Royal Artillery: Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations (eBook)

0

See Zero.

0A

See Zero Alpha.

1st Captain

See First Captain.

1st Line ammunition

See First Line Ammunition.

2.95 inch QF

See Millimetre Gun.

2/Capt

Second Captain. A rank between Captain and Lieutenant, it was abolished in 1872.

(2H)

See (H) (Royal Canadian Artillery).

2IC

Second In Command.

2-inch Mortar

Introduced to infantry platoons during the 1930s, the 2-inch mortar was also issued to anti-tank batteries in the Second World War to provide smoke and illuminating rounds. Replaced by 51 mm Mortar during the 1980s.

(2L)

See (L). (Royal Canadian Artillery).

2/Lieut

Second Lieutenant.

2/Lt

Second Lieutenant.

2nd Captain

See Second Captain.

2-inch Medium Trench Mortar

Not to be confused with the smaller infantry version 2-inch mortar, the 2-inch Medium Trench Mortar was introduced during the First World War. Consisting of a steel tube 2-inch internal diameter mounted upon a wooden base and supported by a bipod fitted with both elevating and traversing gears. As with a normal field gun, elevation was applied by means of a clinometer, whilst laying for line was achieved by using a tall periscopic sight attached to the piece. Regrettably, no details of this sight can be traced. Propellant charges consisted of packets of cordite weighing 1 and 1½ ounces (28 and 44 grams), used to make up charges of 1½, 2½, and 3½ ounces, which gave ranges of 100–220, 180–340, and 300–500 yards respectively. The 2-inch medium mortar was despite its name bigger than the Stokes 3-inch mortar for the simple reason that the Stokes was measured by the size of the bomb whilst the 2-inch was measured by the size of the ‘stick’ that went into the weapon. The much bigger bomb stayed on the outside. The bomb itself consisted of a spherical iron container filled with amatol or ammonal attached to a piece of pipe known as the ‘stick’ which fitted into the bore of the mortar, while the bomb sat on the muzzle. The total weight of the projectile was 60 lbs (27 kg) and it could be fitted with either a time or a simple percussion fuse. To load, the required packets of cordite were dropped down the barrel, the ‘stick’ of the bomb was inserted in the bore, and the detachment took cover. Ignition was achieved by means of a ‘T’ friction tube inserted into a vent at the breech or by a rifle mechanism firing a blank screwed into it. The Detachment fired the mortar with a long lanyard due to the fact that occasionally the packets of cordite did not burn completely and the bomb fell short, occasionally dangerously short!

Detachments were provided by personnel seconded from 18-pounder batteries, and used mainly for cutting barbed-wire entanglements. For transportation, the mortars could be moved over short distances using frames with perambulator wheels whilst for longer distances MT vehicles were used. See 3-inch Stokes Trench Mortar.

2-pdr Anti-Tank Gun

See Ordnance QF 2-pounder.

2-pounder Anti-Tank Gun

See Ordnance QF 2-pounder.

3-inch Mortar

Infantry weapon in service from the 1930s to the 1960s. During the Second World War it equipped mortar and anti-tank (as an alternative weapon) batteries in Burma. Replaced by 81 mm L16 Mortar.

3-inch Stokes Trench

Developed during the First World War by Sir Wilfred

Mortar

Scott-Stokes, the Stokes Trench Mortar comprised a barrel, which was supported by a bipod and sat on a base plate. The mortar was fired by dropping an 11 lb shell down the tube onto a firing pin at the base of the tube. The action of dropping the bomb onto the firing pin activated a shotgun-like blank cartridge which in turn ignited propellant rings attached to the mortar shell. The range could be adjusted by changing the angle of the bipod.

By 1918 each British division possessed 24 light Stokes mortars, 12 medium and several heavy models.

3.7-Inch QF AA Gun

Entering front line service in 1937, the 3.7-inch AA gun remained in service with the Royal Artillery until replaced by guided missiles in the late 1950s. Both static and mobile versions of the 3.7-inch saw service with the Royal Artillery. The mobile mounting employed a cruciform set of legs for stability when deployed. In order to move, these legs were folded in and a pair of road wheels lowered to the ground. The gun towing vehicle used with the 3.7-inch was the AEC Matador.

Four production ‘Marks’ of the 3.7-inch existed, the first three having only slight differences, whilst the fourth variant had a longer barrel and utilised a different mounting. During its service life, the main improvements were the introduction of an automatic fuze-setter and an automatic loader. These improvements led to an increase in the rate of fire and the elimination of variation in loading speed and fuzes settings. The automatic fuze-setter and automatic loader also meant that the gun worked better with predictor data.

Whilst capable of operating in the anti-tank role, this was not considered to be a common role for this piece of ordnance owing to a number of factors. One reason for this was organisational, in that heavy AA regiments equipped with the 3.7-inch gun were controlled by either corps or Army Headquarters, or at even higher level HQs, and command of them was rarely devolved to the commanders at divisional levels.

Perhaps more importantly, the 3.7-inch gun mobile mounting was almost twice as heavy as the German ‘88’, resulting in redeployment being a slower operation whilst the heavy AEC Matador gun tower could only operate on roads or hard surfaces.

The most significant reason for not employing it in the anti-tank role was probably the fact that prolonged firing at low elevations (which had not formed part of the original specification) caused unacceptable strain on the mounting and recuperating gear.

The variants comprised:

Mk I   The original 3.7-inch HAA gun.

Mk II   This varied slightly from the Mk I in the method by which the breech and barrel were built up. Manufactured in the UK by Vickers-Armstrong until 1943 when production was taken on by Canada as the 3.7-Inch AA Mark II C

Mk III   This was a combination of a Mk I breech with a Mk III barrel. As with the Mk II it was built by Vickers-Armstrong but only in limited numbers.

Mk IV   This was a prototype development of the 3.7 using the Naval QF 4.5-inch Mark V gun with a liner to allow the use a 4.5-inch shell cartridge case to drive the 3.7-inch shell. The project was dropped in favour of the Mk VI.

Mk V   A further prototype developed at the same time as the Mk IV and using the same principle. It too was dropped in favour of the Mk VI.

Mk VI   The final version of the 3.7-inch QF AA Gun employing a Naval 5.25-inch mount and a longer 3.7-inch barrel as a starting point. Its barrel differed from the usual 3.7-inch QF AA barrel in that over the last five calibres of the barrel before the muzzle, the rifling gradually disappeared. This has the effect of smoothing the driving bands of the shell flush, which in turn had the effect of providing superior aerodynamic shape and hence better ballistic performance....