A loophole is a protected small opening, which allows a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

to be aimed and discharged, while providing cover and concealment for the

rifleman A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifling, rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction o ...

. To prevent detection, the rifle's muzzle should not protrude through the loophole, particularly at night to hide the muzzle flash.

Arrowslit

The precursor to the loophole for firearms was the

arrowslit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch Crossbow bolt, bolts ...

, which is a narrow aperture in a

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

for an archer to launch

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s or an arbalist to launch

crossbow bolt A bolt or quarrel is a dart-like projectile used by crossbows. The word ''quarrel'' is from the Old French ''quarrel'' (> French ''carreau'') "square thing", specialized use as ''quarrel d'arcbaleste'' (> ''carreau d'arbalète'') "crossbow quar ...

s. The earliest use of the arrowslit was alleged to have been by

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse ( ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Greek mathematics, mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and Invention, inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse in History of Greek and Hellenis ...

during the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC. Arrowslits were used in ancient Greek warfare and by the

military of ancient Rome The military of ancient Rome was one of largest pre-modern professional standing armies that ever existed. At its height, protecting over 7,000 kilometers of border and consisting of over 400,000 legionaries and auxiliaries, the army was the mos ...

. There was a reintroduction of arrowslits during the

medieval warfare Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social advancements had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artiller ...

period at

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...

and Framlingham Castle in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and by

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Château Gaillard Château Gaillard () is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the River Seine above the commune of Les Andelys, in the French department of Eure, in Normandy. It is located some north-west of Paris and from Rouen. Construction began in 1196 u ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

First World War

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the static movement of

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

and a need for protection from

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

s created a requirement for loopholes both for discharging firearms and for observation.Trench Loopholes, Le Linge
/ref> Often a steel plate was used with a "key hole", which had a rotating piece to cover the loophole when not in use. Major Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

and a trainer of snipers, wrote about the use of loopholes in his book, '' Sniping in France: Winning the Sniping War in the Trenches'': One counter-sniper tactic to overcome steel plate loopholes was to wait for a sniper to open the key hole and then fire a large calibre firearm, such as an anti-materiel rifle, to penetrate through the steel plate and eliminate the sniper.

Contemporary use

Loopholes remain relevant in modern urban combat typically in wallsthese may be already-existing holes, or purpose-made and fortified with sandbags or similar. Loopholes should be constructed in a seemingly random fashion at varying heights, and include a number of decoy holes in order to avoid drawing fire towards a single obvious hole.

References

Sniper warfare tactics Trench warfare {{Firearms-stub

Arrowslit

First World War

Contemporary use

See also

References