Artillery
WWII-Era German Artillery Development II
While the taper and squeeze bore experiments were progressing, another system of improving performance began to attract attention. The French ordnance engineer Brandt had been experimenting for some years with discarding sabot projectiles, a system in which the gun fired a projectile of less than its own calibre-a 10.5cm gun, for example, might well fire an 8.8cm projectile. In order…
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The Hellenistic Period – Weapons 400–150 BC III
LIGHT CAVALRY AND CATAPHRACTS Light cavalry of the Hellenistic period were generally mercenaries, called Tarentines. Although originally from Taras in south Italy, the name came to mean just a type of light cavalry armed with javelins and a small shield (Head 1982, pp. 115–16). The small shield of Macedonian style…
Heavy Pounders’
BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun in Italy, 1944 A British 4.5 inch gun in Normandy, 1944 WW II Radar Counter battery fire Counter battery fire most definitely was part of the WWII mortar crews concern hence the cover and protection. The allies had radar reserved specifically for this role. (First discovered…
Antiaircraft fire
The 85-mm anti-aircraft gun was developed from the successful 76.2- mm series, and proved highly effective in service. Much prized by the Germans, captured equipment was used alongside the famous ’88’. Many were used in the defence of Germany from the Allied bombing campaign. The Soviet 85-mm (3.346-in) Model 1939…
Krupp
The Paris Gun The Krupp arms-making dynasty was founded in Essen upon the fortune amassed by Arndt Krupp, who settled in that city in 1587. His son Anton expanded the family’s endeavors into making firearms during the Thirty Years’ War of 1618-1648, and the family progressively expanded its operations over…
2nd Artillery Group, 2nd Polish Corps
Poles of the 2nd Artillery Group, 2nd Polish Corps, man a heavy artillery piece bombarding German positions. No one was keener to liberate their homeland than the Poles. 2nd Artillery Group: 9th,10th,11th,12th and 13th heavy artillery regiments (pulk artylerii ciezkiej) General Wladislaw Sikorski, the head of the Polish Government in…
Multiple Launch Rocket System (227-MM MLRS) – The Gridsmasher
About 90 MLRS launchers were committed to Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, with more than 10,000 rockets fired during battle. The military report Desert Score summarizes of this system, “The MLRS is also identified as the M270 Armored Vehicle Mounted Rocket Launcher (AVMRL). It consists of an M269 Launcher Loader Module…