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Firing Port
A firing port, sometimes called a pistol port, is a small opening in armored vehicles, fortified structures like bunkers, or other armored equipment that allows small arms to be safely fired out of the vehicle at enemy infantry, often to cover vehicle or building blindspots. Examples of this can be seen in the Crusader tank, Sherman tank, Tiger I, T-34-85, and even modern armored vehicles today such as the Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV) program, its successor the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) featuring the M231 Firing Port Weapon, and Russian armored personnel carriers. Some firing ports are improvised for such use. For example a late production Tiger I manual shows the Nahverteidigungswaffe being used as a firing port. Some pistol ports, such as on the Sherman, included vision slits such as "protectoscopes" increasing visibility around the tank. Ballistic weakspot Being a ballistic weak spot, firing ports are often reinforced with additional armor, and in sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank Pistol Ports
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong vehicle armour, armour, and good battlefield mobility (military), mobility provided by continuous track, tracks and a powerful engine; usually their main armament is mounted in a Gun turret, turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large-caliber tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret, supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers. They have heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradley Fighting Vehicle
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle platform of the United States developed by FMC Corporation and manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, formerly United Defense. It is named after U.S. General Omar Bradley. The Bradley is designed to transport infantry or scouts with armor protection, while providing covering fire to suppress enemy troops and armored vehicles. The several Bradley variants include the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and the M3 Bradley reconnaissance and infantry fighting vehicle. The M2 holds a crew of three (a commander, a gunner, and a driver) along with six fully equipped soldiers. The M3 mainly conducts scout missions and carries two scout troopers in addition to the regular crew of three, with space for additional BGM-71 TOW missiles. In 2014, the U.S. Army selected BAE Systems Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) proposal of a turretless variant of the BFV to replace over 2800 M113s in service. Design ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gun Turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in some degree of azimuth and elevation (cone of fire). Description Rotating gun turrets protect the weapon and its crew as they rotate. When this meaning of the word "turret" started being used at the beginning of the 1860s, turrets were normally cylindrical. Barbettes were an alternative to turrets; with a barbette the protection was fixed, and the weapon and crew were on a rotating platform inside the barbette. In the 1890s, armoured hoods (also known as "gun houses") were added to barbettes; these rotated with the platform (hence the term "hooded barbette"). By the early 20th Century, these hoods were known as turrets. Modern warships have gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Embrasure
An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out throughout the thickness of a wall by the establishment of a bay. This term designates the internal part of this space, relative to the closing device, door or window. In fortification this refers to the outward splay of a window or of an arrowslit on the inside. In ancient military engineering, embrasures were constructed in towers and walls, in particular between the merlons and the battle. A loophole, arrow loop or arrowslit passes through a solid wall, and thus forms an embrasure of shooting, allowing archer or gunner weapons to be fired out from the fortification while the firer remains under cover. This type of opening was flared inward - that is: the opening was very narrow on the outside, but wide on the inside, so that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krummlauf
The ''Krummlauf'' (English: "curved barrel") is a bent barrel attachment for the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44) rifle developed by Germany in World War II. The curved barrel included a periscope sighting device for shooting around corners from a safe position. Description It was produced in several variants: an "I" version for infantry use, a "P" version for use in tanks (to cover the dead areas in the close range around the tank and defend against assaulting infantry), versions with 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° bends, a version for the StG 44 and one for the MG 42. Only the 30° "I" version for the StG 44 was produced in many numbers. The bent barrel attachments had very short lifespans—approximately 300 rounds for the 30° version, and 160 rounds for the 45° variant—as the barrel and bullets fired were put under great stress. Another problem besides the short life-span was that the bending caused the bullets to shatter and exit the barrel in multiple fragments, producing an unint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaped Charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, initiating nuclear weapons, penetrating armor, or perforating wells in the oil and gas industry. A typical modern shaped charge, with a metal liner on the charge cavity, can penetrate armor steel to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the charge (charge diameters, CD), though greater depths of 10 CD and above have been achieved. Contrary to a misconception (possibly resulting from the acronym for ''high-explosive anti-tank'', HEAT) the shaped charge EFP jet does not depend in any way on heating or melting for its effectiveness; that is, the EFP jet from a shaped charge does not melt its way through armor, as its effect is purely kinetic in nature – however the process does create significant heat and often has a significant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slat Armor
Slat armor (or slat armour in British English), also known as bar armor, cage armor, and standoff armor, is a type of vehicle armor designed to protect against high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) attacks, as used by anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Operation Slat armor takes the form of a rigid slatted metal grid fitted around key sections of the vehicle, which disrupts the shaped charge of the warhead by either crushing it, preventing optimal detonation from occurring, or by damaging the fuzing mechanism, preventing detonation outright. Although slat armor is effective against incoming missiles, it does not offer complete protection – as many as 50% of missile impacts are unimpeded by the slat design. Slat armor is more likely to be effective if the cage spacing is less than the diameter of the incoming RPG round, which is commonly 85 mm. Combat history World War II The German Wehrmacht was the first employer of cage armor during W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nahverteidigungswaffe
The ''Nahverteidigungswaffe'' was a roof mounted, breech-loaded, single shot, multi-purpose, 360 ° rotating grenade launcher that could fire a variety of ammunition. It was typically found on German tanks such as the Panzer IV, Panther I, Tiger I, and Tiger II from 1944 until the end of the war and was intended to replace three previous devices: the '' Nebelwurfgerät'', the '' Minenabwurfvorrichtung'', and pistol ports. Operation The ''Nahverteidigungswaffe'' was a simple breech-loaded launcher tube oriented at a 50° angle and fitted in a traversable mounting on the turret roof. Unlike the previous externally mounted launchers, it was not exposed to enemy fire, being reloaded from within the vehicle through a hinged breech. The ''Nahverteidigungswaffe'' was designed to mate with the standard '' Kampfpistole'' flare gun and could be sealed by an armored plug when not in use. Aiming was by periscopes located on the turret and cupola. Ammunition The device could fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armored Personnel Carriers
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. According to the definition in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, an APC is "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped to transport a combat infantry squad and which, as a rule, is armed with an integral or organic weapon of less than 20 millimetres calibre." Compared to infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which are also used to carry infantry into battle, APCs have less armament and are not designed to provide direct fire support in battle. Infantry units which travel in APCs are known as mechanized infantry. Some militaries also make a distinction between infantry units which use APCs and infantry units which use IFVs, with the latter being known as armoured infantry in such militaries. History The genesis o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M231 Firing Port Weapon
The M231 Firing Port Weapon (FPW) is an adapted version of the M16 assault rifle for shooting from firing ports on the M2 Bradley. The M16, standard infantry weapon of the time, was too long for use in a "buttoned up" APC, so the FPW was developed to provide a suitable weapon for this role. Designed by the Rock Island Arsenal, the M231 FPW remains in service. All but the rear two firing ports on the Bradley have been removed. History Work started in 1972 on a dedicated Firing Port Weapon to go along with the Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV) program also started at that time. A requirement for these vehicles was to have firing ports for troops riding inside, and so it was decided that a specific weapon also be developed. The Rock Island Arsenal headed up the project working with the M3 submachine gun (a World War II-era SMG), a Firing Port Weapon created by Heckler & Koch based on the HK33, and a modified M16 rifle pattern weapon. The qualities of the M16 were the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MICV-65
MICV-65, short for ''Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle, 1965'', was a US Army project that studied a number of armored fighting vehicles that would replace the M113 and M114 as well as take on a variety of new roles. A number of designs were studied as part of the MICV project, but none of them entered service for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, experience gained in the MICV project eventually led to the M2 Bradley, which incorporates many of the MICV concepts. Background World War II opened with the concepts of armored warfare relatively undeveloped. Infantry and armor were generally organized as separate units, which led to problems when the armor would outrace the infantry and then have to stop at various obstacles like rivers or strongpoints. As the war progressed the doctrine of combined arms became better refined, and the need for specialist vehicles to keep the infantry in close contact with the armor became increasingly important. Most of these vehicles were half- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armored Vehicles
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or from a potentially dangerous environment or activity (e.g. cycling, construction sites, etc.). Personal armour is used to protect soldiers and war animals. Vehicle armour is used on warships, armoured fighting vehicles, and some mostly ground attack combat aircraft. A second use of the term ''armour'' describes armoured forces, armoured weapons, and their role in combat. After the development of armoured warfare, tanks and mechanised infantry and their combat formations came to be referred to collectively as "armour". Etymology The word "armour" began to appear in the Middle Ages as a derivative of Old French. It is dated from 1297 as a "mail, defensive covering worn in combat". The word originates from the Old French , itself deri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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