Ammunition

BOF - Boulet Ogival en Fonte.  French designation for Exercise (training) projectiles.

OEA - Obus Explosif en Acier.  French designation for High Explosive projectiles.

OEcl - Obus Eclairant.  French designation for Starshell.

OI - Obus Incendiare.  French designation for Incendiary shell.

OPf or OPf RC - Obus de Perforation or Obus de Perforation de Rupture Coiffé.  French designation for APC.

OPfK or OPf(K) - Obus de Perforation dispositif 'K'.  French designation for APC with dye bag.  Unlike many nations, French APC dye shells included a nose fuze and a small explosive charge to disperse the dye.  This made it possible to not only color the shell splashes but also to color hits.

Melanite - Shell burster made from French picric acid, roughly equivalent to Lyddite.

Poudre B - Poudre Blanche or "white powder."  The original French nitrocellulose, adopted by the French Navy around 1890.  The name was to distinguish the new propellant from gunpowder, which was known as Poudre N for Poudre Noire (black powder).

BM - Blanche Modifié? or "Modified White?"  Improved French nitrocellulose adopted about 1912.  Followed by a number which indicated thickness, such as BM15.  This number was somewhat arbitrary, but a larger number did indicate a thicker strip.

SD - Solventless double-based propellant adopted in the 1930s.  Followed by an arbitrary number, although a larger number indicated a larger grain size.

Mle - Modèle or "Model" followed by the design year.  Used in designations for shells, cartridges, guns and mountings.

Mountings

ACAD - Automatique Contre-Avions Double.  French for "Automatic AA Twin Mounting."

CA - Contre Avions.  French for "Anti-Aircraft."

CAD - Contre-Avions Double.  French for "AA Twin Mounting."

CADAM - Cadence Améliorée.  French for "improved firing."  An improvement program for French guns such as the 100 mm/55 Model 1968 intended to increase their firing rate.

CAQ - Contre-Avions Quadruple.  French for "AA Quad Mounting."

CAS - Contre-Avions Simple.  French for "AA Single Mounting."

SMCA - Sous-Marin Contre-Avions.  French for "Submarine AA Mounting."