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early rockets

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I have found a few information about using rockets as a weapon in middle ages and later :)

The polish monk and annalist Jan Dlugosz (1415-1480) wrote about battle of Legnica against Mongols in 1231:
"When the big part of noble Mongols was killed Poles were very close to the fool victory. But in Mongol's army there was one biggest ensign. On the top of them was the big, black, ugly head. When Mongols begin to run away from battlefield the warrior, who carried this esign started to shake them strongly. The fire, smoke and fog were blowing from the head! The stench and smoke were so terrible and strong, because of them most of Poles fallen and were unable to keep fighting"
And Mongols were winners :)

Just next year 1232 Chineses have used rockets against Mongols :crackup: by defending Peking. There were so called "Arrows of flying fire". But in the same year (1232) that typ of rockets were used by Mongols during siege of the Chinese city Kaifeng.

In 1280 an Arabian, Hassan al Rammah, wrote a manuscript which explained how to build rockets. In 1288 Valencia was bombarded by Arabs with rockets of his pattern.

Rockets were used by Hindus against army of Alexander in IVth century BC.

Ancient Greek Architras in 360 BC made the "flying pigeon" and in 100 BC another Greek Heron made a toy called "aeolipilia". Both had primitiv rocket mechanisms.

The russian princess Olga in Xth century have destroyed with rockets wooden fortresses of Derewlans (eastern slavonic tribe).

An Italian engineer, Joannes de Fontana, in 1405, wrote a book in which he described a rocket car which could be used in battle as a battering-ram. He is known in science as father of modern jet planes, because he made a rocket with wings too.

rakieta2.jpg


In England in 1250 Robert Bacon in "De mullitate magiae" published sketches of rocket engines, and Albert Magnus has given their precise description in 1265.

In 1569 Marcin Bielski in Cracow in his book "Sprawa rycerska według postępku y zachowania starego obyczaju Rzymskiego" showed the construction of rocket.


From 1624 came polish anonymous manuscript with a "handbook" of rockets making.

1650 in Amsterdam was published book of Kasimir Siemianowicz "The Art of Artyllery" with special chapter about rockets. It was Bible of rocket builders in this time and long time after.


And it is the rocket launcher of Napoleon's period:

rakieta1.jpg


Has someone of You readen/watched somethink else about it?
 
interesting bit of information. i had no idea rockets were in use so early in history. when we were kids we made some explosive rounds for our home made cannon but never got into rockets much. i'd be interested to see what else you come up with on them.
pieman
 

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