5 November 2016

Fei Cui Zha Pao (飛摧炸砲)

Ming Chinese Bombard
A man firing three Fei Cui Zha Pao, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.
Fei Cui Zha Pao (飛摧炸砲, lit. 'Flying destroyer explosive cannon') is an iron bombard, possibly a repurposed Wan Kou Chong (碗口銃, lit. 'Bowl-muzzle gun'), that is used to fire cast iron shells. The shells are filled with small caltrops, which serve as fragmentation during detonation but will remain on the ground to deter enemy advance afterwards. The bombard is typically loaded with multiple shells, allowing it to cover a wide area (and let the shells spread caltrops over an even wider area).

Leonardo Da Vinci Bombard
Leonardo da Vinci's bombard, from 'Codice Atlantico'.
As a side note, I personally find that Fei Cui Zha Pao bears a little similarities to the bombards designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Coincidence?

4 comments:

  1. this cannon and crouching tiger cannon are similar things?

    ReplyDelete
  2. How effective is this weapon? Or not so effective at all?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would say it was as effective as any other pre-modern explosive shell bombard/mortar/hand mortar......that is to say, not very much, but still good enough to be fielded with some regularity.

      The shells had the nasty habit of either exploding while still inside the barrel, or NOT exploding after they landed.

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