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The B61-11 is an aircraft carried, earth penetrating nuclear bomb for use against deeply buried and hardened targets.
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The Eltro B8-V is a German infra-red illuminator and image converter sight suitable for installation on any conventional rifle or light machine-gun. The B9-V provides a magnification of 4 and has an operational range in excess of 300 meters.
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The B83 is an aircraft carried strategic free-fall nuclear bomb.
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In military terminology, a back step is the retrograde movement of a man or body of men, without changing front.
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The Baedeker raids were a series of German air raids directed at British provincial towns and cities between April and October 1942 during the Second World War. They were so named because the targets were all places of cultural interest which appeared to have been selected from Baedeker's Guide to Britain.
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The Bailey is the whole of the other buildings and courts of a castle as distinguished from the keep.
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A Bailey bridge was a prefabricated bridge developed by the British Army in the Second World War. It was made from a set of standardised components so that bridges of varying lengths and load-carrying ability could be assembled to order. They were used in every theatre of the war and many remained in place for several years after the war until the civil authorities could replace them with more permanent structures.
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Bainbergs are plate armour for the protection of the legs. They were introduced in the 13th century and worn over chain-mail.
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The Bali-Song ('Butterfly knife') is a design of folding knife with the handle in two parts, hinged separately at the blade. When closed, the blade is completely enclosed by the handles, allowing a double-edged blade to be safely employed in a folding knife, when open the handles clip together, forming a knife almost as strong as a fixed blade.
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In weapon terminology, a ball was originally a spherical projectile, now generally a fully jacketed bullet of cylindrical profile with round or pointed nose. Most commonly used in military terminology.
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Ballistite is a propellant used for launching grenades.
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A bandoleer is a large leather belt with provision for carrying ammunition. Originally they were worn by mediaeval musketeers, one end passing over the right shoulder, while the other end hung loose under the left arm. The original
bandoleers sustained the musket and carried twelve charges of powder and shot held in small wooden boxes.
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In fortification, a banquette is a small bank at the foot of a parapet, from which the defenders can safely fire over the parapet. The height of the parapet above the banquette was usually about 1.3 meters; the breadth of the banquette about one or two meters according to the number of ranks to occupy it. Banquettes were frequently made double, that is, a second was made still lower.
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The Thomsan Brandt BAP 100 is a French lightweight air-launched runway-cratering bomb developed during the 1970s as a lightweight alternative to the Matra Durandal. The BAP 100 has an 18 kg warhead with a fuse delayed action allowing a delay of explosion up to six hours after the bomb strikes the target. The warhead can penetrate one meter of reinforced concrete and destroy an area of 50 square meters.
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A barbette was formerly an earthen platform inside a parapet, from which heavy guns could fire over the top. In modern warfare, a barbette is a remotely controlled housing for defensive guns.
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A barbican is a tower or advanced work defending the entrance to a castle or city, for example at a gate or bridge. It was often large and strong, having a ditch and drawbridge of its own. The term barbican was also applied to an opening in the wall of a fortress, through which missiles were discharged upon an enemy.
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The bardiche was a narrow-bladed axe with its lower end fixed to a staff. They originated in Russia about the 15th century and were used by infantry and town guards in Russia, Poland, Sweden and Finland until the 17th century.
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Barracks are buildings for soldiers, especially when in garrison. Originally the term meant temporary huts, by the 1920s it was applied to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
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In warfare, a barrage is a linear concentration of artillery fire used to interpose a screen of bursting shells between attacking and defending troops. When fired by a defending force to prevent an attack reaching its lines, a
barrage may be a simple line of fire in front of a position or shaped so as to surround the position - a 'box' barrage. Fired to assist an attack, a
barrage may be stationary, to prevent reinforcements reaching the threatened area, or moving, to act as a continuous screen ahead of the advancing force. Normally using high explosive shells, in the Great War barrages often included gas and shrapnel projectiles so as to present a more complex threat to the target.
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A barrage balloon is a captive balloon, of tear-drop shape and with fins to keep it headed into the wind, which can be positioned around likely bombing targets to interfere with the probable flight paths of enemy aircraft. Their prime function is to force enemy aircraft to stay high to avoid the balloons, so placing them at the optimum height for engagement by anti-aircraft guns.
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In firearms, the barrel is the part of a gun through which a projectile is launched.
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In a castle, a bartizan is a turret projecting from a tower or wall.
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A bascinet or basinet was a 14th and 15th century light helmet, generally conical in shape and without a visor, which was so named from its similarity in appearance to a basin. Sometimes a detachable visor was fitted, these were often pointed with slits for the wearer to see through and perforated to enable breathing.
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Bashi-Bazouks were irregular Turkish troops, employed partially in the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War. They served without uniform or direct pay and were usually mounted. They became notorious for their pillaging and took part in the Bulgarian atrocities of 1876.
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Basket-hilt refers to a type of hilt of a weapon so named because it resembles a basket, and is so shaped as to contain the whole hand and thereby defend it from being wounded while fighting.
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A bastille was a temporary wooden tower, mounted on wheels, constructed to enable besiegers safety to approach a town or fort which they wished to attack. Later the term bastille was applied to a small castle fortified with turrets and a blockhouse. In France, the term bastille meant a strong castle or fort. The most famous French bastille was the one at Paris known simply as The Bastille.
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A bastion is a work projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, consisting of two faces and two flanks, and so constructed that it is able to defend the adjacent curtain, or wall which extends from one bastion to another, with a flanking fire. Two adjacent bastions are connected by the curtain, which joins the flank of one with the adjacent flank of the other. The distance between the flanks of a bastion is called the gorge. A lunette is a detached bastion. There have been various forms of bastion through the ages:
A composed bastion is one in which the sides of the interior polygon are very irregular, with the effect of making the gorges also irregular.
A cut bastion is one which has a re-entering angle instead of a point.
A deformed bastion is one in which the irregularity of the lines and angles prevents the structure from having a regular form.
A demi-bastion is a bastion composed of one face only with a single flank and a demi-gorge.
A double bastion is a bastion raised on the plane of another.
A flat bastion is a bastion erected in the middle of a curtain when the latter is too long to be protected by the bastions at its ends.
A hollow bastion is a bastion hollow in the interior, that is between the flanks and the faces of the point.
A regular bastion is one so planned as to possess a true proportion of its faces, flanks and gorges.
A solid bastion is one solid throughout its entire structure.
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A batardeau is a wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall.
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A batman was formerly, prior to the Great War, a person allowed by the government to every company of a regiment of the army on foreign service. His duty was to take charge of the cooking utensils, etc, of the company, and he had a bat-horse (pack horse) to convey these utensils from place to place.
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Batta, was an allowance which British military officers in India received in addition to their pay. It was originally given only when the officers were under march or in the field, but later half batta was paid when troops were in cantonments.
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A battering train is a train of artillery used for siege operations.
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A battering-ram was an engine used in war in ancient times to beat down the walls of besieged places. The ancients employed two different engines of this kind - one suspended in a frame, the other movable on wheels or rollers. They consisted of a beam or spar with a massive metal head, and were set in motion either by a direct application of manual force or by means of cords passing over pulleys and then impelled by men against the wall or gates.
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A battle is a combat between two armies. In ancient times and the middle ages the battle-ground was often chosen by agreement, and the battle was a mere trial of strength, a duel en gros; and as the armies of the ancients were imperfectly organized, and the combatants fought very little at a distance, after the battle had begun manoeuvres were much more difficult, and troops almost entirely beyond the control of the general. Under these circumstances the battle depended almost wholly upon the previous arrangements and the valour of the troops.
In the 19th century, however, the finest combinations, the most ingenious manoeuvres, were rendered possible by the better organization of the armies, and it was the skill of the general rather than the courage of the soldier that determined the event of a battle. By the Great War of 1914 tactics had changed with the advent of rapid firing weapons, long range artillery and armoured warfare.
Traditionally battles were distinguished as offensive or defensive on either side, but there was a natural and ready transition from one method to the other. As a rule the purely defensive attitude was condemned by tacticians except in cases where the only object desirable was to maintain a position of vital consequence, the weight of precedent being in favour of the dash and momentum of an attacking force even where opposed to superior forces. Where the greatest generals have acted upon the defensive, it has almost always been with the desire to develop an opportunity to pass to the offensive, and having discovered their opponent's hand, to marshal against the enemy, exhausted with attack, the whole strength of their resources. Napoleon won more than one great victory by this method, and Wellington's reputation was largely based upon his skill in defensive-offensive operations. Tacticians have divided a battle into three periods: those of disposition, combat, and the decisive moment. In some measure they require distinct qualities in a commander, the intellect which can plot a disposition being by no means always of the prompt judgment passing to instant action which avails itself of the crucial moment to crush an enemy.
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The battle-axe is a military weapon based upon an axe, and first used popularly by the Celts.
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The Battle-axe Guards (beaufetiers, or vulgarly called Beefeaters) are a military force which was raised by Henry VII in 1485 as attendants upon the king's buffet. They were armed with a sword and lance.
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The Battye grenade was a simple hand grenade developed during the Great War and issued to British troops in 1915. It consisted of a cast-iron cylinder with an open end, filled with about 2.5 ounces of ammonal or a similar explosive and closed with a wooden plug. A hole bored through the plug allowed the insertion of a length of time fuse and a detonator. At the outer end of the time fuse was a percussion cap which, when struck, ignited the fuse to give a delay of about four seconds before the grenade exploded. A safety pin passed through the fitting prevented the cap from being driven down by accident.
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A bayonet is a short sword attached to the muzzle of a firearm. The bayonet was placed inside the barrel of the muzzle loading muskets of the late 17th century. The sock or ring bayonet, invented 1700, allowed a weapon to be fired without interruption, leading to the demise of the pike. Since the 1700s, bayonets have evolved into a variety of types. During the Great War, the French used a long needle bayonet, the British a sword bayonet, while the Germans adopted a 'pioneer' bayonet with the rear edge formed into a saw. As armies have become more mechanised, bayonets have tended to decrease in length. Although many military leaders have advocated the use of the bayonet, in practice it has been rarely used.
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BBC is an abbreviation for Bromo-benzyl-cyanide, a tear gas used during the Second World War. It had a smell faintly of watercress. It caused pain in the eyes, a copious flow of tears, spasms of the eyelids and irritation of shaved skin.
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Bearer Companies were the forerunner of the modern medical Corps. They were introduced in the British army in 1873 for the removal of the wounded from the battle-field and to render first aid.
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In armour, a beaver is the part of the front of a helmet that can be raised or lowered to allow the wearer to eat and drink.
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The Bedfordshire Regiment ('The Peacemakers') were a British army regiment raised in 1688 as the "Archibald Douglas's Regiment of Foot" and until 1751 were known by the names of various colonels. In 1747 they were renamed the 16th Regiment of Foot and in 1782 the 16th (the Buckinghamshire) Regiment of Foot before in 1881 being renamed the Bedfordshire Regiment. Following the Great War, in 1919 they were renamed The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and in 1958 were amalgamated with The Essex Regiment to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot). The regiment assisted in the capture of Namur in 1695, and took part in the Maroon War in Jamaica in 1795 as well as serving in many other theatres.
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A beffroi was a wooden tower on wheels formerly used in sieges.
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A belfry was a movable tower erected by besiegers in war for purposes of attack and defence.
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Bellite is a Swedish explosive invented by Carl Lamm in 1885.
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Benito was the British RAF code-name for the Y-Verfharen radio navigation system.
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Benzyl bromide was a tear gas first used by the Germans at Verdun in March 1915. It is a powerful eye irritant, and high concentrations also effect the nose and throat. Its prime component was toluene, which being more urgently needed for the manufacture of explosives, benzyl bromide was not used for very long. It was also used by the French under the name Cyclite.
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Beretta are an Italian gun manufacturer. The firm was founded in the 15th century by Bartolomeo Beretta, at that time making gun barrels for other manufacturers.
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The Berlin Air Lift was two Allied operations, Operation Plainfare and Operation Vittles conducted between 1948 and 1949 to transport food and fuel to the city of Berlin after all surface communications were closed by the Soviets on the 31st of March 1948.
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A berm is a level space about a meter wide between the outside slope of a rampart and the scarp of the ditch in a fortification. In a castle, the berm is the space between the curtain wall and the moat.
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Bernadelli are an Italian gun making firm founded in 1721 and officially registered in 1865 by Vincenzo Bernadelli. The firm is primarily known for its shotguns, but also manufactures pistols and twin-bore hunting rifles.
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The Bernhard Line was a German defensive line established in Italy in 1943 running from the Garigliano River to Castel di Sangri in the Apennine Mountains. Its purpose was to delay the Allied advance as it approached the main Gustav Line defences. It was broken by the Allies in November 1943. It was also known by the Germans as the 'Reinhardt Line' and by the Allies simply as the 'Winter Line'.
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The Bersaglieri were the sharpshooters of the former Sardinian army, first employed about 1848.
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The Besozzi grenade was a simple type of hand grenade used by the French army during the early 20th century and the Great War. The Besozzi grenade consisted of a serrated cast iron body filled with schneiderite or a similar explosive by hand ramming, In the centre of the charge a detonator was placed, carried in a plug fitting in a hole at the top of the bomb. The detonator was covered with red phosphorus match composition which was struck on a striking box or band to be ignited before the bomb was thrown. The Besozzi grenade weighed about one pound, and was carried wrapped in waterproof paper.
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The Bessoneaux Hangar, officially known as Type 'H' Canvas Hangar, was an aircraft hangar used in Britain, France, the Middle East, Russia, and Canada during the Great War by Allied forces. The hangar measured 65 ft 6 in by 78 ft 9 in on the ground and consisted of a light weight timber frame covered with a heavy canvas with opaque panels to admit light. The hangar could be erected in various ways and was so named after its designer, the French Etablissements Bessoneaux.
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Bilbo was an old name for a sword, particularly a rapier sword, in use around the 16th century. The name was coined after Bilbao in Spain which was famous at the time for its finely-tempered blades.
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A bill was a species of halberd, consisting of a broad blade, with the cutting part hooked like a woodsman's bill-hook, and with a spike both at the back and at the top. It was mounted on a staff about six feet long, and was known as a 'black bill' from the colour of the varnish used to protect it from rust, and was largely used by infantry soldiers. In 1584, one quarter of the soldiers sent to the Irish wars were ordered to be furnished with 'good Black Bills', and the armaments of the Mary Rose consisted of as many bills as arquebuses. They were later carried by sheriff's officers attending executions and finally by watchmen, still being used by watchmen in 1778.
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In chemical warfare, a binary weapon is a weapon consisting of two substances that in isolation are harmless but when mixed together form a poisonous nerve gas. They are loaded into the delivery system separately and combine after launch.
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The bipennis is a double-headed axe, the weapon usually seen depicted in the hands of the Amazons in ancient works of art.
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A bird-bolt was a short arrow with a broad, flat end used to kill birds without piercing them.
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The Black and Tans was a name given to a force raised in 1920 by the British Government for service in Ireland. They were recruited from men who had served in the Great War, and were sent to Ireland to put down the disorders then prevalent. They caused more trouble and were recalled in 1922 when peace was made. The Black and Tans were a branch of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and wore khaki uniforms with a black hat and armband, from which they derived their popular name.
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The Cold Steel Black Bear Classic is an American sub-hilt fighting knife. It has an 8.25 inch, double-edged blade of high carbon stainless steel, almost in a dagger shape but with a slight clip point. A second sub-hilt assists in drawing the weapon from an opponent.
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The Black Brunswickers were a corps of 700 volunteer hussars under the command of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, who had been forbidden by Napoleon to succeed to his father's dukedom. They were called 'Black' because they were in mourning for the deceased Duke.
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The Black Watch (Watch or Highland Watch) was a British army force raised in 1729 to keep peace in the Highlands during the times of the Jacobite intrigue. The regiment was raised from companies employed to watch the Islands of Scotland and subsequently became renamed the Royal Highlanders and had the nickname of the Black Watch from the black tartan they wear. The Regiment's first blooding occurred in Flanders in 1745, in the War of Jenkin's Ear at the Battle of Fontenoy, where the French dubbed them 'Highland Furies'. In 1751 the Regiment was numbered the 42nd, The Gallant Forty Two. Seven years later the title 'Royal' was granted and it became the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment.
The Black Watch saw action in the Americas, most notably in Ticonderoga and the Heights of Abraham, and acquired its present badge and motto 'Nemo me impune lacessit' which refers to the Thistle and means 'nobody provokes me without being hurt'. In 1759 the red hackle, seen in the feather bonnets and worn by all ranks of the Black Watch, was first presented at Royston, in Hertfordshire.
During the Napoleonic Wars the Regiment fought at the Battle of Alexandria (hence the Sphinx and the word Egypt on its colours), in the Peninsula, including Corruna, and finally at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Its 19th century battle honours include Alma and Lucknow, and in the 1860s Queen Victoria authorised the addition of the name 'The Black Watch' to the official title of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, a title which has become known throughout the world.
During the Great War, eleven Battalions of the Black Watch fought in France and Flanders, Macedonia, Mesopotamia and Palestine. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, former Colonel in Chief of the Black Watch since 1937 until her death, had two brothers and a first cousin in the 5th Battalion, another brother killed in 1915 with the 8th and a cousin killed serving with 4/5th. Armistice Day found the Regiment advancing across the very field at Fontenoy where the Watch had fought 173 years before. The French commemorated the stalwart assistance given to them in Champagne in 1918 by erecting a cairn on the spot where fell the body of The Black Watch soldier who advanced the furthest - 'Here shall flourish for ever the glorious thistle of Scotland among the roses of France'.
During the Second World War the Black Watch was present at Dunkirk and fought at Crete, Tobruk, El Alamein, Sicily, Normandy, Ardennes and Burma. Indeed, its five Battalions saw service in every major theatre of war except Norway and Malaya. Its long association with Perth, Scotland, is retained by maintaining at Balhousie Castle its Headquarters and Regimental Museum. More recently the Battalion served in Hong Kong between January 1993 and August 1994 before returning to the United Kingdom and undertaking a tour of West Belfast in Northern Ireland. In July 1996 the Battalion returned home to Scotland and is currently stationed at Fort George in Inverness. In February 1997 they became the last UK Infantry Battalion to serve in Hong Kong.
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Black-guards was a name formerly given to the horse-boys, cooks, and other non-military folk who travelled with an army and greatly impeded its march.
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The Blackjack AWAC is an American military knife designed to withstand extreme conditions, and suitable for food preparation and skinning, rather than fighting. The blade is a six inch drop point made of stainless steel with a flat-grind edge.
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The Blackjack Blue Devil is an American sleeve dagger intended to be worn concealed and rapidly deployed when needed. The Blackjack Blue Devil has a 3.5 inch spear-point blade with bevel-ground double-edged edges made of carbon steel.
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The Blackjack HALO is an American fighting knife with a 5.5 inch carbon-steel, clip-point blade with an extended false back edge and bevel-ground edge.
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The Blackjack Randall Model 1 is an American reproduction of the Randall fighting knife. It has a 7 inch Randall-shaped carbon steel blade with a bevel-ground edge.
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Blackpowder was the earliest type of firearms propellant that has generally been replaced by smokeless powder except for use in muzzleloaders and older breech loading guns that demand its lower pressure levels.
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In firearms, a blank is a type of ammunition which does not fire bullets, used to simulate live firing.
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A blank cartridge is a round loaded with blackpowder or a special smokeless powder but lacking a projectile. Used mainly in starting races, theatrical productions, troop exercises and in training dogs.
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A blank firing attachment is a device fitted to the muzzle of small arms when firing blank ammunition to restrict the flow of gas from the barrel, and to ensure that enough gas pressure is retained to operate the gun's mechanism.
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Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH are a German gun making firm formed in 1977 by Horst Blaser, and taken over by the company's master gunsmith Gerhard Blenk in 1986. The firm of Blaser specialises in the manufacture of high-quality hunting rifles adorned with fine engravings.
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Blasting gelatine was a violent explosive prepared by Alfred Noble, and modified by Abel in 1879. It was a mixture of nitro-glycerine and gun-cotton.
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The Matra/Thomson BLG 66 Belouga is a French air-launched cluster bomb developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the Giboulee cluster bomb. The Belouga carries 152 66 mm bomblets which are of three types: general purpose fragmentation for use against vehicles, parked aircraft and dumps; HEAT for use against AFVs; interdiction for use against airfields, harbours and marshalling yards.
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Blindage is a cover or protection for an advanced trench or approach, formed of fascines and earth supported by a framework.
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A blockhouse is a defensible post, usually rectangular, constructed to give shelter and protection to its garrison, consisting of possibly thirty men.
Blockhouses were generally constructed from locally available materials, and provided with loop holes for all-round fire. They often had an upper story projecting over the lower, or so placed upon it as to have its sides make an angle with the sides of the lower story, thus enabling the defenders to fire downward, and in all directions.
Blockhouses were formerly much used in America and Germany and proved very useful during the South African wars.
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Blowback is a method of operation employed in small arms. The energy required to carry out the cycle of operations being supplied to the bolt by the backward movement of the cartridge case caused by gas pressure when the round is fired, hence the bolt is blown back by the force of firing the round.
Various forms of blowback operation have been developed. Simple blowback allows for a totally unlocked breech, and relies on the mass of the breech block and the strength of the return spring to prevent the cartridge case from coming back too fast after firing. Simple blowback can only be employed in relatively low power weapons and is effectively restricted in use to pistols and sub-machineguns.
Delayed blowback is a more sophisticated form of blowback operation in which the breech is unlocked, but some mechanical delay is incorporated to ensure that the breech block does not move back too quickly. A delayed blowback operation allows the gun manufacturer to reduce the weight of the breech block relative to the weight that would be required in a simple blowback operation gun.
An expensive and sophisticated form of blowback operation employs a locked breech, allowing for the lightest possible breech block, which unlocks at the precise time to allow the residual pressure from firing to blow the breech block to the rear. This system is expensive and also sensitive to variations in ammunition.
Blowback operations are generally cheap, simple and reliable to employ and allow for a rapid barrel changing. However, they prevent power adjustment in the weapon, leave fouling in the breech and are not suitable for use in weapons mounted on vehicles.
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The Blues and Royals are a British cavalry regiment which were formed in 1969 from an amalgamation of The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) and The Royal Dragoons (The Royals).
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A boarding-pike was a form of pike used on board ship to defend against borders, and also in attacking other vessels with a view to boarding them.
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Bodkin is an old term for a small dagger.
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A bokken is a Japanese wooden imitation samurai sword used by kendoka when demonstrating or practising standard kendo movements.
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A bolster is a block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.
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In firearms, the bolt is the part of the weapon which generally slides backwards to open the breech and forwards to close the breech. Generally the bolt locks by turning and engaging locking lugs into recesses.
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Bolt is an old term for an arrow.
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Bolt-action is a gun mechanism activated by manual operation of the breechblock that resembles a common door bolt. Bolt-actions are better for precise, accurate shooting than other mechanisms, and as such are found in sniping and target rifles.
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A bolted arrow was a blunt arrow used for shooting young rooks. The bolted arrow was fired from a crossbow.
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A bomb is a hollow shell filled with an explosive. The bomb was invented in the 15th century for use with a mortar. Early bombs were a hollow iron ball filled with explosive and fitted with a fuse which was ignited as the bomb left the mortar.
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A bomb chest was an early form of landmine. Consisting of a chest filled with bombs, or only with gunpowder, and placed under ground, so as to cause destruction by its explosion.
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A bombardment is an attack with bombs or shells upon a fortress, town, or any position held by an enemy. Formerly bombardments were generally carried out from the sea, with the advent of large land-based guns and aircraft, bombardments became possible from land and air positions also.
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In fortifications a bonnet is a small defence-work constructed at the salient angles of a field retrenchment or other military construction, designed to prevent the enfilading of the front of the work.
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A boom is a strong chain cable, or line of spars bound together, extended across a river or the mouth of a harbour, to obstruct navigation or passage.
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A boomerang is a curved wooden throwing weapon of Australian aborigines. The
boomerang is round on one side, flat on the other, about one meter long and 50 mm wide and about 20 mm thick. In use, it is grasped at one end and thrown sickle-wise, either upward into the air, or downward so as to strike the ground at some distance from the thrower. In the first case it flies with a rotary motion and after ascending to a great height in the air, it suddenly returns in an elliptical orbit to a spot near its starting point. On throwing it downward to the ground, it rebounds in a straight line, pursuing a ricochet motion until it strikes the object at which it was thrown. The most angular curve described by it is when it is projected upward at an angle of 45 degrees, when its flight is always backward, and the thrower stands with his back to the object he intends to hit.
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The Border Regiment is a British army regiment formed in 1881 from the unison of the 34th Regiment of Foot and the 55th Regiment of Foot.
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In firearms, the bore is the interior of the barrel from the breech to the muzzle.
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The bouncing bomb was a rotating bomb used by the British in the Second World War to attack the Ruhr dams. The bouncing bomb was designed by Dr Barnes Wallis and derived its name from the way it 'bounced' along the surface of the water in front of the dam, rather like a stone skimmed across the surface of a pond.
The cylindrical bomb was slung beneath a Lancaster bomber and rotated prior to dropping from a carefully calculated height. It then rolled or 'bounced' along the surface of the water as far as the dam and then sank when it came into contact with the dam wall. A depth-sensitive fuse detonated the bomb at the point calculated to make the most effective breach, the water in the reservoir acting as a tamping device to direct the full force of the explosion at the dam.
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Bouquet was the KGB codename for an explosive device.
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A bow is a weapon for propelling arrows. It is made of a strip of flexible material, such as wood, tubular steel, fibreglass or carbon fibre and a cord. The British longbow used during the Mediaeval period by English and Welsh archers was made of yew and required an incredible 150 lbs to pull it - by comparison, modern target archery competition recurve bows have a draw weight of between 26 and 40 lbs and hunting bows rarely exceed a draw weight of 65 lbs. British bowmen were apprenticed at the age of six, and by adult hood were severely deformed with the right arm longer than the left arm, the back twisted into a hunch and the right shoulder enlarged. The British longbow could propel an arrow to a distance of 300 yards, and still penetrate a knight's armour.
British archers used various types of arrow, the popular anti-personnel arrow had a slightly barbed head of iron held on to the shaft by beeswax. These arrows were poisoned by being dipped in the earth before firing. The fletchings were cut from feathers from one side of a goose, so as to impart spin to the arrow which upon striking the target tore through the flesh with devastating effect. The combination of a barb and loose connection to the shaft ensured the tip would remain in the target even if the shaft were pulled out, and the dirt from the ground helped to ensure infection to the wound. In this way even a hit to an arm or leg would frequently result in gangrene being contracted and the victim requiring an amputation.
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The Bowie knife is an American, heavy, single edged sheaf knife popular in the western states. It is named after its inventor, Colonel James Bowie who wrought the blade from a file with which he had already killed his man. Originally the bowie knife had a horn handle and the blade was some fifteen inches long, and 1.25 inches wide at the hilt.
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A boyau is a winding or zigzag trench forming a path or communication from one siege work to another, for example to a magazine, etc.
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Brassarts were pieces of ancient plate armour which united the armour-plates on the shoulder and the elbow.
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Breaching Towers were structures used in the sieges of mediaeval castles. They consisted of a long wooden shed fixed to a wheeled framework, with a very strong roof. From the roof hung a battering-ram which could be swung against the castle while the attackers were protected from the fire from the battlements above by the shed.
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Breastwork is a defensive work or parapet of moderate height, hastily thrown up, of earth or other material made for protection against the shot of the enemy.
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The breech is the portion of the barrel with the chamber into which a cartridge or projectile is loaded, and the mechanism used to close the rear end of the gun. The breech withstands the rearward pressure of the propellant gases. In quick firing (QF) guns, the breech supports and extracts the cartridge case.
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The breech is the solid mass of metal behind the bore of a gun, and that by which the shock of the explosion is principally sustained. In breech-loading arms the charge is introduced here, there being a mechanism, by which the breech can be opened and closed. In small-arms the advantages of breech-loading for rapidity of fire, facility of cleaning, etc, recommended it to general use around the mid-19th century, and its efficacy for military purposes was effectively demonstrated by the Prussian campaigns against Denmark and Austria in 1864 and 1866. Since that time every government adopted the new system, both in small-arms and heavy ordnance, while breech-loading sporting-arms also came into general use. The chief difficulty in breech-loading is to close the breech so as to prevent the escape of the highly elastic gas to which the force of the explosion is due.
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A breteche or bretesche is a name common to several wooden, crenellated, and roofed erections, used in the middle agec in sieges by the assailants to afford protection while they were undermining the walls, and by the besieged to form defences behind breaches.
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A brevet is a commission giving an officer higher rank than that for which he receives pay, a type of honorary promotion of an officer. In the United States army, rank by brevet is conferred, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for gallant actions or meritorious services. A brevet rank gives no right of command in the particular corps to which the officer
brevetted belongs, and can be exercised only by special assignment of the President, or on court martial, and detachments composed of different corps, with pay of the brevet rank when on such duty.
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A bricole was an ancient and medieval military catapult for throwing stones, etc. A bricole was a kind of traces with hooks and rings, with which men dragged and manoeuvred artillery guns where horses could not be used.
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A bridoon is the snaffle and rein of a military bridle, which acts independently of the bit, at the pleasure of the rider. It is used in connection with a curb bit, which has its own rein.
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A brigade is a body of troops formed for convenience of administration, supply and tactical control, and in war accompanied by its own supply and medical units so that if necessary it can act as an independent force.
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A brigand was formerly a lightly-armed, irregular foot soldier.
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A brigandine was a medieval coat of mail composed of light thin jointed scales or a coat of thin pliant plate armour covered with leather or hemp. Brigandines were originally the armour worn by Brigands. The term was later applied to the jacket quilted with iron worn by archers during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.
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Brisure is a term applied to any part of a rampart or parapet of a fortification which deviates from the general direction.
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The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army serving in France during the Great War and also the 1939 to 1940 army in Europe during the Second World War, which was evacuated from Dunkirk, France. In the Great War the BEF was first commanded by General J French and then General Douglas Haig. It consisted of five infantry and one cavalry division, numbering about 100,000 men. A sixth infantry division joined this force in September. The term 'BEF' strictly referred only to the forces initially sent to France in 1914, but it continued to be commonly applied to the British forces operating in France and Flanders. During the Second World War General Gort commanded the BEF sent to France in 1939. By May 1940 it consisted of 10 infantry divisions, one tank brigade, and an RAF element of about 500 fighters and light bombers. After sustaining heavy losses during the French and Belgian campaigns of 1940 the remains were evacuated from Dunkirk in June, leaving much of their equipment behind.
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A broadsword is a sword with a broad blade, one or both sides of which was sharpened, designed chiefly for cutting. They were used by some British cavalry and Highland infantry. The claymore was a broadsword. The broadsword was common until the 16th century when it started to be displaced by the rapier.
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Broadway was the codename given to a British base formed by the British Chindit forces East of Mohnyin, Burma in March 1944. A supply dump and airstrip were set up inside a defended perimeter, and although frequently attacked from both ground and air, it remained in use until evacuated at the completion of the Chindit expedition in May 1944.
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Bromacetone was the most widely used tear gas during the Great War and one of the most effective. It produces intolerable irritation of the eyes in concentrations of 0.01 mg/l and in heavy concentrations can be lethal while the liquid form produces extremely painful blisters on the skin. It was first used by the Germans in artillery shells and mortar bombs under the name 'B-Stoff' in 1916, it was then adopted by the French as ' Martonite' and British and American forces as 'BA'. It was abandoned by the Germans and British by the end of 1916 since its manufacture required acetone, which was required for other purposes considered more vital. The French and American armies mixed it with chloracetone and continued to use it throughout the war.
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A brynja was a Viking mail shirt, usually of waist-length but sometimes longer reaching the knees or calves.
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Buck was a former mode of military punishment which consisted in tying the wrists together, passing the arms over the bent knees, and putting a stick across the arms and in the angle formed by the knees.
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The Buck Master is an American combat/survival knife based on the M9 bayonet design. It has a 7.5 inch stainless steel Bowie-shaped blade with a hollow-ground main edge and; serrated clip edge; and saw back. Two anchor pins store in the hollow handle and can be screwed into threaded holes in the guard for use as a grapple, together with the lanyard attachment ring under the pommel. With so many gimmicks, the Buck Master with it's steel handle, is more for show than for any serious use.
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Originally, buck-shot (buckshot) was a kind of large leaden shot used for killing deer or other large game. In more modern times the term applies to any coarse lead shot used in shotgun cartridges.
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The Buckingham bullet (Mk VII bullet) was a British incendiary bullet based on phosphor, invented by James Buckingham in 1914 and adopted by the RFC for use against airships during the Great War. The bullet contained an incendiary filling which percolated through an annular hole, the seal of which melted on firing, and ignited on contact with the air.
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A buckler was a small shield, anciently made of wicker-work and covered with skin or leather, and worn on the left arm.
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A budge barrel was a small copper-hooped barrel with only one head, the other end being closed by a piece of leather, which was drawn together with strings like a purse. It was formerly used for carrying powder from the magazine to the battery, in siege or seacoast service.
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A bullet is the projectile expelled from a gun. It is not synonymous with cartridge. Bullets can be of many materials, shapes, weights and constructions such as solid lead, lead with a jacket of harder metal, round- nosed, flat-nosed, hollow-pointed, etc.
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Bullpup is a type of small arm where the mechanism behind the trigger occupies space normally taken up by the butt, thus resulting in a shorter weapon than a conventional layout.
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A bulwark is a rampart, a fortification, a bastion or outwork.
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A burgonet was a helmet or steel cap worn chiefly by foot soldiers.
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A burh was a Saxon timber palisade encircling the top of a mound as a form of fortification.
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In firearms, the butt is the part of a small arm which presses against the firer's shoulder and transmits recoil to him.
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A byrnie was a ringed coat of mail worn by the ancient Scandinavian warriors.
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Abbreviations
Warfare
