Impasse (The Red Gambit Series) (89 page)

Schwalbe

German for Swallow, it was the name of the ME 262.

Schwere Panzer Abteilung

Heavy tank battalion [German]

SDKFZ 234

German eight-wheel armoured car equipped with a range of weapons, the most powerful of which was a 75mm HV weapon. Of the four variants, the Puma with its 50mm and enclosed turret is probably the most well known.

Seagulls

Affectionate nickname for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.

Sexton

A Sherman chassis based SP gun equipped with a 25pdr piece.

Shaska

A Cossack’s curved sword.

Sherman
[M4 Sherman]

American tank turned out in huge numbers with many variants, also supplied under lend-lease to Russia.

Shtrafbat

Soviet penal battalion.

Shturmovik

The Ilyushin-2 Shturmovik, Soviet mass-produced ground attack aircraft that was highly successful.

ShVAK

Soviet 20mm auto cannon that equipped aircraft, armoured cars, and light tanks.

Skat

German card game using 32 cards.

SMLE

Often referred to s the
‘Smelly’, this was the proper name of the Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield rifle.

SOE

British organisation, Special Operations Executive, which conducted espionage and sabotage missions throughout Europe.

Spectrum Black

The Black plan was a diversion originating in Alsace, designed to draw down units from the Armies around the Ruhr, where a subsequent ground offensive would be staged.

Spectrum Blue

The Blue plan was the main ground offensive’s first stage, in which Patton’s Third Army and Guderian’s 101st Korps would launch a pincer attack, intended to take Cologne and isolate large enemy forces to the west, where another phase of Spectrum Green had been designed to recreate the 1944 Falaise extinction.

Spectrum Green

The Green plan dealt with the responsibilities of the Air Forces, from the Baltic Trap [conjoined with Spectrum Red] to the overall heavy bomber plan to denude the red Army of its resources and infrastructure.

Spectrum Red

The Red plan dealt with the Baltic Foray in December and planning for subsequent operations there. It also encompassed the use of the Carrier force in other operations in support of the European War

Spectrum White

During the D-Day preparations, the Allies had fooled the Germans with a fictitious Army, known as FUSAG, Spectrum White was an attempt to recreate that confusion by indicating the existence of ASAG, the Allied Second Army Group.

Spitfire, Supermarine.

British single-engine fighter aircraft.

SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer

SS equivalent of captain.

ST44 [MP43/44]

German assault rifle with a 30 round magazine, first of its generation and forerunner to the AK47.

Standard HDM .22 calibre pistol

Originally used by OSS, this effective .22 with a ten round magazine is still in use by Special Forces throughout the world.

Starshina

Soviet rank roughly equivalent to Warrant Officer first Class.

Station
‘X’

See Bletchley Park entry.

STAVKA

At this time this represents the
‘Stavka of the Supreme Main Command’, comprising high-ranked military and civilian members. Subordinate to the GKO, it was responsible for military oversight, and as such, held its own military reserves which it released in support of operations.

Sten

Basic British submachine gun with a 32 round magazine. Produced in huge numbers throughout the 40’s.

Straipach

An Irish whore or prostitute

Studebaker

US heavy lorry supplied to the Soviets under lend-lease, or built in the USSR under licence, often used as the platform for the Katyusha.

Stuka [Junkers 87]

Famous dive-bomber employed by the Luftwaffe.

SU-100

Self propelled gun on the T34 chassis equipped with the lethal 100mm. Its armour left it vulnerable but the gun had excellent penetrative qualities.

SU-76

76mm self-propelled gun used as artillery and for close support.

SU-85

85mm self-propelled gun that was quickly discontinued once the T34/85 came out, thee being no point in having the disadvantages of having an SP mount whilst carrying the same gun as the main tank.

Suka

Russian word for bitch. Also the nickname for the SU76.

Sunderland

British four-engine flying boat, used mainly in maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine roles.

SVT40

Soviet automatic rifle with a 10 round magazine.

Symposium Biarritz

Utilisation of German expertise to prepare wargame exercises for allied unit commanders to demonstrate Soviet tactics and methods to defeat them.

T.O.E.

Table of Organisation and Equipment, which represents what a unit should consist of.

T/34

Soviet medium tank armed with a 76.2mm gun and 2 mg’s.

T/34-85 [T34m44]

Soviet medium tank armed with an 85mm gun and 2 mg’s.

T-44 [100]

Soviet medium tank, produced at the end of WW2, which went on to become the basis for the famous T54/55. Armed mainly with the same 85mm as in the T3485, a few were fitted with the devastating 100mm D-10 gun.

T54

Medium battle tank that became the mainstay of the Red Army and the most produced tank in history. Equipped with the 100mm D-10T gun and fender mounted machine guns, analysts believe it would have made a fearsome opponent. The first prototype was built in March 1945, so I have advanced its progress as I felt the war would encourage progress.

T-70

Soviet light tank with two crew and a 45mm gun.

Ta-152

Focke-Wulf Ta 152 was a high-altitude fighter interceptor. Too few were made to impact on WW2.

Tacam R2

Rumanian SP anti-tank gun on the R2 tank chassis equipped with a captured Zis-3 76.2mm gun.

Tallboy

British designed earthquake bomb, containing 12,000lbs of high explosive. It weighed five tons and proved effective against the most hardened of targets.

Thompson

.45 calibre US submachine gun, normally issued with a 20 or 30 round magazine [although a drum was available.]

Tiger I

German heavy battle tank armed with the first 88mm gun, capable of ruling any battlefield when it was introduced in 1942.

TOE

Table of Organisation and Equipment.

Tokarev

Soviet 7.62mm automatic handgun [also known as TT30] with an 8 round magazine.

Trimbach

Quality Alsatian wine.

Trunnion

Heavy metal mounts either side of a gun barrel.

TU-2, Tupolev

Soviet twin-engine medium bomber. Extremely successful design that performed well in a variety of roles, the TU-2 is considered one of the best combat aircraft of WW2.

Type XXI submarine

The most technologically advanced submarine of the era, produced in small numbers by the Germans and unable to affect the outcome of the war.

Typhoon, Hawker.

RAF’s most successful single seater ground attack aircraft of World War Two, which could carry anything from bombs through to rockets.

U-Boat Type XX

30 such U-Boats were planned, but none produced during WW2. They were intended as pure supply boats, shorter than the Type XB but with a wider beam.

U-Boat Type XXI

Advanced U-Boat design capable of extended underwater cruising at high speed.

UHU

German 251 halftrack mounting an infra-red searchlight, designed for close use with infra-red equipped Panther units.

USAAF

United States Army Air Force.

Ushanka

Fur hat with adjustable sides.

Vampir

German term for the ST44 equipped with an infra-red sight, also used to refer to the operators of such weapons.

Venona Project

Joint US-UK operation to analyse Soviet message traffic

Vichy

Name of the collaborationist government of defeated France.

Vickers Machine-Gun

British designed machine-gun of WW1 vintage. Extremely reliable .303 calibre weapon, standard issue as a heavy machine-gun.

Wacht am Rhein

Literally, ‘Watch on the Rhine’, a codename used to mask the real purpose of the German build-up that became the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944.

Walther P38

German 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an eight round magazine.

Wanderer W23 Cabriolet

German vehicle designed for civilian use, sometimes pressed into military service, particularly as a staff car.

Wehrmacht

The German Army

Welrod

British silenced pistol that was magazine fed and primed by a bolt action. Used by SOE, OSS and resistance groups throughout Europe. The weapon remains in service to this day.

Winnie

Slang term for a British Churchill Tank.

Yak-6

Twin engine aircraft that could be either a light bomber or light transport.

Yakolev-9

Soviet single-seater fighter aircraft that was highly respected by the Luftwaffe.

Yakolev-9U

Soviet single-engine fighter aircraft, probably the best Soviet high-altitude fighter.

Zakusochny

Russian soft blue cheese

Zilant

Legendary creature in Russian folklore somewhat like a dragon

Zimmerit

Anti-magnetic paste applied to the side of German vehicles.

ZIS3

76.2mm anti-tank gun in Soviet use.

Zrinyi II

Hungarian assault gun equipped with either a 75mm or 105mm gun.

ZSU-37

Soviet light self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle, mounting a 37mm gun.