A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. Daggers have been used throughout human history for close combat confrontations, and many cultures have used adorned daggers in ritual and ceremonial contexts. The distinctive shape and historic usage of the dagger have made it iconic and symbolic. A dagger in the modern sense is a weapon designed for close-proximity combat or self-defense; due to its use in historic weapon assemblages, it has associations with assassination and murders. Double-edged knives, however, play different sorts of roles in different social contexts.
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip. A slashing sword is more likely to be curved and to have a sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade. Many swords are designed for both thrusting and slashing. The precise definition of a sword varies by historical epoch and geographic region.
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with notably less firepower than a machine gun. As a machine gun must fire rifle cartridges to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns.
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of active blocks, as well as to provide passive protection by closing one or more lines of engagement during combat.
Gladius is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the 3rd century BC and until the 3rd century AD. Linguistically, within Latin, the word also came to mean "sword", regardless of the type used.
The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 m, with a handle length of between 18 and 20 cm, in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD. Later swords, from the 7th to 10th centuries, like the Viking swords, are recognizable derivatives and sometimes subsumed under the term spatha.
The French estoc is a type of sword, also called a tuck in English, in use from the 14th to the 17th century. It is characterized by a cruciform hilt with a grip for two-handed use and a straight, edgeless, but sharply pointed blade of around 0.91 metres (36 in) to 1.32 metres (52 in) in length. It is noted for its ability to pierce mail armor.
A shamshir is a type of Persian/Iranian sword with a radical curve. The name is derived from the Persian word shamshīr, which means "sword". The curved "scimitar" sword family includes the shamshir, kilij, talwar, pulwar and nimcha.
The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double-edged knife.
The TT-30, commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in 1930 by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet military to replace the Nagant M1895 revolver that had been in use since the Russian Empire, though it ended up being used in conjunction with, rather than replacing, the M1895. It served with the Soviet Armed Forces until 1952, when it was replaced by the Makarov pistol.
A kilij or a pusat is a type of one-handed, single-edged and curved scimitar used by the Seljuk Empire, Timurid Empire, Mamluk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and other Turkic khanates of Eurasian steppes and Turkestan. These blades developed from earlier Turko-Mongol sabers that were in use in lands controlled or influenced by the Turkic peoples.
The fascine knife was a side arm / tool issued to 17th to 19th century light infantry and artillery. It served both as a personal weapon and as a tool for cutting fascines. It could be straight or curved, double edged or single edged with a sawtoothed back.
The 201st Field Artillery Regiment is a West Virginia Army National Guard regiment. It currently perpetuates the Virginia elements of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, which fought in the American Revolution. Organized by Colonel Morgan Morgan in Bunker Hill, West Virginia in 1735, it is the oldest continually-active regiment in the U.S. Army and the oldest in the West Virginia Army National Guard. Units also saw action on both sides of the American Civil War, with many companies of the regiment combined to form the Union Army's 1st West Virginia Infantry.
The Model 1832 foot artillery sword was a 25-inch (64 cm) short-sword with a straight, double-edged blade and brass-mounted leather scabbard.
The Model 1850 Army Staff and Field Officer's Sword was carried by all members of staff departments, Field Grade officers of Artillery and Infantry, Company Grade Officers of Light Artillery, Staff Officers and Aides-de-Camp between 1850 and 1872. It was based on a French pattern.
The Marine Corps noncommissioned officer's sword is a sword worn by noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and staff noncommissioned officers (SNCOs) of the United States Marine Corps. The NCO sword was adopted in 1859 and is patterned after the United States Army's foot officers' sword of 1850. The M1859 NCO sword continues service today as the Marine Corps drill and ceremonial sword. The sword's use is restricted by regulation to ceremonial occasions by an NCO or Staff NCO in charge of troops under arms or at weddings and wedding receptions where at least one of those being married is in uniform and has the rank of Corporal or higher.
The Model 1840 noncommissioned officers' sword was adopted by the United States military in 1840. Based primarily on a sword used by the French Army, the model 1840 NCO proved somewhat heavy hilted and ill balanced. For over 70 years, it was widely used by the Army; today its usage is restricted to ceremonial occasions. The sword had a 31-inch blade, a cast brass hilt resembling the more expensive wire-wrapped leather grips, and a leather scabbard rather than the steel used by cavalry troopers and officers, although some makers, such as Emerson and Silver, issued a steel scabbard rather than leather to protect from wear. Leather scabbards were phased out beginning in 1868.
The West Point Cadets' Sword is issued to cadet officers of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York for wear when the uniform is designated as "under arms," to include formal functions, drill, parades, inspections and graduation. The swords are issued to cadets in their First Class (4th) year, and are returned to the Academy upon separation, although Cadets have the option of buying their saber or purchasing a newly made one. Despite its straight blade and lack of a knuckle guard, it is referred to by USMA staff and cadets as a "saber," likely because the commands for its manual of arms utilize that term as the command of execution
Major innovations in the history of weapons have included the adoption of different materials – from stone and wood to different metals, and modern synthetic materials such as plastics – and the developments of different weapon styles either to fit the terrain or to support or counteract different battlefield tactics and defensive equipment.
The 14th Field Artillery Regiment is a parent field artillery regiment of the United States Army, currently represented in the Regular Army by its 1st Battalion, a HIMARS unit with the 75th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
