Bombard

(weapon)
The bombard is a
type of cannon or
mortar which was
used throughout the
Middle Ages and the
early modern
period. Bombards
were mainly large
calibre, muzzle-
loading artillery
pieces used during
sieges to shoot Bombard mortar and
round stone granite ball projectile of the
projectiles at the Knights of Saint John of
walls of enemy Jerusalem, Rhodes, 1480–
1500. Founded at the
fortifications,
request of Pierre
enabling troops to
d'Aubusson, the bombard
break in. Most
was used for close
bombards were
defense of the walls (100–
made of iron and 200 meters) at the Siege of
used gunpowder to Rhodes. It fired 260 kg
launch the granite balls. The bombard
projectiles.[1] There weighs about 3,325 kg.
are many examples Musée de l'Armée.
of bombards,
including Mons Meg,
the Dardanelles Gun,
and the handheld
bombard.

The weapon
provided the name
to the Royal Artillery
rank of bombardier
and the word
bombardment.

Contents
Terminology
History
Notable examples
Gallery
See also
Notes
References
Further reading

Terminology
The term "bombard"
was first used to
describe guns of any
kind from the early
to mid-14th century,
but it was later
applied primarily to
large cannons
during the 14th to
15th centuries.[2]
Despite its strong
association with
large cannons, there
is no standard size
for bombards, and
the term has been
applied to cannons
only a meter in
length as well as
cannons several
meters long
weighing up to 20
tonnes.[3]

History
The oldest
representation of a
bombard can be
found in the Dazu
Rock Carvings. In
1985, the Canadian
historian Robin
Yates was visiting
Buddhist cave
temples when he
saw a sculpture on
the wall depicting a
demon firing a hand-
held bombard. The
sculpture was later
dated to the early
12th century.[4]
The 'Vaso' shown by
Walter de Milamete
(see Gunpowder
artillery in the
Middle Ages) is
usually dated to
1327 and shows a
mailed knight firing
a brass fire pot.
However the armour
shown appears
anachronistic for
1327 and the image
may actually be a
copy of a lost 12th
century image.

Early bombards also

include two Chinese
c. 1377 cast-iron
mortars weighing
over 150 kg, each
with 4 trunnions on
their barrels.[5]

England certainly
began using cannons
in the early 14th
century. Field
artillery was
deployed by King
Edward III at the
Battle of Crecy in
1346 but equipment
which may have
been an artillery
piece was listed as
captured on a
French ship by the
English, at Sluys, as
early as 1340.
Inverted 'keyhole'
gun loops[6] at
Bodiam Castle,
Cooling Castle and
Westgate Canterbury
have all been
identified as for
firing heavy
handguns. These
defences are dated
1380–1385. Initially
used as defensive
weapons primitive
bombards began to
be used as siege
weapons in the later
14th century. Henry
IV, Henry V, and
James II won battles
with the use of
bombards. Henry V
captured Harfleur
with bombards in
1415. King Henry's
army later came
under artillery fire
at the Battle of
Agincourt. James II
destroyed many
castles with his one
and a half ton
cannon named "The
Lion".[1]

The French re-

conquest of their
kingdom from
English control saw
the use of
considerable French
artillery in the siege
role. The French in
this period preferred
to avoid attacking
English longbowmen
in open battle and
relied on siege and
re-conquest by siege
tactics. However the
last battle of the
Hundred Years' War
saw English
commander John
Talbot lead an
Anglo-Gascon army
against dug-in
French troops
equipped with 300
pieces of artillery at
the Battle of
Castillion in 1453.
The French camp
had been laid out by
ordnance officer
Jean Bureau to
maximise the
French artillery arm.
The Anglo-Gascons
were shot to pieces
and Talbot was
eventually killed.

Most bombards
started with the
construction of a
wooden core
surrounded by iron
bars. Then, iron
hoops were driven
over these bars in
order to surround
and cover them. The
whole structure was
then welded with a
hammer while it
was still hot at about
1300  °C (2350  °F).
The rings then
subsequently cooled
and formed over the
bars to secure them.
The last step was to
incinerate the
wooden core and to
attach a one-piece
cast. The
complicated
procedure required
a highly skilled forge
who could work
quickly and
precisely with a
hammer. [1]

Notable
examples
A notable example
of a bombard is the
large Mons Meg
weapon, built
around 1449 and
used by King James
II of Scotland. It was
very powerful and
used for bringing
down castle walls.[7]
The origins of the
Mons Meg are not
fully known but
according to Philip
the Good, Duke of
Burgundy, it was his
idea. It was ordered
around 1449 and
had similar
construction to a
typical bombard.[8]
However, the Mons
Meg was seldom
used because of
several factors.
Mons Meg was
capable of firing
180  kg (396  lb) shots
and was one of the
largest bombards in
its time. It is now
housed on public
display at Edinburgh
Castle.

A bombard with a
bore of
approximately 12
inches was found
when the moat of
Bodiam Castle, Kent,
was drained. A
muzzle-loader of
hoop-and-stave
construction, it is
believed to be the
oldest piece found in
England and may be
late 14th or very
early 15th century. It
was possibly
dumped in the moat
following an
abortive siege at the
castle during the
Wars of the Roses.
The original is now
at the Royal Artillery
Museum at
Woolwich, but a
copy has been on
show at the castle
for many years. The
Star Gun Company
has built a Bodiam
Bombard replica
while local
newspapers report a
replica was being
fired at the castle for
visitors during
2012.[9]

Other known 15th-

century very large-
calibre guns include
the wrought-iron
Pumhart von Steyr
and Dulle Griet as
well as the cast-
bronze Faule Mette,
Faule Grete, and
Grose Bochse. The
Tsar Cannon is a late
16th-century show-
piece.

The Dardanelles
Gun, built in the
Ottoman Empire in
1464 by Munir Ali,
with a weight of 18.6
t and a length of
518  cm, was capable
of firing stone balls
of up to 63  cm
diameter.[10]

Eventually
bombards were
superseded by
weapons using
smaller calibre iron
projectiles fired
from longer barrels
with more powerful
gunpowder.

Gallery
"Hand bombard", 200 kg wrought iron The Dardanelles Mons Meg at
1390–1400 bombard, circa Gun. Edinburgh Castle,
1450, Metz, France. mid-15th century
It was manufactured
by forging together
iron bars, held in
place by iron rings. It
fired 6  kg stone
balls. Length:
82 cm.

Mons Meg English Bombards Bombard from the A Chinese cast-iron

cannonballs abandoned during beginning of the mortar or bombard
the Hundred Years' 15th century, the dated ca. 1377 with
War and now only surviving two pairs of
exposed on the bombard used by trunnions, in the
Mont-Saint-Michel. Teutonic Knights, Provincial Historical
now exposed in Museum at
Kwidzyn Castle. Thaiyuan in Shansi.

See also
List of the largest
cannons by caliber

Notes
1. Sands, Kathleen
(1999). "Though One
Of The Best-
Documented Of
Medieval Bombards,
Mons Meg Was The
Subject Of
 Exaggeration And
Legend". Military
History. 16 (3): 22.
2. Andrade 2016, p. 83.
3. DeVries 2012, p. 155.
4. Gwei-Djen, Lu;
Needham, Joseph;
Chi-Hsing, Phan (July
1988). "The Oldest
Representation of a
Bombard". Technology
and Culture. 29 (3):
594–605.
doi:10.2307/3105275
(https://doi.org/10.23
07%2F3105275).
5. Aung-Thwin, Michael;
Hall, Kenneth (2011).
"New Perspectives on
the History and
Historiography of
Southeast Asia": 85.
6. File:Westgate 076.jpg
7. "Reconstruction of
Norham Castle Seige
by Scots in 1513" (htt
p://www.maybole.org/
history/castles/norha
m.htm).
www.maybole.org.
Retrieved 19 April
2018.
8. W. H. Finlayson. The
Scottish Historical
Review, Vol. 27, No.
104, Part 2 (Oct.,
1948), pp. 124-126
9. "Archived copy" (http
s://web.archive.org/w
eb/20150923211011/
http://www.courier.co.
uk/event/Bodiam-Bo
mbard/event-1661773
5-detail/event.html).
Archived from the
original (http://www.c
ourier.co.uk/event/Bo
diam-Bombard/event-
16617735-detail/even
t.html) on 2015-09-23.
Retrieved 2015-04-13.
10. Schmidtchen (1977b),
pp. 226–228

References
  This
article incorporates
text from a publication
now in the public
domain: Chisholm,
Hugh, ed. (1911).
"Bombard".
Encyclopædia
Britannica (11th ed.).
Cambridge University
Press.
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.
DeVries, Kelly (2012),
Medieval Military
Technology
Sands, Kathleen.
"Though One Of The
Best-Documented Of
Medieval Bombards,
Mons Meg Was The
Subject Of
Exaggeration And
Legend." Military
History 16.3 (1999):
22.
Lu Gwei-Djen, Joseph
Needham and Phan
Chi-Hsing. Technology
and Culture, Vol. 29,
No. 3 (Jul., 1988),
pp. 594–605
W. H. Finlayson. The
Scottish Historical
Review, Vol. 27, No.
104, Part 2 (Oct.,
1948), pp. 124–126
Cvikel, Deborah, and
Haim Goren. "Where
Are Bonaparte's Siege
Cannon? An Episode
In The Egyptian
Campaign."
Mediterranean
Historical Review 23.2
(2008): 129–142.
Further
reading
Schmidtchen, Volker
(1977a),
"Riesengeschütze des
15. Jahrhunderts.
Technische
Höchstleistungen ihrer
Zeit",
Technikgeschichte, 44
(2): 153–173
Schmidtchen, Volker
(1977b),
"Riesengeschütze des
15. Jahrhunderts.
Technische
Höchstleistungen ihrer
Zeit",
Technikgeschichte, 44
(3): 213–237
Smith, Robert
Douglas; DeVries,
Kelly (2005), The
artillery of the Dukes
of Burgundy, 1363–
1477, Boydell Press,
ISBN 978-1-84383-
162-4

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