Fire lance

The fire lance (simplified Chinese: 火枪; traditional Chinese: 火槍; pinyin: huǒ qiāng; lit. 'fire spear') was a gunpowder weapon and the ancestor of modern firearms.[1] It first appeared in 10th–12th century China and was used to great effect during the Jin-Song Wars. It began as a small pyrotechnic device attached to a polearm weapon, used to gain a shock advantage at the start of a melee.[2] As gunpowder improved, the explosive discharge was increased, and debris or pellets added, giving it some of the effects of a combination modern flamethrower and shotgun, but with a very short range (about 3 meters or 10 feet), and only one shot (some were designed for two shots). By the late 13th century, fire lance barrels had transitioned to metal material to better withstand the explosive blast, and the lance-point was discarded in favor of relying solely on the gunpowder blast. These became the first hand cannons.[3]

A fire lance as depicted in the Huolongjing, late 14th century (c. 1360-1375).

Design
See also: Fire arrow

The first fire lances consisted of a tube, usually bamboo, containing gunpowder and a slow match, strapped to a spear or other polearm weapon. Once ignited, the gunpowder tube would ideally eject a stream of flames in the direction of the spearhead. Projectiles such as iron pellets or pottery shards were later added to the gunpowder. Upon firing, the gunpowder charge ejected the projectiles along with the flame.[4]

Metal fire lance barrels appeared around the mid-13th century and these began to be used independently of the lance itself. The independent metal barrel was known as an 'eruptor' and became the forerunner of the hand cannon.[4]

In Europe, versions with wooden tubes were used.[5]

History
Earliest known representation of a fire lance (upper right), Dunhuang, 950 AD.[6]
A double-barreled fire lance from the Huolongjing. Supposedly, the barrels fired in succession, with the second barrel lit automatically after the first barrel's firing.
See also: History of gunpowder and Timeline of the Gunpowder Age

China

The earliest evidence of fire lances appeared in China in the year 950. However usage of fire lances in warfare was not mentioned until 1132 when Song garrisons used them during the Siege of De'an, in modern-day Anlu, Hubei, in a sortie against the Jin dynasty (1115–1234).[7][8][9]

In 1163, fire lances were attached to war carts known as "at-your-desire-carts" used to defend mobile firebomb trebuchets.[2]

In the late 1100s, pieces of shrapnel such as porcelain shards and small iron pellets were added to the gunpowder tube. At some point fire lances discarded the spearhead altogether and relied solely on their firepower.[10]

By 1232, the Jin were also using fire lances, but with improved reusable barrels consisting of durable paper material. According to the History of Jin, these fire lances had a range of roughly three meters:

To make the lance, use chi-huang paper, sixteen layers of it for the tube, and make it a bit longer than two feet. Stuff it with willow charcoal, iron fragments, magnet ends, sulfur, white arsenic [probably an error that should mean saltpeter], and other ingredients, and put a fuse to the end. Each troop has hanging on him a little iron pot to keep fire [probably hot coals], and when it's time to do battle, the flames shoot out the front of the lance more than ten feet, and when the gunpowder is depleted, the tube isn't destroyed.[11]

— History of Jin

In 1233, Jin soldiers used fire lances successfully against the Mongols. Pucha Guannu led 450 Jin fire lancers and routed an entire Mongol encampment. The Mongol soldiers were apparently disdainful of other Jin weapons, but greatly feared the fire lance.[12]

On the 5th day of the 5th lunar month [in the year 1233] the Jin troops offered a sacrifice to Heaven. They began to prepare their huoqiang or 'fire lances' [i.e. fei huoqiang or 'flying fire lances'] and other weapons in secrecy. Then Marshal Pucha, at the head of 450 soldiers of the Loyal and Filial Army, embarked from the South Gate [of Guidefu] and sailed from the East to the North, killing the Mongol night patrols along the river bank until they arrived at Wangjiasi [where the Mongols had set up camp], . . In the fourth watch of the night the Jin troops attacked the Mongols. At first the Loyal and Filial Army retreated slightly, then suddenly attacked again. Pucha Guannu divided his soldiers into teams of 50 to 70, each in a small boat, ordering them to advance to the Mongol camp and attack it from all sides. Carrying their fire lances, the Jin soldiers launched a sudden attack which the Mongols were unable to resist. It was a great defeat, for in all 3500 Mongols were drowned in the river. Guannu burned their camp to the ground and returned [to Guifu].[13]

— History of Jin

In 1259, a pellet wad that occluded the barrel was recorded to have been used as a fire lance projectile, making it the first recorded bullet in history.[10]

By 1276, fire lances had transitioned to metal barrels.[14] Fire lances were also being used by cavalrymen at this point, as evidenced by the account of a Song-Yuan battle in which two fire lance armed Song cavalrymen rushed a Chinese officer of Bayan of the Baarin.[15] The Huolongjing also mentions a gourd fire lance which was used by cavalrymen as well as foot soldiers.[16]

The metal-barreled fire lance began to be used independently of the lance around the mid to late 13th century. These proto-cannons which fired co-viative projectiles, known as 'eruptors,' were the forerunners of the hand cannon.[10]

Later history

By 1280, the Middle East had acquired fire lances.[17]

In 1396, European knights took up fire lances as mounted weapons.[18]

In 15th century Japanese samurai used fire lances.[19]

The last recorded usage of fire lances in Europe occurred during the Storming of Bristol in 1643 although the Commonwealth of England was still issuing them to ships in 1660.[20][5]

Troncks

Versions where the fireworks and shot were placed in a wooden tube at the end of a pole were known as Troncks, fire-trunks or bombas in Europe.[5][21] The fireworks had alternating slow and fast burning sections.[5][21]

They were frequently issued to warships and a surviving example was found in the wreck of the La Trinidad Valencera.[5][21] Testing of an attempted reconstruction was carried out in 1988.[5] During the test multiple sections of the Tronck ignited at once.[5]

  • A fire lance from the Wubei Zhi by Mao Yuanyi, 1621.
    A fire lance from the Wubei Zhi by Mao Yuanyi, 1621.
  • The phalanx-charging fire-gourd, one of many fire lance types discharging lead pellets in the gunpowder blast, an illustration from the Huolongjing.
    The phalanx-charging fire-gourd, one of many fire lance types discharging lead pellets in the gunpowder blast, an illustration from the Huolongjing.
  • A 'divine moving phalanx-breaking fierce-fire sword-shield' as depicted in the Huolongjing, c. 1360-1375. A mobile shield fitted with fire lances used to break enemy formations.
    A 'divine moving phalanx-breaking fierce-fire sword-shield' as depicted in the Huolongjing, c. 1360-1375. A mobile shield fitted with fire lances used to break enemy formations.
  • A knight wielding a fire lance c. 1396
    A knight wielding a fire lance c. 1396
  • Illustrations of fire lances from De la pirotechnia by Vannoccio Biringuccio c. 1540.
    Illustrations of fire lances from De la pirotechnia by Vannoccio Biringuccio c. 1540.

See also

Citations
  1. Andrade 2016, p. 35.
  2. Andrade 2016, p. 38.
  3. Andrade 2016, p. 33.
  4. Andrade 2016, p. 51.
  5. Brown, Ruth Rhynas (2005). "Troncks, rockets and fiery balls: Military fireballs of the early modern period". Journal of the Ordnance Society. 17: 25–36.
  6. "The Genius of China", Robert Temple
  7. Needham 1986, p. 222.
  8. Chase 2003, p. 31.
  9. Lorge 2008, p. 33-34.
  10. Andrade 2016, p. 52.
  11. Andrade 2016, p. 46.
  12. Andrade 2016, p. 47.
  13. Lorge 2005, p. 388.
  14. Needham 1986, p. 228.
  15. Needham 1986, p. 227.
  16. Needham 1986, p. 236.
  17. Needham 1986, p. 259.
  18. Needham 1986, p. 260.
  19. "対馬の火㷁碗口 - 祖国は危機にあり 関連blog".
  20. Needham 1986, p. 262.
  21. Martin, Colin J.M (1994). "Incendiary weapons from the Spanish Armada wreck La Trinidad Valencera, 1588". The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 23 (3): 207–217. Bibcode:1994IJNAr..23..207M. doi:10.1006/ijna.1994.1027.

References
  • Adle, Chahryar (2003), History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century
  • Ágoston, Gábor (2008), Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-60391-1
  • Agrawal, Jai Prakash (2010), High Energy Materials: Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Wiley-VCH
  • 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.
  • Arnold, Thomas (2001), The Renaissance at War, Cassell & Co, ISBN 0-304-35270-5
  • Benton, Captain James G. (1862). A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery (2 ed.). West Point, New York: Thomas Publications. ISBN 1-57747-079-6.
  • Brown, G. I. (1998), The Big Bang: A History of Explosives, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-7509-1878-0.
  • Buchanan, Brenda J., ed. (2006), "Gunpowder, Explosives and the State: A Technological History", Technology and Culture, Aldershot: Ashgate, 49 (3): 785–786, doi:10.1353/tech.0.0051, ISBN 0-7546-5259-9, S2CID 111173101
  • Chase, Kenneth (2003), Firearms: A Global History to 1700, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-82274-2.
  • Cocroft, Wayne (2000), Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN 1-85074-718-0
  • Cowley, Robert (1993), Experience of War, Laurel.
  • Cressy, David (2013), Saltpeter: The Mother of Gunpowder, Oxford University Press
  • Crosby, Alfred W. (2002), Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-79158-8.
  • Curtis, W. S. (2014), Long Range Shooting: A Historical Perspective, WeldenOwen.
  • Earl, Brian (1978), Cornish Explosives, Cornwall: The Trevithick Society, ISBN 0-904040-13-5.
  • Easton, S. C. (1952), Roger Bacon and His Search for a Universal Science: A Reconsideration of the Life and Work of Roger Bacon in the Light of His Own Stated Purposes, Basil Blackwell
  • Ebrey, Patricia B. (1999), The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-43519-6
  • Grant, R.G. (2011), Battle at Sea: 3,000 Years of Naval Warfare, DK Publishing.
  • Hadden, R. Lee. 2005. "Confederate Boys and Peter Monkeys." Armchair General. January 2005. Adapted from a talk given to the Geological Society of America on March 25, 2004.
  • Harding, Richard (1999), Seapower and Naval Warfare, 1650-1830, UCL Press Limited
  • al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. (2001), "Potassium Nitrate in Arabic and Latin Sources", History of Science and Technology in Islam, retrieved 23 July 2007.
  • Hobson, John M. (2004), The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation, Cambridge University Press.
  • Johnson, Norman Gardner. "explosive". Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  • Kelly, Jack (2004), Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World, Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-03718-6.
  • Khan, Iqtidar Alam (1996), "Coming of Gunpowder to the Islamic World and North India: Spotlight on the Role of the Mongols", Journal of Asian History, 30: 41–5.
  • Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004), Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India, Oxford University Press
  • Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2008), Historical Dictionary of Medieval India, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., ISBN 978-0-8108-5503-8
  • Kinard, Jeff (2007), Artillery An Illustrated History of its Impact
  • Konstam, Angus (2002), Renaissance War Galley 1470-1590, Osprey Publisher Ltd..
  • Liang, Jieming (2006), Chinese Siege Warfare: Mechanical Artillery & Siege Weapons of Antiquity, Singapore, Republic of Singapore: Leong Kit Meng, ISBN 981-05-5380-3
  • Lidin, Olaf G. (2002), Tanegashima – The Arrival of Europe in Japan, Nordic Inst of Asian Studies, ISBN 8791114128
  • Lorge, Peter (2005), Warfare in China to 1600, Routledge
  • Lorge, Peter A. (2008), The Asian Military Revolution: from Gunpowder to the Bomb, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-60954-8
  • Lu, Gwei-Djen (1988), "The Oldest Representation of a Bombard", Technology and Culture, 29 (3): 594–605, doi:10.2307/3105275, JSTOR 3105275
  • McLachlan, Sean (2010), Medieval Handgonnes
  • McNeill, William Hardy (1992), The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, University of Chicago Press.
  • Morillo, Stephen (2008), War in World History: Society, Technology, and War from Ancient Times to the Present, Volume 1, To 1500, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-052584-9
  • Needham, Joseph (1980), Science & Civilisation in China, vol. 5 pt. 4, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-08573-X
  • Needham, Joseph (1986), Science & Civilisation in China, vol. V:5 pt. 7: The Gunpowder Epic, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-30358-3.
  • Nicolle, David (1990), The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane
  • Nolan, Cathal J. (2006), The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: an Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Vol 1, A-K, vol. 1, Westport & London: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33733-0
  • Norris, John (2003), Early Gunpowder Artillery: 1300–1600, Marlborough: The Crowood Press.
  • Partington, J. R. (1960), A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, Cambridge, UK: W. Heffer & Sons.
  • Partington, J. R. (1999), A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-5954-9
  • Patrick, John Merton (1961), Artillery and warfare during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Utah State University Press.
  • Pauly, Roger (2004), Firearms: The Life Story of a Technology, Greenwood Publishing Group.
  • Perrin, Noel (1979), Giving up the Gun, Japan's reversion to the Sword, 1543–1879, Boston: David R. Godine, ISBN 0-87923-773-2
  • Petzal, David E. (2014), The Total Gun Manual (Canadian edition), WeldonOwen.
  • Phillips, Henry Prataps (2016), The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c.1000 to 1850), Notion Press
  • Purton, Peter (2010), A History of the Late Medieval Siege, 1200–1500, Boydell Press, ISBN 978-1-84383-449-6
  • Robins, Benjamin (1742), New Principles of Gunnery
  • Rose, Susan (2002), Medieval Naval Warfare 1000-1500, Routledge
  • Roy, Kaushik (2015), Warfare in Pre-British India, Routledge
  • Schmidtchen, Volker (1977a), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", Technikgeschichte 44 (2): 153–173 (153–157)
  • Schmidtchen, Volker (1977b), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", Technikgeschichte 44 (3): 213–237 (226–228)
  • Swope, Kenneth M. (2013), The Military Collapse of China's Ming Dynasty, 1618-44 (Asian States and Empires), Routledge.
  • Tran, Nhung Tuyet (2006), Viêt Nam Borderless Histories, University of Wisconsin Press.
  • Turnbull, Stephen (2003), Fighting Ships Far East (2: Japan and Korea Ad 612-1639, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-478-7
  • Urbanski, Tadeusz (1967), Chemistry and Technology of Explosives, vol. III, New York: Pergamon Press.
  • Villalon, L. J. Andrew (2008), The Hundred Years War (part II): Different Vistas, Brill Academic Pub, ISBN 978-90-04-16821-3
  • Wagner, John A. (2006), The Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War, Westport & London: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-32736-X
  • Watson, Peter (2006), Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud, Harper Perennial (2006), ISBN 0-06-093564-2
  • Willbanks, James H. (2004), Machine guns: an illustrated history of their impact, ABC-CLIO, Inc.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.