I’ve also seen historical documents on the SMLE Jungle Carbine referring to the conical shaped flash hider as a flash suppressor.
And are those actual historical documents or "period documents"? Meaning were they written by someone with technical authority or just written by someone at the time? Not that it matters, people will call them what they feel like unless it matters to them.
I've even seen one rifle maker list their magazines as "clips" in an old catalog. They knew they weren't but called them that so people who thought they were would find the listing and buy them.
I don't have access to most of my old GI manuals without extensive digging, but I did find one with the part identified as flash hider, for the conical shaped solid body design, and other manuals identifying the cylindrical one with holes or slots as "Flash Suppressor".
the conical solid "flash hider" was a standard feature of the SMLE jungle carbine. Similar conical flash hiders were accessories available for several US WWII guns. You can find pictures of some in SMALL ARMS OF THE WORLD (Smith& Smith) on M1C and M1D sniper rifles. Similar devices were also used on some M3 / M3A1 submachine guns and the M2HB Browning .50 cal machine gun. I've seen and handled them as a Small Arms Repairman (MOS 45B20) in the mid 70s. Also the conical, solid flash hider that was standard on the barrel jacket of the M73/M73A1/M219 machine guns, and it is identified in TM 9-1005-233-24 as a "Flash Hider".
The slotted device on the end of the M14 barrel is identified in TM 9-1005-223-34 as a flash suppressor and the one on the M16 (both open and closed type) are identified in TM 9-1005-249-34 as flash suppressors. TM 9-1005-224-24 (M60 machine gun) also says it has a flash suppressor. I'll look for the manuals on the Grease Gun and Ma Deuce but I'm certain they name the conical shaped solid body devices as Flash Hiders the same as manuals I have found name the same shape items on other guns.
I know the line is blurred today, we're sloppy, particularly when it doesn't make any real difference, and do note that regular dictionaries give you definitions as found in general common use, and sometimes, when different, historical definitions, but none of these is quite the same as technical definitions used in industry and other specialized applications. And, also, of course many words in English have different definitions depending on specific context.
Just think of a simple word like RAM. Male sheep, yep. bash into something, yep, and since the computer age, also Random Access Memory (and to a lot of us, a Dodge truck
)....all different things dependent on context.
I was a Small Arms repairman in the Army, and that included being a small arms "parts guy" who did the ordering through the army supply system. Don't get the name (and number) right, you don't get the part you want.
After that I spent over 3 decades working hands on in the Nuclear defense industrial complex, Certified Fissile Material handler, Nuclear Process Operator, emergency first responder to chemical spills, and industrial accidents, researched and set lock and tag safety boundaries for repair/maint work, did Chemical management, worked with Industrial safety and Respiratory protection, and was also responsible for getting people safely and cleanly in and out of contaminated environments up to and including IDLH levels. All of these and many other things I spent my working life doing required proper use of precisely understood terms for materials, parts, equipment, and processes not just for getting the job done, but also for getting it done safely. Its a hard habit to break.
sorry for the rant.
