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Questions tagged [artillery]

Questions related to large class projectile weapons.

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Can anyone help identifying markings on this artillery shell casing?

Inherited this shell casing from my grandfather who emigrated from England around war time (WW2) but I don't have any real information or dates. My mother just remembers it always being around. My ...
Mike Morton's user avatar
21 votes
1 answer
3k views

How did muzzle-loaded rifled artillery solve the problems of the hand-held rifle?

I'm specifically interested in muzzle-loading rifle artillery, so no smoothbores and no breach-loaders. The period I'm interested in is roughly 1820 - 1860, for both the army and navy. But first I ...
DrZ214's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
611 views

Why did Italian artillery perform so badly during WWII? [closed]

Italian artillery available during WW2 looks pretty numerous, speaking about the different cannons and howitzers available. They also looked efficient, considering range, caliber or accuracy. In the ...
totalMongot's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
175 views

Please help identify this shell casing

We found the end of a shell casing in our garden. We believe it is made of brass it’s 3.2 inches across and has the following stamps on it: DCP oo 75 M No 32 1917 BA with N on its side above. ...
Andria's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
3k views

Does anyone know the history on this artillery shell I found in my grandfather’s shed?

The shell is 57 mm in diameter and 170mm long. There is a hole in the bottom of the shell 13 mm in diameter. Any information on this shell would be greatly appreciated. I would like to keep it in my ...
Steve Fifield's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
852 views

What is this artillery shell?

I found this in my Grandfather’s basement. He served in World War 2, in the Pacific Theater. He sadly passed away and we have no idea if this is safe. Can anyone help with identifying this? It is 13 ...
Jimmy's user avatar
  • 31
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Identify tank or artillery shell

I found this shell by the sea of Galilee in 1967 and it makes a great door stop. I've not been able to identify it by searching the web. Can anyone tell me anything about it. It is solid iron, 17cm by ...
Benisacat's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
997 views

Can you identify this artillery shell?

I'm not sure but my grandfather says that it is from time of first world war. As his father served in British army during 1st world war. He(great grandfather) has done some kind of modification on it. ...
Pranjal Rana's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
530 views

Who was blamed for shell failures on the Western Front?

According to the website for the Imperial War Museum, shell failure at the Somme was a significant issue: To make matters worse, it has been been estimated that as many as 30% of the shells failed to ...
user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
521 views

What do these artillery shell stamps indicate?

I found this inert shell decades ago at a garage sale in New Brunswick, Canada and finally got around to cleaning it up. I'm not really well versed in the various marks on it, but I've attached some ...
Craig MacDonald's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
613 views

How effective was Civil War-era artillery in the rain?

How did rain effect cannon of the mid-19th century? Specifically the commonly fielded types like the 12-pounder Napoleon. Could they operate effectively and reliably in heavy rainfall? I’ve been able ...
Ryan Williamson's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
880 views

In comparison to today's tanks, how powerful were various WW1 artillery pieces?

This is a two-part question: Which, if any, WW1 artillery pieces would be able to damage or destroy a modern tank presuming it got a direct hit. That is - what can today's armour NOT protect against ...
Michael Stachowsky's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
397 views

Were American mortars better than Soviet ones during WWII?

In this question, the OP says that the American mortars where better than the Soviet ones. Nobody went further on that point. But I am surprised: It appears from my research that the Soviets had ...
totalMongot's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
878 views

Which cannon could fired this Austrian brass shell case (Berndorf 1910 R)?

I would like to know which cannon could have fired such a shell and what does the R stand for? Was it fired in WWI? The dimensions are as follows: length 58 cm, width at the base 9.5 cm, and width ...
Felipe's user avatar
  • 43
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

What was the range of medieval bombards?

We know the weights of various medieval bombards and the weight of the stones they launched (such as the famous Mons Meg or Dardanelles gun). But I can't find any information about their range or how ...
Duncan Timiney's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
299 views

Origin of the Petropavlovsk artillery company

The frontier port of Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka, was an army outpost which acquired an artillery company at some point before the garrison was dissolved in 1812 and the port became regional capital in ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
191 views

Was the East Prussian operation "unequalled in munitions expenditure"?

In his memoirs (text in Russian), Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky claims the following (emphasis added by me): I will note in passing that in terms of munitions consumption the East Prussian operation ...
Valentin Aslanyan's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
680 views

How accurate was rocket artillery in the 18th and 19th centuries?

In the 1700s and 1800s, how accurate was rocket artillery in Europe (or Asia, if you prefer to speak of her)? Its accuracy is frequently made a joke, that rockets couldn't be relied on to hit their ...
user28697's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
342 views

Whereabouts of the ancient Korean cannon in Kamchatka

... [Davidov and Chvostov] fell with glee upon two junks and burned them to the water's edge. Finally they found a ten-pounder brass cannon which seemed a fitting trophy to take home. It was, by some ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
  • 27.5k
1 vote
0 answers
49 views

A bronze reservoir in Osaka

George Lensen's "The Russian Push Toward Japan", 1959, cites Okamoto Ryunosuke, "Nichi-Ro kosho Hokkaido shiko", 1898, to say: Matsudaira Sadanobu states that guns for defenses must be of bronze. ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
358 views

How unusual was an unanswered naval salute of 150 guns?

In naval tradition, ships and ports may expend gunpowder saluting each other, thus proving their respect and nonaggression. The respect so shown appears greater when more guns are shot off. A common ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
4k views

What's this 1917 shell casing, more exactly?

I've been gifted this vase that is obviously made out of a large shell casing. It has 'MARZ 1917' stamped on the bottom, plus other less understandable markings: 'St', 'G', '36', 'HL 25'. I'm ...
Torp's user avatar
  • 193
2 votes
2 answers
923 views

With what weapons were the towers of the Bastille armed?

I am researching the Bastille for a project in which I have to depict the Royal soldiers that stood on the towers during the French Revolution. Specifically, I am looking for the types of weapons ...
Xman343's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
399 views

Technical Pictures of Prussian Cannons

For my research I found these wonderful pictures showing all artillery weapons used during the Seven Years War. http://crogges7ywarmies.blogspot.de/2012/09/prussian-7yw-artillery-scale-drawings.html ...
pguetschow's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
597 views

Power of Prussian artillery pieces during the Napoleonic Wars

I'm developing a RTS game which is set during the Napoleonic Wars and want to implement these artillery for the Prussian side: 6 pound cannon 7 pound howitzer 12 pound cannon Unfortunately, I have ...
pguetschow's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
496 views

What military first used fire support bases?

What country first introduced the use of fire support bases (FSB) as seen, for example, during the Vietnam War? Is this a uniquely U.S. military doctrine that developed out of that specific war? The ...
Courtny's user avatar
  • 1,671
3 votes
1 answer
377 views

What were the dimensions of the Lahitolle 95 mm cannon?

What were the dimensions of this gun? Specifically, I need to know the height, the width, and the length of the entire piece, not just the barrel.
Charlie Brown's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
6k views

How were the holes for the guns in battleships' turrets protected?

I'm interested in knowing how the guns' holes in battleships' turrets protected, if and when they were, and how was that protection designed and arranged, specially in relation to the guns' elevation ...
CosmicGiant's user avatar
15 votes
6 answers
43k views

What is the longest effective range artillery weapon ever built?

What is the longest effective range artillery weapon ever built, regardless of wether it was actually used in combat?
Andreas Hartmann's user avatar
6 votes
7 answers
3k views

Why were rockets not popular as part of artillery until 20th century?

Why were rockets not extensively used throughout the world like cannon until the 20th century? Maybe one may ask the reason for pointing out 20th century. I guess it's fair enough after thinking about ...
biri's user avatar
  • 502
5 votes
4 answers
711 views

Why didn't the British test the effects of shells on trench warfare defenses?

At the battle of the Somme the British bombarded the Germans for seven days. They fired over 1.5 million shells. But most of these shells were shrapnel shells. These shells failed to cut and ...
Kevin's user avatar
  • 51
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

What field guns, howitzers and mortars were used by the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army during the 1971 war?

While the tank battles are better documented, the role of the field guns are not so well recorded (at least not in available documents). I know that 3.7 inch howitzers were part of the first artillery ...
Rajib's user avatar
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