Build a Catapult in Your Backyard

52 Pages·2001·2.369 MB·English

by  Bill Wilson

CATAPULT
YOUR BACKYARD
IN
u
875
W55
.
Wilson
2001x
Bill
Central
Library
Boston Public Library
MA
02116
Boston,
A
Build Catapult
Your Backyard
In
by Bill Wilson
Loompanics Unlimited
Port Townsend, Washington
Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any
responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in
’
this book. It is soldfor entertainment purposes only. Be warned!
Build a Catapult in Your Backyard
©2001 by Bin Wilson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored
in any form whatsoever without the prior written consent of the
publisher. Reviews may quote brief passages without the written
consent of the publisher as long as proper credit is given.
Published by:
Loompanics Unlimited
PO Box 1197
WA
Port Townsend, 98368
Loompanics Unlimited is a division of Loompanics Enterprises, Inc.
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Web www.loompanics.com
site:
Cover photo by Bill Wilson
Interior photos by Bill Wilson and Eric Iverson
Interior art by Jim Blanchard
ISBN 1-55950-218-5
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 2001089722
Contents
,
Chapter One
History and Introduction
V 1
Chapter Two
Build a Catapult 9
Chapter Three
Build a Ballista 25
Chapter Four
Ammunition and Other Ideas 31
Chapter Five
Resources for Further Study 35
V
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/buildcatapultinyOOwils
Chapter One
History and Introduction
1
Chapter One
History and Introduction
Since time immemorial, human beings have sought bigger
and better ways to kill each other. The first “wars” were
likely fought with clubs and stone knives. People quickly
figured out that tossing rocks at their adversaries was
effective as well. Early experimenters found that the throwing
power of the arm could be multiplied greatly by simple
devices. Thus the atlatl and sling were born.
As civilization became more advanced, so did both the
tactics and weapons of war. Someone eventually figured out
that by holding up a w'ide, flat piece of metal or wood they
could deflect incoming projectiles, and thus the shield was
born. The principle was expanded upon, and the results were
fortresses and walled cities. The old hand-propelled missiles
were ineffective against these, and weapons developers soon
realized that something more powerful was needed. The
ancient Greeks were the first to develop mechanical artillery,
and their devices were later adapted and improved upon by
the Romans. One of the earliest and most effective was the
onager*, (Illustration pictured on the next page.
1)
—
“Onager” means “wild ass” a nickname the Romans
gave for the way its rear would buck up upon firing. The
weapon pictured used a sling, w'hich would throw projectiles
much farther than the “scoop,” which was used later.
Build a Catapult in Your Backyard
?
Illustration 1
While the ancients had various names for their weapons, in the
modern mind most forms of mechanical artillery have come to be
known
collectively as “catapults.” For simplicity I will use this
general term in the chapters to follow.
Chapter One
History and Introduction
3
The throwing mechanism was very simple. A rotating
timber was mounted inside a heavy frame. In its middle, the
throwing arm was attached. Around the rotating timber the
soldiers" wrapped an elastic rope-like substance, the exact
composition of which has been lost in history. Most
researchers believed the Romans used human hair woven
together with animal sinews. This would be twisted tight by a
gear mechanism turned by levers. They then bent the
throwing arm to a ninety degree angle and secured with a
it
rope tied in a slip knot. At this point, there was tremendous
tension on the throwing arm. Finally, they would load the
sling or scoop and pull the slip knot. The arm sprung forward
and hurled the stone at the target. The larger onagers could
throw a fifty-pound stone several hundred yards.
The onager was primarily a siege weapon, meant to either
knock down enemy walls or throw stones over them. To
supplement the Romans developed a lethal anti-personnel
it,
weapon which hurled a massive javelin directly into and
through the enemy. An example is shown on page 4.
Build a Catapult in Your Backyard
4
Illustration 2
Medieval inventors recreated this weapon and called a
it
ballista. The spears were mounted with heavy metal heads,
and could pass through up to a dozen human bodies before
they stopped. The largest of them could hurl a spear over five
hundred yards.
Alter the collapse ol the Roman Empire, Europe fell into
the Dark Ages and much of what the Romans knew about
weapons building was lost. Eventually, medieval engineers
created their own versions of the ancient weapons. In
addition, they developed an enormous throwing engine called
the trebuchet. An example is shown on the next page.