Repeating and Multi-Fire Weapons: A History from the Zhuge Crossbow Through the AK-47, Gerald Prenderghast
Автор: Loades Mike Название: The Crossbow ISBN: 1472824601 ISBN-13(EAN): 9781472824608 Издательство: Osprey Рейтинг: Цена: 2375.00 р. Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ.
Описание: Technologically sophisticated and powerful, the crossbow has long enjoyed a popular reputation for villainous superiority because it could be used with little training as a weapon of assassination. The study of bow designs, trigger mechanisms and spanning devices reveals a tale of considerable mechanical ingenuity; advances that produced a battlefield weapon requiring comparatively little training to use. It was an extremely useful weapon, and especially effective in siege warfare for both attack and defence.
Known to the Ancient Greeks and the Chinese as early as the 5th century BC, the crossbow developed both in Western Europe and in the Far East. Advances in trigger mechanisms, spanning and bow design allowed the development of ever more powerful bows. In this study acknowledged weaponry expert Mike Loades traces the origins, development, combat record and lasting legacy of the crossbow, the formidable projectile weapon that played a key role in a host of battles and sieges across Europe and Asia.
War bows were a mainstay of armies throughout the world from the earliest recorded battles over three thousand years ago to the 16th century, when firearms finally came of age. Even then, in some cultures, the bow remained in use by elite warriors. The bow gave combatants the ability to fight at distance and it played an important role in some of the most famous battles in human history. In this lively and fascinating study, Mike Loades tells the stories of four of the world's most renowned war bow types: the iconic medieval longbow that made its mark at Cr cy; the horn and sinew composite bows of the East, with their varied forms and sophisticated construction; the crossbow with its mechanical ingenuity; and the distinctively asymmetric yumi of the samurai. For each of these bows, Mike brings the insights of his long career as a historical weapons expert and archer to bear, offering a vivid understanding not only of the technology that went into its creation but also an appreciation of what it was like to shoot and a detailed assessment of its role in battle.
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