Military Engineering, ADA-IMP
Military engineering, the art and practice of designing and building military works and of building and maintaining lines of military transport and communications. Military engineering is the oldest of the engineering skills and was the precursor of the profession of civil engineering.
Military Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title
adamsite, in chemical warfare, sneeze gas developed by the United States and used during World War I. Adamsite......
Agent Orange, mixture of herbicides that U.S. military forces sprayed in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971 during the Vietnam......
air gun, weapon based on the principle of the primitive blowgun that shoots bullets, pellets, or darts by expansion......
AK-47, Soviet assault rifle, possibly the most widely used shoulder weapon in the world. The initials AK represent......
ammunition, the projectiles and propelling charges used in small arms, artillery, and other guns. Ammunition size......
amphibious assault vehicle (AAV), an armed and armoured military vehicle designed to deliver assault troops and......
amphibious vehicle, vehicle for transporting passengers and cargo that can operate on land and in water. The earliest......
antiaircraft gun, artillery piece that is fired from the ground or shipboard in defense against aerial attack.......
antiballistic missile (ABM), Weapon designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. Effective ABM systems......
antitank guided missile, medium or long-range missile whose primary purpose is to destroy tanks and other armoured......
antitank weapon, any of several guns, missiles, and mines intended for use against tanks. The first response to......
Archimedes was the most famous mathematician and inventor in ancient Greece. He is especially important for his......
ArmaLite rifle, any of several lightweight, small-caliber assault rifles designed by the American manufacturer......
armoured vehicle, military vehicle that is fitted with partial or complete armour plating for protection against......
artillery, in military science, crew-served big guns, howitzers, or mortars having a calibre greater than that......
assault rifle, military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and that......
Atlas, series of American launch vehicles, designed originally as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs),......
atomic bomb, weapon with great explosive power that results from the sudden release of energy upon the splitting,......
automatic rifle, rifle that utilizes either its recoil or a portion of the gas propelling the projectile to eject......
ballista, ancient missile launcher designed to hurl javelins or heavy balls. Ballistas were powered by torsion......
ballistic missile, a rocket-propelled self-guided strategic-weapons system that follows a ballistic trajectory......
battering ram, ancient and medieval weapon consisting of a heavy timber, typically with a metal knob or point at......
bayonet, short, sharp-edged, sometimes pointed weapon, designed for attachment to the muzzle of a firearm and developed,......
bazooka, shoulder-type rocket launcher adopted by the U.S. Army in World War II. The weapon consisted of a smooth-bore......
Bernard Forest de Belidor was a military and civil engineer and author of a classic work on hydraulics. After serving......
Henri-Gratien, Comte Bertrand was a French military engineer and general, friend of Napoleon I and his companion......
Big Bertha, a type of 420-mm (16.5-inch) howitzer that was first used by the German army to bombard Belgian and......
biological weapon, any of a number of disease-producing agents—such as bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, fungi, toxins,......
Vannoccio Biringuccio was an Italian metallurgist and armament maker, chiefly known as the author of De la pirotechnia......
blowgun, tubular weapon from which projectiles are forcefully propelled by human breath. Primarily for hunting,......
blunderbuss, short, muzzle-loading shoulder weapon, usually a flintlock, with a wide smooth bore flared at the......
bola, (Spanish: “balls”; from boleadoras), South American Indian weapon, primarily used for hunting, consisting......
bolt action, type of breech mechanism that was the key to the development of the truly effective repeating rifle.......
bomb, a container carrying an explosive charge that is fused to detonate under certain conditions (as upon impact)......
boomerang, curved throwing stick used chiefly by the Aboriginals of Australia for hunting and warfare. Boomerangs......
bore, in weaponry, the interior of the barrel of a gun or firearm. In guns that have rifled barrels, e.g., rifles,......
bow and arrow, a weapon consisting of a stave made of wood or other elastic material, bent and held in tension......
Bren machine gun, British adaptation of a Czech light machine gun. Its name originated as an acronym from Brno,......
Henri-Alexis Brialmont was a Belgian soldier who was the leading fortifications engineer of the late 19th century.......
Browning automatic rifle (BAR), automatic rifle produced in the United States starting in 1918 and widely used......
bullet, an elongated metal projectile that is fired by a pistol, rifle, or machine gun. Bullets are measured by......
John By was an English military engineer whose Rideau Canal, connecting the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario (1832),......
calibre, in firearms, unit of measure indicating the interior, or bore, diameter of a gun barrel and the diameter......
cannon, big gun, howitzer, or mortar, as distinguished from a musket, rifle, or other small arm. Modern cannon......
carbine, light, short-barrelled musket or rifle. The word, the source of which is obscure, seems to have originated......
cartridge, in weaponry, unit of small-arms ammunition, composed of a metal (usually brass) case, a propellant charge,......
catapult, mechanism for forcefully propelling stones, spears, or other projectiles, in use mainly as a military......
chemical weapon, any of several chemical compounds, usually toxic agents, that are intended to kill, injure, or......
Churchill tank, the most successful British tank used in World War II. In 1940, after the evacuation of the British......
Sir Andrew Clarke was a British engineer, soldier, politician, and civil servant who, as governor of the Straits......
club, a heavy stick, sometimes with a stone or metal head, used as a hand or throwing weapon and usually shaped......
coastal artillery, weapons for discharging missiles, placed along the shore for defense against naval attack. In......
Menno, baron van Coehoorn was a Dutch soldier and military engineer, a leading officer in the forces of William......
Congreve rocket, artillery rocket developed by Sir William Congreve (q.v.) and first used in 1806. It was an improvement......
Cromwell tank, British medium tank that was used in the later stages of World War II. The Cromwell was designed......
crossbow, leading missile weapon of the Middle Ages, consisting of a short bow fixed transversely on a stock, originally......
cruise missile, type of low-flying strategic guided missile. The German V-1 missile used in World War II was a......
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was a French military engineer who designed and built the world’s first true automobile—a......
culverin, medieval cannon of relatively long barrel and light construction. It fired light (8–16-pound [3.6–7.3-kg])......
dagger, short stabbing knife, ostensibly the diminutive of the sword, though in ancient and medieval times the......
decoy, deceptive device used to draw an enemy away from a more important target. Active decoys are the principal......
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. government agency created in 1958 to facilitate research......
depth charge, a type of weapon that is used by surface ships or aircraft to attack submerged submarines. The first......
derringer, pocket pistol produced in the early 19th century by Henry Deringer (q.v.), a Philadelphia...
diphosgene, in chemical warfare, poison gas widely used by Germany during World War I. Its chemical name is trichloromethyl......
dirty bomb, explosive device designed to scatter radioactive material, hence the adjective dirty. Unlike an atomic......
doomsday machine, hypothetical device that would automatically trigger the nuclear destruction of an aggressor......
Dreyse rifle, rifle named for its inventor, Nikolaus von Dreyse. It had a long, sharp firing pin designed to pierce......
DUKW, 2.5-ton six-wheel amphibious truck used in World War II by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Its primary purpose......
Abraham de Fabert was a marshal of France, a leading French commander during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis......
field artillery, any large-calibre, crew-operated, mounted firearm designed for easy movement in the field. See...
flame thrower, military assault weapon that projects a stream of blazing oil or thickened gasoline against enemy......
flintlock, ignition system for firearms, developed in the early 16th century. It superseded the matchlock and wheel......
foil, a sword with a light, flexible blade of rectangular cross section tapering to a blunt point. It was designed......
French 75, field gun of 75-mm (2.95-inch) bore devised in 1894 by Colonel Albert Deport of the French army. It......
Garand rifle, semiautomatic, gas-operated .30-calibre rifle adopted by the U.S. Army in 1936. It was developed......
Gatling gun, hand-driven machine gun, the first to solve the problems of loading, reliability, and the firing of......
gauge, a measure of the bore of a shotgun. See...
German 88, versatile 88-millimetre (3.46-inch) multirole artillery piece, developed from 1917 by Germany. It was......
ghost gun, gun or rifle that is assembled by the owner, either from separately purchased pieces or as part of a......
George Washington Goethals was a U.S. Army officer and engineer who directed the building of the Panama Canal.......
William R. Grace was an American shipowner and founder of W.R. Grace & Co., a corporation that was for many years......
grapeshot, cannon charge consisting of small round balls, usually of lead or iron, and used primarily as an antipersonnel......
Greek fire, any of several flammable compositions that were used in warfare in ancient and medieval times. More......
grenade, small explosive, chemical, or gas bomb that is used at short range. The word grenade probably derived......
Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval was a French military officer and engineer whose developments of French artillery......
guided missile, projectile provided with means for altering its direction after leaving its launching device. See...
gun, weapon consisting essentially of a metal tube from which a missile or projectile is shot by the force of exploding......
gun control, politics, legislation, and enforcement of measures intended to restrict access to, the possession......
gunsight, any of numerous optical devices that aid in aiming a firearm. Its forms include the simple iron sights......
halberd, weapon consisting of an ax blade balanced by a pick with an elongated pike head at the end of the staff.......
half-track, motor vehicle that has wheels in the front and tanklike tracks at the back. Rugged armoured all-terrain......
handgun, any firearm small enough to be held in one hand when fired. It usually fires a single projectile or bullet,......
hard-target munition, ammunition capable of damaging and destroying reinforced targets such as tanks and hardened......
HARM, supersonic air-to-surface tactical missile with the purpose of finding and destroying radar-equipped air......
harquebus, first gun fired from the shoulder, a smoothbore matchlock with a stock resembling that of a rifle. The......
Chaim Herzog was an Irish-born Israeli politician, soldier, lawyer, and author. He was an eloquent and passionate......
Hotchkiss machine gun, originally a big-bore, hand-cranked, rapid-fire weapon developed in 1878 by Benjamin B.......
ICBM, Land-based, nuclear-armed ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,500 miles (5,600 km). Only the United......
improvised explosive device (IED), a homemade bomb, constructed from military or nonmilitary components, that is......