1.
Mark V tank
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The British Mark V tank was an upgraded version of the Mark IV tank. The tank was improved in several aspects, chiefly the new steering system and engine, but it fell short in other such as mechanical reliability. However, Mark V was successful, especially given its limited service history, the designation Mark V was switched to an improved version of the Mark IV, equipped with the new systems. The original design of the Mark IV was to have been an improvement on the Mark III. The Mark V thus turned out similar to the original design of the Mark IV – i. e. a greatly modified Mark III. Production of the Mark V started at Metropolitan Carriage and Wagon at the end of 1917, four hundred were built,200 Males and Females, the Males armed with 6-pounder guns and machine guns, the Females with machine guns only. Several were converted to Hermaphrodites by fitting one male and one female sponson and this measure was intended to ensure that female tanks would not be outgunned when faced with captured British male tanks in German use, or the Germans own A7V. However, the war ended in November 1918, and few Mark VIIIs would be built, the Mark V was also the basis of the Mk IX Troop Carrier, a dedicated Armoured Personnel Carrier, but only 34 were completed by the end of the war. After the war, most of the British Armys tank units were disbanded, the British Armys interest shifted more to lighter, faster tanks, and the Mark V was partially replaced by the Vickers Medium Mark I during the mid-1920s. Although the Vickers Medium Mark I was heavier Vickers A1E1 Independent reached prototype stage in 1926, the remaining Mark Vs appear to have been replaced by medium tanks by the end of the decade. In early 1917, some British tanks were tested with experimental powerplant and these included petrol-electric schemes, hydraulic systems, a multiple clutch system, and an epicyclic gearbox from Major W. G. Wilson. Though the petrol-electrics had advantages, Wilsons design was capable of production and was selected for use in future tanks, the Mark V had more power from a new Ricardo engine. Use of Wilsons epicyclic steering gear meant that only a driver was needed. On the roof towards the rear of the tank, behind the engine, was a raised cabin. An additional machine-gun mount was fitted at the rear of the hull, the first problem with the Ricardo engine had to do with its placement. The engine was mounted, meaning it was placed directly in the center of the crew compartment. In 1917, modern heat shielding was still away from being invented. The substitute at this point was a layer of sheet metal, which was less than adequate for stopping the extreme temperatures of the engine
2.
Tank gun
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A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are large-caliber high-velocity guns, capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high explosive anti-tank rounds, anti-aircraft guns can also be mounted to tanks. They must provide accuracy, range, penetration, and rapid fire in a package that is as compact and lightweight as possible, Tank guns generally use self-contained ammunition, allowing rapid loading. They often display a bulge in the barrel, which is a bore evacuator, or a device on the muzzle and these were naval or field artillery pieces stripped from their carriages and mounted in sponsons or casemates on armored vehicles. The early British Mark I tanks of 1916 used naval 57 mm QF6 pounder Hotchkiss mounted at the sides in sponsons, the first German tank, the A7V, utilized 57 mm Maxim-Nordenfelt fortification guns captured from Belgium and Russia, but mounted at the front. The early French Schneider CA1 mounted a short 75 mm mortar on one side, the larger caliber, shorter range artillery mounting didnt go away however. In some designs - for example, M3 Lee, Churchill, however, other strategists saw new roles for tanks in war, and wanted more specifically developed guns tailored to these missions. The ability to destroy tanks was foremost on their minds. To this end, the emerging anti-tank gun designs were modified to fit tanks and these weapons fired smaller shells, but at higher velocities with higher accuracy, improving their performance against armor. Such light guns as the QF 2-pounder and 37 mm equipped British cruiser tanks and these weapons lacked a good high-explosive shell for attacking infantry and fortifications, but were effective against the light armor of the time. World War II saw a growth in all areas of military technology. Battlefield experience led to powerful weapons being adopted. Guns with calibres from 20 mm to 40 mm soon gave way to 50 mm,75 mm,85 mm,88 mm,90 mm and even 122 mm calibre. In 1939, the standard German panzer had either a 20 mm or 37 mm medium-velocity weapon, the Soviets introduced their 122 mm in a turreted heavy tank series, the Iosef Stalin tanks. Shells were improved to better penetration with harder materials and scientific shaping. All of these meant improvements in accuracy and range, although the tank had to grow as well to carry the ammunition, mounting. Many nations devised tank destroyers during the war - a vehicle designed for anti-tank work. By the end of the war the variety in tank designs was narrowed, after World War II, the race to increase caliber slowed
3.
Armoured train
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An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railroad cars armed with artillery and machine guns and they were mostly used during the late 19th and early 20th century, when they offered an innovative way to quickly move large amounts of firepower. Most countries discontinued their use - road vehicles became more powerful and offered more flexibility. However, the Russian Federation used improvised armored trains in the Second Chechen War of 1999-2009, the rail cars on an armoured train were designed for many tasks. Typical roles included, Artillery - fielding a mixture of guns, machine guns, infantry - designed to carry infantry units, may also mount machine guns. Machine gun - dedicated to machine guns, anti-aircraft - equipped with anti-aircraft weapons. The US at one time proposed having a system for the MX Missile program. In addition to metal plates, concrete and sandbags were used in some cases for improvised armoured trains. Armoured trains were escorted by a kind of rail-tank called a draisine. One such example was the Littorina armoured trolley which had a cab in the front and rear, Littorina mounted two dual 7. 92mm MG13 machine gun turrets from Panzer I light tanks. Armoured trains saw use during the 19th century in the American Civil War, the Franco-Prussian War, the Boers captured Churchill and many of the trains contingent, but many others escaped, including wounded soldiers who had been carried on the trains engine. Early in the 20th century, Russia used armoured trains during the Russo-Japanese War, Armoured trains went on to see use during the Mexican Revolution and World War I. The most intensive use of armoured trains was during the Russian Civil War, the Spanish Civil War saw a little use of armoured trains, though World War II saw more. The French used them during the First Indochina War, and a number of countries had armoured trains during the Cold War, the last combat use appears to have been during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. The most successful armored train was a car built to defend the Philadelphia, Wilmington. The railroad had been attacked by forces to prevent transport of Union soldiers to the front. Baldwin Locomotive Works modified a baggage car in late April,1861, a 24-pounder howitzer was placed on a swivel mount at the opposite end of the car from the pushing locomotive. The sides of the car were sheathed with 2. 5-inch oak planks covered with 0. 5-inch boiler plate, the remainder of the car contained fifty ports for riflemen
4.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
5.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
6.
Hotchkiss et Cie
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Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie was a French arms and, in the 20th century, automobile manufacturer first established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. He moved to France and set up a factory, first at Viviez near Rodez in 1867, an example of the companys output was the Hotchkiss revolving cannon. The cannon had five barrels each able to fire 43 shells a minute a distance of one mile, it was made in four sizes from 37 mm to 57 mm, the first Hotchkiss car, a 17 CV four-cylinder model, appeared in 1903. The badge for the marque consisted of a pair of crossed cannons — a salute to the companys first products, a factory fire nearly killed all projects. Despite this, a model followed in 1906. During World War I, they mass-produced the Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun, tank parts, in 1933, they developed the Hotchkiss H35 tank. Post war came a luxury model called Type AK but only one was built, in 1920, there was an unsuccessful attempt to build Hotchkiss cars by a British arm of Hotchkiss in the United Kingdom — only a prototype was made. A refined model named Type AM was in production between 1923 and 1928, a new six-cylinder model, named AM80 came in 1928. The company made several successful racing cars, Hotchkiss racers won the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo in 1932,1933,1934,1939,1949 and 1950. The Hotchkiss 680 was an important model between the wars—it had a 6-cylinder, 3-litre engine, in 1937, the company merged with Amilcar. J. A. Grégoire joined the company as a designer, after World War II, the 680 continued. The first new car post war was a 13 CV four-cylinder model, from 1947, 2-litre flat-four models are frequently called Hotchkiss-Grégoire. After 1954, Hotchkiss manufactured Jeeps under licence from Willys, in 1956, Hotchkiss merged with French car manufacturer Brandt, producing jeeps at their factory near Paris for the French military until 1966. The firm was merged into Thomson-Houston in 1966 and in 1970 stopped producing vehicles of any sort, in the early 1970s, the Hotchkiss marque disappeared, as the French conglomerate came to be known as Thomson-Brandt. This, in turn, was nationalized in 1982 to form Thomson SA
7.
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
8.
Shell (projectile)
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A shell is a payload-carrying projectile that, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used, originally, it was called a bombshell, but shell has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages, shells are usually large-calibre projectiles fired by artillery, combat vehicles, and warships. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by a nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base. Solid cannonballs did not need a fuse, but hollow munitions filled with something such as gunpowder to fragment the ball, needed a fuse, percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism hit the target. Therefore, shells needed a fuse that was ignited before or during firing. The earliest record of shells being used in combat was by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376, shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop, as described in their book, these hollow, gunpowder-packed shells were made of cast iron. At least since the 16th Century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe, a hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt, Germany dated to the 17th Century. Lots of the grenades obtained their orignal blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. Early powder burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire put down the barrel to light the fuse, other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse. Nevertheless, shells came into use in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, it was known that the fuse towards the muzzle could be lit by the flash through the windage between the shell and the barrel, the use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in the 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder and they were usually made of cast iron, but bronze, lead, brass and even glass shell casings were experimented with. The word bomb encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter and they were about two thirds the weight of solid shot of the same calibre. To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses towards the muzzle, in 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognised that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardised sabot thickness as a half inch. The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading, despite the use of exploding shell, the use of smoothbore cannons, firing spherical projectiles of shot, remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s. By the late 18th century, artillery could use canister shot to defend itself from infantry or cavalry attack and this involved loading a tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls instead of the usual cannonball
9.
Glossary of British ordnance terms
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This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces ordnance and also ammunition. The terms may have different meanings in the military of other countries. Between decks, applies to a gun mounting in which part of the rotating mass is below the deck. This allows for a profile of turret, meaning that turrets need not be superfiring The term BL, in its general sense, stood for breech loading. The shell was loaded via the breech followed by the propellant charge, sealing the chamber to prevent escape of the propellant gases. The term BL was first used to refer to the Armstrong breechloaders, following the discontinuation of Armstrong breechloaders and the period of British rifled muzzle-loaders, British breechloaders were re-introduced in 1880. Early British Elswick breechloaders in the 1880s used a steel cup obturation method and this was quickly superseded in guns designed by the Royal Gun Factory by the French de Bange method, the basic principle of which is still in use today. In British service this became a Crossley pad with an interrupted thread screw block e. g. a Welin screw, the shell was loaded via the breech, followed by the propellant charge in a cloth bag. A single-use vent sealing tube, a type of primer not dissimilar in appearance to a rifle round, was inserted into the breech for firing the gun. For instance, Britain before World War I had both QF and BL6 inch guns and this presented difficulties for BL guns at high angles. A special cartridge was developed for BL9.2 inch guns on H. A. mountings, using multiple small fabric bags also allows the gunners to use a reduced charge if need be. The term BLC stood for BL converted and referred to a breech and breech mechanism modified from an early long-screw three- or four-motion to modern short-screw single-motion, an example is the conversion of the BL15 pounder to BLC15 pounder. Calibre radius head, the radius of a circle with the curve of the nose on its circumference. The longer and more pointed the nose, the higher the C. R. H. Typical C. R. H. for British shells leading up to World War I was two, e. g. the curve of the nose of a two C. R. H. Six-inch shell was equivalent to the curve of a circle with a radius of 12 inches, shells of four C. R. H. were soon developed in World War I, identified by an A following the shell mark number, B for six and so on. For modern streamlined shells post-World War I, two numbers were necessary to more correctly denote a shells C. R. H, for instance, the World War I6 inch 26 cwt howitzer shell was two C. R. H. The World War II Mk 2D shell was correctly described as 5/10 C. R. H, in this use it is synonymous with round
10.
Caliber
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In guns, particularly firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel, or the diameter of the projectile it fires, in hundredths or sometimes thousandths of an inch. For example, a 45 caliber firearm has a diameter of.45 of an inch. Barrel diameters can also be expressed using metric dimensions, as in 9mm pistol, when the barrel diameter is given in inches, the abbreviation cal can be used. Good performance requires a bullet to closely match the diameter of a barrel to ensure a good seal. While modern cartridges and cartridge firearms are referred to by the cartridge name. Firearm calibers outside the range of 17 to 50 exist, but are rarely encountered. Larger calibers, such as.577.585.600.700, the.950 JDJ is the only known cartridge beyond 79 caliber used in a rifle. Referring to artillery, caliber is used to describe the length as multiples of the bore diameter. A 5-inch 50 calibre gun has a diameter of 5 in. The main guns of the USS Missouri are 1650 caliber, makers of early cartridge arms had to invent methods of naming the cartridges, since no established convention existed then. One of the early established cartridge arms was the Spencer repeating rifle, later various derivatives were created using the same basic cartridge, but with smaller-diameter bullets, these were named by the cartridge diameter at the base and mouth. The original No.56 became the. 56-56, and the smaller versions. 56-52. 56-50, the. 56-52, the most common of the new calibers, used a 50-cal bullet. Optionally, the weight in grains was designated, e. g. 45-70-405. Variations on these methods persist today, with new cartridges such as the.204 Ruger, metric diameters for small arms refer to cartridge dimensions and are expressed with an × between the bore diameter and the length of the cartridge case, for example,7. 62×51 NATO. This indicates that the diameter is 7. 62mm, loaded in a case 51mm long. Similarly, the 6. 5×55 Swedish cartridge has a diameter of 6.5 mm. An exception to rule is the proprietary cartridge used by U. S. maker Lazzeroni. The following table lists commonly used calibers where both metric and imperial are used as equivalents
11.
Breech-loading weapon
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A breech-loading gun is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel. Modern mass production firearms are breech-loading, early firearms, on the other hand, were almost entirely muzzle-loading. In field artillery, breech loading allows the crew to reload the gun without exposing themselves to fire or repositioning the piece. The main challenge for developers of breech-loading firearms was sealing the breech and this was eventually solved for smaller firearms by the development of the self-contained metallic cartridge. For firearms too large to use cartridges, the problem was solved by the development of the interrupted screw, breech-loading swivel guns were invented in the 14th century. The breech-loading swivel gun had a rate of fire, and was especially effective in anti-personnel roles. Breech-loading firearms are known from the 16th century, Henry VIII possessed one, which he apparently used as a hunting gun to shoot birds. More breech-loading firearms were made in the early 18th century, one such gun known to have belonged to Philip V of Spain, and was manufactured circa 1715, probably in Madrid. It came with a ready-to load reusable cartridge, patrick Ferguson, a British Army officer, developed in 1772 the Ferguson rifle, a breech-loading flintlock firearm. Later on into the century there were attempts in Europe at an effective breech-loader. There were concentrated attempts at improved cartridges and methods of ignition, the cartridge was loaded through the breech and fired with a needle. The needle-activated central-fire breech-loading gun would become a feature of firearms thereafter. The corresponding firearm was also developed by Pauly, Pauly made an improved version, which was protected by a patent on 29 September 1812. In 1846 another Paris Frenchman, Benjamin Houllier, patented the first fully metallic cartridge containing powder in a metallic shell, Houllier commercialised his weapons in association with the gunsmiths Blanchard or Charles Robert. In English-speaking countries the Flobert cartridge corresponds to the.22 BB, the first centrefire cartridge was introduced in 1855 by Pottet, with both Berdan and Boxer priming. The Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr or Dreyse needle gun, was a single-shot breech-loading rifle using a rotating bolt to seal the breech and it was so called because of its. 5-inch needle-like firing pin, which passed through a paper cartridge case to impact a percussion cap at the bullet base. It began development in the 1830s under von Dreyse and eventually a version of it was adopted by Prussia in the late 1840s. The paper cartridge and the gun had numerous deficiencies, specifically, however, the rifle was used to great success in the Prussian army in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866
12.
Recoil
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Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it is discharged. To apply this counter-recoiling force, modern mounted guns may employ recoil buffering comprising springs and hydraulic recoil mechanisms, early cannons used systems of ropes along with rolling or sliding friction to provide forces to slow the recoiling cannon to a stop. Recoil buffering allows the maximum counter-recoil force to be lowered so that strength limitations of the gun mount are not exceeded, however, the same pressures acting on the base of the projectile are acting on the rear face of the gun chamber, accelerating the gun rearward during firing. This results in the required counter-recoiling force being proportionally lower, modern cannons also employ muzzle brakes very effectively to redirect some of the propellant gasses rearward after projectile exit. This provides a force to the barrel, allowing the buffering system. The same physics affecting recoil in mounted guns and cannons applies to hand-held guns, hands, arms and shoulders have considerable strength and elasticity for this purpose, up to certain practical limits. For this reason, establishing recoil safety standards for small arms remains challenging, a change in momentum of a mass requires a force, according to Newtons first law, known as the law of inertia, inertia simply being another term for mass. That force, applied to a mass, creates an acceleration, according to Newtons second law, the law of momentum -- changing the velocity of the mass changes its momentum. It is important to understand at this point that velocity is not simply speed, velocity is the speed of a mass in a particular direction. In a very technical sense, speed is a scalar, a magnitude, in summation, the total momentum of the system equals zero, surprisingly just as it did before the trigger was pulled. There are two conservation laws at work when a gun is fired, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy, recoil is explained by the law of conservation of momentum, and so it is easier to discuss it separately from energy. The nature of the process is determined by the force of the expanding gases in the barrel upon the gun. It is also determined by the force applied to the gun. The recoil force only acts during the time that the ejecta are still in the barrel of the gun, except for the case of zero-recoil, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force but lasts for a longer time. Since the recoil force and the force are not matched. In the zero-recoil case, the two forces are matched and the gun will not move when fired. In most cases, a gun is very close to a free-recoil condition, an example of near zero-recoil would be a gun securely clamped to a massive or well-anchored table, or supported from behind by a massive wall. For example, placing the butt of a large caliber gun directly against a wall, the recoil of a firearm, whether large or small, is a result of the law of conservation of momentum
13.
QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss
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The QF6 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 2.24 inch naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries, and was adapted for use in the early British tanks in World War I. The UK adopted a 40-calibre version as Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun Mk I and it was manufactured under licence by the Elswick Ordnance Company. They were originally mounted for use against the new torpedo boats which started to service in the late 1870s. The original 1885 Mk I lacked a recoil system, the Mk II of 1890 introduced a recoil system, with a pair of recoil/recuperator cylinders. During World War I the navy required many more guns and a version with a barrel was developed to simplify manufacture. Initially these guns were allowed to be fired with a special lower charge. After World War I the gun was considered obsolete for combat use, of the 3,984 produced it was estimated that 1,640 still existed in 1939. With the onset of World War II the remaining guns were rushed back into service for anti-submarine defense, E-boat defense, New non-recoil Mk VI, Mk VI* and Mk VI** mountings were built with elevations between -10° to +70°. These mountings were used on models of the Fairmile D Motor Gunboats, Motor Launchs. Some of which were not re-armed with the modern auto-loading 6 pdr Mk IIA until late 1944, the gun was used to equip Male versions of the early British tanks, Mk I - Mk III. In 1916 the British Army having no experience in fighting tanks was faced with the difficulty of quickly providing a new class of weapon. The existing Hotchkiss 6 pounder naval gun appeared to most closely meet the need, a single gun was mounted in each sponson, i. e.2 per Male tank, able to fire forwards or to the side. The British chose to shorten the gun rather than change its location, the history of the Hotchkiss six pounder in United States Navy and Army service is a complex story. It was used in conjunction with another design, its primary rival being the Driggs-Schroeder six pounder. Oddly, one shipbuilding and naval supply company, Cramp & Sons, had a license to both the Hotchkiss and Driggs-Schroeder and sold both to the Navy in parallel. However, the purchases by the Navy were in small lots each year. Both Hotchkiss and Driggs-Schroeder guns used the same ammunition and eventually the Navy made certain that the ammunition for both was identical, there is no question that the Driggs-Schroeders were predominant in the new protected and armored cruisers that were being commissioned by 1895. However, USS Texas, a second class battleship commissioned in 1895, carried a mixed six pounder complement of ten Driggs-Schroeders, USS Maine, an armored cruiser, exclusively carried Driggs-Schroeder six pounders although it had a mixed one pounder battery of both Driggs-Schroeder and Hotchkiss
14.
Mark IV tank
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The Mark IV was a British tank of World War I. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments on the first British tank, the major improvements were in armour, the re-siting of the fuel tank, and easier transportation. A total of 1,220 were built,420 Males,595 Females and 205 Tank Tenders, the Mark IV was first used in mid 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge. It remained in official British service until the end of the War, the director of the Tank Supply Department, Albert Gerald Stern, first intended to fit the Mark IV with a new engine and transmission. Production of battle tanks was halted until the new design was ready, the sponsons were not mirror images of each other, as their configuration differed to allow for the 6 pdrs gun-layer operating his gun from the left and the loader serving the gun from the right. The guns had a 100 degree arc of fire but only the gun could fire straight ahead. The Female had five machine guns, two of the machine guns were operated by the gun loaders. The decision to standardise on the Lewis gun was due to the space available within the tanks, despite its vulnerable barrel and a tendency to overheat or foul after prolonged firing, the Lewis used compact drum magazines which could hold up to 96 rounds. It was not until a flexible 50 round strip was developed in May 1917 that the Hotchkiss would become the standard machine gun for tanks again. This tank introduced the use of the fascine, a bundle of brushwood, bound with chains and it was dropped into trenches to allow the tank to cross over more easily. A large number of tanks were also used for development work. In an attempt to improve trench-crossing capability, the tadpole tail, however, it proved insufficiently rigid and does not appear to have been used in combat. Other experimental versions tested radios, mortars placed between the horns, and recovery cranes. Some of these devices were used on operational tanks. Mark IVs were also the first tanks fitted with unditching beams by field workshops, a large wooden beam, reinforced with sheet metal, was stored across the top of the tank on a set of parallel rails. If the tank became stuck, the beam was attached to the tracks and then dragged beneath the vehicle, crew,8 Combat weight, Male,28 tons Female,27 tons Armour,0. 25–0.47 in Armament, Three MG and two 6-pdrs, Five. With the main production being in 1917, the first order was placed for 1,000 tanks with Metropolitan in August 1916. It was then cancelled, reinstated and then modified between August and December 1916, the other manufacturers, contracted for no more than 100 tanks each, were largely immune to the conflict between Stern and the War Office
15.
Trench warfare
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The most famous use of trench warfare is the Western Front in World War I. It has become a byword for stalemate, attrition, sieges, Trench warfare occurred when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility, resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. On the Western Front in 1914–18, both sides constructed elaborate trench and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire, mines, the area between opposing trench lines was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties, with the development of armoured warfare, emphasis on trench warfare has declined, but still occurs where battle-lines become static. Field works are as old as armies, Roman legions, when in the presence of an enemy, entrenched camps nightly when on the move. In the early modern era they were used to block possible lines of advance and they played a pivotal role in manoeuvring that took place before the Battle of Blenheim. The lines were captured by the French in 1707 and demolished, the French built the 19-kilometre-long Lines of Weissenburg during the War of the Spanish Succession under the orders of the Duke of Villars in 1706. These were to remain in existence for just over 100 years and were last manned during Napoleons Hundred Days, the French built the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra during the winter of 1710–1711, which have been compared to the trenches of World War I. They ran from Arras to Cambrai and Valenciennes where they linked up with existing defensive lines fronted by the river Sambre and they were breached in the 1711 campaign season by the Duke of Marlborough through a magnificent piece of manoeuvring. During the Peninsular War, the British and Portuguese constructed the Lines of Torres Vedras in 1809 and 1810, nor were fortifications restricted to European powers. British casualty rates of up to 45 percent, such as at the Battle of Ohaeawai in 1845, proved contemporary firepower was insufficient to dislodge defenders from a trench system. Fundamentally, as the range and rate of fire of rifled small arms increased and this was only made more lethal by the introduction of rapid-firing artillery, exemplified by the French 75, and high explosive fragmentation rounds. The increases in firepower had outstripped the ability of infantry to cover the ground between firing lines, and the ability of armour to withstand fire and it would take a revolution in mobility to change that. Trench warfare is associated with the First World War of 1914–18. Both sides concentrated on breaking up attacks and on protecting their own troops by digging deep into the ground. Trench warfare was conducted on other fronts, including Italy. Trench warfare has become a symbol of the futility of war. To the French, the equivalent is the attrition of the Battle of Verdun in which the French Army suffered 380,000 casualties, Trench warfare is associated with mass slaughter in appalling conditions
16.
Polish armoured train units in Britain
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Twelve Polish armoured trains in Britain were formed during World War II by the Polish Armed Forces in the West. They were assigned to patrol the British railways in 1940 and they saw no combat, and were disbanded by July 1943. The trains were built in the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works and they patrolled the British coast from Cornwall up to the Moray Firth in Scotland. These included the only miniature railway armoured train ever created on the Romney, Hythe, the Polish Armoured Train battalions were founded on 12 October 1940. In late 1940 preparations began to hand the trains over to the Polish Army, there were four separate battalions formed, each assigned to a set of armoured trains. The First Battalion operated trains, C, G and E, the Second Battalion – trains, A, D and F. The Third Battalion – trains, B, M and H. And, the Polish units operated them until 1942 when the trains were handed to the Home Guard. They were quite soon phased out in England, but three continued to be used in Scotland, until the last one was withdrawn in November 1944
17.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
18.
British Empire
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The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
19.
Rifle
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A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called lands, which contact with the projectile. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin lends gyroscopic stability to the projectile and prevents tumbling and this allows the use of aerodynamically-efficient bullets and thus improves range and accuracy. The word rifle originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a rifled gun, the word rifle is now used for any long hand-held aimed device activated by a trigger, such as Air rifles and the Personnel halting and stimulation response rifle. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports, formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze, some fire in an automatic mode. Thus, modern automatic rifles overlap to some extent in design, in fact, many light machine guns are adaptations of existing automatic rifle designs. A militarys light machine guns are chambered for the same caliber ammunition as its service rifles. Generally, the difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight, cooling system. Modern military rifles are fed by magazines, while machine guns are generally belt-fed, many machine guns allow the operator to quickly exchange barrels in order to prevent overheating, whereas rifles generally do not. Most machine guns fire from a bolt in order to reduce the danger of cook-off. Machine guns are often crewed by more than one soldier, the rifle is an individual weapon, the term rifle is sometimes used to describe larger crew-served rifled weapons firing explosive shells, for example, recoilless rifles. In many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, the origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. This might also have led to a increase in accuracy. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smooth bore muskets, the black powder used in early muzzle-loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters, muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle
20.
Pattern 1914 Enfield
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The Rifle.303 Pattern 1914 was a British service rifle of the First World War period. A bolt action weapon with an integral 5-round magazine, it was principally contract manufactured by companies in the United States and it served as a sniper rifle and as second line and reserve issue until being declared obsolete in 1947. The Pattern 1914 Enfield was the successor to the Pattern 1913 Enfield experimental rifle, during the Boer War the British were faced with accurate long-range fire from Mauser rifles, model 1893 and 1895, in 7×57mm caliber. This smaller, high-velocity round prompted the War Department to develop their own magnum round, the primary contractor was unable to produce more than a handful of rifles, so the P14 became a de facto afterthought. The Short Magazine Lee–Enfield therefore remained the standard British rifle during World War I, shortly afterwards a modification was made to enlarge the bolt lugs and the rifle became the Mark I*. Eventually Winchester would manufacture 235,293 rifles, Remington 400,000 and Eddystone 600,000, when the U. S. entered World War I, the P14 was modified and standardized by the U. S. Ordnance Department and went into production at the factories as had produced the P14, production of that rifle having ceased. Sometimes called the M1917 Enfield, it was chambered for the standard US, in 1926 the Pattern 1914 Enfield was re-designated by the British military as the No3Mk1. Prior to and during World War II, the Pattern 1914 Enfield was used, post Dunkirk and with the great loss of arms that the British forces endured in 1940 the No3Mk1 stock suddenly became a valued resource. The rifle was used again as a sniper rifle, the configuration being different from the World War I incarnation. The Australian Army also used some quantities of the variant of the P14 during World War II. Once sufficient numbers were built up of the Short Magazine Lee–Enfields, the P14/No3Mk1 was declared obsolete in British service in 1947. Adapting the design to fire the standard.303 British round led to the Rifle.303 Pattern 1914, with its prominent sight protection ears on the receiver, dog-leg bolt handle and pot-belly magazine, it was distinctive in appearance. The P14 was a design for the time, and was said to be the most advanced service rifle of World War I. The Pattern 1914 Enfield had a large, strong action. The bolt action had a Model 98 Mauser type claw extractor, the unusual dog-leg bolt handle is low profile and places the knob close to the firers hand, again facilitating rapid fire. Like the Lee–Enfield, the safety falls under the firers thumb, the rifle was designed with a iron sight line consisting of rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for. The ladder aperture sight moves vertically on a slide, and hence was not able to correct for wind drift, the front sighting element consisted of a wing guards protected front post, and was adjusted laterally and locked into position during assembly at the arsenal
21.
Ross rifle
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The Ross rifle was a straight-pull bolt action.303 inch-calibre rifle produced in Canada from 1903 until 1918. By 1916, the rifle had been withdrawn from front line service, the Ross Rifle Co. made sporting rifles from early in its production, most notably chambered in.280 Ross, introduced in 1907. This cartridge is recorded as the first to achieve over 3000 feet per second velocity, during the Second Boer War, a minor diplomatic fight broke out between Canada and the United Kingdom, after the latter refused to license the Lee–Enfield SMLE design for production in Canada. Sir Charles Ross offered to finance the construction of a factory in Canada to produce his newly designed straight-pull rifle for Canadian service. This offer was accepted by the Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the operating principle of the straight pull bolt action comprises a bolt sleeve to which the bolt lever or handle is attached. The sleeve is hollow and has spiral grooves or teeth cut into its surface in which slide corresponding projections or teeth on the outside of the bolt head or body. As the bolt lever and sleeve are moved, the head is forced to rotate through about 90°. The bolt handle and sleeve thus need only be pushed backwards or forwards to open or close the action of the rifle. The single motion required to open or close the bolt of a straight pull action rifle is theoretically faster and easier for soldiers to learn, the first 1,000 rifles were given to the Royal Northwest Mounted Police for testing. Routine inspection before operational testing found 113 defects bad enough to warrant rejection, one of these was a poorly designed bolt lock that enabled the bolt to fall right out of the rifle. Another was poorly tempered component springs that were described as being as soft as copper, in 1906, the RNWMP reverted to their Model 1894 Winchesters and Lee–Metfords. The Ross rifle was modified to correct these faults and became the Mark II Ross, in 1907, the Mk II was modified to handle the higher pressure of newly designed.280 Ross, this variant was called Mk II**. The Model 10 was a new design, made to correct the shortcomings of the 1905. None of the parts are interchangeable between the 1905 and the 1910 models. Although the British were now encouraging standardization across the Empire on the Lee–Enfield, the Model 10 was the standard infantry weapon of the First Canadian Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force when it first arrived in France in February 1915. The shortcomings of the rifle were made apparent before the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, the rifle showed poor tolerance of dirt when used in field conditions, particularly the screw threads operating the bolt lugs, jamming the weapon open or closed. Another part of the problem came from the bolts outer face hitting the bolt stop. Another well-known deficiency was the tendency for the bayonet to fall off the rifle when the weapon was fired, many Canadians of the First Contingent at Ypres retrieved Lee–Enfields from British casualties to replace their Ross rifles
22.
Machine gun
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A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt
23.
Maxim gun
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The Maxim gun was a weapon invented by American-British inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1883, it was the first recoil-operated machine gun. It has been called the weapon most associated with the British imperial conquest, the mechanism of the Maxim gun employed one of the earliest recoil-operated firing systems in history. The idea is that the energy from recoil acting on the block is used to eject each spent cartridge and insert the next one. Maxims earliest designs used a 360-degree rotating cam to reverse the movement of the block and this made it vastly more efficient and less labor-intensive than previous rapid-firing guns, such as the Mitrailleuse, Gatling, Gardner, or Nordenfelt, that relied on actual mechanical cranking. It also decreased the gas buildup in the barrel, allowing the gun to fire more bullets over a period of time without overheating the barrel. The Maxim gun design required water cooling, giving it the ability to maintain its rate of fire for far longer than air-cooled guns, the disadvantage of this was that it made the gun less flexible in attack than the lighter air-cooled weapons. Trials demonstrated that the Maxim could fire 600 rounds per minute, compared to modern machine guns, the Maxim was heavy, bulky, and awkward. A lone soldier could fire the weapon, but it was operated by a team of men. Apart from the gunner, other crew were needed to speed reload, spot targets, several men were needed to move or mount the heavy weapon. Maxim established the Maxim Gun Company with financing from Albert Vickers, a blue plaque on the Factory where Maxim invented and produced the gun is to be found in Hatton Garden at the junction with Clerkenwell Road in London. Albert Vickers became the chairman, and it later joined hands with a Swedish competitor, Nordenfelt, to become Maxim Nordenfelt Guns. The Post Office Directory of trades in London of 1895 lists its office at 32 Victoria Street SW on page 1579, finally, the company was absorbed into the mother Vickers company, leading first to the Maxim-Vickers gun and then, after Vickers redesign, the Vickers machine gun. Maxims first patents related to the development of the Maxim were registered in June, the first prototype was demonstrated to invited guests in October 1884. A prototype of the Maxim gun was given by Hiram Maxim to the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition in 1886–1890, under the leadership of Henry Morton Stanley. More a publicity stunt than a military contribution, in view of the main financier of the expedition, William Mackinnon. The first unit in the world to receive the Maxim was the Singapore Volunteer Corps in 1889 and this was a civilian volunteer defence unit on the then-British island. The Maxim gun was first used by Britains colonial forces in the 1893–1894 First Matabele War in Rhodesia, during the Battle of the Shangani,700 soldiers fought off 5,000 warriors with just four Maxim guns. It played an important role in the swift European colonization of Africa in the late 19th century, the extreme lethality was employed to devastating effect against obsolete charging tactics, when native opponents could be lured into pitched battles in open terrain
24.
Vickers machine gun
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The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled.303 British machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate, one fired, one fed the ammunition and it was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied World War I fighter aircraft. The weapon had a reputation for solidity and reliability. Using 100 barrels, they fired a million rounds without a failure and it was this absolute foolproof reliability which endeared the Vickers to every British soldier who ever fired one. The Vickers machine gun was based on the successful Maxim gun of the late 19th century, a muzzle booster was also added. The British Army formally adopted the Vickers gun as its machine gun on 26 November 1912. There were still great shortages when the First World War began, Vickers was, in fact, threatened with prosecution for war profiteering, due to the exorbitant price it was demanding for each gun. As a result, the price was slashed, as the war progressed, and numbers increased, it became the British Armys primary machine gun, and served on all fronts during the conflict. After the First World War, the Machine Gun Corps was disbanded, however, the Vickers remained in service with the British Army until 30 March 1968. Its last operational use was in the Radfan during the Aden Emergency and its successor in UK service is the L7 GPMG. In 1913, a Vickers machine gun was mounted on the experimental Vickers E. F. B.1 biplane, which was probably the worlds first purpose-built combat aeroplane. However, by the time the version, the Vickers F. B.5, had entered service the following year. During World War I, the Vickers gun became a weapon on British and French military aircraft. Although heavier than the Lewis, its closed bolt firing cycle made it easier to synchronize to allow it to fire through aircraft propellers. The belt feed was enclosed right up to the guns feed-way to inhibit effects from wind, steel disintegrating-link ammunition belts were perfected in the UK by William de Courcy Prideaux in mid-war and became standard for aircraft guns thereafter. The famous Sopwith Camel and the SPAD XIII types used twin synchronized Vickers, as did most British and French fighters between 1918 and the mid-1930s. Several sets of louvred slots were cut into the jacket to aid air cooling. The Gloster Gladiator was the last RAF fighter to be armed with the Vickers, the Fairey Swordfish continued to be fitted with the weapon until production ended in August 1944
25.
Lewis gun
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The Lewis gun is a First World War-era light machine gun of US design that was perfected and mass-produced in the United Kingdom, and widely used by British and British Empire troops during the war. With its distinctive barrel cooling shroud and top-mounted pan magazine, the Lewis served to the end of the Korean War and it was also widely used as an aircraft machine gun, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, during both world wars. The Lewis gun was invented by U. S. Army colonel Isaac Newton Lewis in 1911, Lewis became frustrated with trying to persuade the U. S. Army to adopt his design, so, retired from the army. He left the United States in 1913 and went to Belgium, Lewis had been working closely with British arms manufacturer the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited in an effort to overcome some of the production difficulties of the weapon. Lewis and his moved to England before 1914, away from possible seizure in the event of a German invasion. The Belgian army acquired only a handful of his guns and they were not on general issue in the Belgian Army, and were used only in a few forays by motor vehicles, south of Antwerp, against the flank of the invading German Army. The onset of the First World War increased demand for the Lewis gun, the design was officially approved for service on 15 October 1915 under the designation Gun, Lewis. 303-cal. No Lewis guns were produced in Belgium during the war, all manufacture was carried out by BSA in England, Savage did make Lewis guns in.303 British calibre, though. The Model 1916 and Model 1917 were exported to Canada and the United Kingdom, the Savage Model 1917 was generally produced in. 30-06 caliber. A number of guns were supplied to the UK under lend-lease during the Second World War. The Lewis gun was gas operated, a portion of the expanding propellant gas was tapped off from the barrel, driving a piston to the rear against a spring. The piston was fitted with a vertical post at its rear which rode in a helical cam track in the bolt and this allowed the three locking lugs at the rear of the bolt to engage in recesses in the guns body to lock it into place. The post also carried a fixed firing pin, which protruded through an aperture in the front of the bolt, only the Royal Navy retained the tube on their deck-mounted AA-configuration Lewis guns. The Lewis gun used a pan magazine holding 47 or 97 rounds, pan magazines hold the rounds, bullet-noses inwards toward the center, in a radial fan. Unlike the more common drum magazines, which hold the rounds parallel to the axis and are fed by spring tension, the Lewis magazine was driven by a cam on top of the bolt which operated a pawl mechanism via a lever. The operating rod had a toothed underside, which engaged with a cog which wound the spring, when the gun fired, the bolt recoiled and the cog was turned, tightening the spring until the resistance of the spring had reached the recoil force of the bolt assembly. At that moment, as the gas pressure in the fell, the spring unwound, turning the cog. As with a spring, the Lewis gun recoil spring had an adjustment device to alter the recoil resistance for variations in temperature
26.
Side arm
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A side arm or sidearm is a weapon, usually a handgun but sometimes a dagger, knife or other mêlée weapon, which is worn on the body in a holster or sheath to permit immediate access and use. A sidearm is typically required equipment for officers and is usually carried by law enforcement personnel. Usually, uniformed personnel of these services wear their weapons openly, a sidearm may be carried alone, or as a back-up to a primary weapon such as a rifle or carbine. In the protocol of courtesy, the surrender of a commanders sidearm is the act in the general surrender of a unit. Similarly, many commanders on a level have been anecdotally cited as having used the threat of their side arms to motivate troops. An important purpose of the arm is to be used if the primary weapon is not available. Many Special Forces soldiers armed with a rifle or carbine like the M16 or M4 may also have a semi-automatic pistol as a side arm. The term may refer to swords and other mêlée weapons
27.
Webley Revolver
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The Webley Revolver was, in various marks, a standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and the British Empire and Commonwealth, from 1887 until 1963. The Webley is a revolver and breaking the revolver operates the extractor. The Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in 1887 and the Mk IV, the Mk VI, introduced in 1915 during the First World War, is perhaps the best-known model. Firing large.455 Webley cartridges, Webley service revolvers are among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced. The.455 calibre Webley is no longer in military service, many Webley Mk VIs were converted to fire 45 ACP ammunition after the remaining.455 Webley ammunition dwindled. The British company Webley & Scott produced a range of revolvers from the mid 19th to late 20th centuries, as early as 1853 P. Webley and J. Webley began production of their first patented single action cap and ball revolvers. Later under the name of P. Webley and Son. Today, undoubtedly best-known are the range of revolvers, which were in service use across two World Wars and numerous colonial conflicts. The military was suitably impressed with the revolver, and it was adopted on 8 November 1887 as the Pistol, Webley, Mk I. The initial contract called for 10,000 Webley revolvers, at a price of £3/1/1 each, the Webley revolver went through a number of changes, culminating in the Mk VI, which was in production between 1915 and 1923. The large.455 Webley revolvers were retired in 1947, although the Webley Mk IV. 38/200 remained in service until 1963 alongside the Enfield No.2 Mk I revolver, the Webley Mk IV, chambered in. Demand exceeded production, which was already behind as the war began and this forced the British government to buy substitute weapons chambered in.455 Webley from neutral countries. America provided the Smith & Wesson 2nd Model Hand Ejector and Colt New Service Revolvers, rexach & Urgoite was tapped for an initial order of 500 revolvers, but they were rejected due to defects. The official service pistol for the British military during the Second World War was the Enfield No.2 Mk I. 38/200 calibre revolver, owing to a critical shortage of handguns, a number of other weapons were also adopted to alleviate the shortage. As a result, both the Webley Mk IV in. 38/200 and Webley Mk VI in.455 calibre were issued to personnel during the war. The Webley Mk VI and Mk IV revolvers were issued to British and Commonwealth Forces after the Second World War. An armourer stationed in West Germany recalled that by the time they were retired in 1963. This lack of ammunition was instrumental in keeping the Enfield and Webley revolvers in use so long, they were not wearing out because they were not being used
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Colt New Service
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The Colt New Service is a double-action revolver made by Colt from 1898 until 1941. It was adopted by the U. S. Armed Forces in caliber 45 Revolver Model of 1909 as the Model 1909 U. S. Army, Marine Corps Model 1909, Model 1909 U. S. Navy, the Model 1917 was created to supplement insufficient stocks of M1911 pistols during World War I. The Colt New Service was the largest revolver ever manufactured by Colt, there are several generational variants including the Old Model, Transitional Model, Improved Model and Late Model. A Target Model, Shooting Master and Deluxe Target Model were offered as well, the Colt M1917 Revolver was a New Service with a cylinder bored to take the.45 ACP cartridge and the half-moon clips to hold the rimless cartridges in position. Later production Colt M1917 revolvers had headspacing machined into the cylinder chambers, during its lifetime, the Colt New Service was the most popular revolver made by Colt, surpassing 150,000 units. After World War I, the revolver gained a following among civilian shooters. John Henry Fitzgerald was an employee of Colt prior to World War II and was known to carry of a pair of New Service Fitz Specials in his front pockets. These revolvers had bobbed hammers,2 barrels, shortened and rounded grip frames, although less than 30 left the factory, it became an after-market conversion for many gunsmiths. Colonels Rex Applegate and Charles Askins were proponents of this model, in 1899 Canada acquired a number of New Service revolvers for Boer War service, to supplement its existing Model 1878 Colt Double Action revolvers in the same caliber. In 1904/5 the North-West Mounted Police in Canada also adopted the Colt New Service to replace the less-than satisfactory Enfield Mk II revolver in service since 1882, New Service revolvers, designated as Pistol, Colt. 455-inch 5. 5-inch barrel Mk. I, chambered for the.455 Webley cartridge were acquired for issue as substitute standard by the British War Department during World War I. British Empire Colt New Service Revolvers were stamped NEW SERVICE.455 ELEY on the barrel, British Empire and Canadian forces received 60,000 Colt New Service revolvers during World War I and they continued to see official service with US until the end of World War II. Antique Guns Chamberlain & Taylerson, W. H. J, Revolvers of the British Services, 1854-1954. Bloomfield, ON and Alexandria Bay, NY, Museum Restoration Service, bloomfield, ON and Alexandria Bay, NY, Museum Restoration Service. Maze, Robert J. Howdah to High Power, A Century of Breechloading Service Pistols, aledo, Illinois, World-Wide Gun Report, Inc. Phillips & Klancher, Roger F. & Donald J. Arms & Accoutrements of the Mounted Police, 1873-1973. Bloomfield, ON and Alexandria Bay, NY, Museum Restoration Service, the Colt Revolver in the American West—New Service Guns and Ammo Magazine article on Colt New Service Revolver Colt New Service Revolver
29.
Smith & Wesson Triple Lock
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The Triple lock, officially the Smith & Wesson.44 Hand Ejector 1st Model New Century, is a double-action revolver. It was and is considered by many, including handgun enthusiast and expert Elmer Keith and its popular name refers to its extra locking lug on the cylinder crane. This extra locking mechanism was deemed due to the increased power of the.44 Special cartridge. These 19th-century designs had an automatic ejector mechanism actuated when the frame was tipped up, the newer Hand Ejector models required the user to depress a plunger to eject spent cartridge casings. The New Century designation was in recognition of its status as Smith & Wessons first 20th century design and it was only manufactured between 1908 and 1915, for a total of 15,376 revolvers, a stock that sold out completely by 1917. It was replaced by a.44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model, most visibly different in lacking the ejector shroud, the British and Canadian militaries pressed for the removal of the third locking lug and shroud due to concerns the precision mechanism would collect dirt and malfunction. Additionally, the change simplified manufacturing, allowing Smith & Wesson to drop the price of the gun by $2, the ejector shroud was reintroduced in 1926, with the Hand Ejector 3rd Model, but the Triple Lock feature was never used again. To cover manufacturing shortages of the Webley Mk VI, early in the war the Ministry of Munitions contracted Colt, subsequent orders, lacking the third locking lug and ejector shroud, totalled 69,755 and were known as the Mark II. Jan.2000 American Handgunner June 2004 American Handgunner
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Grenade
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A grenade is a small bomb typically thrown by hand. A variety of hand grenades exist, the most common being explosive grenades designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time, Grenadiers were originally soldiers who specialized in throwing grenades. The word grenade derives from the French word for an explosive shell. Its first use in English dates from the 1590s and it is likely derived from Old French pomegranate and influenced by Spanish granada, as the fragmenting bomb is reminiscent of the many-seeded fruit. Rudimentary incendiary grenades appeared in the Eastern Roman Empire, not long after the reign of Leo III. Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire, a Byzantine invention of the century, could not only be thrown by flamethrowers at the enemy. The use of Greek fire spread to Muslim armies in the Near East, in China, during the Song Dynasty, weapons known as Zhen Tian Lei were created when Chinese soldiers packed gunpowder into ceramic or metal containers. In 1044, a military book Wujing Zongyao described various gunpowder recipes in which one can find, according to Joseph Needham, the Chinese also discovered the explosive potential of packing hollowed-out cannonball shells with gunpowder. The mid-14th-century book Huolongjing, written by Jiao Yu, recorded an earlier Song-era cast iron cannon known as the flying-cloud thunderclap cannon, the manuscript stated that, The shells are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of divine fire and they are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor, and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the first cast iron bombshells and grenades did not appear in Europe until 1467. A hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt. Lots of the grenades obtained their original blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentially dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. In 1643, it is possible that Grenados were thrown amongst the Welsh at Holt Bridge during the English Civil War and these grenades were not very effective and, as a result, saw little use. Improvised grenades were used from the mid-19th century, being especially useful in trench warfare. In the American Civil War, both sides used hand grenades equipped with a plunger that detonated the device on impact, the Union relied on experimental Ketchum Grenades, which had a tail to ensure that the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds and they also used Rains and Adams grenades, which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and mechanism. Improvised hand grenades were used to great effect by the Russian defenders of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War
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No 1 Grenade
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The Grenade, Hand No 1 was the first British hand grenade used in World War I. The grenade proper is a container of explosive material with an iron fragmentation band, the fuse was of the impact sort, detonating when the top of the grenade hit the ground. A long cane handle allowed the user to throw the grenade further than the blast of the explosion, to ensure that the grenade hit the ground nose first, a cloth streamer was attached to the end of the handle. When thrown this unfurled and acted as a tail to stabilize flight, the grenade came with a metal loop so it could hang from the belt. When the battlefield became confined to the trenches, the handle became a liability - several accidents occurred. Reaching back for the throw, the struck the trench side. 3, a variant of the No 1, had a handle for easier use in a trench. Even with these adjustments, the No 1 and its variants did poorly in battle, according to German prisoners captured at Ypres in January 1916, the No 1 could be deflected by wooden boards. In some cases, the grenade could be thrown back. Manufacturing the No 1 was difficult as well, as it required a special detonator that could only be produced by the Ordnance Factories, because of this, the BEF got far fewer No 1s than were ordered. A version that used a more common detonator, the No 18, was designed, the difficulty of operating it in trenches plus the special detonator caused Britain to create several stopgap grenades, such as the Jam Tin Grenade, until the Mills Bomb was adopted
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Hales rifle grenade
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The Hales Rifle Grenade is the name for several rifle grenade used by British forces during World War I. All of these are based on the No 3 design. With variants that lack the vale, the grenade was activated in exactly the way as the ones that have a vale. In 1907, Martin Hale developed the rod grenade, a simple rod was attached to a specialized grenade, inserted into the barrel of a standard service rifle and launched using a blank cartridge. Unfortunately, the British did not immediately adopt the idea and entered World War I without any rifle grenades, however, as soon as the trench warfare started, there was a sudden need for rifle grenades. The British government purchased a rodded variant of the No 2 grenade as a temporary solution, by 1915, Hales had developed the No 3, which is commonly known as the Hales Rifle Grenade. The Hales grenade was improved throughout World War I to make it more reliable, however, production of the grenade was slow. In order to speed rod grenades to the front, the British also made rodded versions of the Mills bomb, although a simple approach, launching a rod grenade. This led to the search for an alternative and resulted in the reappearance of the cup launcher during the years of World War I. After World War I, the rifle grenade was declared obsolete. The Hales went through many variations in order to make it more cost effective and effective, the No 3 started off as the No 3 Mk I. It has a segmented body and a wind vane designed to help activate the detonator in mid flight. It uses either Tonite or TNT as its explosive, the No 3 had several problems, it was difficult to manufacture, as it required precision and was made up of many parts. Another problem occurred with the detonators, like the No 1 Grenade and this detonator was also used in the No 2 grenade and was very similar to the one in the No 1 Grenade, which made it harder to mass-produce. The No 3 also had an overly sensitive percussion cap, which caused many premature detonations, once these problems became well known, further development was begun. The No 20 was the result of these refinements, the No 20 was similar to the No 3, but its main difference was that it lacked No 3s vane. In theory this was supposed to make it more reliable than the No 3, instead of Tonite or TNT, the No 20 used Ammonite, which tended to corrode the brass parts of the grenade, which created several failures when the grenade was fired. While being an improvement over the No 3, the No 20 still had design flaws, the No 20 had two variants, the Mk I and II
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Mills bomb
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Mills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army, william Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the Mills bomb at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was inspired by a design by Belgian captain Leon Roland. Roland and Mills were later engaged in a patent lawsuit, the Mills bomb was adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915, and designated the No.5. The Mills bomb underwent numerous modifications, the No.23 was a variant of the No.5 with a rodded base plug which allowed it to be fired from a rifle. This concept evolved further with the No,36, a variant with a detachable base plate to allow use with a rifle discharger cup. The final variation of the Mills bomb, the No, 36M, was specially designed and waterproofed with shellac for use initially in the hot climate of Mesopotamia in 1917, but remained in production for many years. By 1918 the No.5 and No.23 were declared obsolete, the Mills was a classic design, a grooved cast iron pineapple with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin. The Mills was a grenade, after throwing the user had to take cover immediately. A competent thrower could manage 15 metres with reasonable accuracy, the British Home Guard were instructed that the throwing range of the No.36 was about 30 yards with a danger area of about 100 yds. The heavy segmented bodies of pineapple type grenades result in a pattern of fragmentation. After the Second World War Britain adopted grenades that contained segmented coiled wire in smooth metal casings, 36M Mk. I remained the standard grenade of the British Armed Forces and was manufactured in the UK until 1972, when it was completely replaced by the L2 series. The 36M remained in service in parts of the world such as India and Pakistan. Mills bombs were still being used in combat as recently as 2004 e. g. the incident which killed US Marine Jason Dunham, the No.5 Mk.1 was the first version. The lever was protected by metal ears flanking the top that could be used to locate it in darkness and it was first issued in May,1915 but wasnt in general issue until mass production caught up a year later in 1916. The Mk.2 had a stronger safety lever. 23, the model, first appeared in 1917. The No.23 Mk.1 had a redesigned, narrower baseplug that was centrally threaded underneath so it could attach the rifle rod, the Mk.2 and Mk.3 were product-improved versions designed to make it cheaper and easier to produce
34.
Jam tin grenade
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The jam tin, or bully beef tin, was one of many grenades designed by ANZACS in the early part of the First World War in response to lack of equipment suited to trench warfare. The grenade was an inner can of explosive with an outer can of metal fragments or ball bearings, the heavier pattern No 9 grenade contained more high explosive and more metal fragments. The fuse was ignited by a device or a cigarette. Initially when demand for grenades was at its greatest, engineers were encouraged to improvise their own grenades from the containing the soldiers ration of jam. Incidents with the form and the supply of superior grenades led to official withdrawal of the design. Jam tin grenades were used as booby traps by ANZACS, by rigging it to a pressure trigger, weapons of War, Grenades British Hand Grenades On The Western Front In The Great War
35.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
36.
QF 6-pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss
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The muzzles of the long barrels sometimes dug into the mud or struck obstacles when the vehicle crossed trenches or shell craters. The shortened QF6 pounder 6 cwt Mk I of single tube construction was introduced in January 1917 in the Mark IV tank, the Mk II gun was developed at the same time, having a built-up barrel construction. The gun was reused in the Second World War, being fitted to the 12 Armoured Trains operated in the United Kingdom, just as with the tank mounting, the short barrel was an advantage, preventing fouling of line-side structures and bridges. The last British armoured trains were decommissioned in 1944, list of tank main guns I. V. Hogg and L. F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918
37.
1.59-inch Breech-Loading Vickers Q.F. Gun, Mk II
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Gun, Mk II was a British light artillery piece designed during World War I. Originally intended for use in warfare, it was instead tested for air-to-air. Although it fired shells and had no capability to launch rockets, Vickers designed the gun early in World War I, intending it as a piece of light artillery for use by infantry in trenches in attacking machine gun positions and pillboxes. To make it portable for use, it was very small. Its light construction dictated a low velocity, which resulted in it having a short range. It was too light to withstand the detonation of standard British explosive propellants, the gun fired a 1. 2-pound high-explosive shell at 800 feet per second, it also could fire an armour-piercing round at 1,000 feet per second. The guns 40x79R cartridge was a version of the naval 40x158R anti-aircraft cartridge. It had a simple block breech with percussion gear, and was mounted on a frame consisting of a hydraulic buffer, trunnion block. Hand grips were mounted on the guide tube, the gun had a large muzzle brake to reduce recoil. Vickers manufactured the gun at its plant in Crayford, England, the concept of using the 1. 59-inch Breech-Loading Vickers Q. F. Gun, Mk II in the trenches was superseded by that of the mortar, which was simpler, cheaper, easily portable. When mounted aboard aircraft, the gun could fire incendiary, armor-piercing, the gun was approved for aircraft use in 1917. For operational testing, it was fitted to F. E. 2b aircraft of Nos.100 and 102 Squadrons, Royal Flying Corps, the squadrons tested it on night operations and reported mixed results. No.102 Squadrons Captain T. J. C and this led the squadron to require gunners to wait five minutes before removing a misfire. The gun also suffered from weak trigger springs and some of its shells had defective primers, plans to mount the gun on the Parnall Scout fighter apparently did not come to fruition. The Royal Aircraft Factory N. E.1 night fighter was constructed to the same specification to carry the gun, though it flew well. After the failure of both the F. B.25 and N. E.1 to win production orders, interest in operational employment of the 1. 59-inch Breech-Loading Vickers Q. F. Gun, Mk II appears to have waned, moreover, the introduction of a round for use in machine guns had made aerial use of the gun less desirable
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Field artillery
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Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and this was in contrast to horse artillery, whose emphasis on speed while supporting cavalry units necessitated lighter guns and crews riding on horseback. Modern artillery has also advanced to rapidly deployable wheeled and tracked vehicles, thus, their role was limited to such functions as breaking sieges. Following the beginning of the era, the first field artillery came into being as metallurgy allowed thinner cannon barrels to withstand the explosive forces without bursting. However, there was still a risk of the constant changes of the battlefield conspiring to leave behind slow-moving artillery units - either on the advance, or more dangerously. Artillery units were particularly vulnerable to assault by light cavalry, which were used in this role. Only with a number of inventions, did the concept of field artillery really take off. One of the earliest documented uses of field artillery is found in the 14th-century Ming Dynasty treatise Huolongjing, the text describes a Chinese cannon called a thousand ball thunder cannon, manufactured of bronze and fastened with wheels. The book also describes another mobile form of artillery called a barbarian attacking cannon consisting of an attached to a two-wheel carriage. Before World War I, field artillery batteries fired directly at visible targets measured in distances of meters. Today, modern field batteries measure targets in kilometers and miles, most field artillery situations require indirect fire due to weather, terrain, night-time conditions, distance or other obstacles. Modern field artillery has three sections, All batteries have a Fire Support Man, Fire Direction Control. The FOs are forward with the infantry where they can see the targets and they call the FDC on the radio and transmit a request for fire in the format of CFF. The FDC calculates the CFF and send a deflection and elevation to the gun line, the gun line cranks the specified elevation and deflection on the howitzers, punch the artillery shell followed by the bag. Depending on the CFF, the gunline will fire the round when they are ready or when the FO calls and tells them to fire, the FO spots the round and sends a correction back to the FDC and the process starts all over again until its done. The batteries are many kilometres behind the FLOT and they plan a location where they can be Fire Capability for some certain amount of time and do multiple fire missions before needing to displace. In normal operations the FOs locate targets and transmits the CFF to the FDCs and they can also calculate defensive fire tasks. Because the calculations have already been done, the fire can be called down very quickly when it is needed, the advance party consists of the battery commander, his driver, first sergeant, gunnery sergeant, FDC guide, gun guides, and communications representatives
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Ordnance BL 12-pounder 6 cwt
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The Ordnance BL12 pounder 6 cwt was a lighter version of the British 12 pounder 7 cwt gun, used by the Royal Horse Artillery in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Problems arose when the standard BL12 pounder 7 cwt gun was used in the great Indian cavalry manoeuvres of 1891, the carriage was found to be too complicated, and dust caused the metal surfaces of the axle traversing device to seize. It also proved too heavy for horse artillery, which was intended to support cavalry in battle, the 12 pounder 6 cwt gun was therefore developed in 1892, when the new more powerful cordite replaced gunpowder, as a lighter version of the BL12 pounder 7 cwt gun. It had a barrel 18 inches shorter, on a lighter and simpler carriage, in 1899 a primitive recoil-absorbing system was added. The weapon was obsolete in British service by the acquisition of the modern quick-firing Ehrhardt QF15 pounder in 1901. The early No.56 Fuze burned too fast, a maximum of only 13 seconds, the No.57 Blue Fuze was introduced during the Boer war. It had a burning powder train and hence could be time set for ranges up to 5800 yards. A maximum range of 6000 yards was quoted in use in the First World War, the gun was used by the Royal Horse Artillery, and together with the BL15 pounder, it provided the main British firepower. Eighteen guns were used by the Royal Canadian Artillery in this war. A total of 78 guns fired 36,161 shells, a battery of 6 guns served in the East African Campaign as the 8th Field Battery. It arrived with the Calcutta Artillery Volunteers in October 1914, LONDON, PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTYS STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTINS LANE Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919, Hall, Guns in South Africa 1899-1902 in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 1, June 1971 Major Darrell D. Hall, part I,1860 -1900 in The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal - Vol 2 No 4, December 1972 I. V, hogg & L. F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London, Ian Allan,1972 Handbook for the 12-PR, B. L.6 cwt. gun, mark I-IV Horse artillery,1896,1898,1901,1903,1905 Diagram of 12pr B. L. 6cwt Field Mark I & II from Victorian Forts and Artillery website
40.
Ordnance QF 12-pounder 8 cwt
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The Ordnance QF12 pounder 8 cwt was a Royal Navy landing gun intended for navy use ashore. 8 cwt refers to the weight of the gun and breech and this was how the British often differentiated between guns of the same calibre or weight of shell. This gun had a barrel and was of relatively low power compared to the 12 pounders of 12 and 18 cwt. Fourteen were converted into anti-aircraft guns as Mk I*, the Royal Navy eventually replaced the gun with the 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer. The gun was used in the stages of the Second Boer War in Natal. These guns were employed on land in the West Africa campaign and they were also employed in the East Africa campaign. This gun was used in the Battle of Gallipoli, as the Royal Navy had supplies of ammunition for it when the army was short of ammunition for its own guns. Several guns were landed in July 1915 and operated from frontline trenches, there is a surviving example held and maintained at Devonport Field Gun Association Heritage Centre & Museum at Crownhill Fort, Plymouth. There are also three examples at the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets summer training camp at HMCS Acadia in Cornwallis and they still fired regularly, although they only fire blanks for ceremonial and training purposes. This cannon is the used in the famous British Royal Navy Field Gun Runs. LONDON, PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTYS STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, MARTINS LANE Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK,2004 ISBN 1-84176-688-7 General Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Forgotten Fronts, naval Weapons of World War One. RN team practice with QF12 pdr for Navy Gun Run For access to view the surviving example
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