Chapter 12 fourth quarter rocket

The rocket mentioned here is not only different from the vertical rockets before the Song Dynasty, but also different from the gunpowder arrows in the Song Dynasty. It is a rocket propelled by the gas recoil force generated by the burning of gunpowder.The launch and flight principles of this rocket are consistent with modern rockets.As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, some people in our country spontaneously used this principle to make a "fire" (also known as a "meteor") that can fly high.In April of the second year of Ming Jianwen (AD 1400), when the troops led by Zhu Di, king of Yan, fought against the Ming government army in the Baigou River (which flows through present-day Hebei Province), they were "swarmed" by the multiple salvo rockets used by the government army. ", shooting many soldiers.This is the earliest record about the use of jet rockets for combat in the history books of our country.In the late Ming Dynasty, various single-stage and two-stage rockets came out frequently, competing to win the battle, forming the climax of the development of ancient Chinese rockets.

There are two types of single-stage rockets: single-stage rockets and multiple-stage rockets.Single-shot rockets only shoot one arrow at a time, while multiple-shot rockets can shoot dozens or even hundreds of arrows each time.There are several launch methods for single-shot rockets. One is the launch type rocket.Its products include the "three flying arrows" such as flying knife arrows, flying sword arrows, and flying gun arrows used by Qi Jiguang's department.They use hard thornwood that is 617 feet long and 517 minutes thick as arrow shafts. The arrowhead is five inches long and eight minutes wide. Its sharp edge can penetrate the armor of enemy soldiers; The gunpowder tube is 718 inches long and 7 inches thick, with the fire wire coming out from the end of the tube; the arrow tail has feathers to keep the arrow body balanced during flight.During water warfare, the arrow body is placed on a frame erected on the ship's side to ignite and launch.During land warfare, the arrow body can be placed on the head of the fork-shaped weapon erected on the ground to ignite and launch, and the rocket cabinet can be carried on the rocket vehicle to maneuver with the army.Therefore, the "Three Flying Arrows" is one of the sharp weapons used by Qi's army to defeat the enemy.

The second is slot-launched rockets.This rocket is launched on a special chute.This kind of chute, also known as "rocket chute", was created by Zhao Shizhen, a firearms developer in the Ming Dynasty. It can make rockets fly in a predetermined direction and height, improve the hitting accuracy, and has the function of modern rocket guide rails. The third is a winged rocket.There are two kinds of rockets of this type: Shenhuo Flying Crow and Flying Air Attacking Thieves Shocking Thunder.The Shenhuo Crow is a multi-powder cartridge parallel rocket in structure.The body of the crow is filled with gunpowder, and a hole is drilled on the back, through which four fire wires more than one foot long are drawn, and connected to the fire wires of the four take-off rockets inserted obliquely under the belly of the crow, and the body of the crow is pasted with good tissue paper, Install a crow-shaped head and tail and two wings, as if flying in the air.When using it, first ignite four take-off rockets to drive the crow body to fly.When flying to the target, the fire wire of the take-off rocket ignites the fire wire in the belly of the crow, so that the gunpowder burns and the target object is burned.

The Flying Sky Attack Thieves Zhentian Lei is made of bamboo strips, about three and a half inches in diameter, with two wings on it. The inside of the thunder body is filled with explosive gunpowder and several edges and corners coated with poisonous arrows. The spray tube is connected with the explosive powder filled in the mine body with a fire wire, and is pasted with more than ten layers of paper for external use.This kind of rocket is mostly used for siege.When besieging the city, the soldiers ignited along the wind, and the gunpowder gas was sprayed out from the spray tube, and it was pushed to the city to explode.

An important advancement of these two types of rockets is the development of single-stage jet rockets carrying cold weapons for individual killing, and developing them into rockets carrying powdered firearms for group killing and siege, expanding the combat use of rockets and enhancing rocket fighting power. Multiple salvo rockets.Generally, multiple rockets equipped with gunpowder cartridges are placed in a rocket barrel with a large mouth and a small bottom. There are layered arrow grids in the barrel. outside the barrel.When in use, the fire wire is lit, and all the arrows are fired at once, which improves the killing efficiency.Their products include three tiger axes (three arrows), five tigers out of the hole and small five tiger arrows (five arrows each), and a swarm of bee arrows (32 arrows, which is the Ming army mentioned above in the battle of Baigouhe. There are more than 10 kinds of arrows used), such as the arrows of leopards running horizontally (40 arrows), the arrows of eagles chasing rabbits (60 arrows), and the arrows of hundreds of tigers running together (100 arrows).

The products of the second-stage rocket include fire dragon out of water and flying sand barrel.The arrow body of Huolong Chushui is composed of carrier rocket and warhead rocket.The arrow body shaped like a dragon's belly is made of fine moso bamboo five feet long, with a wooden dragon's head on the front end and a wooden dragon's tail on the tail. There are many rockets inside the dragon's belly, and the dragon's mouth is in an open shape for easy The rockets inside the dragon's belly burst out of its mouth.On both sides of the dragon head and the dragon tail, there is a take-off rocket weighing half a catty, and a gunpowder cartridge is attached to the rear of the arrowhead, and the arrow tail has a balance feather.When assembling, the fire wires of the four take-off rockets are first connected in parallel, and then connected in series with the fire wires of the gunpowder cartridges installed in the belly of the dragon.Most of these rockets are used for water combat.When fighting, ignite the medicine wires of the four take-off rockets at a height of 314 feet above the water surface, and push the rockets 213 miles. , Shoot the rocket to the target and kill the enemy officers and soldiers.

The sandbox is a secondary rocket that can be returned after use.The arrow body is made of thin bamboo sheets, and the gunpowder cartridge is seven feet long.The two gunpowder cartridges for take-off and return are reversed and attached to both sides of the front end of the arrow body.The nozzle of the gunpowder cartridge used for take-off is backward, and another gunpowder cartridge with a length of seven inches and a diameter of seven minutes is connected to it, which contains incendiary gunpowder and special poisonous sand. A few thin beard guns are installed on the top of the cylinder to form the warhead.Return the nozzle of the powder cartridge forward.The three gunpowder cartridges are connected in turn, and then the rocket is placed on the "rocket slide" to be fired.When in use, first light the fire wire of the take-off rocket, aim at the enemy ship and launch it, and stab it on the sail with a barbed spear.Then, the gunpowder cartridge used as the warhead sprays flames and poisonous sand to burn the enemy ship's equipment.When the soldiers on the enemy ship wanted to put out the fire, they were blinded by the poisonous sand and it was difficult to start.When the flame and poisonous sand are sprayed, the fire wire of the return rocket is ignited, leading the gunpowder in the barrel, and with the help of the generated gunpowder gas recoil force, the flying sand barrel is reversely propelled to make the rocket return.The earliest record of flying sand barrels is the military book "Wu Bian", which was written by Tang Shunzhi, the censor of Youdu. It was published in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing (AD 1560). Reprinted and renamed the current name.It can be seen that before 1560, our ancestors had already mastered the manufacturing and launch technology of the two-stage rocket, which provided useful enlightenment for the creation of modern rockets, and was the contribution made by our ancestors to the development of rocket technology. significant contribution.