Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2022 July 28

= July 28 =

identify this gun?
This gun is on Kiska Island and the description where I found it says it is Japanese, but that's it. To my eye it looks like some sort of AA gun but I don't know a whole hell of a lot about Japanese AA guns. Beeblebrox (talk) 19:18, 28 July 2022 (UTC)


 * https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-25-mm-Type-96-twin-barrelled-anti-aircraft-gun-at-Mercy-Point-overlooking-Kiska_fig6_342928684 Modocc (talk) 19:24, 28 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Type 96 25 mm AT/AA gun AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:26, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Noted, thanks! Beeblebrox (talk) 19:33, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

Line vs Army
Does the Revolutionary War "Continental Line" (not this one) mean just the infantry units of the Continental Army? The Army article sayeth naught. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:04, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
 * In the context of military formations, AFAIK, the "Line" is the front line, in some contexts also called the "van" or the vanguard. If I head some reference to the "Continental lines" I would think of it in terms of the soldiers at the front of a battle formation.  I could be wrong, though... -- Jayron 32 12:37, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * In general, line regiments, line battalions or line companies are ordinary infantry, which would have made up the line-of-battle in early modern warfare. This distinguishes them from light infantry, sharpshooters, skirmishers, grenadiers, marines etc who would have been trained for specialised roles. In the context of the American Revolution, the term appears to be used to distinguish regular infantry raised by Congress, from those troops raised by states or local militias.  Alansplodge (talk) 18:06, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Given all this I was curious, given that in the Age of Sail the "line" also referred to the line of battle, whether the term might have ever been used in reference to the line of the Continental Navy. A brief search doesn't give any indication that this might have been the case, but it may just be saturated with the "official" usage for infantry.
 * Also, the raising of the Continental Army was done by the individual colonies, so my understanding is the Continental Line consisted of the Pennsylvania Line, etc., and this is distinct still from the militia. SamuelRiv (talk) 18:25, 29 July 2022 (UTC)


 * In answer to your first, see ship of the line. The War of Independence is not really my speciality, so you might get better advice at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history. Alansplodge (talk) 07:58, 31 July 2022 (UTC)