Bomb

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Bombardiere (1812), painting by Nikolai Zaretsky (1911)

The operation of a stone- shooting catapult was originally called a bombardier . Later (first half of the 19th century ) an intermediate stage between the common ( gunners ) and the NCOs in the Prussian artillery . In some armies this designation is still used today for artillery NCOs.

origin

In the 14th and 15th centuries, certain rock-shooting projectiles were known as bombards . The word is derived from the Latin bombus , which means dull sound , and the synonymous Italian bomba . Thereafter, in France, the weapon ( bombarde ) was first referred to and the term was finally transferred to the associated team ( bombardien ).

Royal Prussian Army

The term came up from French under the Great Elector as a term for the use of stone rifles in the Brandenburg army . The other guns were operated by the designation gunners . In 1683, the artillery corps of the Great Elector consisted of one bombarding company and four gunnery companies . King Friedrich Wilhelm I dissolved the Bombardier companies in 1713 and assigned their members to the gunner companies. Until 1862 Bombardier was a rank in the Prussian army and marked an intermediate stage between the gunners and the NCOs. The bombardiers came from the "educated classes" and were supervisors of the gunners, they had at this time sleeve lace and corporal tassels as a badge of rank .

Requirements in 1812 were:

  • good moral leadership
  • Height at least 5 feet four inches (1.67 m)
  • Age between 18 and 28 years
  • Reading, writing and arithmetic up to the rule tri (rule of three )

From July 1, 1859, no new promotions were made to this rank.

Commonwealth armies

Bombardier (abbreviated: Bdr) and lance-bombardier (abbreviated: LBdr or L / Bdr) are used by the British Army in the Royal Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery. These ranks can also be found in other armed forces of the Commonwealth to this day, e.g. B. the Royal Australian Artillery, the Royal New Zealand Artillery, the South African Army Artillery and the Armed Forces of Malta. In the Royal Canadian Artillery, the ranks of master bombardier or bombardier correspond to those of master corporal or corporal .

Originally the Royal Artillery only had corporals (comparable to NCO; OR-5 ) but no lance corporals (comparable to Ober- or Hauptgefreiter; OR-3 ). In contrast to a lance corporal , a bombardier was a real sergeant.

In 1920 the rank of corporal was abolished in the Royal Artillery ; bombardiers became the equivalent and acquired the normal two chevrons . The rank of lance-bombardier came about as a designation for the deputy of a bombardier and was indicated by a single chevron. The form of address was introduced in February 1918 and, like lance-corporal , became a fully-fledged rank in 1961.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Pfeifer, Etymological Dictionary of German , Unabridged, reviewed edition, 7th edition dtv, Munich 2004, p. 157
  2. ^ The Prussian Army in 1812; Vol. 1; Great General Staff; Berlin 1912; P. 204
  3. ↑ Lieutenant Colonel Hans Peter Stein (ed.), TRANSFELDT - Word and Customs in Heer and Fleet , 9th, revised and expanded edition, Spemann, Stuttgart 1986, p. 114

swell

  • Transfeldt, Word and Customs in the German Army, Stuttgart 9/1986; ISBN 3-440-81060-7
  • The Prussian Army in 1812; Vol. 1; Great General Staff; Berlin 1912