Massive Wheellock Hand Mortars
Forgotten Weapons
•
7m 51s
These wheellock hand mortars, or katzenkopf, are an example of a weapon made and used for everything from front line military application to civilian parades to simple decoration. The pair we are looking at today are of the middle sort - they are signaling arms or firework launchers in the German or Dutch style from the early 1600s.
Martial grenade throwing mortars like this from the 17th century were typically built with more capacity for controlling recoil and aiming, but they were legitimate weapons made and used in battle. However more were made for throwing signal firecrackers and fireworks exhibitions - fireworks were a popular novelty among the royalty and aristocracy of the period. With a two-inch bore, you could launch quite the explosive from one of these!
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Final Prices: James D. Julia Spring 2017
Final prices for the James D Julia Spring 2017 auction...
-
A Connoisseur's Pistol: Devel's Full ...
Produced by gunsmith Charles Kelsey, the Devel "Full House" package was a conversion of the Smith & Wesson Model 39 or Model 59 pistol (the 39 was a single stack and the 59 a double stack). In the late 1970s, there were really no factory-made semiauto compact pistols made for concealed carry - th...
-
Canadian Experimental Lightweight No4...
In 1943 the need for a lighter and handier version of the Lee Enfield rifle became clear throughout the British Commonwealth, and experimentation began in Canada, Britain, and Australia. The work in Britain would culminate in the No5 Mk1 rifle, but the Canadian arsenal at Long Branch would try so...
