Small Arms School Corps

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Small Arms School Corps
Sascbadge.gif
Small Arms School Corps cap badge
Active1853 – present
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
RoleAdvising, instructing and maintaining the proficiency in the use of small arms
Garrison/HQ Waterloo Lines, Warminster
MarchMarch of the Bowmen from the Robin Hood suite
Commanders
Current Commanding OfficerLt Col T Byrne SASC
Colonel of
the Regiment
Maj Gen C Collins DSO OBE
Command Sergeant MajorWO1 (CorpsSM) D Carty SASC
Notable
commanders
Sir Harold Ruggles-Brise
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash Small arms school corps trf.jpg

The Small Arms School Corps (SASC) is a small corps of the British Army, established in 1853 by Lord Hardinge. [1] Its personnel provide advice and instruction to infantry weapon trainers throughout the army, in order to maintain proficiency in the use of small arms and support weapons, and in range management. [2]

Contents

History

Prior to 1838, the majority of British soldiers were issued with the "Brown Bess" Land Pattern Musket, a smooth-bore, muzzle loading black powder flintlock musket which had seen service in one form or another since 1722. [3]

In 1849, Claude-Étienne Minié produced the Minié rifle, although still a muzzle loader three important advances were incorporated. Firstly, it has a rifled bore; secondly used an expanding bullet that improved accuracy out to 600 yd (550 m) and greatly reduced reloading time; and thirdly incorporated percussion cap ignition of the black powder charge. Re-equipment of the army with this new firearm, which was adopted in 1851, continued through to 1855. [4]

The consequence of this was that the army now had a weapon that was more accurate, at a longer range, was quicker to load and was marginally safer for the user as to ignition. For the first time since the demise of the bow and arrow, lethal marksmanship was possible. Shooting ceased to be a drill and became an art based on personal skill. Elevation, windage and ballistics now played a part. In order to study these new problems and introduce a shooting doctrine for instruction in rifle shooting it was decided to form a special corps of experts, who would also develop and improve the rifles and those whom use them. In March 1853, the Army Estimates included the sum of £1,000 (about £127,800 today [5] ) for Lord Hardinge to form an "Establishment for the instruction of the Army in rifle and target practice." [6]

Foundation

Small Arms School Memorial at Hythe, Kent Small Arms School Memorial (geograph 3775581).jpg
Small Arms School Memorial at Hythe, Kent

In June 1853, Colonel Hay arrived at Hythe, Kent, with a small staff of officers. On 1 August, the first instructor, Colour Sergeant MacKay of the 19th Foot, was appointed. By 15 September, a further three instructors were on strength. They were Sergeant Ruston (3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards), Sergeant Lobes (2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards) and Sergeant Morris (97th Regiment). [6] The first mention of the establishment of the school was in the Army List of 1854 when it was referred to as the School of Musketry. [6]

In September 1855, a corps of Instructors was added to the establishment, consisting of 100 First Class and 100 Second Class Instructors who, as soon as they were sufficiently experienced (except for three who remained at Hythe), were distributed to Depot Battalions and Regiments as required. These men were the Corps of Instructors of Musketry, a misnomer as muskets were being withdrawn from service – yet the art of the use of long arms to this day is sometimes known as musketry. [6]

A separate school of musketry was established at the North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood in 1861, but it closed after just six years. [7]

Later developments

Machine Gun Training Centres had been established in 1914 at Grantham and by the BEF in Wisques, France. This was followed on 14 October 1915 by the creation of the Machine Gun Corps (MGC). Originally equipped with the Maxim gun, these were replaced by the Vickers machine gun shortly after formation of the Corps. In 1919, the name of the School of Musketry at Hythe was changed to the Small Arms School. [6]

In 1926, the school expanded to include the Machine Gun School at Netheravon, in 1931 absorbing the Chemical Warfare School at Winterbourne Gunner as the Anti-Gas Wing. [8]

On the occasion of the centenary of the Corps in 1953, March of the Bowmen from the Robin Hood Suite by Frederic Curzon was adopted as the Corps March. [9]

In 1969, the school moved from Hythe to the Army training establishment at Warminster (now Waterloo Lines), [10] and was joined in 1995 by the wing from Netheravon.

The headquarters of the SASC remains at Warminster to this day. [10]

Badge

The first badge of the school was crossed rifles surmounted by the king's crown. In 1929, the badge merged with that of the Machine Gun Corps, which consisted of two crossed Vickers machine guns, surmounted by the king's crown. This led to the current cap badge being created: a Vickers machine gun, surmounted by a crown and surrounded by a laurel wreath. The title Small Arms School Corps came into being at this time. [1]

Recruitment

The SASC does not directly recruit civilians, and only accepts applications from soldiers who are already qualified Skill at Arms (Weapons) Instructors serving in the British Army. Volunteers transfer to the SASC from all arms and services, although primarily from the Infantry. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rifle</span> Common long range firearm

A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with both hands and braced firmly against the shooter's shoulder via a buttstock for stability during shooting. Rifles have been used in warfare, law enforcement, hunting and target shooting sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayonet</span> Pointed weapon attached to the end of a firearm

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musket</span> Muzzle-loaded long gun (firearm)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minié ball</span> Type of conical projectile for mid 19th century rifles

The Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié, inventor of the French Minié rifle, for muzzle-loading rifled muskets. It was invented in 1846 and came to prominence during the Crimean War and the American Civil War, where it was found to inflict significantly more serious wounds than earlier round musket balls. Both the American Springfield Model 1861 and the British Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled muskets, the most common weapons used during the American Civil War, used the Minié ball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machine Gun Corps</span> British Army corps of 1915–1922

The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat and was subsequently turned into the Tank Corps, later called the Royal Tank Regiment. The MGC remained in existence after the war until it was disbanded in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Small Arms Factory</span> Rifle factory in Enfield, London, 1816–1988

The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), also known by the metonym Enfield, was a UK government-owned rifle factory in Enfield, adjoining the Lee Navigation in the Lea Valley. Some parts were in Waltham Abbey. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816. It closed in 1988, but some of its work was transferred to other sites.

A rifled musket, rifle musket, or rifle-musket is a type of firearm made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels replaced with rifled barrels. The term later included rifles that directly replaced, and were of the same design overall as, a particular model of smoothbore musket.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">M1819 Hall rifle</span> Rifle

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The M1841 Mississippi rifle is a muzzle-loading percussion rifle used in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Small Arms School Corps". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  2. "Small Arms School Corps | The British Army".
  3. "British land pattern musket" . Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  4. "On the Thin Red Line: Loading and Firing British Muskets during the Crimean War, 1854-1856" . Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  5. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Early history of the Army School of Musketry in Hythe, Kent" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  7. Hay, Charles (1 January 1863). Annual Report on the Instruction carried on at the Schools of Musketry at Hythe and Fleetwood, and of the progress of Musketry Instruction in the Army, during the year ending 31st March 1863. War Office.
  8. "Defence chemical biological radiological and nuclear centre" . Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  9. "The Regimental March". Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  10. 1 2 "A Brief Corps History". Small Arms School Corps Comrades Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2019.

Order of precedence

Preceded by Order of Precedence Succeeded by