Weapons

Tanks

Named after the disguise under which they were shipped to France during World War I; also nicknamed (in WWI) 'Big Willies' and 'Little Willies'		Tanks
Conceived and proposed the development of the tank in 1914		Sir Ernest Swinton
Battle at which tanks were first used (1916)		The Somme
Battle at which tanks were first used in large numbers (Nov 1917 – First Battle of)		Cambrai
Challenger, Chieftain and Churchill tanks: manufactured by		Vickers
Name (after a Union general in the American Civil War) given to the US–built M4 tank – originally by the British army (known to its crews as the Ronson, and to their German adversaries as the Tommy Cooker – on account of its tendency to burst into flames when its ammunition store was hit)		Sherman

Gas

The first gas to be used on a large scale in warfare (by the Germans at Ypres, April 1915) – a by–product of the dying industry; also known as bertholite		Chlorine
First used by the French in 1915: formula COCl2; more deadly than chlorine, but slower to act. Said to smell of new–mown grass or hay, or may blossom. Also used in large quantities by the Germans, it caused 85% of the 100,000 gas casualties in WWI		Phosgene
First used by the Germans in July 1917 (prior to the Third Battle of Ypres): causes blistering and bleeding, both internal and external; settles to the ground and remains effective sometimes for months. Formula C4H8Cl2S		Mustard gas

Nuclear Weapons

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.

State in which the first atom bomb test took place on 16 July 1945		New Mexico
Code name of the first atom bomb test (part of the Manhattan Project)		Trinity
Atoll in the Marshall Islands where the first hydrogen bomb test took place on 1 November 1952		Eniwetok
Code name of the first H bomb detonation (part of Operation Ivy)		Ivy Mike
Limited Test Ban Treaty bans the testing of nuclear weapons everywhere except underground		1963
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty bans the testing of nuclear weapons in all environments including underground		1992
US air–launched nuclear missile, developed during the late 1950s; the UK joined the programme in 1960, and intended to base its entire deterrent on it, but the USA unilaterally cancelled it in 1962, leading to a major disagreement		Skybolt
US–built, submarine–launched nuclear missile, in service 1960–94; also used in the UK, but with UK–made warheads		Polaris
Royal Navy nuclear submarine class, built to carry Polaris missiles; in service 1968–96		Resolution
British medium–range nuclear missile, and later the first stage of the Europa satellite launch vehicle; tested at Woomera (Australia), and in French Guiana, but cancelled in 1972 without entering full production		Blue Streak
US ICBM: first entered service in 1962, and since 2005 the USA's only land–based ICBM; named after the militias formed during the War of Independence		Minuteman
Smiling Buddha was the code name for the first nuclear weapon test carrried out, in 1974, by (country)		India
US long–range nuclear missile: first deployed in 1979, used by the UK since 1994; the UK's only nuclear weapon system, since 1998 (when its tactical free–fall bombs were decommissioned)		Trident
Royal Navy nuclear submarine class, introduced in 1994 to carry Trident		Vanguard
Royal Navy nuclear submarine class (previously known as Successor class), announced in 2016 to succeed the Vanguard class and to carry the latest version of the Trident missile		Dreadnought

Nuclear powers

Date of first test
16 July 1945		USA
29 August 1949		Soviet Union
3 October 1952		United Kingdom
13 February 1960		France
Probably in 1960		Israel
16 October 1964		China
18 May 1974		India
28 May 1998		Pakistan
9 October 2006		North Korea

The first four countries on this list, plus the sixth, were signatories to the Nuclear Non–Proliferation Treaty in 1968. The last three countries have declared a nuclear capability since then. The fifth country has never declared a nuclear capability, but it is widely accepted that it acquired nuclear capability in 1960 through clandestine collaboration with the fourth.

Other

Herbicide and defoliant, used most widely by US forces in the Vietnam war; previously used by Commonwealth forces during the Malayan Emergency (1948–60), but not known by this name		Agent Orange
Short stabbing spear used by Zulus		Assegai
Attached to a belt, when not in use (and in its scabbard), by a frog		Bayonet
Italian firearms manufacturer, based in Brescia since its foundation in 1526: the oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world, claiming to have supplied weapons for every major European war since 1650; today, sporting arms account for three–quarters of sales and the company is also known for its shooting clothes and accessories		Beretta
Nickname of the 42cm kurze Marinekanone (short marine canon) 14 L/12, or Minenwerfer–Gerät (mine launcher device) – a siege howitzer used by the German army during World War I – one of the largest artillery pieces ever fielded		Big Bertha
One of the most popular medium–weight anti–aircraft systems used in World War II, used by most of the western Allies: named after the Swedish company that introduced it in 1934		Bofors gun
Arrow in a crossbow		Bolt (or quarrel)
The part of a gun behind the barrel or bore		Breech
Nickname of the flintlock musket that was standard issue in the British Army 1722–1838		Brown Bess
Indicates a weapon's size by the diameter of the ammunition or bore		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		Claymore
Pistol, first manufactured in 1873: officially known as the Single Action Army, a.k.a. The Peacemaker; often referred to as "the gun that won the West" (but see Winchester)		Colt .45
Cannons were first used by English troops (1346)		Crecy
An arbalest was a type of (mediaeval)		Crossbow
Bren gun originated in		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		Henry Deringer
Type of bullet named after a place in India		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		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)		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		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		Howitzer
Common name, after its Austrian inventor, for the Pistole Parabellum (Parabellum Pistol) – introduced in 1900 and used by German forces in both world wars		Luger
Designer of the AK–47 assault rifle		Mikhail Kalashnikov
Distinctive curved knife used by Gurkhas		Kukri
Standard model of rifle used in the British army from 1895 to 1956; bore .303		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		Lewis gun
Breech–loading, single–shot, lever–actuated rifle, used by the British Army from 1871 to 1918; seen in use by some Afghan tribesmen as late as the Soviet invasion (1979–89)		Martini–Henry
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)		Maxim gun
Popular name for the standard hand grenade used by the British army, 1915–72 (after its Sunderland–born designer – first name William)		Mills bomb
Nickname of the 15th century bombard (cannon) on display at Edinburgh Castle		Mons Meg
Mounted guns, cannons, artillery: generic term		Ordnance
Bolt action, lever action and pump action are types of		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
US mobile surface–to–air missile: gained notoriety when used (with disputed success rates) against Iraqi Scuds in the First Gulf War (1991)		MIM–104 Patriot
A 'baton round' is the official military term for a		Rubber bullet
Soviet tactical ballistic missile, achieved notoriety in the West when used by Iraqi forces during the first Gulf war (1991)		Scud
The pelter (used by Roman soldiers) was a type of		Shield
Inventor of a shell containing musket balls, 1803, designed to maximise enemy casualties (British army officer)		Major–General Henry Shrapnel
The USA's largest manufacturer of handguns; founded 1862, based in Springfield, Massachusetts		Smith & Wesson
Products include the Model 29, shooting .44 Special [Magnum] cartridges – famously referred to by Clint Eastwood in the 1971 film Dirty Harry (according to Wikipedia) as "the most powerful handgun [cartridge] in the world" (although since superseded)
British submachine gun, introduced in 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		Sten gun
Type of catapult, which uses a long arm to throw a projectile; a common siege engine until the advent of gunpowder; traction and counterweight are modern names for the two main types; name may originate in a French word meaning to rock or tilt		Trebuchet
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		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)		V–2
Arms manufacturer that coined the epithet "the Gun that Won the West" to refer to its most successful rifle (see also Colt .45)		Winchester

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23