: Philip Jobson
: Royal Artillery: Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations Historical and Modern
: Spellmount
: 9780750980074
: 1
: CHF 16.50
:
: Geschichte
: English
: 320
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Since its creation in 1716, the Royal Artillery has been a cornerstone of the British Armed Forces, as their motto Ubique,'Everywhere' implies. In this book Philip Jobson has collated the enormous and complex artillery lexicon which has accumulated since that day, as dynamic as its subject to keep pace with technical and tactical innovation. The development of indirect fire, counter battery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft fire all required a novel vocabulary, as did advances in survey and locating. Changes in communication from shouts, to flags, to line, to radio, to compressed data transmission all left their mark on the language. Epic in scope and detail, even the most expert Gunner would be likely to fail an unseen test based on this work. It will therefore be a pleasure to those who think themselves expert to browse this volume, and will serve as an invaluable reference for historians and researchers to ensure that they use the correct term and understand its true meaning.

PHILIP JOBSON is Secretary of the Royal Artillery Association. He spent twenty years researching this book. Major General J B A Bailey was Director of Doctrine and Force Development for the British Army.

Numbers


0

SeeZero.

0A

SeeZero Alpha.

1st Captain

SeeFirst Captain.

1st Line ammunition

SeeFirst Line Ammunition.

2.95 inch QF

SeeMillimetre Gun.

2/Capt

Second Captain. A rank between Captain and Lieutenant, it was abolished in 1872.

(2H)

See(H) (Royal Canadian Artillery).

2IC

Second In Command.

2-inch Mortar

Introduced to infantry platoons during the 1930s, the 2-inch mortar was also issued to anti-tank batteries in the Second World War to provide smoke and illuminating rounds. Replaced by 51 mm Mortar during the 1980s.

(2L)

See(L). (Royal Canadian Artillery).

2/Lieut

Second Lieutenant.

2/Lt

Second Lieutenant.

2nd Captain

SeeSecond Captain.

2-inch Medium Trench Mortar

Not to be confused with the smaller infantry version 2-inch mortar, the 2-inch Medium Trench Mortar was introduced during the First World War. Consisting of a steel tube 2-inch internal diameter mounted upon a wooden base and supported by a bipod fitted with both elevating and traversing gears. As with a normal field gun, elevation was applied by means of a clinometer, whilst laying for line was achieved by using a tall periscopic sight attached to the piece. Regrettably, no details of this sight can be traced. Propellant charges consisted of packets of cordite weighing 1 and 1½ ounces (28 and 44 grams), used to make up charges of 1½, 2½, and 3½ ounces, which gave ranges of 100–220, 180–340, and 300–500 yards respectively. The 2-inch medium mortar was despite its name bigger than the Stokes 3-inch mortar for the simple reason that the Stokes was measured by the size of the bomb whilst the 2-inch was measured by the size of the ‘stick’ that went into the weapon. The much bigger bomb stayed on the outside. The bomb itself consisted of a spherical iron container filled with amatol or ammonal attached to a piece of pipe known as the ‘stick’ which fitted into the bore of the mortar, while the bomb sat on the muzzle. The total weight of the projectile was 60 lbs (27 kg) and it could be fitted with either a time or a simple percussion fuse. To load, the required packets of cordite were dropped down the barrel, the ‘stick’ of the bomb was inserted in the bore, and the detachment took cover. Ignition was achieved by means of a ‘T’ friction tube inserted into a vent at the breech or by a rifle mechanism firing a blank screwed into it. The Detachment fired the mortar with a long lanyard due to the