InfantryInfantry is a military specialization of military personnel who engage in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, irregular infantry, heavy infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry, mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and naval infantry. In English, use of the term infantry began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot.
Designated marksman rifleA designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern scoped high-precision rifle used by infantry in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement range gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle, at around . DMRs are distinguished from sniper rifles in that they are semi-automatic to provide higher rates of fire (with some also having selective fire to switch to burst or automatic) and have larger magazine capacities (10, 20, or 30 rounds depending on the firearm and operational requirements) to allow rapid engagement of multiple targets.
Pump actionPump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to cock the hammer/striker, and then pushed forward to load (chamber) a new cartridge into the chamber. Most pump-action firearms use an integral tubular magazine, although some do use detachable box magazines.
Centerfire ammunitionA centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rimfire cartridges, the centerfire primer is typically a separate component seated into a recessed cavity (known as the primer pocket) in the case head and is replaceable by reloading. Centerfire cartridges have supplanted the rimfire variety in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. The majority of today's handguns, rifles, and shotguns use centerfire ammunition, with the exception of some .
Personal defense weaponPersonal defense weapons (PDWs) are a class of compact, magazine-fed, submachine gun-like firearms designed to fire rifle-like cartridges. Most PDWs fire a small-caliber (generally less than in diameter), high-velocity centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate rifle cartridge, essentially making them an "in-between" hybrid between a submachine gun and a carbine.
VolkssturmThe Volkssturm (ˈfɔlksʃtʊʁm; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years, who were not already serving in some military unit. The Volkssturm comprised one of the final components of the total war promulgated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will.
Spitzer (bullet)The spitzer bullet (or spire point) is a pointed projectile that is primarily used in small-arms. The pointed nose shape, which was developed for military purposes in the late 19th and early 20th century, was a major design improvement compared to earlier rounder or flatter-tipped bullets because pointed nose shapes were less susceptible to external ballistic factors like drag. By adding a point, projectiles made for fully-powered and intermediate rifle cartridges obtain a lower drag coefficient, which makes them decelerate less rapidly.
Service rifleA service rifle or standard-issue rifle is a rifle a military issues to its personnel, typically to its regular infantry. In modern militaries, this is generally a versatile and rugged assault rifle, carbine, or battle rifle, suitable for use in nearly all environments and effective in most common combat situations. Most militaries also have service pistols that are issued as sidearms to accompany their service rifles. The term can also be used to describe weapons issued by non-military forces, such as police or paramilitaries.
Primer (firearms)In firearms and artillery, the primer (ˈpraɪmər) is the chemical and/or device responsible for initiating the propellant combustion that will propel the projectiles out of the gun barrel. In early black powder guns such as muzzleloaders, the primer was essentially the same chemical as the main propellant (albeit usually in a finer-powdered form), but poured into an external flash pan, where it could be ignited by an ignition source such as a slow match or a flintlock, though some muzzleloaders have primers like cap gun caps.
Anti-tank rifleAn anti-tank rifle is an anti-materiel rifle designed to penetrate the armor of armored fighting vehicles, most commonly tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that can be carried and used by one person, but is sometimes used for larger weapons. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I until the Korean War.