rum jars
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Does the author really mean the containers for rum or is it slang for something else?
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Soldier’s Slang for Rum Jars WW1.
Flying Pig: "The name of one of the heaviest trench mortars. It is about five feet long, weighs two hundred ninety-eight pounds, is shaped like a pig, and shoots a shell in which ninety-three pounds of amnol [sic], a high explosive, is used. The 'flying pig' carries a light in the tail which goes out as soon as the shell begins to descend. This is a cue to waiting soldiers to get out of the way. The mortars throw a shell one thousand one hundred forty feet away, and even though no fragments touch him the concussion is so great that a man’s insides burst like a kernel of popcorn and death is usually instantaneous. This shell is also called a 'Sausage,' a 'Rum Jar' and 'Minnie.'"
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by
cyngast
moderator
I looked around a bit online and found a lot of discussion about which shell was actually the one called a Rum Jar. I found this article, and although it is in French, there are photos at the end of shells that look like rum jars: http://www.cprh.be/294996679
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by
erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be
in response to cyngast's comment.
Indeed it looks like a (explosive) rum jar. Probably the soldiers gave it this name when they found one that had not exploded.
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Images for the 'Flying Pig' on this link: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Flying+pigs+ww1&rlz=1C1DSGL_enGB426GB426&espv=2&biw
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