History of Catapults

KATAPULTIEREN The first recorded use of a catapult was In Greece about 400 years before the Christian era which is approximately 330 BC - 323 BC. The first recorded use of catapults in war was when Alexander the great used them for cover. The origin of the word catapult comes from the Greek word “Kata”, which means downward, and the Greek word “Pultos”, which means shield. Catapults have been used for over 2000 years but in recent years they have been used in many ways. One way they are used is in the military they are used to launch planes on runways that are too short. Another way to use a catapult is clay pigeon shooting. Yet another way to use a catapult is the competition of “pumpkin chunking” where people see how far they can launch a pumpkin. In medieval times catapults were used as siege weapons to capture castles and fortified walled cities. The most widely used catapults were ballistas, springalds, mangonels, onagers, trebuchets, and couillards. Ballistas were similar to giant crossbows and shot giant arrows. Springalds design was similar to a ballistas but it was more compact in order to be used in smaller spaces. Mangonels were designed to throw large objects such as boulders from a large bowl-like buckets at the end of its arm. Onagers launched projectiles from a sling which was later changed into a bucket and thus became a mangonel. Trebuchets were probably the most powerful catapult used in the Middle Ages. The ammunition used was often be stones, but darts or sharp wooden poles would sometimes be used as a substitute. Couillards were basically a simplified trebuchet but the counterweight was split swinging on either side of a central support post. In conclusion, catapults have been used for many interesting things. They are also very many different kinds of catapults. Though they may be very old they are still used in modern times. Some of the ways may not be the smartest or legal but are very interesting indeed.