Armorer
Encyclopedia
An armourer or armorer (see spelling differences) is a member of a military
or police
force who maintains and repairs small arms
and weapons systems, with some duties resembling those of a civilian gunsmith
.
With the renewed interest in traditional armour and weaponry, the occupation also involves working with film, stage, and historical and reenactment societies. Period costumes may require reproduction armour, swords, and related equipment.
Within the British Army, Armourers serve with a diverse range of units including: Infantry, Cavalry, Tanks, Special Forces and also in larger REME units providing depth repair.
Armourers have the rank of Craftsman upon starting their trade training, which is the equivalent of Private and they have similar ranks of the remainder of the Army thereafter. As they increase in rank they can follow one of two streams: Artisan or Artificer. As an Artificer they must complete a Selection course and then a 2 year engineering course, where they emerge as a Staff Sergeant (SSGT) and have the potential to reach Warrant Officer Class 1 or even gain a Commission. Artisan Armourers remain in their trade and can achieve Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) as a ceiling.
On a day to day basis Armourers maintain a wide variety of weapons and optical equipments, typically using hand tools. They formally inspect every weapon every six months and advise their end users on all matters of equipment care. Within an Infantry Battalion they are exposed to the maximum varieties of weapons and optical equipment, with only Special Forces possessing more.
Within the British Royal Air Force
(RAF), armourers are considered the most specialized of any trade. After spending an initial phase of generic training at RAF Halton
with the majority other non commissioned trainees they transfer to DCAE Cosford for their trade specific training. Once qualified they can find themselves employed on a wide variety of tasks, including non trade specific jobs such as the flight line servicing of aircraft. As well as prepping, maintaining and loading aircraft bombs, missiles and aircraft assisted escape systems, they are also responsible for the maintenance of explosive release systems and small arms within station armouries like the L85A2 (SA80), 9mm Browning pistol and the GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun). Armourers can also volunteer to specialize in Explosive Ordnance Disposal and are often employed on the front line of conflicts clearing airfields from any unexploded ordnance
(UXO). They can also work alongside their army
equivalents, the Ammunition Technician
or ATO, helping to deal with improvised explosive devices. The founder of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, held armourers in high esteem, saying "without armament, there is no Air Force."
Armourers are the technician's who are responsible for the inspection, maintenance and repair of all service Weapons. These include Rifles,Light Machine Guns, Pistols, Recoilless Weapons, Heavy Machine Guns, Mortars and associated equipments, including APC turrets ,Field kitchens.
Personal battle equipment such as helmet,webbing and respirator also fall within their responsibilities.
Their training takes a minimum of four years,where for the first three years they serve an apprenticeship to qualify as a fitter/turner and their final year is training within the ordnance school to become armourers.Following a minimum of 5 years mechanical work experience within a ordnance unit and reaching NCO rank they can be selected then go onto further training to become what is known as an Armament Artificer or AA,this training takes a minimum of 5 months,
An Artificer is responsible for advanced maintenance and service inspection of heavy calibre weapons (Artillery, Anti-aircraft, Cavalry main armament,shipborne weapons) .
They are part of the Ordnance Corps,this is the only corps of the Irish army which due to the technical expertise and training required of its members ,does not have a Irish reserve force subsidiarity .
Individual line soldiers within an army infantry battalion are responsible for daily cleaning of their individual weapons, both the armourers and artificers (also known by their unofficial title of "tiffies") maintain both internal and external components and structural integrity of all components of the weapon system by periodical inspection and gauging.
Sighting,missile and robotic systems are maintained by technicians known as armament artificers instrument or AAI ,these technicians also serve a four year apprenticeship and qualify as electrical science engineers .
Weapons which do not pass the armourers' or artificers' inspection are withdrawn from service to be repaired or destroyed. Ordnance personnel are expected to be proficient soldiers and will receive the same amount of training as line soldiers.
They are on occasion expected to participate fully in ceremonial and operational duties and their rank structure is determined by the branch of the military they serve in for example Army- Private, Corporal, and so on.
http://www.military.ie/careers/army/apprentices
ship in January 1943 — where a wharf labourer died and many other were badly gassed by mustard gas leaking from a drum — the Royal Australian Air Force
created a specialist unit, the Chemical Warfare
Armourers. Their role was to handle, maintain and move upwards of 1,000,000 chemical weapons imported into Australia to counter a possible Japanese threat.
(MOS) designations across the services. Even where the title has disappeared, those with duties similar to those of earlier armourers are often referred to as such.
At present the US Army does not have a Military Occupational Specialty of "armorer". At the unit level, an armourer duty position exists and is filled by soldiers holding the Unit Supply Specialist (92Y) MOS; these soldiers will have received some basic armourer training as part of their MOS training, and will often attend further armourer training when assigned to that duty position. Many of the traditional functions of an armourer are performed by a separate MOS, Small Arms Repairer (MOS 91F, formerly 45B), which performs higher levels of ordnance maintenance and repair.
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
or police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force who maintains and repairs small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
and weapons systems, with some duties resembling those of a civilian gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
.
With the renewed interest in traditional armour and weaponry, the occupation also involves working with film, stage, and historical and reenactment societies. Period costumes may require reproduction armour, swords, and related equipment.
Britain
Armourers are the oldest trade in the British Army and trace their heritage back several centuries. Today they form a core role within the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and work on an extremely wide variety of weapon systems. Typically Armourers are attached to Infantry Battalions, where the Staff Sergeant Armourer also commands the REME Detachment of other tradesman (including vehicle mechanics and electricians).Within the British Army, Armourers serve with a diverse range of units including: Infantry, Cavalry, Tanks, Special Forces and also in larger REME units providing depth repair.
Armourers have the rank of Craftsman upon starting their trade training, which is the equivalent of Private and they have similar ranks of the remainder of the Army thereafter. As they increase in rank they can follow one of two streams: Artisan or Artificer. As an Artificer they must complete a Selection course and then a 2 year engineering course, where they emerge as a Staff Sergeant (SSGT) and have the potential to reach Warrant Officer Class 1 or even gain a Commission. Artisan Armourers remain in their trade and can achieve Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) as a ceiling.
On a day to day basis Armourers maintain a wide variety of weapons and optical equipments, typically using hand tools. They formally inspect every weapon every six months and advise their end users on all matters of equipment care. Within an Infantry Battalion they are exposed to the maximum varieties of weapons and optical equipment, with only Special Forces possessing more.
Within the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF), armourers are considered the most specialized of any trade. After spending an initial phase of generic training at RAF Halton
RAF Halton
RAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.-History:...
with the majority other non commissioned trainees they transfer to DCAE Cosford for their trade specific training. Once qualified they can find themselves employed on a wide variety of tasks, including non trade specific jobs such as the flight line servicing of aircraft. As well as prepping, maintaining and loading aircraft bombs, missiles and aircraft assisted escape systems, they are also responsible for the maintenance of explosive release systems and small arms within station armouries like the L85A2 (SA80), 9mm Browning pistol and the GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun). Armourers can also volunteer to specialize in Explosive Ordnance Disposal and are often employed on the front line of conflicts clearing airfields from any unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...
(UXO). They can also work alongside their army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
equivalents, the Ammunition Technician
Ammunition Technician
An Ammunition Technician is a British Army soldier trained to inspect, repair, test and store, and modify all ammunition and explosives used by the British Army...
or ATO, helping to deal with improvised explosive devices. The founder of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, held armourers in high esteem, saying "without armament, there is no Air Force."
Ireland
Irish ArmyIrish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
Armourers are the technician's who are responsible for the inspection, maintenance and repair of all service Weapons. These include Rifles,Light Machine Guns, Pistols, Recoilless Weapons, Heavy Machine Guns, Mortars and associated equipments, including APC turrets ,Field kitchens.
Personal battle equipment such as helmet,webbing and respirator also fall within their responsibilities.
Their training takes a minimum of four years,where for the first three years they serve an apprenticeship to qualify as a fitter/turner and their final year is training within the ordnance school to become armourers.Following a minimum of 5 years mechanical work experience within a ordnance unit and reaching NCO rank they can be selected then go onto further training to become what is known as an Armament Artificer or AA,this training takes a minimum of 5 months,
An Artificer is responsible for advanced maintenance and service inspection of heavy calibre weapons (Artillery, Anti-aircraft, Cavalry main armament,shipborne weapons) .
They are part of the Ordnance Corps,this is the only corps of the Irish army which due to the technical expertise and training required of its members ,does not have a Irish reserve force subsidiarity .
Individual line soldiers within an army infantry battalion are responsible for daily cleaning of their individual weapons, both the armourers and artificers (also known by their unofficial title of "tiffies") maintain both internal and external components and structural integrity of all components of the weapon system by periodical inspection and gauging.
Sighting,missile and robotic systems are maintained by technicians known as armament artificers instrument or AAI ,these technicians also serve a four year apprenticeship and qualify as electrical science engineers .
Weapons which do not pass the armourers' or artificers' inspection are withdrawn from service to be repaired or destroyed. Ordnance personnel are expected to be proficient soldiers and will receive the same amount of training as line soldiers.
They are on occasion expected to participate fully in ceremonial and operational duties and their rank structure is determined by the branch of the military they serve in for example Army- Private, Corporal, and so on.
http://www.military.ie/careers/army/apprentices
Australia
In a response to the disastrous unloading of the IdomeneusIdomeneus
In Greek mythology, Idomeneus , "strength of Ida") was a Cretan warrior, father of Orsilochus and Chalkiope, son of Deucalion, grandson of Minos and king of Crete. He led the Cretan armies to the Trojan War and was also one of Helen's suitors. Meriones was his charioteer and brother-in-arms...
ship in January 1943 — where a wharf labourer died and many other were badly gassed by mustard gas leaking from a drum — the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
created a specialist unit, the Chemical Warfare
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
Armourers. Their role was to handle, maintain and move upwards of 1,000,000 chemical weapons imported into Australia to counter a possible Japanese threat.
United States
The title "armorer" was formerly part of several Military Occupational SpecialtyMilitary Occupational Specialty
A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...
(MOS) designations across the services. Even where the title has disappeared, those with duties similar to those of earlier armourers are often referred to as such.
- United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
- 2111 Small Arms Repairman
- Army of the United States (United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to the end of the war in VietnamVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
)- 511 Armorer
At present the US Army does not have a Military Occupational Specialty of "armorer". At the unit level, an armourer duty position exists and is filled by soldiers holding the Unit Supply Specialist (92Y) MOS; these soldiers will have received some basic armourer training as part of their MOS training, and will often attend further armourer training when assigned to that duty position. Many of the traditional functions of an armourer are performed by a separate MOS, Small Arms Repairer (MOS 91F, formerly 45B), which performs higher levels of ordnance maintenance and repair.
- United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(WWII-era successor to the United States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air CorpsThe United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, precursor to the United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
).- 911 Airplane Armorer
- 612 Airplane Armorer-Gunner
Notable armourers
- John R. JewittJohn R. JewittJohn Rodgers Jewitt was an armourer who entered the historical record with his memoirs about the 28 months he spent as a captive of Maquinna of the Nuu-chah-nulth people on the Pacific Northwest Coast of what is now Canada...
, an Englishman who wrote a memoir about his years (1802–1805) as a captive of the NootkaNootkaNootka may refer to:* The Nuu-chah-nulth indigenous peoples and their Nuu-chah-nulth language* The place called Nootka Sound* The island known as Nootka Island* The three treaties signed in the 1790s, known as the Nootka Conventions...
people in what is now British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
; his writings are an important source of information about indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest CoastIndigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest CoastThe Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
, and also touch on the training and working life of an armourer in those days.
- At the battle of Aliwal, the Sergeant Armourer of the 16th Lancers was cited with spiking the enemy guns; throughout history the Sergeant Armourer was regarded as a pivotal rank.