The News
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BAE, the spiritual successor to Armstrong and Vickers, is shrinking rapidly due to the scarcity of military contracts. The Tyneside works is closing, home to Armstrong's Elswick Works, and later, Vickers Armstrong, although there are only a little over 300 workers there now. There used to be over 25 thousand... The Tyneside area practcally invented the industrial revolution. The Terrier tank is being made there now, but BAE says there is little possibility of new armor contracts after the Terrier program is finished this year. All the middle east wars are winding down, and there is no interest or cash to start any new ones.
The Terrier Engineer vehicle clears mines and obstacles, can dig it's own obstacles and can keep up with the latest British tanks. It can have a crew of 2 or be remotely operated. Seems like a pretty handy piece of kit, war or no war. There are a few countries in southeast asia that can use a mine clearing vehicle or two. BAE should call them up. The following video is a British Army Engineering (recruitment?) video, and has some shots of Terriers in action. They make the dirty life of an army engineer look so glamorous, I want to join up!
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Guns that only fired one shot was starting to get irritating, and it was only a matter of time before someone solved the problem. They were many attempts, double barrel shotguns, so-called harmonica guns (John Browning's dad came up with one), and the worst solution of them all, carrying 3 pistols and a rifle at the same time. In 1855 Britain, TW Treeby built an early form of 54 caliber "chain gun". A percussion rifle, it had 14 chambers that revolved around the receiver, and it was cool and clumsy all at the same time. Keeping it in action was doable, if you had 3 or 4 loaders behind you. Of course the dangers would be obvious if one had experienced a Colt percussion pistol that let all the chambers go at once, which did happen from time to time. A thirty shot Treeby had been shown to the British Army but they didn't bite, they thought the gun wasn't powerful enough at the time. Treeby did have 2 patents on the gun, in 1855 and 1858. There is one in a museum in Hampshire, but not really clear which one it is in. Can't be many of them. The guys over at Forgotton Weapons got their hands on one and show it off in this video.