Catapult: Difference between revisions
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The Romans started to use catapults probably as arms for their wars against [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]], Macedon, Sparta and Aetolia (3rd–2nd century BC). |
The Romans started to use catapults probably as arms for their wars against [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]], Macedon, Sparta and Aetolia (3rd–2nd century BC). |
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===Medieval Catapults=== |
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[[Image:French grenade catapult.jpg|right|thumb|200px|French troops using a catapult to throw [[hand grenade]]s during [[World War I]].]] |
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In the [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] times, when the [[trebuchet]] was introduced a relatively short time before the advent of [[gunpowder]], the catapult became basically obsolete. [[Cannon]]s soon replaced catapults as the standard siege weapon in Europe in the [[14th century]]. |
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During this period, catapults and related siege machines were the first weapons used for biological warfare. The carcasses of diseased animals or even diseased humans, usually those who had perished from the [[Black Death]], were loaded onto the catapult and then thrown over the castle's walls to infect those barricaded inside. There have even been recorded instances of [[beehive (beekeeping)|beehives]] being catapulted over [[castle]] walls. |
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===Later Use=== |
===Later Use=== |
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Revision as of 22:38, 5 February 2008
A catapult is any one of a number of mechanical devices used to throw a projectile a great distance; particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines.
The name is the latinized form of the Ancient Greek καταπέλτης - katapeltes, from κατά - kata (downwards, into, against) and πάλλω - pallo (to poise or sway a missile before it is thrown)[1]
The catapult appears to have been invented in 399 BC in the city of Syracuse during the reign of the tyrant Dionysios I[2]. Originally, "catapult" referred to a dart-thrower, while "ballista" referred to a stone-thrower, but the two terms swapped meaning sometime in the fourth century AD.[citation needed]
History
Greek and Roman catapults
In Europe, the first catapults appeared into Greek times around 400 BC–300 BC[3]. According to Greek inventor Archimedes the first types derived from by the earlier gastraphetes ("Belly-bow"), consisting in composite bow mounted transversely on a stock, much like the crossbow. A larger version of this was called an oxybeles and is the precursor to the ballista. Biton attributes creation of this catapult to one Zopyrus from Taranto, in southern Italy.
Early adopters of the catapult design were Dionysius of Syracuse (who called it katapeltikon) and Onomarchus of Phocis. Katapaltai are mentioned in the Siegecraft (Poliorkētika) treatise of Aeneas Tacticus, from around 350 BC. It is probable that standard torsion-powered catapults entered in common use in Greek world and Macedon only around 330 BC. Alexander the Great introduced the idea of using them to provide cover on the battlefield in addition to using them during sieges. Projectiles included both arrows and (later) stones.
The Romans started to use catapults probably as arms for their wars against Syracuse, Macedon, Sparta and Aetolia (3rd–2nd century BC).
alic rules in en
Later Use
The last large-scale military use of catapults was during the trench warfare of World War I. During the early stages of the war, catapults were used to throw hand grenades across no man's land into enemy trenches. These were eventually replaced by small mortars.
Small catapults, referred to as traps are still widely used to launch Clay targets into the air in the sport of Clay pigeon shooting.
Until recently, in England, catapults were used by thrill-seekers as human catapults to experience being catapulted through the air. The practice has been discontinued due to fatalities, when the participants failed to land onto the safety net.
See also
- Siege engine
- Onager (siege weapon)
- Trebuchet
- Ballista
- Mangonel
- Slingshot
- Aircraft catapult
- Mass driver
References
- ^ Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon" at Perseus
- ^ "The Catapult: A History", Tracy Rihall, 2007
- ^ "Catapult History". Retrieved 2007-10-16.
External links
- Ancient Greek Artillery Technology
- Sunward Aerospace, feature a working Catapult Model Kit
- Offers catapults for science projects and engineering courses on experimentation (commercial site)
- Catapult Plans and Design
- Medieval Catapult Articles
- Chinese Siege Warfare: Mechanical Artillery & Siege Weapons of Antiquity - An Illustrated History
- Video of Spring Trebuchet in Action
- A modern slinging catapult for competition & entertainment, features photos and videos of a pumpkin hurling and appliance tossing catapult
- The official web site of the Chateau des Baux, catapult shootings every day