Questions tagged [weapons]
Questions on historical weapons, their use and significance.
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What kind of knife did people use to cut open cows?
I'm writing a fantastical story and one of the characters needs to cut open a cow equivalent. What kind of knife (shape, size, handle kind) was used to butcher cows? I looked online and only found ...
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What weapons did Peten Itza use in 1697 when it was conquered? [closed]
What weapons did the Peten Itza Kingdom use defend against its conquest by the Spanish Empire in 1697 more than 170 years after its first contract with the the army of Cortez in 1525? What kind of ...
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The British used to (still?) classify their guns by weight in pounds rather than caliber. Was that a constant across shell types?
We just had a question about a 1 pdr (37mm). The 6 pdr is a 57mm and the 17 pdr in the Firefly was a 76mm.
So, far, so good. It's even not too difficult to follow the progression: it's roughly ...
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Did firearm projectiles start being rifled before barrels?
I think this is a better fit here than on engineering SE (which has a firearms tag), because it pertains to firearm development more so than firearm capabilities.
In any case, I always found the ...
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Were trained crocodiles used as a weapon in the Battle of Saraighat?
There is a youtube video about The Ahom Kingdom. It generally sounds fairly well researched and makes only one obvious extraordinary claim. In describing the Battle of Saraighat (1671) the following ...
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What weapon is being used in this video from the Kosovo War?
In this Internet archive video , what is weapon used for blasting window pane at 02:49-02:51
Also please tell a bit of history about where it was developed and how?
user65886
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What is this bayonet I found in the ground while working under a house?
It's got some markings including a WD with a arrow above it, below that a Crown with 45 under it and then a E. And right by the hilt is a X. On the other side there is VI. And below that is 1.95...it ...
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How did blackpowder sharpshooters achieve precision?
I was wondering about this since I delved into the naval warfare of the age of sail and noticed the mentions of having sharpshooters on the masts of ships to pick off valuable targets. It seems to ...
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How effective were early modern hand grenades?
I saw a video about the 1683 siege of Vienna, and in the video, it talked about hand grenades that were used in the siege, and that the Ottomans used glass grenades that would explode once shattered ...
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Why were slings phased out of medieval armies in favor of bows?
I was watching some videos on slings and was surprised by how long-ranged and powerful they could be. This test indicates its power could be similar to that of a 9mm bullet. According to Wikipedia, ...
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Are there examples of artwork which anachronistically showed ancients equipped with firearms?
I do not mean modern art which does something like that humorously but rather for example a medieval painter showing Pharoah's army equipped with muzzleloaders due to the artist being unaware of the ...
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Were regular citizens of the Republic of Venice permitted to own and carry arms/weapons?
I've been researching about Venetian warfare and came across this website which inspired me to ask the question. According to this website (of perhaps questionable repute), the following is stated:
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Help identifying an old bayonet
I was helping my parents move into a new place recently and my dad and I came across this old bayonet that my grandfather had given to my dad. My dad doesn't know anything of its history, so I'm ...
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Why were greatswords used in the Middle Ages given their downsides?
The greatsword is a type of two-handed sword that's rather large and heavy compared to it's counterparts, but delivers a more powerful swing. The greatsword doesn't seem to have significant advantages ...
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Is this trebuchet based on a real historical model?
I was watching a clip from Game of Thrones where trebuchets were being launched from ships. From my research, the closest thing I could find is a floating arm trebuchet, but rather than dropping ...
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