 |
| Section of the scroll painting 'Feng Zhen Tu (《風箏圖》)', painted by famous Ming painter Xu Wei (徐渭), depicting an ordinary kite. |
Fang Ji Huo Feng Zheng (燔積火風箏, lit. 'Supply-scorching fire kite') was a unique but obscure siege weapon. It was essentially a weaponised kite, carrying a time bomb and propelled by a rocket. The rocket allowed Fang Ji Huo Feng Zheng to be launched into the sky quickly, where it would stay in the air and "wire-guided" to its intended target. After a set amount of time, the bomb would explode in mid air, spreading poisonous dust and burning gunpowder all over the target.
Nevertheless, while the idea behind Fang Ji Huo Feng Zheng was sound, its relative slowness and weak power likely did not justify its use over other, more straightforward weapons such as
cannons or
incendiary rockets.
I wonder if it could have been modified into something like a flare.
ReplyDeleteGood day.
DeleteIf it's the normal kind of flare, Ming army did use it.
Are there any records of this being actually used in combat? If so, how did it perform?
ReplyDeleteNot from China, but there's one use case in Vietnam (they had similar weapon).
Deletehow well did it work there?
DeleteAllowed the Trịnh (attacking) force to capture a few forts, but ultimately the siege ended in a stalemate.
Delete