Holm (artillery)

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Simple handlebar without earth spur for transport by horse
Spreader bar with folded ground spur on a PaK 43
Quadruple spreader bar with a carriage on top of an eight-eight

In the artillery, the spar is a supporting structure attached to the gun carriage .

Originally the gun spar, which was attached to the mount, was intended more for transport. In this capacity he had a towing device. At the beginning of the 15th century, the spar was only used as such. For many centuries this not insignificant part of the gun was given little attention. From the 19th century it was recognized that transport could not be the only job of the Holmes. At first lightly buried, the spar not only allowed the gun to be held, but also cushioned the recoil force. Ground spurs were already being used towards the end of the 19th century to add even more to the stability of the gun. These dug into the ground at the end of the stile. During the First World War , spreader bars were developed which additionally increased the stability of the guns. From the Second World War , four spreader bars were introduced into anti-aircraft guns, which also raised the mount. This improved the accuracy of the gunner who did not have to wreak havoc in the sector assigned to them. However, this had the disadvantage that the spars were difficult to move and thus did not allow a quick change of position of the gun. In modern times, the spars were provided with an electric motor. In addition, the spar enabled a tail wheel to be driven, which made it easier to transport the gun over short distances.

literature

  • Shelford Bidwell et al.: Land War in the 20th Century: History, Technology, Strategy. Edited by: Ray Bonds, Gondrom Verlag, Bayreuth 1978, ISBN 3-8112-0148-4 . (German translation; English original title: The encyclopedia of land warfare in the 20th century)
  • Ian Hogg : 20th Century Artillery . 1st edition, Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1878-6 . (German translation)
  • David Miller, Christopher F. Foss : Modern combat weapons . Ed. By: Horst W. Laumanns, 3rd edition, special edition, Stocker Schmid Verlag, Dietikon / Zurich 1998, as well as: Motorbuch-Verl., Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-7276-7092-4 . (German translation; English original title: Modern land combat)