Artillery question

[Alpo]

Watching The Guns of Navarone.

 

WW2 action flick, where the Allies are attempting to blow up some German cannon set back inside the cliffs.

 

The German workers, in the caverns with the guns, all wore this funky head-and-shoulders covering, along with gloves.

 

Any idea why?

 

 

The "hands covering ears" makes sense, as the guns fire. And the dark goggles because of the muzzle flash.

 

But the funky white outifts??

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

It looks like some kind of flame retardent thing. But the rest of the uniform does not. I think Hollyweird is the answer.

[Bugs Bonney SASS # 10171]

Anti static material for handling the bags of powder would be my guess. Either that or cinematic artistic license.

[Cat Brules]

The German artlllery commandant had an odd OCD and a very weird sexual fetish?? :-0

 

They were left-over Munchkin aprons from The Wizard of Oz costuming?? :-|

 

I dunno!

[Alpo]

The anti-static makes sense. The gloves, because you reach for the powder, and the hoods because hair picks up static wonderfully.

 

Don't know if that's the reason, but it makes sense.

[Redleg Reilly, SASS #46372]

Probably just Hollywood. It looks like it was inspired by the anti-flash outfits worn by several navies in WWII. We never did anything special (anti-static wise) when handling separate loading components (powder, projectile,primer) in my field artillery days.

[Noz]

My guess is that thee firing of those big guns was a verry dirty operation with a lot of debris in the air. Just a method of maintaining some cleanliness.

[Subdeacon Joe]

It's anti-flash protection. Brits used it too: http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/Letters/Bookforolderchildrenabout.html

 

[Alpo]

Thank you, Joe.

 

 

And for those that have wondered - that's why I ask my questions here.

 

'Cause I know SOMEBODY will have the answer.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

and sometimes, it is the correct answer.

[Utah Bob #35998]

Yup. Anti-flash gear. You can get a nasty burn from those big boogers. Seems to me they were 15" guns?

Falklands War pic

[Alpo]

and sometimes, it is the correct answer.

 

Yep. Sometimes.

[Guest Grass Range #51406]

And even if they covered their ears with hands they were all deaf sooner or later firing something that big in a cave. A 105 towed has a sharp enough crack to hurt your ears but a 155 not so bad. Reminds me of the difference in hearing a smokeless round go off compared to a BP

[Subdeacon Joe]

and sometimes, it is the correct answer.

 

 

Not intentionally.

[Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172]

The trick it to know when it is the correct answer, and when it is hopefully the correct answer.

 

As the Bard once said, "Ah, there is the rub!

[Tom Bullweed]

Cross bred with Umpa-lumpas.