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Bombard (weapon)

May 04, 2024

The bombard is a type of cannon or mortar which was used throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Bombards were mainly large calibre, muzzle-loading artillery pieces used during sieges to shoot round stone projectiles at the walls of enemy fortifications, enabling troops to break in. Most bombards were made of iron and used gunpowder to launch the projectiles.[1] There are many examples of bombards, including Mons Meg, the Dardanelles Gun, and the handheld bombard.

Bombard mortar and granite ball projectile of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, 1480–1500. Founded at the request of Pierre d'Aubusson, the bombard was used for close defense of the walls (100–200 m (110–220 yd)) at the Siege of Rhodes. It fired 260 kg (570 lb) granite balls. The bombard weighs about 3,325 kg (7,330 lb). Musée de l'Armée.

The weapon provided the name to the Royal Artillery rank of bombardier and the word 'bombardment'.

Terminology edit

The term "bombard" was first used to describe guns of any kind from the early to mid-14th century, but it was later applied primarily to large cannons during the 14th to 15th centuries.[2] Despite its strong association with large cannons, there is no standard size for bombards, and the term has been applied to cannons only a meter in length as well as cannons several meters long weighing up to 20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons).[3]

History edit

Main article: History of cannon

The oldest known representation of a bombard can be found in the Dazu Rock Carvings. In 1985, the Canadian historian Robin Yates was visiting Buddhist cave temples when he saw a sculpture on the wall depicting a demon firing a hand-held bombard. The sculpture was later dated to the early 12th century.[4]

Early bombards also include two Chinese c. 1377 cast-iron mortars weighing over 150 kg (330 lb), each with four trunnions on their barrels.[5]

 
Handgun loophole at the Westgate, Canterbury

England began using cannons in the early 14th century. Field artillery was deployed by King Edward III at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and equipment which may have been an artillery piece was listed as captured on a French ship by the English at Sluys as early as 1340. Inverted 'keyhole' gun loops at Bodiam Castle, Cooling Castle, and the Westgate, Canterbury, have all been identified as for firing heavy handguns. These defences are dated 1380–1385. Initially used as defensive weapons, primitive bombards began to be used as siege weapons in the later 14th century. Henry IV and Henry V won battles with the use of bombards. Henry V captured Harfleur with bombards in 1415. King Henry's army later came under artillery fire at the Battle of Agincourt. James II of Scotland destroyed many castles with his one and a half ton cannon named "The Lion".[1]

The French conquest of the English king's holdings in France saw the use of considerable French artillery in the siege role. The French in this period preferred to avoid attacking English longbowmen in open battle and relied on siege tactics. However the last battle of the Hundred Years' War saw English commander John Talbot lead an Anglo-Gascon army against dug-in French troops equipped with 300 pieces of artillery at the Battle of Castillion in 1453. The French camp had been laid out by ordnance officer Jean Bureau to maximise the French artillery arm. The Anglo-Gascons were shot to pieces and Talbot was eventually killed.

Most bombards started with the construction of a wooden core surrounded by iron bars. Then, iron hoops were driven over these bars in order to surround and cover them. The whole structure was then welded with a hammer while it was still hot at about 2,500 °F (1,370 °C). The rings then subsequently cooled and formed over the bars to secure them. The last step was to incinerate the wooden core and to attach a one-piece cast. The complicated procedure required a highly skilled forge who could work quickly and precisely with a hammer.[1]

Notable examples edit

A notable example of a bombard is Mons Meg, built around 1449 and used by King James II of Scotland. It was very powerful and used for bringing down castle walls.[6] The origins of Mons Meg are not fully known but according to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, it was his idea. It was ordered around 1449 and had similar construction to a typical bombard.[7] However, it was seldom used because of several factors. Mons Meg was capable of firing 180 kg (400 lb) shots and was one of the largest bombards of its time. It is now housed on public display at Edinburgh Castle.

A bombard with a bore of approximately 12 in (30 cm) was found when the moat of Bodiam Castle, Kent, was drained. A muzzle-loader of hoop-and-stave construction, it is believed to be the oldest piece found in England and may be late 14th or very early 15th century. It was possibly dumped in the moat following an abortive siege at the castle during the Wars of the Roses. The original is now at the Royal Artillery Museum at Woolwich, but a copy has been on show at the castle for many years. The Star Gun Company has built a Bodiam Bombard replica while local newspapers report a replica was being fired at the castle for visitors during 2012.[8]

Other known 15th-century very large-calibre guns include the wrought-iron Pumhart von Steyr and Dulle Griet as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette, Faule Grete, and Grose Bochse. The Tsar Cannon is a late 16th-century show-piece.

The Dardanelles Gun, built in the Ottoman Empire in 1464 by Munir Ali, with a weight of 18.6 t (18.3 long tons; 20.5 short tons) and a length of 518 cm (204 in), was capable of firing stone balls of up to 63 cm (25 in) diameter.[9]

Henry VIII reportedly had a set of 12, named after the Twelve Apostles, which were deployed at the sieges of Thérouanne and Tournai during his 1513 campaign in France.

The Tsar Cannon, built in 1586 and today located on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin, is the largest bombard ever built.

Eventually bombards were superseded by weapons using smaller calibre iron projectiles fired from longer barrels with more powerful gunpowder.

Gallery edit

  •  
    200 kg wrought iron bombard, circa 1450, Metz, present-day France. It was manufactured by forging together iron bars, held in place by iron rings. It fired 6 kg stone balls. Length: 82 cm.
  •  
    The Dardanelles Gun.
  •  
    Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle, mid-15th century
  •  
    Mons Meg cannonballs
  •  
    English Bombards abandoned during the Hundred Years' War and now exposed on the Mont-Saint-Michel.
  •  
    Bombard from the beginning of the 15th century, the only surviving bombard used by Teutonic Knights, now exposed in Kwidzyn Castle.
  •  
    Early Ming bombard with two pair of trunnions, 1377 AD.
  •  
    Acehnese guns including two bombards (closer to the camera).
  •  
    15th century bombard mounted on carriage, Warsaw.
  •  
    Bombard in its siege position, Denmark.
  •  
    A bombard recovered from the well of Cardiff castle, in swivel configuration.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bombards (weapon).

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c Sands, Kathleen (1999). "Though One Of The Best-Documented Of Medieval Bombards, Mons Meg Was The Subject Of Exaggeration And Legend". Military History. 16 (3): 22.
  2. ^ Andrade 2016, p. 83.
  3. ^ DeVries 2012, p. 155.
  4. ^ Gwei-Djen, Lu; Needham, Joseph; Chi-Hsing, Phan (July 1988). "The Oldest Representation of a Bombard". Technology and Culture. 29 (3): 594–605. doi:10.2307/3105275. JSTOR 3105275.
  5. ^ Aung-Thwin, Michael; Hall, Kenneth (2011). New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explosions. Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia. p. 85.
  6. ^ "Reconstruction of Norham Castle Seige by Scots in 1513". www.maybole.org. from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  7. ^ W. H. Finlayson. The Scottish Historical Review, Vol. 27, No. 104, Part 2 (October 1948), pp. 124–126
  8. ^ . Kent and Sussex Courier. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  9. ^ Schmidtchen (1977b), pp. 226–228

References edit

  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bombard". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Andrade, Tonio (2016), The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-13597-7.
  • DeVries, Kelly (2012), Medieval Military Technology
  • Sands, Kathleen. "Though One Of The Best-Documented Of Medieval Bombards, Mons Meg Was The Subject Of Exaggeration And Legend". Military History 16.3 (1999): 22.
  • Lu Gwei-Djen, Joseph Needham and Phan Chi-Hsing. Technology and Culture, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Jul., 1988), pp. 594–605
  • W. H. Finlayson. The Scottish Historical Review, Vol. 27, No. 104, Part 2 (Oct., 1948), pp. 124–126
  • Cvikel, Deborah, and Haim Goren. "Where Are Bonaparte's Siege Cannon? An Episode In The Egyptian Campaign". Mediterranean Historical Review 23.2 (2008): 129–142.

Further reading edit

  • Schmidtchen, Volker (1977a), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", Technikgeschichte, 44 (2): 153–173
  • Schmidtchen, Volker (1977b), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", Technikgeschichte, 44 (3): 213–237
  • Smith, Robert Douglas; DeVries, Kelly (2005), The artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363–1477, Boydell Press, ISBN 978-1-84383-162-4

May 04, 2024
bombard, weapon, bombard, type, cannon, mortar, which, used, throughout, middle, ages, early, modern, period, bombards, were, mainly, large, calibre, muzzle, loading, artillery, pieces, used, during, sieges, shoot, round, stone, projectiles, walls, enemy, fort. The bombard is a type of cannon or mortar which was used throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period Bombards were mainly large calibre muzzle loading artillery pieces used during sieges to shoot round stone projectiles at the walls of enemy fortifications enabling troops to break in Most bombards were made of iron and used gunpowder to launch the projectiles 1 There are many examples of bombards including Mons Meg the Dardanelles Gun and the handheld bombard Bombard mortar and granite ball projectile of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem Rhodes 1480 1500 Founded at the request of Pierre d Aubusson the bombard was used for close defense of the walls 100 200 m 110 220 yd at the Siege of Rhodes It fired 260 kg 570 lb granite balls The bombard weighs about 3 325 kg 7 330 lb Musee de l Armee The weapon provided the name to the Royal Artillery rank of bombardier and the word bombardment Contents 1 Terminology 2 History 3 Notable examples 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further readingTerminology editThe term bombard was first used to describe guns of any kind from the early to mid 14th century but it was later applied primarily to large cannons during the 14th to 15th centuries 2 Despite its strong association with large cannons there is no standard size for bombards and the term has been applied to cannons only a meter in length as well as cannons several meters long weighing up to 20 t 20 long tons 22 short tons 3 History editMain article History of cannon The oldest known representation of a bombard can be found in the Dazu Rock Carvings In 1985 the Canadian historian Robin Yates was visiting Buddhist cave temples when he saw a sculpture on the wall depicting a demon firing a hand held bombard The sculpture was later dated to the early 12th century 4 Early bombards also include two Chinese c 1377 cast iron mortars weighing over 150 kg 330 lb each with four trunnions on their barrels 5 nbsp Handgun loophole at the Westgate Canterbury England began using cannons in the early 14th century Field artillery was deployed by King Edward III at the Battle of Crecy in 1346 and equipment which may have been an artillery piece was listed as captured on a French ship by the English at Sluys as early as 1340 Inverted keyhole gun loops at Bodiam Castle Cooling Castle and the Westgate Canterbury have all been identified as for firing heavy handguns These defences are dated 1380 1385 Initially used as defensive weapons primitive bombards began to be used as siege weapons in the later 14th century Henry IV and Henry V won battles with the use of bombards Henry V captured Harfleur with bombards in 1415 King Henry s army later came under artillery fire at the Battle of Agincourt James II of Scotland destroyed many castles with his one and a half ton cannon named The Lion 1 The French conquest of the English king s holdings in France saw the use of considerable French artillery in the siege role The French in this period preferred to avoid attacking English longbowmen in open battle and relied on siege tactics However the last battle of the Hundred Years War saw English commander John Talbot lead an Anglo Gascon army against dug in French troops equipped with 300 pieces of artillery at the Battle of Castillion in 1453 The French camp had been laid out by ordnance officer Jean Bureau to maximise the French artillery arm The Anglo Gascons were shot to pieces and Talbot was eventually killed Most bombards started with the construction of a wooden core surrounded by iron bars Then iron hoops were driven over these bars in order to surround and cover them The whole structure was then welded with a hammer while it was still hot at about 2 500 F 1 370 C The rings then subsequently cooled and formed over the bars to secure them The last step was to incinerate the wooden core and to attach a one piece cast The complicated procedure required a highly skilled forge who could work quickly and precisely with a hammer 1 Notable examples editA notable example of a bombard is Mons Meg built around 1449 and used by King James II of Scotland It was very powerful and used for bringing down castle walls 6 The origins of Mons Meg are not fully known but according to Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy it was his idea It was ordered around 1449 and had similar construction to a typical bombard 7 However it was seldom used because of several factors Mons Meg was capable of firing 180 kg 400 lb shots and was one of the largest bombards of its time It is now housed on public display at Edinburgh Castle A bombard with a bore of approximately 12 in 30 cm was found when the moat of Bodiam Castle Kent was drained A muzzle loader of hoop and stave construction it is believed to be the oldest piece found in England and may be late 14th or very early 15th century It was possibly dumped in the moat following an abortive siege at the castle during the Wars of the Roses The original is now at the Royal Artillery Museum at Woolwich but a copy has been on show at the castle for many years The Star Gun Company has built a Bodiam Bombard replica while local newspapers report a replica was being fired at the castle for visitors during 2012 8 Other known 15th century very large calibre guns include the wrought iron Pumhart von Steyr and Dulle Griet as well as the cast bronze Faule Mette Faule Grete and Grose Bochse The Tsar Cannon is a late 16th century show piece The Dardanelles Gun built in the Ottoman Empire in 1464 by Munir Ali with a weight of 18 6 t 18 3 long tons 20 5 short tons and a length of 518 cm 204 in was capable of firing stone balls of up to 63 cm 25 in diameter 9 Henry VIII reportedly had a set of 12 named after the Twelve Apostles which were deployed at the sieges of Therouanne and Tournai during his 1513 campaign in France The Tsar Cannon built in 1586 and today located on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin is the largest bombard ever built Eventually bombards were superseded by weapons using smaller calibre iron projectiles fired from longer barrels with more powerful gunpowder Gallery edit nbsp 200 kg wrought iron bombard circa 1450 Metz present day France It was manufactured by forging together iron bars held in place by iron rings It fired 6 kg stone balls Length 82 cm nbsp The Dardanelles Gun nbsp Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle mid 15th century nbsp Mons Meg cannonballs nbsp English Bombards abandoned during the Hundred Years War and now exposed on the Mont Saint Michel nbsp Bombard from the beginning of the 15th century the only surviving bombard used by Teutonic Knights now exposed in Kwidzyn Castle nbsp Early Ming bombard with two pair of trunnions 1377 AD nbsp Acehnese guns including two bombards closer to the camera nbsp 15th century bombard mounted on carriage Warsaw nbsp Bombard in its siege position Denmark nbsp A bombard recovered from the well of Cardiff castle in swivel configuration nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bombards weapon See also editList of the largest cannons by caliberNotes edit a b c Sands Kathleen 1999 Though One Of The Best Documented Of Medieval Bombards Mons Meg Was The Subject Of Exaggeration And Legend Military History 16 3 22 Andrade 2016 p 83 DeVries 2012 p 155 Gwei Djen Lu Needham Joseph Chi Hsing Phan July 1988 The Oldest Representation of a Bombard Technology and Culture 29 3 594 605 doi 10 2307 3105275 JSTOR 3105275 Aung Thwin Michael Hall Kenneth 2011 New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia Continuing Explosions Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia p 85 Reconstruction of Norham Castle Seige by Scots in 1513 www maybole org Archived from the original on 27 August 2018 Retrieved 19 April 2018 W H Finlayson The Scottish Historical Review Vol 27 No 104 Part 2 October 1948 pp 124 126 Bodiam Bombard Kent and Sussex Courier Archived from the original on 2015 09 23 Retrieved 2015 04 13 Schmidtchen 1977b pp 226 228References edit nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Bombard Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press Andrade Tonio 2016 The Gunpowder Age China Military Innovation and the Rise of the West in World History Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0 691 13597 7 DeVries Kelly 2012 Medieval Military Technology Sands Kathleen Though One Of The Best Documented Of Medieval Bombards Mons Meg Was The Subject Of Exaggeration And Legend Military History 16 3 1999 22 Lu Gwei Djen Joseph Needham and Phan Chi Hsing Technology and Culture Vol 29 No 3 Jul 1988 pp 594 605 W H Finlayson The Scottish Historical Review Vol 27 No 104 Part 2 Oct 1948 pp 124 126 Cvikel Deborah and Haim Goren Where Are Bonaparte s Siege Cannon An Episode In The Egyptian Campaign Mediterranean Historical Review 23 2 2008 129 142 Further reading editSchmidtchen Volker 1977a Riesengeschutze des 15 Jahrhunderts Technische Hochstleistungen ihrer Zeit Technikgeschichte 44 2 153 173 Schmidtchen Volker 1977b Riesengeschutze des 15 Jahrhunderts Technische Hochstleistungen ihrer Zeit Technikgeschichte 44 3 213 237 Smith Robert Douglas DeVries Kelly 2005 The artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy 1363 1477 Boydell Press ISBN 978 1 84383 162 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bombard weapon amp oldid 1215600168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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