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A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual cartridges, belts of ammunition or grenades. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. [1] Though functionally similar, they are distinct from chest rigs, which are designed to hold magazines instead.
By the late 15th century, the earliest viable handheld firearms in Europe were the arquebus fitted with a matchlock mechanism. The user kept his shot in a leather pouch and his powder in a flask with a volumetric spout. The spout was calibrated to deliver the proper charge for the user's arquebus. With the advent of the heavy arquebus (later known as a musket) in the early 16th century, a spout large enough to measure the required powder was impractical. Furthermore, trying to double or triple charge from a flask was time consuming and could create a “missed” charge. A bandolier from whence would hang several little flasks each filled with a dedicated premeasured charge was the solution to this problem. Since these were loaded prior to going into battle, the musketeer could take the time to accurately measure each charge. [2]
The bandolier was fitted with small wooden bottles called charges. The charges were recommended to be turned from a single piece of wood; a two-piece design (tube with a bottom) could come apart and metal charges make too much noise. [3] The number of charges was determined from the size of the musket, that is, the weight of the ball it fired. Each musketeer was issued a pound of lead from which they would cast their ammunition. For instance, if they had a 1⅓ ounce (583.1 gr (37.78 g)) musket ball, a pound of lead would provide them with 12 balls, hence, 12 charges. A “two-ouncer” would have eight charges. Throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, the number of charges varied between 8 and 16. [4] Additionally, the bandolier would be fitted with a bullet pouch and a priming flask. It might also carry an oil flask for the lock mechanism, a match keeper, [5] [6] or other accessories. [7]
The evolution of a sparking type lock mechanism, such as the flintlock, paved the way for the development of paper cartridge containing a premeasured powder charge and a lead ball wrapped in paper. [8] The bandolier then became a shoulder strap fitted to a bag or satchel wherein the cartridges could be carried. Eventually, any bag worn in the same style may also be described as a bandolier bag or possibles bag; similarly, pocketed belts holding ammunition worn around the waist may also be called bandoliers.
A somewhat different form of bandolier came into use in the late 19th century that held modern metallic cartridges and hand grenades. Bandoliers are now less common due to the use of detachable magazines and belt-fed firearms, though extra ammunition belts are often carried around the body like a bandolier. They are, however, still often used with shotguns, hand grenades, and grenade launchers.
Shotgun shells can easily be stored in traditionally designed bandoliers. In fact, some aftermarket shotgun slings are designed in a fashion similar to traditional bandoliers, albeit with a far more limited capacity.
In World War I and World War II, bandoliers were issued primarily to riflemen. They were made of cloth, stitched into pockets which held clips of rifle ammunition. [9] In civilian use, bandoliers are often worn by hunters and recreational shooters using shotguns.
The Chetniks of World War II made heavy use of bandoliers, often carrying two over the shoulder and two around the hip, using the latter as a holster for revolvers and daggers.
Another modern use of a bandolier is for the automatic rifleman of a military fireteam. Since a squad automatic weapon is often belt-fed, an automatic rifleman will carry an extra belt on his person; either in a separate compartment or slung over the chest in bandolier fashion. The bandolier was used to keep ammunition off a soldier's hips, as carrying too much weight on the hips can constrain movement and cause difficulty in retrieving the ammunition.
A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile, a propellant substance and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile.
A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun. This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms, in which user loads the ammunition into the breech end of the barrel. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber.
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock, that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as the snaplock and snaphaunce.
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually disappeared as the use of heavy armour declined, but musket continued as the generic term for smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century. In turn, this style of musket was retired in the 19th century when rifled muskets using the Minié ball became common. The development of breech-loading firearms using self-contained cartridges and the first reliable repeating rifles produced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1860 also led to their demise. By the time that repeating rifles became common, they were known as simply "rifles", ending the era of the musket.
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the (muzzle) end of the barrel.
A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a blank to cycle the action, and the shooter experiences less recoil with a blank than with a live round. Blanks are often used in prop guns for shooting simulations that have no need for ballistic results, but still demand light and sound effects, such as in historical reenactments, special effects for theatre, movie and television productions, combat training, for signaling, and cowboy mounted shooting. Specialised blank cartridges are also used for their propellant force in fields as varied as construction, shooting sports, and fishing and general recreation.
In current usage, a riot gun or less-lethal launcher is a type of firearm used to fire "non-lethal" or "less-lethal" ammunition for the purpose of suppressing riots or apprehending suspects with minimal harm or risk. Less-lethal launchers may be special purpose firearms designed for riot control use, or standard firearms, usually shotguns and grenade launchers, adapted for riot control use with appropriate ammunition. The ammunition is most commonly found in 12 gauge shotguns and 37mm or 40 mm grenade launchers.
Personal load carrying equipment (PLCE) is one of several tactical webbing systems of the British Armed Forces. Dependent upon the year of design, and the decade of introduction, the webbing system was named and is commonly referred to as the 85 Pattern, the 90 Pattern or the 95 Pattern webbing.
A speedloader is a device used to reduce the time and effort needed to reload a firearm. Speedloaders come in a variety of forms for reloading revolvers, or the magazines used with other types of firearms such as rifles and shotguns.
Buck and ball was a common load for muzzle-loading muskets, and was frequently used in the American Revolutionary War and into the early days of the American Civil War. The load usually consisted of a .50 to .75 caliber round lead musket ball that was combined with three to six buckshot pellets.
The IIFS was introduced in 1988, to serve as a fighting and existence carrying system—a possible replacement for the all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment (ALICE) employed and fielded by United States Armed Forces since 1973.
The M-1956 load-carrying equipment (LCE), also known as the individual load-carrying equipment (ILCE), was developed by the U.S. Army and first issued in the early 1960s. The M-1956 LCE was designed to replace the M-1945 Combat Pack, the M-1923 cartridge belt, the M-1936 pistol belt and the M-1937 BAR magazine belt. The M-1956 LCE was designed to be quickly configured, using no tools, to accommodate various mission and ammunition loads. The M-1956 LCE remained in service through the 1980s and set the standard for future United States military load-carrying equipment.
The history of the firearm begins in 10th-century China, when tubes containing gunpowder projectiles were mounted on spears to make portable fire lances. Over the following centuries, the design evolved into various types, including portable firearms such as flintlocks and blunderbusses, and fixed cannons, and by the 15th century the technology had spread through all of Eurasia. Firearms were instrumental in the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of European colonization in the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. The 19th and 20th centuries saw an acceleration in this evolution, with the introduction of the magazine, belt-fed weapons, metal cartridges, rifled barrels, and automatic firearms, including machine guns.
The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.
A paper cartridge is one of various types of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the metallic cartridge. These cartridges consisted of a paper cylinder or cone containing the bullet, gunpowder, and in some cases, a primer or a lubricating and anti-fouling agent. Combustible cartridges are paper cartridges that use paper treated with oxidizers to allow them to burn completely upon ignition.
1937 pattern web equipment, officially known as "Equipment, Web 1937" and "Pattern 1937 Equipment" was the British military load-carrying equipment used during the Second World War. It replaced the 1908 pattern and 1925 pattern—on which it was based—and was standard issue for British and Commonwealth troops from its introduction in 1937, throughout World War II, and in the post-war period until it was superseded by 1958 pattern web equipment. It remained in limited use with Territorial Army and other second-line troops until the mid to late 1970s. Official use of the webbing in Community Cadet Forces and the Combined Cadet Force persisted into the 1980s.
A powder flask is a small container for gunpowder, which was an essential part of shooting equipment with muzzle-loading guns, before pre-made paper cartridges became standard in the 19th century. They range from very elaborately decorated works of art to early forms of consumer packaging, and are widely collected. Many were standardized military issue, but the most decorative were generally used for sporting shooting.
In military uniforms, a shoulder belt is a wide belt worn usually over the shoulder and across the body. With nearly all line infantry, skirmishers, light infantry, grenadiers and guard regiments, two shoulder belts were worn - one carrying the cartridge box, and another for the bayonet, a sword, or other military equipment.
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