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Mini Exams Preparation > Weaponry Textbook > Flashcards

Weaponry Textbook Flashcards

1
Q

what was the advantage of breech loading weaponry

A
  • weapon didn’t need to be moved as much
  • reloading process simpler and faster
  • bullet and gunpowder loaded together not separately
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2
Q

when was the first practical breech loading field gun ready for the army

A

having originally contacted the war office with their proposal for a new design in 1854
the first practical field gun ready for use by the army in 1858

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3
Q

what was Armstrong inspired by

A
  • the problems highlighted in the Crimean War

- he set about designing a new cannon for the Royal Artillery

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4
Q

what was Armstrong told about his 5 pounder gun

A
  • it was too small

- so he set about developing an 18 pounder

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5
Q

what was the design for Armstrong’s new cannon meant to overcome

A
  • the traditional problems faced by artillery

- slow load time - barrel wear - poor accuracy

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6
Q

how did Armstrong fix the slow loading time of artillery

A
  • placing the projectile in the breech
  • Armstrong’s gun had a screw thread on the breech so that it could be replaced and screwed back into position before the gun was fired.
  • other designs used a sliding block to seal the breech when the gun was fired
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7
Q

what accompanied the change to breach loading cannons

A
  • projectiles now coated in a soft metal lead that expanded slightly when the gun was fired
  • grip rifling - more spin on shell
  • coating softer than metal on inside of barrel so didn’t wear down as quick
  • reduced windage and so less gunpowder needed
  • thanks to these new shells devised by Armstrong based on the principle of the Minie ball problems of barrel wear and accuracy were solved
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8
Q

when did the army adopt the 12 pounded breech loader and what did they find

A
  • 1859 and service in 1861 New Zealand wars
  • found they required more maintenance/ training than the army prepared for
  • ammunition more expensive than for muzzle loaders
  • thus despite success of breach loading artillery in Europe wars in 1871 the army reverted to muzzle loaders which were simpler and cheaper
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9
Q

when did Breech-loading artillery become the norm

A
  • 1880s
  • initially the BL 12 pounder was main field gun and lighter version used by horse artillery
  • both used during Boer war
  • by FWW larger/more used many manufactured/designed by Armstrong company
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10
Q

how did the Royal Navy adopt Armstrong’s 12-pounder

A
  • with a slightly shorter barrel
  • quick fire version adopted in 1894 and became main armament for naval destroyers in both world wars
  • breech loaders had big impact on ship design as larger breech loading guns needed to be mounted in revolving turrets rather than firing out of holes in the side
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11
Q

what was the impact of the Armstrong cannon

A
  • while bigger armies made battlefield wider - 2 miles at Waterloo, 25 at the Somme, the improved range and reliability of weaponry made them deeper
  • effect on ship design - BL made switch from broadside to mounted turrets
  • development of heavy armed battleships wouldn’t have progressed in the same way
  • killing power led to static warfare as needed trench systems as protection from cannons - ground only gained from costly assaults that led to higher casualties
  • greatest killed in FWW was artillery as opposed to previous wars when it was health
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12
Q

discuss how breech loaders created concern with range

A
  • they were first guns that could fire much further than the gunner could see
  • gunner could not see the effects of his fire
  • signalling thus became very important through flags, telephone then radio to know if he had been successful in his hit
  • often aimed at points on maps so important they had up to date maps
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13
Q

what was the Maxim Gun

A
  • the first modern machine gun

- designed by Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884

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14
Q

discuss the Maxim machine gun aspects

A
  • used energy of the recoil to expel the used cartridge and place next one in the breech
  • single barrel surrounded by sleeve that contained water to stop it overheating
  • large gun by modern standards
  • needed a crew to move, set up and service it
  • but could be fired by one man on his own
  • claimed it could fire 600 rounds a minute
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15
Q

what and when did the Vickers company set about doing

A
  • took over the Maxim company in 1897

- set about making an improved design of the Maxim gun

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16
Q

how was the Vickers machine gun similar and different to the Maxim machine gun

A
  • same principles
  • but Vickers lighter, more reliable
  • its parts easier to mass produce
  • the standard version used the same .303 inch ammunition as the infantry rifle
  • needed crew to operate like Maxim but the gun itself and the tripod it rested on were easier to move
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17
Q

what was machine gun hand out like at the start of FWW

A
  • parcelled out to each infantry battalion and cavalry regiment
  • a section of two weapons assigned to each
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18
Q

how had tactical thinking in terms of machine guns changed by 1915

A
  • a light machine gun, the Lewis gun was being used by infantry battalions
  • heavier machine guns like the Vickers were re-formed into the Machine Gun corps
  • then larger machine gun units assigned to divisions
  • eventually each division had its own machine gun battalion to use as it saw fit
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19
Q

what was the impact of the Vickers gun and other machine guns

A
  • major role in tactical changes
  • made warfare static trench warfare rather than mobile posturing
  • rate of fire meant men could no longer operate in open ground without been mown down
  • fewer men needed to hold an area - machine guns give same volume of fire as 40-50 riflemen
  • soldiers needed to be trained better to deal with such weapons
  • men serving in machine guns units needed to be trained with mechanical expertise
20
Q

how did Rockets first come about

A
  • British had experienced them when fighting in India in 1790s
  • after British victory in Mysore war examples of Indian Rockets brought back to London
  • examined and a British variant developed by William Congreve who believed manufacturing them would be profitable if the armed forces chose to use them
  • wrote a book to convince the gov that it was worth investing in
21
Q

what is interesting about the development of the Congreve Rockets in the late 1700s early 1800s

A
  • once again it was left to individual entrepreneurship to drive innovation as Congreve needed to spend a good deal of his own money on experiments
  • however by 1806 he had a working model and along with support from Prince of Wales allowed him to prove its practicability to the War Office who then gave a grant for its development
22
Q

when were rockets adopted

A
  • army and navy adopted them from 1806 onwards and used it in small numbers during the wars against Nap’s France
23
Q

what was the hope of the of Congreve rocket

A
  • he hoped it would eventually replace conventional artillery
24
Q

when did long range missiles properly catch on

A
  • not until the second world war
25
Q

when was the first successful use of rockets by the Royal Navy

A
  • part of an attack on Boulogne in Oct 1806
  • fired 2000 rockets at the city
  • actual damage limited but psychological effect huge due to unpredictable flight path, smoke and noise
26
Q

how did the navy use rockets effectively

A
  • when used as part of a mixed barrage as opposed to using rockets alone
  • for ship to shore bombardment
  • greater range than conventional guns so ships could anchor outside gun range and still attack though they were wildly inaccurate
27
Q

when was the most notable use of rockets for the navy

A
  • against Fort McHenry in 1814 during the Battle of Baltimore
  • bombardment lasted 24 + hours
  • did not achieve surrender of fort
  • but illustrated the problem with the rockets that despite their psychological impact they were not accurate enough to be effective
28
Q

were rockets welcomed into the army in the same way there were in the navy

A
  • much opposition to the introduction of rockets into the army
  • veterans of the Indian campaign like Welly were reminded of their lack of accuracy and can also be as big a threat to firers
  • other generals were naturally conservative and regarded the new weapon as frivolous and unnecessary
29
Q

what was a flintlock

A
  • new reliable firing mechanism fired
30
Q

what was one of the main things keeping the rocket programme going

A
  • patronage of Prince of Wales

- he lobbied generals/politicians to push on with trials and develop them for use in combat

31
Q

what was the 1st Rocket troop given at Waterloo in 1815

A
  • equipped with conventional cannons
  • the fact that the army did not expand the use of rockets and stayed with more traditional cannons demonstrates the limited success rockets had on the battlefield
32
Q

what was a problem with transporting and keeping rockets

A
  • they didn’t store well

- they lost potency and reacted badly to extreme temperatures

33
Q

name some of the latest times rockets were used

A
  • despite the problems only becoming more obvious over time

- rocket troops were still deployed such as during wars against the New Zealand Maoris between 1845 and 1872

34
Q

who continued the development of rockets after Congreve

A
  • an individual again
  • William Hale
  • patented a new rocket which used spin to improve accuracy
  • new rocket adopted into the British army in 1860s but in small numbers
  • as 19th century wore on they were taken out of service due to the massive advances in steel artillery
35
Q

what did Major Blomefield do for the Royal Navy in the late 1780s

A
  • improved the quality of naval guns
  • saw that every new gun was fired 30x before instalment on a ship to ensure it was manufactured properly
  • firing mechanism also changed to more reliable flintlock
36
Q

basic features of a carronade

A
  • short barrel but wide muzzle gave far broader angle of fire
  • quick to reload
  • used little gunpowder
  • devastating when aimed at deck
  • lighter
  • short range
37
Q

what did the carronade allow tactically

A

crossing the ‘T’

38
Q

how did the carronade give the British Navy a huge advantage in close quarter fighting

A
  • wipe out all the men on the enemy deck before the boarding party went on
  • take the enemy time to regroup
  • British already on board and able to defend themselves
39
Q

what is grapeshot also known as

A

canister

40
Q

what happened with two 68 pounder carronades during the battle of Trafalgar

A
  • the two 68 pounders on HMS Victory were fired through the stern windows of the French Bucentaure with such force that they cleared the top gun deck
41
Q

why and when were the carronades phased out of the royal Navy

A
  • by 1851
  • after Nap wars naval tactics began to change
  • as long barrelled guns got faster/more accurate naval engagements became more distanced
42
Q

what did carronades illustrate

A
  • the power of grapeshot
  • though ineffective against structure, devastating against people
  • development of high explosive shells fired by artillery on land and sea owed much to naval carronades
  • shrapnel wounds from these explosive shells was to be the most common wound during FWW
43
Q

what did carronades draw attention to other than grapeshot

A
  • windage
  • space between cannonball and inside of the barrel should be narrow to stop leakage of gunpower
  • shorter carronade barrel meant windage could be tighter
  • ammunition made to be tight
  • as engineering became more precise and shells with cases became used in rifled barrels windage less of an issue
  • work done by Carron Company that was important in solving this
44
Q

discuss the development of the Mark I tank

A
  • summer 1915
  • showed benefit of caterpillar tracks for moving over rough terrain
  • eventual pan to mount a single pompom gun in a turret on top with 6 machine guns
  • despite its success the design was altered
  • the next one was more rhomboidal shaped with tracks on outside that would become standard FWW model
45
Q

what were the first tanks like

A
  • large
  • difficult to operate
  • their weight required huge engines so super slow
  • needed large crews to operate
  • no steering
  • so loud only communicate by signals inside
46
Q

discuss the tank at its Somme debut

A
  • only 24/50 actually made it to the start line due to mechanical problems
  • several broke down and other destroyed by artillery
47
Q

when was the most successful use of the tank

A
  • Cambrai in Nov 1917
  • 400+ supported the infantry and followed a creeping barrage
  • effective in clearing the barbed wire then supporting the infantry with fire
  • initial shock value too

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