Too much text. Need pics.
Everybody should have one of these.
What? You don't?
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »In case of Moonbats, break glass, and grab the Armorer's Cluebat! (Down, Denizennes, sheesh!) 32 inches Moonbat-thumping reach - with a nice, cannon-like touch to the, ahem, barrel of the piece.
Alrighty then, moving on. Remember this "Whatziss?"
Go below the fold, to the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry, and you can see it in context.
Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows » Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »Toldja I'd have some Gun Pr0n for you guys.
It had a specific purpose and a specific name. And following John's lead, I'm only part of it--but it's the important part and you guys can probably intuit the rest...
Sooo--Whatziss?
I gotta go build a hill in the daylily patch. See everybody later...
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »
Mr. Pogue can no longer play in this round. He's too good!
MajMike gave me a start, when he started out with "collimating valometer..."
If he'd just substituted sight or instrument for valometer, he'd have been the winnah!
But Pogue got it mostly correct. A collimator. He said an early one, but it's actually the current Russian one (though this particular one was made in the Soviet era.) With guys like Pogue playing, and Frank, you'll understand why I didn't put up this picture. Of a US collimator. That would have been waaaay too easy for US Redlegs to get.
If you haven't figured it out yet, the theme this week (and into the next if it takes that long) is "Indirect Fire, How *Do* They Do That!?!" We're introducing most of the major components to get us there from the perspective of the guns. We've already met the Aiming Circle, used to "establish a common direction" i.e., get everybody pointing in the same direction. There are three components to that at the gun level. The aiming circle, the panoramic telescope (the gun's sight) and the Distant Aiming Point.
Let's face it. Infantry sucks. They have rifles, machine guns, hand grenades, and sometimes they stick sharp pointy things on their rifles (we know my problem with *that*!), and alla time they are wanting to sulkily sit around on terrain you'd just as soon they not squat on. They're uncouth, foul-mouthed, and smelly. And generally pissed off. But, if you want to keep them off your terrain, or get back the terrain they already befoul, you've got to deal with them, like any other pest.
But there's no need to actually get *near* them to do this. That's what your own infantry is for. No, you don't want to get near that many troglodytes all crammed into a small space - but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some nice target shooting. From a distance. With a terrain feature between you and them. Unlike the other arms (whom we love like brothers, I assure you) we artillerymen can actually hit things we can't see, and generally on purpose, too. Oh, sometimes we miss, but that's usually because a Lieutenant, of almost any branch, is involved. And besides, if they're tankers, who cares? That's what 'open protective' is for, right?
So, lets discuss the bits and pieces of how we Kings of Battle keep the Queen in Drag.
And, if you're still here and not ready to kill yourself - go behind the curtain to the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry, where this edition of Gun Pr0n will continue.
Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows » Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »
Night color shot of a Destroyer of Task Force18 bombarding Kalombangara and New Georgia Islands. Woo-hoo! Get some, sailors!
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »Kinda looks like a bottle-filling machine, doesn't it?
It's a 6inch Gun Magazine on the HMS Belfast.
If your soul calls for a bigger pic, click here.
Here's the shell hoist to the turret, a different view of the magazine (essentially the other side). All that to feed this:
Again, if you needa big pic - click here.
As compared to the magazine of an Iowa-class BB... in this case, the Iowa. Need some sense of scale?
All *that* to feed this:
Okay, time for another "Whatizzit?" If I can keep it up, this might become a weekly schtick.
Up for your snipe hunt today is a really obscure and the Internet pickin's are slim. BIG CRED to anyone who gets it - with one possible exception, in a sense. If you served in the branches of the right armed force at the right time - you might well recognize it.
Two versions, same purpose. Two rounds of ammunition. On the left, the round and the casing. On the right, the round (different version) in the casing. In the center, a .38 caliber pistol round, in the foreground, a 1 Pound coin. I'm being nice and giving you a size context!
Much credit for figuring out the probable purpose, Full Gonzo Credit if you can fully identify it. This is Real Grognard Stuff - unless you served in the branches of the right armed force at the right time.
Another view - also an important clue there - and the round on the right is similar.
Higher-res view - not that it will make that much difference, available here.
I'll put up hints as needed.
Mike L, Jim C., and Pete K. are *not* eligible to play, since I did a show and tell at work yesterday.
I tell ya, it's great to work someplace relaxed enough that when you tell your boss "I brought some grenades to work today!" their response is "Kewl! Show me!" rather than carefully backing away and calling Security... I wouldn't want to work in a place like the latter! Oh, and the grenades@work were on Tuesday, not yesterday. Just in case you were scratching your head trying to figure out how those things were big enough to be grenades. They aren't.
Now, after all that build-up, watch someone sail in and nail it early.
Update. Okay. Here's a hint that should seal the deal.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »As Neffi pointed out correctly, and Toluca Nole researched for you, was a replica 'Hand Gonne," recently acquired for the Arsenal.
The key bit of data I deliberately obscured was this - the touchhole. It would have made it *much* too easy.
The key clue, after stating replica and better materials - was the fact that it was open at both ends... but not a tube.
It has a socket, where the pole that served as a stock on the earliest guns, was inserted. And this represents a leap forward in some respects from the earlier practice of binding them to the stock... though, in the end, we have in many respects returned to that method, once we figured out all the ergonomics, at least with bolt guns.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »JMH will *hate* this.
One of the more recent acquistions for the Arsenal. Appropriate to the collection.
Any takers?
Update: We need a hint. This is a toughie - I deliberately took the pic minus a key piece of data (which would have made it waaaay to easy for you grognards - I know you want a challenge).
Length: Approximately 9 inches/22.8 cm/0.001136 furlongs/0.7544 shyaku/6.858 cun. Diameter: Approximately 1.5 inches/3.8 cm/0.0001894 furlongs/0.1257 shyaku/1.143 cun. That gives you a sense of scale. Material: Steel.
Update: Time for another hint. It's a reproduction, not an orginal. And made of much better material than the original. It's open at both ends, but is *not* a tube.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »CDR Salamander has been watching Brit TV, and claims he found out what I *really* do for a living.
Heh. If I told you what I really do for a living, I'd have to cut your head off and put it in classified storage. You wouldn't like that. It's dark in the safe, and smells funny because of the stuff they put in there to keep the mold down.
Nah, Salamander... if I was in that bidniz, it would go more like this...
*Ahem, koff, koff*
[smarmy announcer/telemarketer/car salesguy voice]
Taking down a small country? Annoying neighbors? Revenooers snooping around the still? The Arsenal At Argghhhh! has all your pest-control needs in one stop!*
Aside from the usual selection of Small Arms, we also have a nice selection of Crew Served Weapons to choose from!
We have an extensive selection of spare parts! We service what we sell!
Need to recon that target, without getting your head shot off - we can help!
Gotta get through some wire to get to the bad guy? We've got your stuff. Worried about pursuit after dirty deeds done cheap? We can help! We've got stuff to get you in, stuff to knock 'em on the head quietly, and stuff to slow up the pursuit! All in one neat package!
Got people snooping by whatever it is you'd rather they not find? Got a defensive position you need a little coverage in the dead space for? Concerned about detectability? We have a whole selection of anti-personnel mines to choose from. Anti-armor mines by appointment only, please.
Need to be able to reach out and touch someone? Especially people who hide behind stuff so you can't just shoot them straight up? We have a wide selection of medium and light mortars to choose from, with a wide range of ammo choices!
Need help with data computation? We've got you covered there, too!
So, bit off a bit more than you can chew? Need some help with bunkers and armored vehicles? We've got a large selection of recoiless rifles and rocket launchers, and RPG systems that can meet your every need!
And don't let us forget our extensive grenade selection!
Need some extra reinforcement for that basement bunker? We got it. Have a mess of troops to mess? We got it!
And for you, CDR Salamander, today only - a special deal for the Naval Infantry! Straight from MoD stocks - the staple of Brit boarding parties for many years - the Lanchester!
So, call me. We'll do lunch.
[/smarmy announcer/telemarketer/car salesguy voice]
Oh, and, as usual. The Standard Disclaimers apply.
Flash Traffic (extended entry) Follows » Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »...let's see if we can distract him with bright shiny objects.
Silly blog graphic and refrigerator magnet to the first person who gets this one.
What is it? Whose is it? When was it used? Bonus points for succinct dissertations!
Let's see if we can attract a lurker or two with this one.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »Okay, coupla days ago, we posted a teaser, asking "Whatizzit?"
This was a toughie for most of you, with the bulk of you running down the rathole of the Type 89 Knee Mortar.
We gave you some hints - including the fact that most of the time, the answer lies in the Castle Archives or the photos of the Imperial Arsenal of Doom.
Owen Dyer, who asked me to do another teaser, got it right, in all the specifics, first day. Frank C. limped in a couple of days later.
It's a round for the WWI Granatenwerfer 16, highlighted in this Castle post.
The thing you had to figure out was the purpose of the smooth metal sleeve. The answer? This is a "bouncing" bomb. Due to the mud and general pulverization of the ground in the area of the trenches, lots of impact fuzed rounds didn't function, or buried themselves before exploding, making their impact minimal. Essentially, the smooth sleeve is a mini-mortar, containing a blackpowder charge which blows the bomb up into the air, where it will then function, getting around the soft ground problem.
That's it! For those of you who played, thanks! For those who didn't. Well, thanks for reading, anyway!
Oh! Wait! Vote for us!
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »If you have no idea what this is about - click here and get caught up.
We actually already have a winner – Owen had it right his first pass, and provided his answer in that slightly pedantic, try-to-cover-all-the-bases fashion the Armorer is prone to.
The rest of you have been going down some rat-holes. It is NOT related to what you see in this picture – which is the baseplate of a Japanese Knee Mortar, and the left and center (with a booster not seen here) are the kinds of rounds you’d see fired from that. You can ignore that Mills Bomb on the right - this pic was used for a different post some time ago.
Nor is it related to this type of implementation of this type of weapon (the one illustrated being a Brit 2inch mortar) – though it relates to a weapon of that class in employment.
No, conceptually, it’s more related to this type of weapon in implementation, if not in purpose.
Lastly – the Sekrit of most of these teasers – clues (or outright answers) to these things can be found in the photo galleries of the Imperial Arsenal of Doom.
That’s all the hints you're getting. Email your answers to johnbethd-at-yah00.com.
And Stuff Like This is why we think you should vote for us in the Best Master Gunnies competition! Only three days left! Early and often! <===Click that link! Once a day, every day! From home *and* work! At Internet Cafes! We think The BMG Trophy would look good on an Arsenal Bookshelf... but the only way *that's* gonna happen is if I steal it - unless you guys get really busy and start doing what Bill's been doing- borrowing other people's computers... of course, that would be wrong.
We need some pics of stuff in the Arsenal of Argghhh!
Like this:
Or this:
For CAPT H: Context.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »
...when the holdings of the Arsenal at Castle Argghhh! include Bill the Rotorhead's favorite small arm (no ladies, not *that* one - see 27" zipper), as he opined in the comments of a post earlier this week:
Blake - The M3 was handy for cleaning out bunkers, but you had to get within fifteen feet of a firing port to do it properly. A 2.75" FFAR from 500 meters would do the same thing, albeit without that *personal* touch.
Heh. I *love* the M3. And we don't have one in the Holdings of the Arsenal of Argghhh!. 2.75" FFARs we have. Two of 'em. One with a neat sectioned warhead.
Mebbe it *is* time to put up a Paypal Button to buy the Arsenal one of these.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »...just to annoy Ry. Something else that will appear. Whenever I finish it.
But hopefully this week. A wholly unverifiable, but interesting, war story.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »
