Rambuchan
The Funky President
‘Rockets’ were initially unguided bamboo tubes, employing saltpetre, gunpowder and charcoal dust to create light and sound spectacles, and were present in China in the second century AD. Thanks to the curious piety of Taoist alchemists, they were made available for use in entertainment and in religious ceremonies, in a form that many today would call ‘firecrackers’.
Chinese Firecrackers in action today.
The loud noises created are believed to chase away demons and evil spirits.
In 1132 AD reports tell how they began to be guided in experiments conducted by the Song Dynasty’s military. This was achieved by placing these combustible, gas emitting substances into tubes (again made of bamboo) and, crucially for guidance, they were attached to a stick. This is when they began to take on the appearance and behaviour of ‘rockets’, as many understand them in modern military and space exploration contexts. With such “flying fire”, and also in the form of catapult propelled ‘grenades’, the terms ‘missile’ and ‘incendiary projectile’ begin to bear relevance.
"Fire Arrows"
Such gas propelled, guided devices saw their first practical use for serious, military purpose in 1232 AD by the Song Dynasty against the Mongols at the siege of Kai-Feng-fue in which “fire arrows” (and other forms of “flying fire”
were used. The use of this technology, specifically with arrows, meant another significant element of guidance being exploited. Namely that of ‘wing stabilisation’ from the feather ‘vanes’ or fins along the arrow’s shaft that work to counter what fletchers call the off target ‘pitch’ or ‘yaw’ of the projectile.
There was also a legendary attempt to propel a chair according to the ambitions of a certain official by the name of Wan Hu c.1500 AD. Many presume that this legendary figure lost both his life and the chair in such a rocket propelled attempt at transportation, for fire arrows often simply exploded before reaching their target. Despite accidents like this, such unreliable devices could be still useful on the battlefield, to frighten and disorientate the enemy.
Wan hu
Rocketry, in these senses of the word, and its related military pyrotechnics were brought to Europe by the Mongols in the 13th century, notably against the Magyars at the Battle of Sejo (1241 AD). The Ottomans also employed a range of rocketry and pyrotechnics on the battlefield, as in their siege of Constantinople in 1453, thereby spreading such technology further into Europe.
The Mongols were also responsible for spreading this technology into the Arab world, with reports detailing usage in the taking of Baghdad in 1258 AD. Turkic and Mongol descendants, such as the Mughals, brought use of the rocket to the Indian Subcontinent, where the technology was refined yet further.
In the following five hundred years, such varied devices were used intermittently, depending on the popularity of competing projectile technologies that emerged (such as the musket, composite bow and cannon) and took roughly the same form, namely as fireballs, guided missiles and an array of other explosive devices that were designed equally to frighten and confuse, as to cause directly contrived death and destruction.
Thereafter, from 1750-1799 AD, Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan (the Sultan of Mysore, in South India) perfected the rocket's use for military purposes, using it very effectively in war against British colonial armies. Tipu Sultan had 27 brigades (called 'Kushoons') and each brigade had a company of rocket men called 'Jourks'. In the Second Anglo-Mysore war, at the Battle of Pollilur (10 September 1780), Hyder and Tipu achieved a grand victory, the contributory cause being that one of the British ammunition tambrils was set on fire by Mysorean rockets.
An impression of Tipu Sultan's rockets in use against British colonial soldiers
At the Battle of Seringapatam in 1792, Indian soldiers launched a huge barrage of rockets against British troops, followed by an assault of 36,000 men. Although the Indian rockets were primitive by modern standards, their sheer numbers, noise and brilliance were said to have been quite effective at disorienting British soldiers. During the night, the rockets were often seen as blue lights bursting in the air. Since Indian forces were able to launch these bursting rockets from in front of and behind British lines, they were a tremendous tool for throwing the British off guard. The bursting rockets were usually followed by a deadly shower of rockets aimed directly at the soldiers. Some of these rockets passed from the front of the British columns to the rear, inflicting injury and death as they passed. Sharp bamboo was typically affixed to the rockets, which were designed to bounce along the ground to produce maximum damage.
Later at the Battle of Srirangapattana (4th Anglo-Mysore war) April 1799, British forces lead by Col Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) ran away from the battlefield when attacked by rockets and musket fire of Tipu Sultan's army. Unlike contemporary rockets whose combustion chamber was made of wood (bamboo), Tipu's rockets weighing between 2.2 to 5.5 kg used iron cylinder casing that allowed greater pressure, thrust & range (1.5 to 2.5 Km) .
The British were greatly impressed by the Mysorean rockets using iron tubes. At the end of the Anglo-Mysorean wars more then 700 rockets and sub systems of 900 rockets were captured and sent to England. Just two of the many rockets fired by Indian troops in the 1792 war are still on display at the Royal Artillery Museum in London, alongside related items such as these....
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But when many hear the word "rocket" they usually think of this, which still displays many of those early developments mentioned above:
The Nazi's V-2
----
Please see post #9 for Sources, a note on omission and some comment on the reasons for writing the article.
Chinese Firecrackers in action today.
The loud noises created are believed to chase away demons and evil spirits.
In 1132 AD reports tell how they began to be guided in experiments conducted by the Song Dynasty’s military. This was achieved by placing these combustible, gas emitting substances into tubes (again made of bamboo) and, crucially for guidance, they were attached to a stick. This is when they began to take on the appearance and behaviour of ‘rockets’, as many understand them in modern military and space exploration contexts. With such “flying fire”, and also in the form of catapult propelled ‘grenades’, the terms ‘missile’ and ‘incendiary projectile’ begin to bear relevance.
"Fire Arrows"
Such gas propelled, guided devices saw their first practical use for serious, military purpose in 1232 AD by the Song Dynasty against the Mongols at the siege of Kai-Feng-fue in which “fire arrows” (and other forms of “flying fire”
were used. The use of this technology, specifically with arrows, meant another significant element of guidance being exploited. Namely that of ‘wing stabilisation’ from the feather ‘vanes’ or fins along the arrow’s shaft that work to counter what fletchers call the off target ‘pitch’ or ‘yaw’ of the projectile. There was also a legendary attempt to propel a chair according to the ambitions of a certain official by the name of Wan Hu c.1500 AD. Many presume that this legendary figure lost both his life and the chair in such a rocket propelled attempt at transportation, for fire arrows often simply exploded before reaching their target. Despite accidents like this, such unreliable devices could be still useful on the battlefield, to frighten and disorientate the enemy.
Wan hu
Rocketry, in these senses of the word, and its related military pyrotechnics were brought to Europe by the Mongols in the 13th century, notably against the Magyars at the Battle of Sejo (1241 AD). The Ottomans also employed a range of rocketry and pyrotechnics on the battlefield, as in their siege of Constantinople in 1453, thereby spreading such technology further into Europe.
The Mongols were also responsible for spreading this technology into the Arab world, with reports detailing usage in the taking of Baghdad in 1258 AD. Turkic and Mongol descendants, such as the Mughals, brought use of the rocket to the Indian Subcontinent, where the technology was refined yet further.
In the following five hundred years, such varied devices were used intermittently, depending on the popularity of competing projectile technologies that emerged (such as the musket, composite bow and cannon) and took roughly the same form, namely as fireballs, guided missiles and an array of other explosive devices that were designed equally to frighten and confuse, as to cause directly contrived death and destruction.
Thereafter, from 1750-1799 AD, Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan (the Sultan of Mysore, in South India) perfected the rocket's use for military purposes, using it very effectively in war against British colonial armies. Tipu Sultan had 27 brigades (called 'Kushoons') and each brigade had a company of rocket men called 'Jourks'. In the Second Anglo-Mysore war, at the Battle of Pollilur (10 September 1780), Hyder and Tipu achieved a grand victory, the contributory cause being that one of the British ammunition tambrils was set on fire by Mysorean rockets.
An impression of Tipu Sultan's rockets in use against British colonial soldiers
At the Battle of Seringapatam in 1792, Indian soldiers launched a huge barrage of rockets against British troops, followed by an assault of 36,000 men. Although the Indian rockets were primitive by modern standards, their sheer numbers, noise and brilliance were said to have been quite effective at disorienting British soldiers. During the night, the rockets were often seen as blue lights bursting in the air. Since Indian forces were able to launch these bursting rockets from in front of and behind British lines, they were a tremendous tool for throwing the British off guard. The bursting rockets were usually followed by a deadly shower of rockets aimed directly at the soldiers. Some of these rockets passed from the front of the British columns to the rear, inflicting injury and death as they passed. Sharp bamboo was typically affixed to the rockets, which were designed to bounce along the ground to produce maximum damage.
Later at the Battle of Srirangapattana (4th Anglo-Mysore war) April 1799, British forces lead by Col Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) ran away from the battlefield when attacked by rockets and musket fire of Tipu Sultan's army. Unlike contemporary rockets whose combustion chamber was made of wood (bamboo), Tipu's rockets weighing between 2.2 to 5.5 kg used iron cylinder casing that allowed greater pressure, thrust & range (1.5 to 2.5 Km) .
The British were greatly impressed by the Mysorean rockets using iron tubes. At the end of the Anglo-Mysorean wars more then 700 rockets and sub systems of 900 rockets were captured and sent to England. Just two of the many rockets fired by Indian troops in the 1792 war are still on display at the Royal Artillery Museum in London, alongside related items such as these....
- - But when many hear the word "rocket" they usually think of this, which still displays many of those early developments mentioned above:
The Nazi's V-2
----
Please see post #9 for Sources, a note on omission and some comment on the reasons for writing the article.
