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A screw picket is a metal device which is used to secure objects to the ground. Today, screw pickets are used widely to temporarily "picket" dogs. They are also used to graze animals such as sheep, goats, and horses. Screw pickets are also used to stabilize small trees, tent poles, and other objects that are intended to remain upright.
The original picket was a stake hammered into the ground to secure a horse by tying it to the stake. This required a second tool (a hammer) or the availability of a rock to use instead of a tool. The screw picket is screwed (by turning it) into the ground. In hard ground, it requires a second tool (a leverage bar, or a spare screw picket) or the availability of a length of wood. Screw pickets can be easily bent or broken, but less easily pulled from the ground.
The
Army War College. "Notes on the Construction and Equipment of Trenches." April 1917: Government Printing Office.
A screw picket is a metal device which is used to secure objects to the ground. Today, screw pickets are used widely to temporarily "picket" dogs. They are also used to graze animals such as sheep, goats, and horses. Screw pickets are also used to stabilize small trees, tent poles, and other objects that are intended to remain upright.
The original picket was a stake hammered into the ground to secure a horse by tying it to the stake. This required a second tool (a hammer) or the availability of a rock to use instead of a tool. The screw picket is screwed (by turning it) into the ground. In hard ground, it requires a second tool (a leverage bar, or a spare screw picket) or the availability of a length of wood. Screw pickets can be easily bent or broken, but less easily pulled from the ground.
Military non-equestrian use
Screw pickets (used as supports forbarbed wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...
defences) were introduced c. 1915 as a replacement for timber posts. Crown Iron Works Co. (Minneapolis, MN) made over 10 million of these screw post pickets for WW1, WW2 and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
name for this type of "steel stake" was "queue de cochon" or pigtail. The World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
steel stake became known in the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
as a "corkscrew picket". The corkscrew picket was made from a steel bar which had its bottom end bent into a spiral coil. It also had three loops or "eyes" (some even had four) formed, one at top, one at midway and one just above the corkscrew spiral. The final product was about eight feet long.
Groups of soldiers known as wiring parties went out at night into no man's land
No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
to position these supports. They later strung the barbed wire through the loops to form a defensive wire obstacle
In the military science of fortification, wire obstacles are defensive obstacles made from barbed wire, barbed tape or concertina wire. They are designed to disrupt, delay and generally slow down an attacking enemy. During the time that the at ...
as a protection for their trench line. The British called this type of stake a 'corkscrew' picket because it was screwed into the ground rather than hammered in as the timber posts had been (the hammering made loud noise, usually attracting enemy fire). The screw pickets replaced the timber posts (although screw pickets were less rigid than timber posts), because they could be installed rapidly and silently. A wiring party is described in detail in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front
''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (german: Im Westen nichts Neues, lit=Nothing New in the West) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma ...
'' by contemporary author Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque (, ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German-born novelist. His landmark novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during World ...
.
The corkscrew picket was screwed into the ground by turning it in a clockwise direction using an entrenching tool
An entrenching tool (U.K.), intrenching tool (U.S.), E-tool, or trenching tool is a digging tool used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensabl ...
's handle or a stick inserted in the bottom eye of the picket for leverage. The bottom eye was used in order to avoid bending the vertical bar of the picket.Army War College. "Notes on the Construction and Equipment of Trenches." April 1917: Government Printing Office.
Notes
{{reflistSee also
*Auger (drill)
An auger is a device to drill wood or other materials, consisting of a rotating metal shaft with a blade at the end that scrapes or cuts the wood.
Types
The classical design has a helical screw blade winding around the bottom end of the sh ...
* Materiel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the spec ...
* Wire obstacle
In the military science of fortification, wire obstacles are defensive obstacles made from barbed wire, barbed tape or concertina wire. They are designed to disrupt, delay and generally slow down an attacking enemy. During the time that the at ...
* Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...
Military equipment of World War I
Fences
Animal equipment