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Quiz Monkey |
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For the use of atom bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, see World War II: Miscellaneous.
The difference between an atom bomb and a hydrogen bomb is that an atom bomb works by fission, while a hydrogen bomb works by fusion and is much more powerful.
Herbicide and defoliant most widely used by US forces in the Vietnam war (agents purple, pink, green, blue and white were also used) |
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Agent Orange |
Short stabbing spear used by Zulus |
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Assegai |
Attached to a belt, when not in use (and in its scabbard), by a frog |
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Bayonet |
Famous anti–aircraft gun, named after the Swedish company that manufactured it |
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Bofors |
Arrow in a crossbow |
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Bolt (or quarrel) |
The part of a gun behind the barrel or bore |
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Breech |
Nickname of the flintlock musket that was standard issue in the British Army 1722–1838 |
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Brown Bess |
Indicates a weapon's size by the diameter of the ammunition or bore |
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Calibre |
Two–edged sword traditionally used by Scottish Highlanders (literally "big sword") – gave its name to an anti–personnel mine used by US forces in Korea and Vietnam |
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Claymore |
Officially the Single Action Army, a.k.a. The Peacemaker – first produced 1873 |
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Colt 45 |
Cannons were first used by English troops (1346) |
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Crecy |
An arbalest was a type of (mediaeval) |
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Crossbow |
Bren gun originated in |
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Czechoslovakia |
19th century US gunsmith: invented a small, short–barrelled pistol with a short bore; his name became a byword for the smallest usable handgun of any given calibre – also known as a pocket pistol or palm pistol |
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Henry Deringer |
Type of bullet named after a place in India |
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Dum Dum |
French–built anti–ship missile, used to great effect by the Argentine navy in the Falklands conflict (sank both HMS Sheffield and the Atlantic Conveyor). Name comes from a French word for a flying fish |
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Exocet |
The best–known forerunner of the machine gun: invented in 1861, first used by Union troops at the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. Used a rotating barrel, but this wasn't new; its innovation was the gravity–fed reload. Not truly automatic as it had to be cranked. (cf. Maxim gun) |
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Gatling gun |
Anti–personnel ammunition used in cannons in the 18th century – typically a mass of loosely packed metal slugs, loaded into a canvas bag |
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Grapeshot |
Type of cannon, with a short muzzle and a steep angle of fire: named in the 16th century from the German word for a stone–sling |
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Howitzer |
Designer of the AK–47 assault rifle |
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Mikhail Kalashnikov |
Distinctive curved knife used by Gurkhas |
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Kukri |
Standard model of rifle used in the British army from 1895 to 1956; bore .303 |
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Lee–Enfield |
Machine gun, named after its US inventor, but perfected and mass–produced in the UK, and widely used by British and Empire troops in both world wars, and also in Korea |
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Lewis gun |
The first truly self–powered machine gun (used the recoil from each round to load the next); US–born British inventor, 1884. First used in numbers in the Russo–Japanese war of 1904–5; by WWI it had been improved upon (cf. Gatling gun) |
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Maxim gun |
Popular name for the standard hand grenade used by the British army, 1915–72 (after its designer) |
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Mills bomb |
Bombard kept at Edinburgh Castle – dates from the 15th century, in the time of James II, although its early history is uncertain. Retired from active service in the 1540s, after which it was used only for ceremonial purposes. Last fired in 1681 to celebrate the birthday of the future James II of England, when the barrel exploded; taken to the Tower of London in 1754, returned to Edinburgh Castle in 1829 |
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Mons Meg |
Mounted guns, cannons, artillery: generic term |
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Ordnance |
Bolt action, lever action, pump action: types of |
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Rifle |
The Chassepot — famously used in great numbers by French forces in the Franco–Prussian War of 1870–1, and named after its inventor — is a type of |
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Rifle |
A 'baton round' is the official military term for a |
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Rubber bullet |
Soviet tactical ballistic missile, achieved notoriety in the West when used by Iraqi forces during the first Gulf war |
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Scud |
The pelter (used by Roman soldiers) was a type of |
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Shield |
Inventor of a shell containing musket balls, 1803, designed to maximise enemy casualties (British army officer) |
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Major–General Henry Shrapnel |
The USA's largest manufacturer of handguns; founded 1862, based in Springfield, Massachusetts; also known for its wide range of ammunitions |
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Smith & Wesson |
British submachine gun, introduced 1941 and in widespread use until the 1960s; name is derived from the initial letters of the surnames of its designers (Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin) and the first two letters of the location (Enfield) of the Royal Small Arms factory where it was made |
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Sten gun |
Jet–powered flying bomb, first used by the Germans against London June 1944 (one week after D–Day); said (by Wikipedia) to be the first cruise missile. Nicknamed the buzz–bomb or doodlebug |
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V–1 |
The world's first long–range ballistic missile, and the first modern rocket; developed 1930–4 by Wernher von Braun; first successful test flight October 1942; first used against Paris and London in September 1944. Over 3,000 were eventually used – mainly against Belgium (particularly Antwerp) and Great Britain (London) |
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V–2 |
"The gun that won the West" |
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Winchester '73 |
© Haydn Thompson 2018