MickLeeds Posted 2 December , 2010 Share Posted 2 December , 2010 I'm reading 'The Green Howards in the Great War' and the author states that, "the Germans opened the day with heavy artillery fire, mainly Black Marias and Woolly Bears." Can anyone tell me which type or size of artillery he is referring to ? ( I know a Black Maria is the old name for a police van) Thanks, Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 December , 2010 Share Posted 2 December , 2010 I'm reading 'The Green Howards in the Great War' and the author states that, "the Germans opened the day with heavy artillery fire, mainly Black Marias and Woolly Bears." Can anyone tell me which type or size of artillery he is referring to ? ( I know a Black Maria is the old name for a police van) Thanks, Mick. Heavy, often howitzers. It refers to the black smoke resulting from the explosion of the round - not specific to a particular gun and also used of British shells (and KuK and Bulgarian etc etc) The term Jack Johnson and Coal Scuttle was also used. Confusingly Wooly Bears was some times also used to describe air bursts from AA shells which resembled a black hairy caterpillar of the same name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickLeeds Posted 2 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 2 December , 2010 Thanks for that. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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