1.
Royal Ordnance L7
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The Royal Ordnance L7 is the basic model of Britains most successful tank gun. The L7 was a 105 mm L/52 rifled design by the Royal Ordnance Factories intended for use in armoured fighting vehicles, the successful L7 gun was fitted on many armored vehicles that include the British Centurion, the German Leopard 1 and the US M1 Abrams. The L7, and adaptations of it, can be today as standard or retrofitted equipment on a wide variety of tanks developed during the Cold War. Work on what became the L7 began in the early 1950s under Armament Research, later that year during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a Soviet T-54A medium tank was driven onto the grounds of the British embassy in Budapest by the Hungarians. After a brief examination of this tanks armour and 100 mm gun, hence there was a need to adopt a 105 mm gun. The L7 was specifically designed to fit into the turret mountings of the 20 pounder and this would enable the Centurions to be upgunned with minimum modifications, hence, the fleet could be upgraded in a shorter time and at a lower cost. User trials of the began in 1959. The first tank to be equipped with the L7 was a single uparmoured Centurion Mark 7 in 1959 which was to prove the viability of up-armouring and up-gunning the Centurion. From 1959 onwards existing Centurions were given upgrades with the L7 gun and armour, the gun was subsequently adopted by the German Leopard 1 and the Japanese Type 74. The U. S. M60 series and earliest versions of the M1 Abrams are armed with the M68 gun, the M68 is also featured on the early Israeli Merkava. The Swedish Stridsvagn 103 turretless S-tank makes use of a gun design. In addition, several countries have used the gun to improve the firepower of existing main battle tanks, derivatives have even been mounted in Warsaw Pact-built T-54 and T-55 tanks in Israel, India, Egypt and Iraq, and Type 79 tanks in China. The breech uses a horizontally sliding breechblock for loading the cartridge cases. The gun recoils approximately 29 cm, automatically opening the breech, the barrel of the L7 is fitted with a bore evacuator approximately halfway down its length. The extractor is mounted, which is a key recognition feature. Calibre,105 mm Cartridge, 105×607 mm R, 105×617 mm R Barrel length,52 calibres Weight,1,282 kg Length,5, l7A3 Variant for the German Leopard 1 MBT. The upper rear corner of the breech block reduced in size so gun can be depressed without hitting the turret roof, M68 U. S. built gun for the M60 Patton. Initially designated as the T254E2, it is a variant of the indigenous U. S. 105mm T254, unlike the 105mm T254, its tube was interchangeable with that of the British X15E8
2.
C79 optical sight
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The C79 Optical sight is a small arms telescopic sight of 3. 4×28 magnification. A tritium illuminated reticle provides for normal and low-light conditions sighting, the sight itself is nitrogen-purged to prevent fogging and is covered with an armoured coating of rubber. It can be mounted to a variety of rifles and light machine guns using the M1913 Picatinny rail mounting system or the similar Diemaco rail system found on small arms produced by Diemaco/Colt Canada and it is manufactured by Elcan and can be found on military service weapons around the world. Its Elcan product name is the SpecterOS3. 4x, although in Canadian service, similar rifle sights are the Sight Unit Small Arms, Trilux and the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight. It is also used in the armies of Denmark, the Royal Netherlands Army and Netherlands Marine Corps, in Canadian service, all C7A1 and -A2 rifles come equipped with a C79 sight as standard. The C7A1 uses a C79 sight, which is distinguished by its matte black rubber overcoating. After reviewing feedback from the soldiers who used the sight, Elcan produced the fourth generation mount C79, known as the C79A2, the C79A2 sight is a component of the C7A2 mid-life update program of the Canadian Forces inventory of C7A1 rifle systems. The older rifles and sights are meant to be exchanged 1,1, in Dutch service it is used on the Diemaco C7, C7A1 and C8, FN minimi and FN MAG series of firearms. The reticle of the C79 sight was designed to serve on the C9 Light Machine Gun, the reticle consists of a single vertical post with a sharp tip in the center. The tip is flanked by horizontal Mil-bars on either side, under the left-hand Mil-bar, a second horizontal bar was added for judging distances. The tritium light source is an isotope with a half-life of 12.32 years that gradually loses its brightness due to radioactive decay. It is to be replaced every 8–12 years to maintain adequate brightness, the C79 sight is attached to a mounting rail on the receiver of the weapon. On CF weapons, this is in the form of a modified Weaver rail, two adjustment knobs are used to secure the base to the receiver. A bore-sighting device is used to roughly zero the sight before a first-time shooter takes it to the range. Sighting in a C79 sight is normally done at a range of 200 m, windage adjustments are made on the left hand side of the base, using a flat object such as a flat-head screwdriver or a coin. The windage adjustment is intended only for the sighting in procedure of the C79. Elevation adjustments are made via a knob and are adjusted from 200 to 800 m. To bring the sight to a proper elevation zero, a small gate must be elevated which disconnects the elevation cam, for precise shooting, the gate is usually left open to allow for finer adjustments than the rougher presets
3.
General-purpose machine gun
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Modern GPMGs fire full-power rifle cartridges such as the 7. 5×54mm French,7. 5×55mm Swiss,7. 62×51mm NATO,7. 62×54mmR,7. 92×57mm Mauser, etc. With the MG34, the German Wehrmacht introduced a new concept in automatic firepower - the Einheitsmaschinengewehr general-purpose machine gun. Yet simply by changing its mount, sights and feed mechanism, during World War II, the MG34 was superseded by a new GPMG - the MG42. The MG42 was more efficient to manufacture and more robust, the MG34 and MG42 influenced many post-World War II general purpose machine guns, many of which are still in use today. It lent design elements to the Belgian FN MAG and the American M60, while spawning the Zastava M53, Swiss M51, and Austrian MG74. Mk 48 machine gun M240 machine gun HK21 UKM-2000 Pecheneg machine gun AEK-999 Type 80 machine gun German MG3, Heckler & Koch MG4 German Heckler & Koch MG5, the new standard machine gun of the German Army Belgian FN MAG, which copied the MG42s feed-system and trigger-mechanism. It is the most widely used GPMG among western armies, American M60, which uses the MG42s feed-system and stamp-steel construction. It has been replaced in U. S. service by the M240, French AA-52, which more or less copies the MG42 feed-system. It has been phased out in favour of the FN MAG. Russian PK/PKM family of multi-purpose machine-guns, widely exported, peoples Republic of China, the Type 67 and later improved models. German Heckler & Koch HK21, based on the Heckler & Koch G3 rifle and widely exported Swiss MG51, light machine gun Medium machine gun Heavy machine gun Squad automatic weapon List of firearms
4.
Congo Crisis
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The Congo Crisis was a period of political upheaval and conflict in the Republic of the Congo between 1960 and 1965. It began almost immediately after the Congo became independent from Belgium and ended, unofficially, constituting a series of civil wars, the Congo Crisis was also a proxy conflict in the Cold War in which the Soviet Union and United States supported opposing factions. Around 100,000 people are believed to have been killed during the crisis, a nationalist movement in the Belgian Congo demanding the end of colonial rule led to the countrys independence on 30 June 1960. Minimal preparations had been made and many issues, such as the questions of federalism and ethnicity, in the first week of July, a mutiny broke out in the army and violence erupted between black and white civilians. Belgium sent troops to protect fleeing whites and two areas of the country, Katanga and South Kasai, seceded with Belgian support, the involvement of the Soviets split the Congolese government and led to impasse between Lumumba and the President, Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Mobutu, in command of the army, broke this deadlock with a coup détat, expelled the Soviet advisors, Lumumba was placed in captivity and subsequently executed in 1961. A rival government, the Free Republic of the Congo, founded by Antoine Gizenga and Lumumba supporters in the city of Stanleyville. Meanwhile, the UN took an aggressive stance towards the secessionists after Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash in late 1961. Supported by UN troops, Léopoldville defeated the secessionist movements in Katanga, before these could be held, however, Maoist-inspired militants calling themselves the Simbas rose up in the east of the country. The Simbas took control of a significant amount of territory and proclaimed a communist Peoples Republic of the Congo in Stanleyville, government forces gradually retook territory and, in November 1964, Belgium and the United States intervened militarily in Stanleyville to recover hostages from Simba captivity. The Simbas were defeated and collapsed soon after, following the elections in March 1965, a new political stalemate developed between Tshombe and Kasa-Vubu, forcing the government into near-paralysis. Mobutu mounted a second coup détat in November 1965, now taking personal control, under Mobutus rule, the Congo was transformed into a dictatorship which would endure until his deposition in 1997. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century, the Belgian governments ambivalence about the idea led Leopold to eventually create the colony on his own account. Belgian rule in the Congo was based around the colonial trinity of state, missionary, the privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that capital sometimes flowed back into the Congo and that individual regions became specialised. There was also a degree of racial segregation. Large numbers of immigrants who moved to the Congo after the end of World War II came from across the social spectrum. One of the results of the measures was the development of a new class of Europeanised African évolués in the cities. By the 1950s the Congo had a labour force twice as large as that in any other African colony
5.
Rhodesian Bush War
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The Rhodesian Bush War—also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation—was a civil war that took place from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia. However, this new order failed to win recognition and the war continued. The country returned temporarily to British control and new elections were held under British, ZANU won the election and Mugabe became the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980, when the country achieved internationally recognised independence. Rhodesia was settled by Britons and South Africans beginning in the 1890s and while it was never accorded full dominion status, many white Rhodesians were concerned that decolonisation and majority rule would bring chaos as had resulted in the former Belgian Congo after its independence in 1960. Britains unwillingness to compromise on its policy of No independence before majority rule led to Rhodesias unilateral declaration of independence on 11 November 1965, though Rhodesia had the unofficial support of neighbouring South Africa and Portugal, which governed Mozambique, it never gained formal diplomatic recognition from any country. Many white Rhodesians viewed the war as one of survival in the context of atrocities committed against the population during the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. Many whites viewed their lifestyle as being under attack, which both had considered safer and with a standard of living than many other African countries. Although the vote in Rhodesia was technically open to all, regardless of race, the 1969 constitution provided for Non-Europeans to elect representatives for eight of the seats in the 66 seat parliament. A further eight seats were reserved for tribal chiefs, amidst this backdrop, African nationalists advocated armed struggle to bring about independence in Rhodesia under black majority rule. Resistance also stemmed from the economic inequality between blacks and whites. In Rhodesia, whites owned most of the land whilst many blacks were crowded on barren land. ZANU and its military wing ZANLA were headed initially by the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, ZAPU and its military wing ZIPRA consisted mainly of Ndebele ethnic groups under Joshua Nkomo. Cold War politics played into the conflict also, with the Soviet Union supporting ZIPRA, each group subsequently fought a separate war against the Rhodesian security forces, and the two groups sometimes fought against each other as well. In June 1979, the governments of Cuba and Mozambique offered direct military assistance to the Patriotic Front, other foreign nations also contributed to the conflict, for instance North Korean military officials taught Zimbabwean militants how to use explosives and arms in a camp near Pyongyang. By April 197912,000 ZANLA guerrillas were training in Tanzania, Ethiopia, on the other side of the conflict South Africa clandestinely provided both material and military support to the Rhodesian government. Inevitably the Bush War occurred within the context of regional Cold War in Africa, the conflict was seen by the nationalist groups and the British government of the time as a war of national and racial liberation. The Nationalists saw their country as having been occupied and dominated by a power, namely Britain. Ian Smiths Rhodesian Front party was elected to power in 1962, however, unsatisfied with this and spurred on by Britains refusal to recognise the new order, the nationalist forces persisted
6.
South African Border War
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It was fought between the South African Defence Force and the Peoples Liberation Army of Namibia, an armed wing of the South West African Peoples Organisation. The South African Border War resulted in some of the largest battles on the African continent since World War II and was intertwined with the Angolan Civil War. Fighting broke out between PLAN and the South African authorities in August 1966, between 1975 and 1988 the SADF staged massive conventional raids into Angola and Zambia to eliminate PLANs forward operating bases. It also deployed specialist counter-insurgency units such as Koevoet and 32 Battalion trained to carry out external reconnaissance, South African tactics became increasingly aggressive as the conflict progressed. The SADFs incursions produced Angolan casualties and occasionally resulted in collateral damage to economic installations regarded as vital to the Angolan economy. Beginning in 1984, regular Angolan units under Soviet command were confident enough to confront the SADF and their positions were also bolstered by thousands of Cuban troops. PLAN launched its final campaign in late March 1989. South West Africa received formal independence as the Republic of Namibia a year later, despite being largely fought in neighbouring states, the South African Border War had a phenomenal cultural and political impact on South African society. It remains an integral theme in contemporary South African literature at large and Afrikaans-language works in particular, various names have been applied to the undeclared conflict waged by South Africa in Angola and Namibia from the mid 1960s to the late 1980s. Border War entered public discourse in South Africa during the late 1970s, due to the covert nature of most South African Defence Force operations inside Angola, the term was favoured as a means of omitting any reference to clashes on foreign soil. Where tactical aspects of various engagements were discussed, military historians simply identified the conflict as the bush war, the South West African Peoples Organisation has described the South African Border War as the Namibian War of National Liberation and the Namibian Liberation Struggle. In the Namibian context it is commonly referred to as the Namibian War of Independence. However, these terms have been criticised for ignoring the wider implications of the war and the fact that PLAN was based in. Namibia was governed as German South West Africa, a colony of the German Empire, until World War I, when it was invaded and occupied by Allied forces under General Louis Botha. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, a system was imposed by the League of Nations to govern African and Asian territories held by Germany. Nevertheless, the bestowal of a mandate by the League of Nations did not confer full sovereignty, in principle mandating countries were only supposed to hold these former colonies in trust for their inhabitants, until they were sufficiently prepared for their own self-determination. Under these terms, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand were granted the German Pacific islands, and it soon became apparent the South African government had interpreted the mandate as a veiled annexation. According to Smuts, this annexation in all but in name
7.
Six-Day War
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The Six-Day War, also known as the June War,1967 Arab–Israeli War, or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10,1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Relations between Israel and its neighbours had never fully normalised following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, in the period leading up to June 1967, tensions became dangerously heightened. In reaction to the mobilisation of Egyptian forces along the Israeli border in the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptians were caught by surprise, and nearly the entire Egyptian air force was destroyed with few Israeli losses, giving the Israelis air superiority. Simultaneously, the Israelis launched an offensive into the Gaza Strip and the Sinai. After some initial resistance, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the evacuation of the Sinai, Israeli forces rushed westward in pursuit of the Egyptians, inflicted heavy losses, and conquered the Sinai. Nasser induced Syria and Jordan to begin attacks on Israel by using the initially confused situation to claim that Egypt had defeated the Israeli air strike. Israeli counterattacks resulted in the seizure of East Jerusalem as well as the West Bank from the Jordanians, on June 11, a ceasefire was signed. Arab casualties were far heavier than those of Israel, fewer than a thousand Israelis had been killed compared to over 20,000 from the Arab forces. Israels military success was attributed to the element of surprise, an innovative and well-executed battle plan, Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israeli morale and international prestige was greatly increased by the outcome of the war, across the Arab world, Jewish minority communities were expelled, with refugees going to Israel or Europe. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, Egypt agreed to the stationing of a United Nations Emergency Force in the Sinai to ensure all parties would comply with the 1949 Armistice Agreements, in the following years there were numerous minor border clashes between Israel and its Arab neighbors, particularly Syria. In early November 1966, Syria signed a defense agreement with Egypt. Jordanian units that engaged the Israelis were quickly beaten back, King Hussein of Jordan criticized Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser for failing to come to Jordans aid, and hiding behind UNEF skirts. In May 1967, Nasser received false reports from the Soviet Union that Israel was massing on the Syrian border, the right of innocent, maritime passage must be preserved for all nations. On May 30, Jordan and Egypt signed a defense pact, the following day, at Jordans invitation, the Iraqi army began deploying troops and armoured units in Jordan. They were later reinforced by an Egyptian contingent, on June 1, Israel formed a National Unity Government by widening its cabinet, and on June 4 the decision was made to go to war. The next morning, Israel launched Operation Focus, a surprise air strike that was the opening of the Six-Day War. Before the war, Israeli pilots and ground crews had trained extensively in rapid refitting of aircraft returning from sorties and this has contributed to the Arab belief that the IAF was helped by foreign air forces
8.
Vietnam War
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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
9.
War of Attrition
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The War of Attrition involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, PLO and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no diplomatic efforts tried to resolve the issues at the heart of the Arab–Israeli conflict. In September 1967, the Arab states formulated the three nos policy, barring peace, recognition or negotiations with Israel and these initially took the form of limited artillery duels and small-scale incursions into Sinai, but by 1969 the Egyptian Army judged itself prepared for larger-scale operations. On March 8,1969, Nasser proclaimed the launch of the War of Attrition, characterized by large-scale shelling along the Suez Canal, extensive aerial warfare. Hostilities continued until August 1970 and ended with a ceasefire, the remaining the same as when the war began. Israels victory in the Six-Day War left the entirety of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula up to the bank of the Suez Canal under Israeli control. Egypt was determined to regain Sinai, and also sought to mitigate the severity of its defeat, sporadic clashes were taking place along the cease-fire line, and Egyptian missile boats sank the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat on October 21 of the same year. Israel responded with aerial bombardments, airborne raids on Egyptian military positions, the international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Fearing the escalation of the conflict into an East vs, in August 1970, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt agreed to an in place ceasefire under the terms proposed by the Rogers Plan. The plan contained restrictions on missile deployment by both sides, and required the cessation of raids as a precondition for peace and these plans would materialize three years later in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ultimately, Israel would return Sinai to Egypt after the two signed a peace treaty. Various military historians have commented on the war with differing opinions, chaim Herzog notes that Israel withstood the battle and adapted itself to a hitherto alien type of warfare. Zeev Schiff notes that though Israel suffered losses, she was able to preserve her military accomplishments of 1967. The Egyptian Air Force and Air Defense Forces performed poorly, Egyptian pilots were rigid, slow to react and unwilling to improvise. According to U. S. intelligence estimates, Egypt lost 109 aircraft, most in air-to-air combat and it took a salvo of 6 to 10 SA-2 Egyptian anti-aircraft missiles to obtain a better than fifty percent chance of a hit. An Israeli armored infantry company attacks the Egyptian force, the Israeli company drives off the Egyptians but loses 1 dead and 13 wounded. However, another claims that an Israeli attack on Port Fuad was repulsed. July 2,1967, The Israeli Air Force bombs Egyptian artillery positions that had supported the commandos at Ras Al-Ish, july 4,1967, Egyptian Air Force jets strike several Israeli targets in Sinai
10.
Yom Kippur War
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The fighting mostly took place in the Sinai and the Golan Heights, territories that had been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat wanted also to reopen the Suez Canal, neither specifically planned to destroy Israel, although the Israeli leaders could not be sure of that. Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Sinai Peninsula, both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war, and this led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers. The war began with a massive and successful Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal, after crossing the cease-fire lines, Egyptian forces advanced virtually unopposed into the Sinai Peninsula. After three days, Israel had mobilized most of its forces and halted the Egyptian offensive, resulting in a military stalemate, the Syrians coordinated their attack on the Golan Heights to coincide with the Egyptian offensive and initially made threatening gains into Israeli-held territory. Within three days, however, Israeli forces had pushed the Syrians back to the ceasefire lines. The Israel Defense Forces then launched a four-day counter-offensive deep into Syria, within a week, Israeli artillery began to shell the outskirts of Damascus. He therefore ordered the Egyptians to go back on the offensive, on October 22 a United Nations–brokered ceasefire quickly unraveled, with each side blaming the other for the breach. By October 24, the Israelis had improved their positions considerably and completed their encirclement of Egypts Third Army and this development led to tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. As a result, a ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on October 25 to end the war. These changes paved the way for the subsequent peace process, the 1978 Camp David Accords that followed led to the return of the Sinai to Egypt and normalized relations—the first peaceful recognition of Israel by an Arab country. Egypt continued its drift away from the Soviet Union and left the Soviet sphere of influence entirely, the war was part of the Arab–Israeli conflict, an ongoing dispute that included many battles and wars since 1948, when the state of Israel was formed. During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel had captured Egypts Sinai Peninsula, roughly half of Syrias Golan Heights, and the territories of the West Bank which had been held by Jordan since 1948. On June 19,1967, shortly after the Six-Day War, the Israeli government voted to return the Sinai to Egypt, the Arab position, as it emerged in September 1967 at the Khartoum Arab Summit, was to reject any peaceful settlement with the state of Israel. Prior to that, King Hussein of Jordan had stated that he could not rule out a possibility of a real, permanent peace between Israel and the Arab states. Armed hostilities continued on a limited scale after the Six-Day War and escalated into the War of Attrition, a ceasefire was signed in August 1970. President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt died in September 1970 and he was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. A peace initiative led by both Sadat and UN intermediary Gunnar Jarring was tabled in 1971 and it resembled a proposal independently made by Moshe Dayan
11.
The Troubles
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The Troubles is the common name for the ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is described as a guerrilla war or low-level war. The most recent instalment of violence began in the late 1960s and is deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Belfast Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mainly took place in Northern Ireland, violence spilled over at times parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe. The conflict was political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension, although it was not a religious conflict, a key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists, who are mostly Protestants and consider themselves British, want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, Irish nationalists/republicans, who are predominantly Catholics, want Northern Ireland to be reunited with the 26 counties which make up the Republic of Ireland in an independent united Ireland. This campaign was met with violence by loyalists who viewed the campaign as a stalking horse. This eventually led to the deployment of British troops, initially to protect Catholic civilians, the security forces of the Republic played a smaller role. More than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict, of whom 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, there has been sporadic violence since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, including a campaign by anti-ceasefire republicans. The Troubles refers to the recent three-decade conflict between nationalists and unionists, the term the Troubles was previously used to refer to the Irish revolutionary period, it was adopted to refer to the escalating violence in Northern Ireland after 1969. The violence was characterised by the campaigns of Irish republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups. It thus became the focus for the longest major campaign in the history of the British Army, nationalists regard the state forces as forces of occupation or partisan combatants in the conflict. One part of the Agreement is that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom unless a majority of the Northern Irish electorate vote otherwise and it also established the Northern Ireland Executive, a devolved power-sharing government, which must consist of both unionist and nationalist parties. In 1609, Scottish and English settlers, known as planters, were given land escheated from the native Irish in the Plantation of Ulster. As the Penal Laws started to be phased out in the part of the 18th century, there was more competition for land. With Roman Catholics allowed to buy land and enter trades from which they had formerly been banned, tensions arose resulting in the Protestant Peep ODay Boys and Catholic Defenders. This created polarisation between the communities and a reduction in reformers among Protestants, many of whom had been growing more receptive to democratic reform
12.
Falklands War
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It began on Friday,2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had claimed over them. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval force to engage the Argentine Navy. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, in total,649 Argentine military personnel,255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities. The conflict was an episode in the protracted confrontation over the territories sovereignty. Argentina asserted that the islands are Argentine territory, and the Argentine government thus characterised its military action as the reclamation of its own territory, the British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are descendants of British settlers. The conflict has had an effect in both countries and has been the subject of various books, articles, films, and songs. Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but the outcome prompted large protests against the military government. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party government, bolstered by the outcome, was re-elected the following year. The cultural and political weight of the conflict has had less effect in Britain than in Argentina, diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid, Spain, at which the two governments issued a joint statement. No change in either countrys position regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was made explicit, in 1994, Argentinas claim to the territories was added to its constitution. In December 1981 there was a change in the Argentine military regime, bringing to office a new junta headed by General Leopoldo Galtieri, Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo. Anaya was the architect and supporter of a military solution for the long-standing claim over the islands. Such action would also bolster its dwindling legitimacy, the newspaper La Prensa speculated in a step-by-step plan beginning with cutting off supplies to the islands, ending in direct actions late in 1982, if the UN talks were fruitless. The Royal Navy ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was dispatched from Stanley to South Georgia in response, the Argentine military junta, suspecting that the UK would reinforce its South Atlantic Forces, ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands to be brought forward to 2 April. Britain was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands, despite repeated warnings by Royal Navy captain Nicholas Barker, on 2 April 1982, Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings off the Falkland Islands. The invasion was met with a defence organised by the Falkland Islands Governor Sir Rex Hunt. Word of the invasion first reached Britain from Argentine sources, a Ministry of Defence operative in London had a short telex conversation with Governor Hunts telex operator, who confirmed that Argentines were on the island and in control
13.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
14.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
15.
Lebanese Civil War
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The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon, lasting from 1975 to 1990 and resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities. As of 2012, approximately 76,000 people remain displaced within Lebanon, there was also an exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon as a result of the war. The government of Lebanon had been run under a significant influence of the elites among the Maronite Christians, however, the country had a large Muslim population and many pan-Arabist and left-wing groups opposed the pro-western government. Fighting between Maronite and Palestinian forces began in 1975, then Leftist, pan-Arabist and Muslim Lebanese groups formed an alliance with the Palestinians, during the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, became involved in the war, Peace keeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon & UNIFIL, were also stationed in Lebanon. The 1989 Taif Agreement marked the beginning of the end of the fighting, in January 1989, a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, parliament passed an amnesty law that all political crimes prior to its enactment. In May 1991, the militias were dissolved, with the exception of Hezbollah, religious tensions between Sunnis and Shias remained after the war. An 1860 civil war between Druze and Maronites erupted in the Ottoman Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon, which had been divided between them in 1842 and it resulted in the massacre of about 10,000 Christians and at least 6,000 Druzes. The 1860 war was considered by the Druze as a military victory, World War I was hard for the Lebanese. While the rest of the world was occupied with the World War, with the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish rule ended. France took control of the area under the French Mandate for Syria, the French created the state of Greater Lebanon as a safe haven for the Maronites, but included a large Muslim population within the borders. In 1926, Lebanon was declared a republic, and a constitution was adopted, however, the constitution was suspended in 1932. Various factions sought unity with Syria, or independence from the French, in 1934, the countrys first census was conducted. In 1936, the Maronite Phalange party was founded by Pierre Gemayel, World War II and the 1940s brought great change to Lebanon and the Middle East. Lebanon was promised independence and on 22 November 1943, during World War II, Free French troops, who had invaded Lebanon in 1941 to rid Beirut of the Vichy French forces, left the country in 1946. The Maronites assumed power over the country and economy, a parliament was created, in which both Muslims and Christians each had a set quota of seats. Accordingly, the President was to be a Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in late 1947 led to civil war in Palestine, the end of Mandatory Palestine, and the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948
16.
Libyan Civil War (2011)
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The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council. In early March, Gaddafis forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before reaching Benghazi, a further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use all necessary measures to prevent attacks on civilians. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but fighting continued, throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi. On 16 September 2011, the National Transitional Council was recognised by the United Nations as the representative of Libya. Muammar Gaddafi remained at large until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed in Sirte, the National Transitional Council declared the liberation of Libya and the official end of the war on 23 October 2011. In the aftermath of the war, a low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists continued. A much greater issue has been the role of militias which fought in the civil war and these unresolved issues led directly to a second civil war in Libya. Muammar Gaddafi was the head of the Free Officers, a group of Arab nationalists that deposed King Idris I in 1969 in a bloodless coup and he abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951, considering it a neocolonial document. From 1969 until 1975 standards of living, life expectancy and literacy grew rapidly, in 1975 he published his manifesto The Green Book. He officially stepped down from power in 1977, and subsequently claimed to be merely a figurehead until 2011. Under Gaddafi, Libya was theoretically a decentralized, direct democracy state run according to the philosophy of Gaddafis The Green Book, according to Freedom House, however, these structures were often manipulated to ensure the dominance of Gaddafi, who reportedly continued to dominate all aspects of government. WikiLeaks disclosure of confidential US diplomatic cables revealed US diplomats there speaking of Gaddafis mastery of tactical maneuvering and this extended even to his own sons, as he repeatedly changed affections to avoid the rise of a clear successor and rival. Both Gaddafi and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, however, officially denied that he held any power, while he was popularly seen as a demagogue in the West, Gaddafi always portrayed himself as a statesman-philosopher. According to several Western media sources, Gaddafi feared a coup against his government. The Libyan Army consisted of about 50,000 personnel and its most powerful units were four crack brigades of highly equipped and trained soldiers, composed of members of Gaddafis tribe or members of other tribes loyal to him. One, the Khamis Brigade, was led by his son Khamis, local militias and Revolutionary Committees across the country were also kept well-armed. By contrast, regular units were poorly armed and trained. By the end of Gaddafis 42 years rule, Libyas population had a per capita income of $14,000, a broadly secular society was imposed
17.
Syrian Civil War
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The Syrian Civil War is an armed conflict taking place in Syria. Syrian opposition groups formed the Free Syrian Army and seized control of the area surrounding Aleppo, over time, some factions of the Syrian opposition split from their original moderate position to pursue an Islamist vision for Syria, joining groups such as al-Nusra Front and ISIL. In 2015, the Yekîneyên Parastina Gel joined forces with Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Russia and Hezbollah militarily engaged in support of the Syrian government, while beginning in 2014, a coalition of NATO countries began launching airstrikes against ISIL. International organizations have accused the Syrian government, ISIL, and some groups of severe human rights violations. The conflict has caused a major refugee crisis, over the course of the war a number of peace initiatives have been launched, including the March 2017 Geneva peace talks on Syria led by the United Nations, but fighting continues. Syria became an independent republic in 1946, although democratic rule ended with a coup in March 1949, a popular uprising against military rule in 1954 saw the army transfer power to civilians. From 1958 to 1961, a union with Egypt replaced Syrias parliamentary system with a highly centralized presidential government. The secular Baath Syrian Regional Branch government came to power through a successful coup détat in 1963, for the next several years Syria went through additional coups and changes in leadership. In March 1971, Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite, declared himself President, on 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. They labeled Assad the enemy of Allah and called for a jihad against his rule, the government survived a series of armed revolts by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, from 1976 until 1982. Upon Hafez al-Assads death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad was elected as President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma, a Sunni Muslim born and educated in Britain, initially inspired hopes for democratic reforms. The Damascus Spring, a period of social and political debate, the Damascus Spring largely ended in August 2001 with the arrest and imprisonment of ten leading activists who had called for democratic elections and a campaign of civil disobedience. In the opinion of his critics, Bashar al-Assad had failed to deliver on promised reforms, Syrian Arabs, together with some 600,000 Palestinian Arabs, make up roughly 74 percent of the population. Syria Muslims are 74 percent Sunnis, and 13 percent Shias,3 percent were Druze, not all of the Sunnis are Arabs. Bashar is married to a Sunni, with whom he has several children and he is affiliated with the sect that his parents belong to, the minority Alawite sect which comprises an estimated 8-12 percent of the total population. Assyrians, an indigenous Eastern Aramaic-speaking Christian Semitic people, numbering approximately 500,000, are mainly in northeast Syria. A larger population lives over the border in northern Iraq, other ethnic groups include Armenians, Circassians, Turkmens, Greeks, Mhallami, Kawliya, Yezidi, Shabaks, and Mandeans. Socioeconomic inequality increased significantly after free market policies were initiated by Hafez al-Assad in his later years, the country also faced particularly high youth unemployment rates
18.
FN Herstal
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It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. FN is a subsidiary of the Belgian Herstal Group, which also owns U. S, Repeating Arms Company and Browning Arms Company. FN Herstal is the parent company of two United States entities, FN Manufacturing and FNH USA, FNH USA, located in McLean, Virginia, is the sales and marketing branch of FN Herstal in the United States. FN Herstals firearms are used by the forces of over 100 nations. FN originated in the city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale dArmes de Guerre was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 89 rifles ordered by the Belgian Government. FN was co-founded by the major makers of the Liège region, with Henri Pieper of Anciens Etablissements Pieper being the driving force. In 1897 the company entered into a relationship with John Moses Browning. FN was an important manufacturer of vehicles in Belgium, a development championed by Alexandre Galopin as managing director. Cars were produced in Herstal in the early 1900s until 1935, production of FN motorcycles continued until 1965, and production of trucks until 1970. In 1973, FN changed its name to reflect a product line diversified far beyond just weapons of war, John Moses Browning began development of the Browning GP35 High Power pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or high power in French. However, the weapon was finalized by Dieudonné Saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after Brownings death, the FN Manufacturing LLC plant in Columbia, South Carolina is part of the military division of FN. It is primarily responsible for the production of U. S. military weapons, such as M16 rifles, M249 light machine guns, M240 machine guns, barracuda, Double-action multi-caliber revolver that can be switched between three calibers by changing parts of the cylinder. Five-seveN, Lightweight polymer-framed pistol with a 20-round magazine capacity, in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world. FNP series, Series of polymer-framed pistols offered in 9×19mm Parabellum.357 SIG.40 S&W, FNX series, Updated and reengineered version of the FNP series pistol in 9×19mm Parabellum.40 S&W and.45 ACP. One of the most widely used military pistols of all time, hP-DA, 9×19mm Parabellum pistol, double-action variant of the Browning Hi-Power. M1903, Blowback semi-automatic pistol chambered for.32 ACP and 9×20mm Long Browning, m1905.25 ACP vest pocket blowback semi-automatic pistol. M1910, Single-action pistol chambered for.32 ACP and.380 ACP, P90, Ambidextrous bullpup personal defense weapon with a top-mounted 50-round magazine and chambered for FNs 5. 7×28mm cartridge
19.
U.S. Ordnance
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U. S. Ordnance–Defense Systems and Manufacturing–often referred to as USORD is a firearms manufacturer located in McCarran, Nevada,20 minutes outside Reno, Nevada. Since 1997, the Nevada corporation has designed, developed and manufactured small arms, machine guns. Ordnance specializes in producing new, enhanced versions of the mature, combat-proven Mk43/M60E4 and M2, Ordnance manufactures the Mk43 machine gun. The companys primary weapon systems are the M2HB, M2A2, the Mk43/M60E4, the M60D Enhanced, Ordnance sells these to governmental agencies in the U. S. including law enforcement and the military, and to federally approved foreign leaderships and militaries. It also facilitates training for its products, M2 and M60 machine guns are in service in more than countries. U. S. Ordnance’s new plant is a 68, 000-square-foot facility where product research, development, manufacturing and testing take place. A U. S. government representative is on site to witness and verify specific procedures in the production and testing of the weapons, Ordnance develops are per NATO specifications. The company ensures that all of its Mk43 and M2 improvements are backwards compatible, Ordnance has CNC machining centers and screw machines, which are used to machine the various parts that make up each weapon. Other machinery includes high-capacity barrel production and Mil Standard plating equipment, the company also uses a magnetic particle inspection machine for detecting surface and subsurface irregularities in the metal of its weapons. In February 2006, much of the M60 production tooling was transferred from General Dynamics at Saco to U. S. Ordnance, U. S. Ordnance’s ISO9001,2008 inventory control and storage process guarantees that only approved components and materials are used on its weapon systems. Finished components are phosphated in-house using a U. S. government-certified Mil-Spec process and it involves application of manganese, which protects the steel surfaces from corrosion. Ordnance also puts its weapons through a cold treatment, called cryo for short, the process involves cooling the steel to approximately minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit, which increases the martensite content in its crystalline structure. This ultimately hardens and strengthens the metal, Ordnance uses cryo to relieve stresses in tooling and weapon materials, to increase the weapons’ service life and help resist wear. Ordnance workers assemble and complete 100% of the weapon systems in-house. Ordnance packaging conforms to the preservation, packing, and marking requirements of the current Mil Standard. UID and RFID marking are done as required, each weapon undergoes high-pressure testing and magnetic particle inspection. The company has a shooting range, where personnel proof-fire every weapon for functionality. The quality assurance team checks all materials and parts and they inspect the material certifications, heat treat and test reports, and also perform dimensional testing on all of the parts to ensure they comply with the technical drawings
20.
FN MAG
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The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has made under licence in several countries, including Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India. The weapons name is an abbreviation for Mitrailleuse dAppui Général, meaning general-purpose machine gun, the MAG Model 60-20 is an automatic, air-cooled, gas-operated machine gun, firing belt-fed 7. 62×51mm NATO from an open bolt. The MAG uses ignited powder gases vented through a port in the barrel to propel a gas piston rod connected to the locking assembly, the barrel breech is locked with a vertically tilting, downward locking lever mechanism that is connected to the bolt carrier through an articulated joint. The locking shoulder and camming surfaces that guide the locking lever are located at the base of the receiver, the MAG fires from an open bolt. Both the spring-powered extractor and ejector are contained in the bolt, after firing, spent cartridge casings are removed through an ejection port located at the base of the receiver. The machine gun has a firing mechanism, an automatic-only trigger assembly and a manual cross-bolt push-button safety. With the safety placed in the setting, the sear mechanism is disabled. The safety can only be engaged with the weapon cocked, the MAG features a pawl-type feeding mechanism that continues to move the feed link during both the rearward and forward cycles of the reciprocating bolt carrier, producing a smooth belt flow. The feeding mechanisms three pawls are actuated by a roller connected to the bolt carrier, the feed channel rail, feed link, both feed slides and the feed tray are chrome plated. The top cover body is an aluminum casting. In the infantry role, the weapon can be fitted with a sheet metal container that houses a 50-round belt and is attached to the left side of the receiver. The quick-change barrel has a flash suppressor. The barrels chamber and bore are chromium-lined and the barrel has four grooves with a 305 mm rifling twist rate. Also attached to the barrel is the front sight base, carry handle, the machine gun is fitted with a folding bipod that can be adjusted for height. For carrying or use as a forearm, the legs can be folded back and secured in slots under the receiver by hooks. When firing from the hip, the legs remain extended. The bipod can be removed from the gas cylinder by tapping-out a roll pin in the gas cylinder head until it is flush, the rear sight is hinged to a base with protective ears that is integral with the receivers upper forging
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Gun barrel
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A gun barrel is a part of firearms and artillery pieces. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, a gun barrel must be able to hold in the expanding gas produced by the propellants to ensure that optimum muzzle velocity is attained by the projectile as it is being pushed out by the expanding gas. Modern small arms barrels are made of known and tested to withstand the pressures involved. Artillery pieces are made by various techniques providing reliably sufficient strength, early firearms were muzzle-loading, with powder, and then shot loaded from the muzzle, capable of only a low rate of fire. During the 19th century effective mechanical locks were invented that sealed a breech-loading weapon against the escape of propellant gases, the early Chinese, the inventors of gunpowder, used bamboo, a naturally tubular stalk, as the first barrels in gunpowder projectile weapons. Early European guns were made of iron, usually with several strengthening bands of the metal wrapped around circular wrought iron rings. The Chinese were the first to master cast-iron cannon barrels, early cannon barrels were very thick for their caliber. Bore evacuator Bore snake Cannon Muzzle Polygonal rifling Rifling Slug barrel Smoothbore
22.
Cartridge (firearms)
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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
23.
Action (firearms)
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In firearms terminology, an action is the mechanism that handles the ammunition or the method by which that mechanism works. Breech-loading weapons have actions, actions are not present on muzzleloaders. The mechanism that fires a muzzle-loader is called the lock, actions can be categorized in several ways, including single action versus double action, break action versus bolt action, and others. The term action can also short, long, and magnum if it is in reference to the length of the rifle’s receiver. The short action rifle usually can accommodate a cartridge length of 2.8 in or smaller, the long action rifle can accommodate a cartridge of 3.34 in, and the magnum action rifle can accommodate cartridges of 3.6 in, or longer in length. Manual operation is a term describing any type of firearm action that is loaded one shot at a time by the user rather than automatically. For example, break action is a form of operation using a simple hinge mechanism that is manually unlatched by the operator. These are actions wherein the breechblock lowers or drops into the receiver to open the breech, there are two principal types of dropping block, the tilting block and the falling block. In a tilting or pivoting block action, the breechblock is hinged on a pin mounted at the rear, when the lever is operated, the block tilts down and forward, exposing the chamber. The best-known pivoting block designs are the Peabody, the Peabody–Martini, the original Peabody rifles, manufactured by the Providence Tool Company, used a manually cocked side-hammer. The 1871 Martini–Henry which replaced the trapdoor Snider–Enfield was the standard British Army rifle of the later Victorian era, charles H. Ballards self-cocking tilting-block action was produced by the Marlin Firearms Company from 1875, and earned a superlative reputation among long-range Creedmoor target shooters. Surviving Marlin Ballards are today highly prized by collectors, especially those mounted in the elaborate Swiss-style Schützen stocks of the day. A falling-block action is a firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon. Examples of firearms using the falling block action are the Sharps rifle, in a rolling block action the breechblock takes the form of a part-cylinder, with a pivot pin through its axis. The operator rotates or rolls the block to open and close the breech, it is a simple, rugged, a break action is a type of firearm where the barrel are hinged and can be broken open to expose the breech. The earliest metallic-cartridge breechloaders designed for military issue began as conversions of muzzle-loading rifle-muskets. The upper rear portion of the barrel was filed or milled away, an internal angled firing pin allowed the re-use of the rifles existing side-hammer. The Allin action made by Springfield Arsenal in the US hinged forward, france countered in 1866 with its superior Chassepot rifle, also a paper-cartridge bolt action
24.
Gas-operated reloading
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Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case, energy from the gas is harnessed through either a port in the barrel or a trap at the muzzle. Most current gas systems employ some type of piston, the face of the piston is acted upon by combustion gas from a port in the barrel or a trap at the muzzle. Early guns such as Brownings flapper prototype, the Bang rifle and this, combined with more massive operating parts, reduced the strain on the mechanism. To simplify and lighten the firearm, gas from nearer the chamber needed to be used and this high pressure and has sufficient force to destroy a firearm unless it is regulated somehow. Most gas-operated firearms rely on tuning the gas port size, mass of operating parts, several other methods are employed to regulate the energy. The M1 carbine incorporates a short piston, or tappet. This movement is restricted by a shoulder recess. Excess gas is then vented back into the bore, the M14 rifle and M60 GPMG use the White expansion and cutoff system to stop gas from entering the cylinder once the piston has traveled a short distance. Most systems, however, vent excess gas into the atmosphere through slots, holes, a gas trap system involves trapping combustion gas as it leaves the muzzle. This gas impinges on a surface that converts the energy to motion that, hiram Maxim patented a muzzle-cup system in 1884 described in U. S. Patent 319,596 though it is if this firearm was ever prototyped. John Browning used gas trapped at the muzzle to operate a flapper in the earliest prototype gas-operated firearm described in U. S, the Danish Bang rifle used a muzzle cup blown forward by muzzle gas to operate the action through transfer bars and leverage. Other gas-trap rifles were early production US gas-trap M1 Garands, German Gewehr 41 and these systems are longer, heavier, dirtier and more complex than later gas-operated firearms. Despite these disadvantages, they used relatively low gas and did not require a hole in the barrel. The American and German governments both had requirements that their guns operated without a hole being drilled in the barrel, both governments would first adopt weapons and later abandon the concept. All US M1 Garand rifles were retrofitted with long-stroke gas pistons, with a long-stroke system, the piston is mechanically fixed to the bolt group and moves through the entire operating cycle. This system is used in such as the Bren light machine gun, AK-47, Tavor, FN Minimi, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, FN MAG, FN FNC
25.
7.62 mm caliber
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7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. The measurement equals 0.30 inches or 3 decimal lines, written.3,7.62 mm refers to the internal diameter of the barrel at the lands. The actual bullet caliber is normally 7.82 mm, although Soviet weapons commonly use a 7.91 mm bullet, as do older British and Japanese cartridges. There are many pistol cartridges in this caliber, but most common are,7. 62×25mm Tokarev, also known as 7.62 mm TT, used in the Tokarev pistol, and many of the World War II Soviet submachine guns. 7. 63×25mm Mauser, which was the basis for, and has nearly identical dimensions to the Tokarev,7. 65×25mm Borchardt, from which both the Mauser and Parabellum cartridges were developed. 7. 65×21mm Parabellum 7. 65×17mm Browning, also known as the.32 ACP and it shared dimensions with the.32 rimfire cartridge of the same length. Not to be confused with the.32 Colts New Police cartridge.32 S&W Long Also known as the.32 Colts New Police when chambered in Colt revolvers. The original loading for this used a round nose, or flattened round nose and was chambered widely in revolvers made in the US. This cartridge is used in several modern target pistols with flush seated wadcutters. This is a version of the much earlier.32 S&W long. This cartridge is a version of the.32 H&R Magnum. List of rifle cartridges 7 mm caliber Category,7.62 mm firearms M14 rifle
26.
Armoured fighting vehicle
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An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and generally armed with weapons, which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked and it is not uncommon for AFVs to be simply referred to as armour. Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their role on the battlefield. This classification is not absolute, at different times different countries will classify the vehicle in different roles. For example, armoured carriers were generally replaced by infantry fighting vehicles in a similar role. Modern armoured fighting vehicles are the realization of an ancient concept, War machines with rudimentary armour have been used in battle for millennia. These designs historically struggled between the paradox of exposed-mobility, effective-firepower and cumbersome-protection, Siege engines, such as battering rams and trebuchets, would often be armoured in order to protect the crews from the defenders. Very large movable siege towers, helepolis were developed by Polyidus of Thessaly, the idea of a vehicle with a tortoise like cover has been known since antiquity. Frequently cited is Leonardo da Vincis 15th century sketch of a mobile, protected gun platform, the machine was to be mounted on four wheels which would be turned by the crew through a system of hand cranks and cage gears. Leonardo quoted I will build armored wagons which will be safe, there will be no obstacle which it cannot overcome. Modern replicas have demonstrated that the crew would have been able to move it over only short distances. The war wagon were medieval weapon-platforms developmed during the Hussite Wars around 1420 by Hussite forces rebelling in Bohemia. These heavy wagon were given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using pikes, heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces, the first modern AFVs were armed cars, dating back virtually to the invention of the motor car. The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F. R. Simms in 1898 and it was the first armed petrol engine powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar, an iron shield offered some protection for the driver from the front, but it lacked all-around protective armour. The armoured car was the first modern fully armoured fighting vehicle, the first of these was the Simms Motor War Car, designed by Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in 1899. The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and was powered by a four-cylinder 3. 3-litre 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a speed of around 9 miles per hour
27.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
28.
Eurocopter EC725
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The Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, now called Airbus Helicopters H225M, is a long-range tactical transport military helicopter developed from the Super Puma/Cougar family for military use. It is an aircraft and can carry up to 29 seated troops along with two crew, depending on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for troop transport, casualty evacuation, and combat search and rescue duties, the EC725 was developed to meet a French Air Force requirement for a specialist helicopter for Combat Search and Rescue operations. The AS532 A2 Cougar model was examined and rejected for this purpose following extensive trials between 1996 and 1999, the primary improvements desired by the French Air Force were more powerful engines, greater flight endurance and improved combat durability. Eurocopter opted to pursue development of a more ambitious derivative of the AS532 to meet this need, the EC725 was initially named Cougar Mk II+ due to treaty reasons. The new aircraft also featured new mission equipment and autonomous avionics, on 27 November 2000, the first EC725 prototype performed its maiden flight at Marignane, and on 15 January 2001, the first public presentation of the new helicopter took place. In concurrent development of the military-orientated EC725, Eurocopter also developed a civil-orientated counterpart, the French Air Force subsequently ordered an initial six EC725s to perform the Combat Search & Rescue mission, the first of these was delivered in February 2005. A follow-on order for eight more EC725s was placed for the French Armed Forces in November 2002, by 2015, the EC725, since re-designated as the H225M, was being manufactured on two separate production lines in France and Brazil. In July 2015, Airbus Helicopters announced that it was considering setting up an assembly line in India if the firm was successful at winning an Indian tender for naval helicopters. The EC725 is based on the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar, improving upon the design with a composite main rotor incorporating a new airfoil shape to reduce vibration levels. They can be fitted with a system to enable the aircraft to operate in very cold climates. Other improvements include a main rotor gearbox and an all glass cockpit. The cockpit is equipped with a display system featuring a digital map. The EC725 can be equipped with military equipment and armaments. The Exocet anti-ship missile has also been integrated upon Brazilian Navy EC725s, Eurocopter developed four primacy cabin configurations for the type. The Troop Transport version contains an arrangement for a maximum of 29 troops. A dedicated VIP transport version is designed to contain between 8 and 12 passengers, the Casualty Evacuation version can carry up to 12 stretchers along with a total of four seated medical staff. The Combat SAR configuration is equipped to perform search and rescue duties in a combat environment
29.
Paris Air Show
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The Paris Air Show claims to be the worlds calendar-oldest air show. Established in 1909, it is held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris. The 2015 Paris Air Show, from 15–21 June 2015, became the 51st, the format is similar to the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain and the ILA Berlin Air Show, both of which are staged in alternate years to the Paris show. The Paris event starts with four days closed to the general public. The Paris Air Show is organised by the French aerospace industrys primary representative body, according to GIFAS, the 2011 Paris show attracted 151,500 professional visitors and 204,000 members of the general public, and 3,250 journalists from 80 countries. It is a commercial event, with a major purpose being to demonstrate military. It claims to be the most prestigious aircraft exposition in the world, major aircraft sales contracts are announced by manufacturers during the show. All major international manufacturers, as well as representatives of the forces of many countries. The Paris Air Show traces its history back to the first decade of the 20th century, in 1908 a section of the Paris Motor Show was dedicated to aircraft. The following year, an air show was held at the Grand Palais from 25 September to 17 October, during which 100,000 visitors turned out to see products. There were four further shows before the First World War, the show restarted in 1919, and from 1924 it was held every two years before being interrupted again by the Second World War. It restarted again in 1946 and since 1949, has held in every odd year. The air show continued to be held at the Grand Palais, in 1953, the show was relocated from the Grand Palais to Le Bourget. Since the 1970s, the show emerged as the international reference of the aeronautical sector. Among major accidents, there were two crashes of Convair B-58 Hustler bombers, in 1961 and 1965, at the Paris Air Show on June 3,1973, the second Tupolev Tu-144 production aircraft crashed during its display. It stalled while attempting a rapid climb, the cause of this accident remains controversial. A Mikoyan MiG-29 crashed during a flight with no loss of life. The then Soviet space shuttle Buran and its aircraft the Antonov An-225 were displayed
30.
Belt (firearms)
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Shot belt or ammunition belt can also refer to a belt that a person wears, with loops for inserting ammunition cartridges. For the term belt as applied to cartridges, see rim or belted magnum, a belt or ammunition belt is a device used to retain and feed cartridges into a firearm. Belts and the associated feed systems are employed to feed machine guns or other automatic weapons. Belt-fed systems minimize the weight of the ammunition to the feeding device along with allowing high rates of continuous fire. Arguably, precursors to the machine gun were the Cass rifle, patented in 1848. Belts were originally composed of canvas or cloth with pockets spaced evenly to allow the belt to be fed into the gun. These designs were prone to malfunctions due to the effects of oil, later belt designs used permanently connected metal links to retain the cartridges during feeding. These belts were more tolerant to exposure to solvents and oil, many weapons designed to use non-disintegrating or canvas belts are provided with machines to automatically reload these belts with loose rounds or rounds held in stripper clips. In use during World War I, reloaders allowed ammunition belts to be recycled quickly to allow practically continuous fire, many modern ammunition belts use disintegrating links. Disintegrating links retain a single round and are articulated with the round ahead of it in the belt. When the round ahead is stripped from the belt and fed into the system or chamber, the link holding it is ejected. Modern infantry machine guns often have feed systems allowing the use of linked ammunition or other forms of feed like magazines or drums, in some instances—like the FN MINIMI/M249 SAW and the IMI Negev—the feed system requires no modification to fire with either mechanism. Other designs—like the Heckler and Koch HK21-based designs or MG34—require the exchange of parts to allow belt or alternate feeding. Due to the lack of protection provided by the belt, belt-fed infantry weapons typically use a flexible or rigid container to retain the belt on the weapon, in some designs—like the MG3—the belt container appears to be a magazine causing some confusion to people unfamiliar with the design. The capacity of belts and carriers is typically a function of weight and their size is limited by caliber and the portability of the combined weapon and ammunition. The most common sizes typically carried on a man-portable weapon run from 50 to 300 rounds, found on mostly early machine guns. The pull out - push through cartridge feed system has the cartridge withdrawn from the belt to the rear, examples are the Darne mle 1922, Browning 1919, Browning M2HB, Maxim and Vickers. Found on mostly modern machine guns, the push through cartridge feed system has the cartridge pushed directly forward into the barrel
31.
Receiver (firearms)
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For the purposes of United States law, the receiver or frame is legally the firearm, and as such it is the controlled part. The definition of assembly is the legal receiver varies from firearm to firearm. For an AR-15 rifle, the assembly is considered the legal receiver. In a rifle such as the FN-FAL, it is the receiver that is serialized. For a FAL rifle, the assembly is considered the legal receiver. Generally, the law requires licensed manufacturers and importers to mark the designated receiver with a number, the manufacturer or importer. In addition, makers of receivers are restricted by International Traffic in Arms Regulations, thus, in the case of a firearm that has multiple receivers, the legally controlled part is the one that is serialized. Unfinished receivers, also called 80 percent receivers or blanks, are partially completed receivers with no serial numbers, purchasers must perform their own finishing work in order to make the receiver usable. The finishing of receivers for sale or distribution by unlicensed persons is against US law, because an unfinished 80% receiver is not a firearm, purchasers do not need to pass a background check. The resulting firearm is called a ghost gun. An AR-15 variant made from an 80% receiver was used in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, two 3D printed polymer lower receivers for the AR-15 have been released, the AR Lower V5 and the Charon
32.
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
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The Browning Automatic Rifle is a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The BAR was designed to be carried by infantrymen during an assault or advance while supported by the sling over the shoulder or fired from the hip and this is a concept called walking fire — thought to be necessary for the individual soldier during trench warfare. The BAR never entirely lived up to the hopes of the War Department. The US Army, in practice, used the BAR as a machine gun. Although the weapon did see action in World War I, the BAR did not become standard issue in the U. S. Army until 1938. The BAR saw extensive service in both World War II and the Korean War and saw limited service in the Vietnam War. After much debate, it was agreed that a rapid rearmament with domestic weapons would be required. In 1917, prior to Americas entry to the war, John Browning personally brought to Washington, Browning had arranged for a public demonstration of both weapons at a location in southern Washington, D. C. known as Congress Heights. Additional tests were conducted for U. S. Army Ordnance officials at Springfield Armory in May 1917 and both weapons were unanimously recommended for immediate adoption. In order to avoid confusion with the belt-fed M1917 machine gun, on 16 July 1917,12,000 BARs were ordered from Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company who had secured an exclusive concession to manufacture the BAR under Brownings patents. However Colt was already producing at peak capacity and requested a delay in production while they expanded their output with a new facility in Meriden. Due to the urgent need for the weapon, the request was denied, Winchester gave valuable assistance in refining the BARs final design, correcting the drawings in preparation for mass production. Among the changes made, the pattern was modified. The initial contract with Winchester called for 25,000 BARs and they were in full production by June 1918, delivering 4,000 guns—and starting in July—were turning out 9,000 units per month. Colt and Marlin-Rockwell Corp. also began shortly after Winchester got into full production. Marlin-Rockwell, burdened by a contract to make rifles for the Belgian government, acquired the Mayo Radiator Co. s factory, the first unit from this source was delivered on 11 June 1918 and the companys peak output reached 200 automatic rifles per day. Colt had produced only 9,000 BARs by the time of the due to the heavy demands of previous orders. These three companies produced a daily output of 706 rifles and a total of approximately 52,000 BARs were delivered by all sources by the end of the war
33.
Automatic rifle
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Automatic rifles are distinguished from semi-automatic rifles in their ability to fire more than one shot in succession once the trigger is pulled. Many automatic rifles are select-fire weapons which are capable of firing in fully automatic and semi-automatic modes, or in some cases, most are further subcategorized as battle rifles or assault rifles. The worlds first automatic rifle was the Italian Cei-Rigotti, introduced in 1900, these 6. 5mm Carcano or 7. 65×53mm gas-operated, selective-fire, carbines attracted considerable attention at the time. They used 10-, 20- and 50-round detachable box magazines, unfortunately, they had several failings, including frequent jams and erratic shooting. In the end, no Army took an interest in the design, the Fedorov Avtomat was an automatic rifle, designed by Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov in 1915 and produced in the Russian Empire and later in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. A total of 43,200 Fedorov rifles were manufactured between 1915 and 1924 in the city of Kovrov, the vast majority of them were made after 1920. The weapon saw combat in World War I, but was used more substantially in the Russian Civil War, initially Fedorov wanted to call the class of weapons to which his new gun belonged ручное ружьё-пулемет, which reflected his tactical thinking behind the development of the weapon. The Browning Automatic Rifle was one of the first practical automatic rifles, the BAR made its successful combat debut in World War I and approximately 50,000 were made before the war came to an end. The BAR arose from the concept of Walking Fire, an idea urged upon the Americans by the French who used the Chauchat light machine gun to fulfill that role, the BAR never entirely lived up to the designers hopes, being neither a rifle nor a machinegun. For its day, though, it was a brilliant design produced in time by John Browning. It was the standard squad light automatic of the U. S. infantry during World War II, the US forces abandoned the BAR in the middle 1950s, though it was retained in reserve stocks for several years, it survived in smaller countries until the late 1970s. The FG42 was a selective fire automatic rifle or battle rifle produced in Germany during World War II, the weapon was developed specifically for the use of the Fallschirmjäger airborne infantry in 1942 and was used in limited numbers until the end of the war. It served as an automatic rifle in much the same role as the Browning BAR. The Germans sought to develop a select-fire intermediate powered rifle combining the firepower of a gun with the accuracy. This was done by shortening the standard 7. 92×57mm cartridge to 7. 92×33mm and giving it a lighter 125-grain bullet, the result was the Sturmgewehr 44. The Soviets were so impressed with the Sturmgewehr 44, that after World War II and it was finalized, adopted and entered widespread service in the Soviet army in the early 1950s. Its firepower, ease of use, low costs. The AK-47 was widely supplied or sold to nations allied with the USSR, however, early experiments with select-fire versions of the M1 Garand proved disappointing
34.
Trigger (firearms)
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A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the firing sequence of a firearm or crossbow, a trigger may also start another mechanism such as a trap or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the causes the release of much more energy. In double action firearm designs, the trigger is used to cock the firearm -. Firearms use triggers to initiate the firing of a cartridge in the chamber of the weapon. This is accomplished by actuating a striking device through a combination of spring and kinetic energy operating through a pin to strike. There are two types of striking mechanisms, hammers and strikers. Hammers are spring-tensioned masses of metal that pivot on a pin when released, strikers are, essentially, spring-loaded firing pins that travel on an axis in-line with the cartridge eliminating the need for a separate hammer. The connection between the trigger and the hammer is generally referred to as the sear surface, variable mechanisms will have this surface directly on the trigger and hammer or have separate sears or other connecting parts. There are numerous types of action, where action refers to the mechanism or to the logic of how it is built and they are categorized according to which functions the trigger is to perform. Most modern firearms use the trigger to deactivate passive safeties but this does not change how they are identified, a single-action trigger is the earliest and mechanically simplest of trigger types. Almost all rifles and shotguns use this type of trigger, the term single-action wasnt in use until weapons with double-action triggers were invented, which didnt occur until the mid-19th century, before that, all triggers were single-action. Although these weapons dont require the user to physically cock the hammer, manually cocked hammers lasted a while longer in some break-action shotguns, and in dangerous game rifles, where the hunter didnt want to rely on an unnecessarily complex or fragile weapon. In modern usage, the terms single-action and double-action almost always refer to handguns, while a single-action revolver or semi-automatic must always be cocked prior to firing, most double-action handguns are capable of firing in both single- and double-action modes. Only double-action only weapons are incapable of firing from a cocked hammer. Thereafter, every time a round is fired, the hammer is recocked by the cycling slide, after the first shot, they would fire as single-actions. These double action, or double action, pistols rapidly gained popularity. A double-action/single-action firearm combines the features of both mechanisms, and is called traditional double-action. In simple terms, double-action refers to a gun trigger mechanism that both cocks the hammer and then releases the sear, thus performing two actions, hence double action
35.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
36.
MG 42
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The MG42 is a 7. 92×57mm Mauser general purpose machine gun designed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. It was intended to replace the earlier MG34, which was expensive and took much longer to produce. The MG42 has a record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation. It also spawned the Swiss MG51, Zastava M53, SIG MG 710-3, Austrian MG74, and the Spanish 5. 56×45mm NATO Ameli light machine gun, and lent many design elements to the American M60 and Belgian MAG. The MG42 was adopted by several armed organizations after the war, even prior to World War I the German army was already looking forward to replacing the heavy machine guns which proved to be such a success in that war. The MG13 was one of the first developments toward a goal of producing a weapon that could perform multiple roles, the MG13 was the result of reengineering the Dreyse Water cooled machine gun to fit the new requirement. The Gast gun was developed with the goal of providing a rate of fire weapon for anti-aircraft use which was reported to have reached rates of fire as high as 1600 rpm. The concept eventually led to the development of the MG34 which was envisaged and well developed to provide coverage, highly portable infantry coverage. The MG34 was developed to use the standard German rifle round of 7.92 x 57mm Mauser, the MG34 was issued with 6 additional interchangeable barrels. The three-man crew that each weapon was also issued asbestos gloves to use when changing the barrel. As a result, the rate of fire was very high. The MG34 was so accurate that it was mounted on a tripod with a telescopic sight for sniping at very long distances. It was chambered in the standard 7. 92×57mm Mauser cartridge, in German army tactics, the machinegun was supported by the entire squad. Each man would carry belts of 7. 92×57mm Mauser for the machine gun, US tactics put the machinegun and its crew largely alone with far less support or emphasis on use. A German squads purpose was to protect the gun, while a US squads purpose used the machine gun to support the men. In addition to the 6 barrels carried for the MG34, switching between a bipod and a tripod required no special tools, as the mounting latch was spring-loaded. However, it did have its drawbacks, such as sensitivity to dirt, one attempt at improvement was the MG 34S, an incremental improvement on the basic 34 design. In order to address issues, a contest was held for a true MG34 replacement
37.
Safety (firearms)
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In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into such as internal safeties. Sometimes these are called passive and active safeties, respectively, some firearms manufactured after the late 1990s include mandatory integral locking mechanisms that must be deactivated by a unique key before the gun can be fired. These integral locking mechanisms are intended as child-safety devices during unattended storage of the firearm—not as safety mechanisms while carrying, other devices in this category are trigger locks, bore locks, and gun safes. The most common form of safety mechanism is a switch, button or lever that, other designs may block the hammer or striker from forward movement or act as a block to prevent them from contacting the firing pin. The M1911 design is an example of a handgun with a grip safety. The Uzi submachine gun is another example of a firearm with a grip safety, a related grip-type safety is the decocking grip found on some H&K pistols like the P7 Series. The firearm is cocked and ready to fire only when the front of the grip is squeezed by the operator. When the grip is released, the firearm is decocked, and the trigger will not cock the firearm, therefore it will not fire unless the grip is squeezed. Alternatively, the trigger can first be pulled and then it will fire when the grip is subsequently squeezed, finally, if both the grip is squeezed and the trigger pulled simultaneously, the pistol will fire. Another, unusual variant was found in the Ortgies semi-automatic pistols, to disengage the safety, a user would squeeze a lever until flush with the rear of the grip. Thus, engaging the safety also relieved some tension in the striker spring, as the Ortgies is a pocket pistol meant for personal defense, this feature eliminates the problem of failing to disengage the safety when one needs to shoot. Gripping the pistol tightly is all it takes to disengage the safety, most traditional semi-automatic double-action/single action pistols are designed to be carried with the hammer down on a chambered round, with or without a manual safety engaged. However, the act of cycling the action on such a firearm will leave the hammer cocked in single-action mode. To return the pistol to its state, it is necessary to uncock the hammer, usually by holding the hammer spur, carefully pulling the trigger. A decock/safety is a manual safety switch and decocking lever. A simpler two-way system was popularized by the Walther PP and is commonly seen on the Beretta 92. The SIG Sauer line of pistols, such as the SIG P226, the earliest use of a single-action decocker was the Vis wz.35 Radom redesign in 1932 to enable horsemen to safely holster their firearm with one hand
38.
Pistol grip
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For firearms, the pistol grip is generally used by the hand that operates the trigger. Rifles and shotguns without pistol grips are generally referred to as having straight or upland style stocks, some firearms, such as some versions of the Thompson submachine gun, have a forward pistol grip which is used to stabilize the firearm in operation. The pistol grip often serves multiple functions such as a housing, bipod. In some firearms, like the Finnish light machine gun Kk 62, pistol grips are a defining feature in United States gun law. A forward pistol grip on a pistol is restricted under the National Firearms Act, pistol grips which protrude below the weapon and are not integrated with the shoulder stock are currently regulated in some states and were regulated by the now-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban. In the context of law, the National Rifle Association deemed pistol grips a cosmetic feature. Tools with pistol grips run the range from hand saws to pneumatic nailers, often the word gun appears in the name of pistol-gripped tools such as the glue gun, caulking gun and nail gun. A number of tools, like firearms, have a pistol grip. Drills and grinders often include this feature for added control, one of the reasons the pistol grip style is so common in machinery is because it is possible to ergonomically position the operating controls. The first rifle ever to use a pistol grip was the DELVIGNE PATENT carbine made by LESOINNE ET PIRLOT FILS, LIEGE in 1840
Afghanistan[citation needed]
Argentina: The MAG is in use in the Argentine Army as the 7,62 Ametralladora Tipo 60-20 MAG[17] after being purchased more than two decades ago. The MAG saw action during the Falklands War. Argentine MAGs were license-manufactured by the state-owned Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares (DGFM) arsenal.[18][19]
Australia: The MAG is the standard GPMG of the Australian Defence Force, in particular the Australian Army, where it is known as the MAG 58.[20] It is also used by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.[21]
Austria: The MAG is used by the Austrian Army as the 7,62 mm MG FNMAG/Pz and is used in the Schützenpanzer Ulan and the Leopard 2A4.[22][23] It's also used as the armament of the new S-70A-42 Black Hawk helicopters.[22]
Bangladesh[24]
Bahamas: The FN MAG is used by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
Bahrain[24]
Barbados[24]
Belgium: Designated MAG M2 and MAG M3 for the coax version.[24][25]
Belize[24]
Bolivia[24]
Botswana[24]
Brazil: Standard support weapon of the Brazilian Army, known as the M971.[26] Used by the Coordenadoria de Recursos Especiais (from the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro), the Federal Police[27] and the Brazilian Marine Corps (Mod B60-20).[28]
Brunei[24]
Burkina Faso[24]
Burundi[24]
Cameroon[24]
Canada: Used in the Canadian Forces with the designation the C6 GPMG,[29] it is used primarily as a platoon level support weapon[30] One C6 machine guns are assigned to each Rifle platoon, the C6 GPMG is also mounted on a variety of vehicles, including the G-Wagon LUVW, LAV III, Coyote and Leopard C2. In these vehicles, the C6 GPMGs are co-axially and pintle-mounted and used to provide fire support to the infantry or for local defence of the vehicle itself. Canada adopted a new version of C6 called C6A1 FLEX.
Chad[24]
Chile[31]
Colombia[24]
Democratic Republic of Congo[24]
Denmark: Used as armament in EH101.[32]
Djibouti[24]
Dominican Republic[24]
Ecuador[24]
El Salvador[33]
Egypt: Made under license by the Maadi Company for Engineering Industries.[3][18][34]
Estonia: The Swedish-made version known as the Ksp 58B has been adopted as the standard MG.[35]
France: 500 machine guns were purchased in 2011, and an additional 10,000 machine guns will eventually be supplied.[36]
Gabon[24]
Gambia[24]
Georgia: M240L variant in use.[37]
Ghana[24]
Guatemala[24]
Greece: Used by the Hellenic Army.
Haiti[24]
Honduras[24]
India: Manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Board under license.[3]
Indonesia: Standard general-purpose machine gun of Indonesian Armed Forces. Also used by Komando Pasukan Katak (Kopaska) tactical diver group and Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) special forces group.[38] FN MAGs made under license as the SPM2 GPMG by PT Pindad.[39]
Iraq[40]
Ireland: Used by the Irish Defence Forces.[41]
Israel: Used by the Israel Defense Forces alongside IMI Negev and Negev NG7.[42]
Jamaica: Battalion-level fire support weapon of the Jamaica Defence Force.[43]
Jordan[44][45]
Kenya[citation needed]
Kuwait[33][46]
Latvia: The Swedish-made version known as the Ksp 58B has been adopted by the Latvian National Guard as the standard MG.[47]
Lebanon:Used by the Lebanese Armed Forces
Liberia[citation needed]
Lithuania: Lithuanian Armed Forces.[48]
Luxembourg[49]
Malaysia[50]
Mexico[31]
Monaco: Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince.[51]
Morocco: MAG-60-20 Infanterie T1.[52]
Nepal: Used by Nepalese Peacekeepers in Darfur[citation needed]
Netherlands: Used by the Royal Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Air Force and Royal Army.[53] The designation used by the Marine Corps is Mitrailleur van 7,62 mm NATO MAG FN[54] whereas the Army designates the weapon as Mitrailleur 7.62 mm MAG[55]. These legacy MAGs were replaced by newer models, featuring rails and polymer furniture.[56]
New Zealand: The New Zealand Defence Force originally purchased the British-made L7A2 version of the MAG in 1976. These are now being replaced by several versions of the Belgian-made MAG-58, which was originally introduced into service as part of the introduction of the NZLAV, the FN-made MAGs are now used in the infantry light machine gun (LMG) role as a flexible mounted machine gun on the LOV and UH-1H and as a heavy sustained fire machine gun.[57]
Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan National Guard used the FN MAG from 1974 to 1979.
Nigeria[31]
Norway[58] On Leopard 2A4 MBTs bought from the Netherlands. Supposed to replace the Rheinmetall MG3 in Norwegian service.
Pakistan[59]
Panama[31]
Papua New Guinea: Likely acquired from Australian stocks.[60]
Rhodesia[61][62]
Saudi Arabia[63]
Sierra Leone[citation needed]
Singapore: In use by Singapore Armed Forces and Police Coast Guard. Licensed production carried out by Ordnance Development and Engineering Company of Singapore, now integrated to ST Engineering. Two versions produced, one infantry assault variant fitted with a bi-pod, the other co-axial model for armored vehicle or vehicle mountings. One MAG is issued to each rifle platoon, it is always referred to as GPMG or simply MG.[18]
Slovenia[64]
South Africa[24]
Spain: Used by the Spanish Army Airmobile Force.[65]
Suriname: The MAG is used by the Suriname National Army in infantry units.
Sweden: Used by the Swedish Armed Forces, license made in Sweden and designated as the Ksp 58 (short for "Kulspruta", Swedish for "Machine gun" of model 1958).[66][67][68]
Syrian National Coalition[1]
Taiwan
Thailand[69]
United Kingdom[3]
United States: Used by the U.S. Military, designated as the M240.[69]
Uruguay[31]
Venezuela[31]
Zimbabwe[70][71]
