In modern terms, an armourer is a member of a military or police force who works in an armoury and maintains and repairs small arms and weapons systems, with some duties resembling those of a civilian gunsmith. The term may also be used in film and TV production for a person responsible for prop guns and other weapons; the head of this function is often called a weapons master.
There is increasing evidence that companies specializing in the manufacture of armoured vehicles or applique armour for application onto vehicles of all types (cars, boats, aircraft) are referring to themselves as armourers; such as the UK company OVIK Crossway - which describes its services as Armourers and Coach Builders. In some ways, this is a reversion back to the original meaning of the term insofar as these companies forge, adapt or integrate physical armour onto platforms in order to protect human life.
The title is also used in the sport fencing (the foil, the épée and the sabre) to refer to those who repair fencers' weaponry, safety equipment, fencing-strips, scoring machines, and reels. At sport-fencing events, the individuals responsible for checking equipment safety and maintaining the strips, reels and scoring machines during the tournament are also known as armourers.[citation needed]
With the renewed interest in traditional armour and weaponry the occupation also involves working with film, stage, and historical and reenactment societies. Period costumes may require reproduction armour, swords, and related equipment. The HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) movement has also revived a more traditional expression of armoury as a skill.
United Kingdom
Armourers are the oldest trade in the British Army and trace their heritage back several centuries. Today they form a core role within the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and work on an extremely wide variety of weapon systems. Typically, armourers are attached to every type of front line operational unit within the British Army such as Infantry, Cavalry, Engineers, Logistics, Special Forces and specialist training teams. They can also be found in larger REME units called REME Battalions providing in-depth repair and front line support.
Armourers have the rank of Craftsman upon starting their trade training, which is the equivalent of Private and they have similar ranks of the remainder of the Army thereafter. As they increase in rank they can follow one of two streams: Artisan or Artificer. As an Artificer they must complete a strenuous Selection course and then attend an 18-month intensive engineering course where they work towards and gain an electrical and mechanical HND, upon completion they emerge as a Staff Sergeants (SSGT) and have the potential to reach Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) as an Artificer Sergeant Major (ASM) or even gain a Commission. Artisan Armourers who remain working at trade can also achieve Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) typically as a Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of a REME Battalion and potentially gain a Late Entry (LE) commission.
On a day-to-day basis Armourers maintain a wide variety of weapons and optical equipment, they are highly skilled in the use of hand tools and are able to maintain their equipment across the globe. They formally inspect every weapon annually/or every six months (dependent on weapon type) and also advise the end-user on all matters of equipment care. Within a modern Infantry Battalion, they are exposed to the maximum varieties of weapons and optical equipment, with only Special Forces possessing more.
Within the British Royal Air Force (RAF), armourers are considered the most specialized of any trade in the RAF, but they hold a qualification for each specific weapon rather than gaining every qualification for all small arms and larger weapon systems. After spending an initial phase of generic training at RAF Halton with the majority other non commissioned trainees they transfer to DCAE Cosford for their trade-specific training. Once qualified they can find themselves employed on a wide variety of tasks, including non-trade-specific jobs such as the flight line servicing of aircraft. As well as prepping, maintaining and loading aircraft bombs, missiles and aircraft assisted escape systems, they are also responsible for the maintenance of explosive release systems and small arms within station armouries like the L85A2 (SA80), 9mm Glock 17 pistol and the GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun). They can also work alongside the British ArmyAmmunition Technician, Royal Engineers, and Royal NavyClearance Divers, in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) role able to deal with improvised explosive devices and conventional weapons. The founder of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, held armourers in high esteem, saying "without armament, there is no Air Force." Within RAF squadrons armourers are colloquially known as "pin-monkeys" and, more commonly, "plumbers". The term "plumber" has several possible origins, but most likely stems from the maintenance of the gun turrets on heavy bombers. The turrets were hydraulically and electrically powered and contained pipework hence the reference to plumbers.
Ireland
Irish Army armourers are the technicians who are responsible for the inspection, maintenance, and repair of all service weapons. These include rifles, light machine guns, pistols, recoilless weapons, heavy machine guns, mortars, and associated equipment, including APC turrets, field kitchens. Personal battle equipment such as helmet, webbing, and respirator also fall within their responsibilities.
Their training takes a minimum of four years, where for the first three years they serve an apprenticeship to qualify as a fitter/turner and their final year is training within the ordnance school to become armourers. Following a minimum of 5 years of mechanical work experience within an ordnance unit and reaching NCO rank they can be selected then go onto further training to become what is known as an Armament Artificer or AA, this training takes a minimum of 5 months.
An Artificer is responsible for advanced maintenance and service inspection of heavy caliber weapons (Artillery, Anti-aircraft, Cavalry main armament, shipborne weapons).
They are part of the Ordnance Corps, which is the only corps of the Irish Army which due to the technical expertise and training required of its members, does not have an Irish reserve force subsidiarity.
Individual line soldiers within an army infantry battalion are responsible for daily cleaning of their individual weapons, both the armourers and artificers (also known by their unofficial title of "tiffies") maintain both internal and external components and structural integrity of all components of the weapon system by periodical inspection and gauging.
Sighting, missile and robotic systems are maintained by technicians known as armament artificers instrument or AAI. These technicians also serve a four-year apprenticeship and qualify as electrical science engineers.
Weapons that do not pass the armourers' or artificers' inspection are withdrawn from service to be repaired or destroyed. Ordnance personnel are expected to be proficient soldiers and will receive the same amount of training as line soldiers.
They are on occasion expected to participate fully in ceremonial and operational duties and their rank structure is determined by the branch of the military they serve in for example Army- Private, Corporal, and so on.[1]
Australia
In a response to the disastrous unloading of the Idomeneus ship in January 1943 — where a wharf labourer died and many others were badly gassed by mustard gas leaking from a drum — the Royal Australian Air Force created a specialist unit, the Chemical Warfare Armourers. Their role was to handle, maintain and move upwards of 1,000,000 chemical weapons imported into Australia to counter a possible Japanese threat.
United States
The title "armorer" was formerly part of several Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) designations across the services. Even where the title has disappeared, those with duties similar to those of earlier armorers are often referred to as such.
At present, the U.S. Army does not have a Military Occupational Specialty of "armorer". At the unit level, an armorer duty position exists and is filled by soldiers holding the Unit Supply Specialist (92Y) MOS; these soldiers will have received some basic armorer training as part of their MOS training, and will often attend further armorer training when assigned to that duty position. Many of the traditional functions of an armorer are performed by a separate MOS, Small Arms Repairer (MOS 91F, formerly 45B), which performs higher levels of ordnance maintenance and repair.
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury or armory are mostly regarded as synonyms, although subtle differences in usage exist.
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence of the realm and its overseas possessions, and as the supplier of munitions and equipment to both the Army and the Navy'. The Board also maintained and directed the Artillery and Engineer corps, which it founded in the 18th century. By the 19th century, the Board of Ordnance was second in size only to HM Treasury among government departments. The Board lasted until 1855, at which point it was disbanded.
The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers".
The Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment, is the New Zealand Army's main military Logistics and combat service support (CSS) element. It is the largest regiment in the NZ Army.
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equipment, ammunition and clothing and certain minor functions such as laundry, mobile baths and photography. The RAOC was also responsible for a major element of the repair of Army equipment. In 1942 the latter function was transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and the vehicle storage and spares responsibilities of the Royal Army Service Corps were in turn passed over to the RAOC. The RAOC retained repair responsibilities for ammunition, clothing and certain ranges of general stores. In 1964 the McLeod Reorganisation of Army Logistics resulted in the RAOC absorbing petroleum, rations and accommodation stores functions from the Royal Army Service Corps as well as the Army Fire Service, barrack services, sponsorship of NAAFI (EFI) and the management of staff clerks from the same Corps. On 5 April 1993, the RAOC was one of the corps that amalgamated to form The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC).
The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army combat units with weapons and ammunition, including at times their procurement and maintenance. Along with the Quartermaster Corps and Transportation Corps, it forms a critical component of the U.S. Army logistics system.
The Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CF) that provides army engineering maintenance support. All members of the corps wear army uniform. From the 1980s to 2013 it was called the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch.
Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineer Corps is a corps of the Malaysian Army that is responsible for the maintenance of all vehicles, mechanical and electrical equipment of the Malaysian Army, with the exception of heavy equipments of the Rejimen Askar Jurutera DiRaja and signals equipment of the Rejimen Semboyan DiRaja.
Aviation electronics technician (AT) is a US Navy enlisted rating or job specialty. At the paygrade of E-9, ATs merge with the aviation electrician's mate (AE) rating to become avionics technicians (AV). There has been talk of completely merging the two ratings, but as yet no definite plans have been announced. Aviation electronics technicians wear the specialty mark of a winged helium atom.
The Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps (RAAOC) is the Corps within the Australian Army concerned with supply and administration, as well as the demolition and disposal of explosives and salvage of battle-damaged equipment. The Corps contains clerks, operator supplies, petroleum operators, parachute riggers and ammunition technicians. Members of the Corps are nicknamed Roaches.
The Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering(DSAE) is a Defence Training Establishment (DTEs) of the British Ministry of Defence. It was formed on 1 April 2004 and provides training for aircraft engineering officers and tradesmen across the three British armed forces. The school comprises a headquarters, No. 1 School of Technical Training and the Aerosystems Engineer and Management Training School all based at RAF Cosford, the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS) at HMS Sultan, with elements also based at RAF Cranwell and MOD St. Athan.
Gunnie is a term used in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) when referring to an armourer or aircraft technician who loads or maintains aircraft ordnance, weapons, ejection seats, or any other device that contains explosive material. A second major function of their speciality is Explosive Ordnance Demolition (EOD) – the safe removal of unexploded bombs (UXB's) and the disposal/recovery of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's). Armourers are also responsible for the maintenance of all small arms used by the RAAF and generally run the maintenance workshops in all RAAF base armouries.
The Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering (DSEME) is one of four Defence Schools within the Defence College of Technical Training (DCTT) of the British Ministry of Defence. It was formed on 1 Apr 2010 and comprises a Headquarters, the British Army's 8 Training Battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), and the REME Arms School all based at MOD Lyneham, and the Royal Air Force's No. 4 School of Technical Training at MOD St Athan.
The Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RNZEME) was a New Zealand Army Corps comprising Army trained tradesmen (craftsmen) who repaired Army equipment wherever New Zealand Forces served.
An Artificer is an appointment held by a member of an armed forces service who is skilled at working on electronic, electrical, electro-mechanical and/or mechanical devices. The specific term "artificer" for this function is typical of the armed forces of countries that are or have been in the British Commonwealth and refers to a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer. Artificer is a job title and not a rank.
The Somerville Logistic Committee was established by General Sir William Jackson the then Quarter Master General (QMG) in 1974 to consider the re-structuring of the MOD (Army) Q Staffs and logistic services. It was chaired by Major General RM Somerville the then Vice Quarter Master General (VQMG). It reported in March 1975.
The Naval College is the principal naval military college in Ireland providing training to cadets, non-commissioned officers and recruits of the Irish Naval Service. The Naval College trains and educates personnel for service, providing a mixture of different courses ranging from officer training right through to naval engineering. The Naval College is based out of the Naval Service's headquarters at Naval Base Haulbowline but also provides classes and lessons in non-military naval training at the nearby National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy.
Logistic Specialist is the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment trade responsible for providing Supply & Quartermaster support to the New Zealand Army within New Zealand or overseas.
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