Weapons - TheHistoryFiles.com

Missile Development and Production in Great Britain

Bloodhound missile The United Kingdom’s guided weapons industry had its origins in a number of early experiments conducted during World War II by various establishments. Progress in this work was assisted by an agreement on the transfer of classified U.S. weapons design data that was the result of the Tizard Mission, which visited Washington in […]

Air Warfare, Weapons

Airmobile Communications

During military operations in South Vietnam in the early 1960s, command and control of tactical forces assumed new importance. Military operations conducted by the Viet Cong were mainly hit-and-run tactics against small advisory American units and the South Vietnamese army in jungle areas. Command and control necessitated an aerial command post from which a Vietnamese […]

Weapons

Boer War Wireless (1899-1902)

During the years 1899-1902, war raged on the southern tip of the African continent. The conflict between Britain and the Afrikaners (Boers) of South Africa struck a major blow to Pax Britannica, resulting in the most devastating military losses for Britain since the Napoleonic Wars. The war is remembered for the refinement of several military […]

Weapons

Cold War Weaponry

It is difficult today to remember that at the height of the Cold War the possibility of Communist hordes pouring across Central Europe was a very real threat. For four decades Europe stood on the brink of the Third World War, thanks to the heavily-armed standoff between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the […]

Medieval, Weapons

Longbow Armour Penetration

Whether the longbow could penetrate armour or not remains controversial. Attempts to work this out, even by scientific testing, have been complicated by the issue of the draw-weight. Other factors include range, the condition of the bowstrings, the type of arrow in use, and the type of armour worn by the target. Since estimates of […]

Germany, Weapons

Hitler’s Saw

MG-34 MG-42 The MG-42 was designed during World War II as a replacement for the multipurpose MG-34, which was less than suitable for wartime mass production and was also somewhat sensitive to fouling and mud. It was manufactured in great numbers by companies like Grossfuss, Mauser-Werke, Gustloff-Werke, Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and several others. It is estimated that […]

Medieval, Weapons

Late Armor

This late 15th-century suit of Italian plate armor covers the entire body. During the late 15th century and the early 16th century the art of the armorer reached its peak. Model by Peter Wroe of Richard Beauchamp’s armour, which is in the Milanese style of about 1450. Body protection for soldiers in the 14th century […]

Weapons

Bangalore Torpedo

Universal wire-cutting device. The Bangalore Torpedo consisted of a 1.8-m (6-ft) light steel tube of 38-mm (1 -in) diameter, packed with 1.8 kg (4 lb) of ammonal blasting explosive. The ends of the charge were prepared for detonators, while the tube had ‘male’ and ‘female’ bayonet joints at its ends, with spring locking clips, […]

Weapons

Belarusian MZKT-74135 prime mover

Prototype of this tank transporter was revealed in 1997. In 2000 a more recent version was built. It was specially developed to participate in the United Arab Emirates tender for a heavy equipment transporter, to tow their Leclerc MBTs (weight 54.6 t). This prime mover eventually won this tender and 40 of these heavy equipment […]

Weapons

Hassan Al Rammah

It was invented by Arab inventor named Hassan Al Rammah between 1270 and 1280, who worked in Syria after the Mongol destruction of Baghdad. He wrote a treatise on gunpowder and rockets called “The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices”. This book included more than 100 recipes for gunpowder, as 22 of them […]