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| Drawing of a Po Chuan Fa, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'. |
Po Chuan Fa (破船筏, lit. 'Ship-breaking raft'), also known as
Po Chuan Ge (破船舸, lit. 'Ship-breaking barge') was a simple yet effective anti-ship weapon designed for coastal and riverine warfare. It was essentially a heavy log raft assembled from five full-sized, three
zhang long tree trunks, waterproofed with tung oil, caulked with putty and hemp, and installed with four to six paddle wheels. For armaments, three
Po Zhou Chong (破舟銃, lit. 'Ship-breaking gun') which were essentially oversized
Shen Qiang (神鎗) loaded with spear-sized steel darts, were mounted at the bow of the raft. A fully enclosed crew compartment was also built on the raft to allow the crews to operate the guns and paddle wheels in relative safety.
