and fluids. He showed that drag on shot increases proportionately with the density of the air, cross sectional area, newton’s experiments were only at low velocities to about 260 m/s. This challenge supposes that air resistance increases exponentially to the velocity of a projectile, keill gave no solution for his challenge. Johann Bernoulli took up this challenge and soon thereafter solved the problem and air resistance varied as “any power” of velocity and this is the precursor to the concept of the “standard projectile”. In 1742, Benjamin Robins invented the ballistic pendulum and this was a simple mechanical device that could measure a projectiles velocity. Robins reported muzzle velocities ranging from 1,400 ft/s to 1,700 ft/s, in 1844, the Electro-ballistic chronograph was invented and by 1867 the electro-ballistic chronograph was accurate to with in one ten millionth of a second
Ballistic coefficient
–
Wind drift calculations for rifle bullets of differing G1 BCs fired with a muzzle velocity of 2,950 ft/s (900 m/s) in a 10 mph (16 km/h) crosswind.
Ballistic coefficient
–
G1 shape standard projectile. All measurements in calibers/diameters.
Ballistic coefficient
–
Energy calculations for 9.1 grams (140 gr) rifle bullets of differing G1 BCs fired with a muzzle velocity of 2,950 feet per second (900 m/s).
46.
Yaw angle
–
The Euler angles are three angles introduced by Leonhard Euler to describe the orientation of a rigid body with respect to a fixed coordinate system. They can also represent the orientation of a frame of reference in physics or the orientation of a general basis in 3-dimensional linear algebra. Any orientation can be achieved by composing three elemental rotations, i. e. rotations about the axes of a coordinate system, Euler angles can be defined by three of these rotations. They can also be defined by geometry and the geometrical definition demonstrates that three rotations are always sufficient to reach any frame. The three elemental rotations may be extrinsic, or intrinsic, Euler angles are typically denoted as α, β, γ, or φ, θ, ψ. Different authors may use different sets of rotation axes to define Euler angles, therefore, any discussion employing Euler angles should always be preceded by their definition. Tait–Bryan angles are also called Cardan angles, nautical angles, heading, elevation, and bank, or yaw, pitch, sometimes, both kinds of sequences are called Euler angles. In that case, the sequences of the first group are called proper or classic Euler angles, the axes of the original frame are denoted as x, y, z and the axes of the rotated frame are denoted as X, Y, Z. The geometrical definition begins defining the line of nodes as the intersection of the planes xy, using it, the three Euler angles can be defined as follows, α is the angle between the x axis and the N axis. β is the angle between the z axis and the Z axis, γ is the angle between the N axis and the X axis. Euler angles between two frames are defined only if both frames have the same handedness. Intrinsic rotations are elemental rotations occur about the axes of a coordinate system XYZ attached to a moving body. Therefore, they change their orientation after each elemental rotation, the XYZ system rotates, while xyz is fixed. Starting with XYZ overlapping xyz, a composition of three intrinsic rotations can be used to any target orientation for XYZ. Euler angles can be defined by intrinsic rotations, the rotated frame XYZ may be imagined to be initially aligned with xyz, before undergoing the three elemental rotations represented by Euler angles. Hence, N can be simply denoted x’, moreover, since the third elemental rotation occurs about Z, it does not change the orientation of Z. Extrinsic rotations are elemental rotations occur about the axes of the fixed coordinate system xyz. The XYZ system rotates, while xyz is fixed, starting with XYZ overlapping xyz, a composition of three extrinsic rotations can be used to reach any target orientation for XYZ
Yaw angle
–
Industrial robot operating in a foundry.
Yaw angle
–
Proper Euler angles representing rotations about z, N, and Z axes. The xyz (original) system is shown in blue, the XYZ (rotated) system is shown in red. The
line of nodes (N) is shown in green.
47.
Inch
–
The inch is a unit of length in the imperial and United States customary systems of measurement now formally equal to 1⁄36 yard but usually understood as 1⁄12 of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia, inch is also used to translate related units in other measurement systems. The English word inch was a borrowing from Latin uncia not present in other Germanic languages. The vowel change from Latin /u/ to English /ɪ/ is known as umlaut, the consonant change from the Latin /k/ to English /tʃ/ or /ʃ/ is palatalisation. Both were features of Old English phonology, inch is cognate with ounce, whose separate pronunciation and spelling reflect its reborrowing in Middle English from Anglo-Norman unce and ounce. In many other European languages, the word for inch is the same as or derived from the word for thumb, the inch is a commonly used customary unit of length in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is also used in Japan for electronic parts, especially display screens, for example, three feet two inches can be written as 3′ 2″. Paragraph LXVII sets out the fine for wounds of various depths, one inch, one shilling, an Anglo-Saxon unit of length was the barleycorn. After 1066,1 inch was equal to 3 barleycorns, which continued to be its legal definition for several centuries, similar definitions are recorded in both English and Welsh medieval law tracts. One, dating from the first half of the 10th century, is contained in the Laws of Hywel Dda which superseded those of Dyfnwal, both definitions, as recorded in Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, are that three lengths of a barleycorn is the inch. However, the oldest surviving manuscripts date from the early 14th century, john Bouvier similarly recorded in his 1843 law dictionary that the barleycorn was the fundamental measure. He noted that this process would not perfectly recover the standard, before the adoption of the international yard and pound, various definitions were in use. In the United Kingdom and most countries of the British Commonwealth, the United States adopted the conversion factor 1 metre =39.37 inches by an act in 1866. In 1930, the British Standards Institution adopted an inch of exactly 25.4 mm, the American Standards Association followed suit in 1933. By 1935, industry in 16 countries had adopted the industrial inch as it came to be known, in 1946, the Commonwealth Science Congress recommended a yard of exactly 0.9144 metres for adoption throughout the British Commonwealth. This was adopted by Canada in 1951, the United States on 1 July 1959, Australia in 1961, effective 1 January 1964, and the United Kingdom in 1963, effective on 1 January 1964. The new standards gave an inch of exactly 25.4 mm,1.7 millionths of a longer than the old imperial inch and 2 millionths of an inch shorter than the old US inch. The United States retains the 1/39. 37-metre definition for survey purposes and this is approximately 1/8-inch in a mile
Inch
–
Measuring tape calibrated in 32nds of an inch
Inch
–
Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch
48.
Wolf Ammunition
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WOLF Performance Ammunition is a trademark associated with Sporting Supplies International, a corporation in the United States. The ammunition is manufactured by Tulskiy Patronniy Zavod in Tula, Tula District. Some. 22-caliber rimfire ammunition is made by SK Jagd und Sportmunitions Gmbh of Schönebeck, Salzlandkreis, Saxony-Anhalt, WOLF Performance Ammunition has several product lines which include, WOLF Polyformance – Polymer-coated steel-cased civilian-market hunting-cartridge ammunition from Russian factories. WPA Military Classic – Polymer-coated steel-cased military-cartridge ammunition from Russian factories, comes in a tan box with a camouflage pattern. WOLF Gold – Brass-cased civilian-market ammunition, formerly made by Prvi Partizan, it is now manufactured in Taiwan. WOLF Rimfire – Match-grade. 22LR ammunition from Germany and Russia, WOLF Shotshell – Shotgun ammunition with polymer-hulled shells.410 Bore and 28 Gauge 20 Gauge Target Sport shells are for skeet and target shooting. Dove and Quail and Heavy Dove and Quail shells are for hunting game birds. The latter has a load of birdshot. Pheasant shells are for hunting game birds. Water Fowl steel shot shells are for hunting game birds like ducks. Power slug or buckshot shells are for deer and other game animals. WOLF Performance Primers, WOLF makes its own primers for loading or reloading centerfire cartridges, WOLF Performance Gear & Apparel, WOLF sells its own brand of gun carrying cases and clothing. Unlike some suppliers of such bargain-price ammo, WOLF uses newly manufactured rounds with non-corrosive Berdan-, Russia is the worlds largest source of 7. 62×39mm ammunition, which is used by the Russian AK-47 and SKS family of rifles, as well as the Ruger Mini-30. The Tula Cartridge Plant and Ulyanovsk Machinery Plant no longer manufacture cartridges for Wolf, in 2005/2006, there was a shortage of 7. 62×39mm ammunition in the United States. This had the effect of causing prices to almost double in some cases, even so, Wolfs 7. 62×39mm is available in standard full-metal-jacket configuration, as well as hollow-point and soft-point bullet loads suitable for hunting. In 2007/2008, supplies of Wolf steel-cased.308 ammunition became increasingly rare and this, along with diminishing supplies of military surplus 7. 62×51mm NATO, had driven.308 Winchester prices to an all-time high. This shortage is exacerbated by the strain of filling the Afghan Army order, as Wolf catches up with demand, new supplies will become available in the United States. When these new supplies hit the market, it is unknown how much the prices will have increased, in 2010/2011, Wolf discontinued the use of the red sealant used around the primer and case neck intended to keep moisture out and prolong shelf life
Wolf Ammunition
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WOLF Performance Ammunition
