Non-motoring > Military gun salutes Miscellaneous
Thread Author: bathtub tom Replies: 25
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New Sat 29 Aug 15 23:10 
 Military gun salutes - bathtub tom
I was at a military wedding recently and they fired a two gun salute for the couple. Most of the congregation jumped a few inches at the first and a little less at the second!

Can't find anything on the inteweb thingmy about how many guns are fired at what occasions other than three and twenty-one.

Anyone have a clue?
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New Sat 29 Aug 15 23:44 
 Military gun salutes - WillDeBeest
Pat can probably confirm or correct but I think AC/DC use 17 in For Those About to Rock.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 01:18 
 Military gun salutes - Armel Coussine
Gun salutes cheer one up no end.

There was a 100-gun salute fired in Hyde Park for some important royal occasion. The Queen's Jubilee perhaps, or a landmark birthday.

The Royal Horse Artillery I think. Napoleonic-era rifled field guns and truck, pulled by teams of black gallopers, great spectacle.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 04:17 
 Military gun salutes - Pat
i100.photobucket.com/albums/m34/Veeeight/20150704_203128.jpg

i100.photobucket.com/albums/m34/Veeeight/20150704_212632.jpg

Not sure WdeB, I struggled to count them when I took these!

Pat
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 09:27 
 Military gun salutes - Slidingpillar
I looked last night, but didn't find anything, not even in Wikipedia. I'm pretty sure there is whole range of gun salutes depending on rank in the same way the bosun's pipe announces ship visitors.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 09:39 
 Military gun salutes - Duncan
Wiki has some stuff here:-

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21-gun_salute

Nothing less than 21 guns that I can see.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 09:57 
 Military gun salutes - henry k
More or less ?

www.lbc.co.uk/why-do-people-get-a-41-gun-salute-40938

crow.ocbsa.org/history-5.htm

sizes.com/society/salute.htm
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 10:54 
 Military gun salutes - Slidingpillar
I read the Wiki article last night, goes nowhere near answering the question really. As one might expect, a lot of USA stuff, but naff all, or very little UK stuff.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 12:15 
 Military gun salutes - Old Navy
This any help?

www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/GunSalutes/Gunsalutes.aspx
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 14:33 
 Military gun salutes - Slidingpillar
It gives (as one might expect from the URL) the position on Royal salutes excellently, but does not answer the issue of lesser mortals.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 14:43 
 Military gun salutes - CGNorwich
Never heard of rifles being fired at a wedding. Usual at military funerals where three volleys are traditionally fired. ( It is not a salute and guns are not involved, just rifles)


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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:04 
 Military gun salutes - Old Navy
I suspect it was a "private" arrangement. A blind eye is sometimes turned when equipment and even personnel are borrowed for an event. In the past I have borrowed big, expensive, and powerful boats for recreational use. I belive one jolly reported in the media involved a helicopter, that is pushing your luck a bit.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 30 Aug 15 at 15:06
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:08 
 Military gun salutes - Armel Coussine
The 77-gun salute scheduled to mark my own entry to my 78th year in this vale of tears yesterday apparently didn't occur. Perhaps the military, always early risers, held the event before I was awake. If so I forgive them, but just this once. Any further lapses will entail severe punishment.

Today has been deemed my official birthday and there is to be a cake. Herself comments that I 'wasn't the life and soul of the party' last night. That's putting it mildly, and I fear today will be just as morose on my part.

In North Africa rifles are often fired at weddings. Indeed sometimes people gallop along on horses or camels waving rifles in the air with one hand and firing them at random. It will surprise no one that sometimes people are shot accidentally or have their mounts randomly shot from under them (out of pure carelessness usually, I'm sure...).
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 30 Aug 15 at 15:12
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:25 
 Military gun salutes - Dog
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIRE! .. And a few more to come we hope.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 17:00 
 Military gun salutes - Armel Coussine
Harrumph... thank you Perro.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:18 
 Military gun salutes - Zero
>> Never heard of rifles being fired at a wedding.

Depends where you go

www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghanistan-wedding-shooting-21-killed-rival-militias-open-fire-n398791

tho this was probably AK47s - not strictly a rifle.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 16:34 
 Military gun salutes - Armel Coussine
>> tho this was probably AK47s - not strictly a rifle.

It's a rifle all right, but without the long-range accuracy of a Lee Enfield .303. The Kalash has been made in enormous numbers and 57 varieties... a folding-stock Czech AKM is a desirable one. It's supposed to make up in firepower what it lacks in accuracy, it having been noticed that warfare is an inefficient wasteful business. Works OK for clearing the bush ahead of lurking enemy, but the ammo used is heavy and bulky, and has to be carried by troops.

Modern infantry weapons like the M16 and various stubby European jobs have smaller, lighter ammo but I bet in action the troops often run out and have to hide or flee. Warfare is an awful stupid business at the best of times and it's amazing how people get sucked into its criminality and atrocity by degrees, one thing leading to another and paranoia well to the fore.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:56 
 Military gun salutes - bathtub tom
>> Never heard of rifles being fired at a wedding. Usual at military funerals where three
>> volleys are traditionally fired. ( It is not a salute and guns are not involved,
>> just rifles)

This wasn't a rifle, but a ruddy great gun. This one: goo.gl/maps/VmOZO
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 18:26 
 Military gun salutes - Old Navy
>> This wasn't a rifle, but a ruddy great gun. This one: goo.gl/maps/VmOZO
>>

There are several possibilities.

Rented from a military equipment company and a firework dropped in the barrel, or permanently on display and a firework. People would do more than jump if that fired even a blank round. With current H&S it would be ear defenders within 500 metres. :-)

It looks like an American WW2 M155 (Long Tom) howitzer, I doubt if the UK has any in operational use.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 30 Aug 15 at 18:28
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 20:06 
 Military gun salutes - bathtub tom
>> There are several possibilities.
>> Rented from a military equipment company and a firework dropped in the barrel, or permanently
>> on display and a firework. People would do more than jump if that fired even
>> a blank round. With current H&S it would be ear defenders within 500 metres. :-)

It looked like it's a permanent fixture. I was told it's £400 a pop for setting it off - some firework!
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 20:51 
 Military gun salutes - Old Navy
>> It looked like it's a permanent fixture. I was told it's £400 a pop for
>> setting it off - some firework!
>>

It has a 6" bore and can lob a 100lb shell 14 miles, obviously good money to be made in retail bangs to impress the punters. I have been within 30' of a 4" gun being fired in anger, the noise and blast of the firing would do more than make people jump, some would be consulting lawyers.I will stick with a firework, OK a big one. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 30 Aug 15 at 20:52
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:25 
 Military gun salutes - henry k
>> It gives (as one might expect from the URL) the position on Royal salutes excellently,
>> but does not answer the issue of lesser mortals.
>>
See my links ??
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:50 
 Military gun salutes - Slidingpillar
See my links ??

Yes, but I live in the UK, not the USA!
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 15:51 
 Military gun salutes - Cliff Pope
I remember reading once about the different salutes fired for the various degrees of Indian princelings. The Nizam of Hyderabad got the full works of course, maharajas a lesser number, down through rajahs and nawabs to petty rulers who were really just rural squires who only got two guns.
It would be useful stuff to know just in case.
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 18:30 
 Military gun salutes - Zero

>> The Nizam of Hyderabad got the full works of course,

a thousand canon?
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New Sun 30 Aug 15 18:42 
 Military gun salutes - Bromptonaut
The last six months I worked in London I was inTothill Street then Petty France. Gun salutes in St James park were a minor diversion from the boredom of a more or less defunct quango.
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