Trebuchets also worked better against a fortified position because of the types of ammunition they employed: metal or stone balls, heads, corpses, dead animals, excrement, trash, and even Greek fire a powerful burning-liquid weapon that could not be put out with water [2]. The FAKA is very efficient for its frame height and arm length as well. Bernhard Kast is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. it will likely jam, but the counterweight or the arm might also strike the frame. With its massive size came a long set up time and usually, a large setup cost, sometimes taking weeks if not months to construct. The floating arm trebuchet uses a counterweight held on top of a tall drop channel to transfer potential energy into kinetic energy. Copyright 2002-2023 Science Buddies. Also, adding wheels could further stabilize the siege machine and enhance the throwing distance of the projectile. Yet, this depictions seems to be a big over exaggerated. We tried 100x Ironstone ore (10.00 "weight") and Heavy Armor, but none of it seemed to work better. Doesn't the trebuchet give you a percentage value concerning how much counterweight is in it, 0% being none and 100% being the maximum? The Traction Trebuchet is a siege weapon in Age of Empires IV that is unique to the Mongols. It does not store any personal data. One fascinating rumoured example of bodies being used comes from the siege of Kaffa, where in 1347, the plague ridden Mongols outside of the city started to fling over their dead and dying soldiers into the city in a hope that the smell alone, rumoured to be particular foul, would destroy the moral of the defenders calling for their surrender. Simplest of all trebuchet designs mechanically. In 1304, on one of his campaigns to defeat Scotland, King Edward I besieged Stirling Castle and ordered his engineers to build a giant trebuchet. How much time do you have to build your trebuchet? Internet: http://www.trebuchet.com, [Oct. 11, 2006]. This is why more than one wheel is used. General advice is that the optimal ratio is 133:1. forcing the projectile out of the leather bag and onto the target. . Volleyball Design and How Volleyball Designs Affect the Game, How to Engineer a Record-Breaking Swimsuit, To the Beginning of Time: NASAs Journey to Uncovering the Past, Diverting Away from the Steel Age: Metallurgy Reimagined in the Context of the Climate Crisis. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. That's a weight ratio of 1:110. This machine could throw stones up to 100 meters, but was not very accurate, given the inherent inconsistency in using true manpower. and still have enough energy to throw the projectile at a high velocity. 2020 by History University. I was able to use the collars from my weight set to hold the weights as they were slightly bigger than 1". (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 274), According to Donald Hill the most detailed account for traction trebuchets are from Chinese sources and he mentions the following numbers that are also similar to Arabic sources, but take them with a large grain of salt: (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 274) By the way if the concept of the traction trebuchet is too odd for you, you might check out the following real life video of one and for those who want to rebuild one in the sandbox game besiege, there is also at least one video. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. wind could have caused us errors by blowing our projectile off to one side, Its role is destroying buildings at long range. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. When we assembled it with only 120lbs (all the three of us could lift and attach at that height), it threw a Bocce ball roughly 250ft. It was also easier to transport and had a higher rate of fire. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 280-282) There are two different drawing files so that you do not print the shafts twice as well. Furthermore, a mechanism for pulling down and fixating the long arm was added, which was usually a winch. between leverage and speed of the arm to achieve the highest velocity. The fixed counterweight eventually gave way to a hinged counterweight (Fig. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. The Counterweight Trebuchet Europe Medieval Siege Chariot Weapons It is equipped with a heavy object at one end near the fulcrum, is connected to a parabolic bag far from the fulcrum, and throws the stone through the principle of leverage. Proudly created with Wix.com, Weapons That Changed The World: The Counterweight Trebuchet, It is rumoured that Edward was so keen on trying out his new toy that he ordered the recently surrendered Scots back into the castle, quoted to have said ", You do not deserve any grace, but must surrender to my will" and. Although they have not been used in any important military capacity in hundreds of years, trebuchets are awesome pieces of engineering that still create excitement in todays society. Bernhard Kast is a participant in the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ca. 2). Also, the newfound stability meant that the trebuchet did not have to be repositioned after every shot, so firing time improved to about twice per hour [6]. The Floating Everything Trebuchet (FET) - a poor man's FAT, without the vertical guides. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The traction Trebuchet or Mangonel, which was adopted by the Byzantine empire some 100 years after their first recoded use in China, relying on man power to pull ropes and weights to thrown the projectile via the long swinging arm, a very time consuming and some what inconstant tool. It considers several models of varying complexity and finds a maximum range efficiency of 83% for a 100 pound counterweight, 1 pound projectile, a 5 foot long beam pivoted 1 foot from the point of attachment of the counterweight, and a 3.25 foot long . Edwards War Wolf was probably the largest structure most of his men had even seen outside of castles themselves and when the Scottish defenders saw the weapon of mass destruction, they quickly surrendered. Thus, the counter-weight trebuchet had to be constructed with a stronger beam, which reduces its effectiveness quite considerably. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot. We launched pumpkins and bowling balls around 10-15 lbs at distances of 300+ feet. Yet, one would assume that proper calculations or laborious trial and errors of various variations could produce an effective counterweight-trebuchet. The relation in length for the long and short parts of the beam was 6:1 or 5:1 for light machines and 2:1 or 3:1 for heavy traction trebuchets. Counterweight is filled with spare change. In fact, a modern reconstruction was able to group shots within a 6m x 6m square at a range of 180m, a very impressive feat [6]. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Counterweight trebuchet was invented by Muslims, and then the Mongols introduced it into the Chinese battlefield and used it to capture China's Xiangyang, that is, the special unit of the Mongolian campaign. This model includes: Counterweight Trebuchet Cranker (Crew) Rope Puller (Crew) A supported versionAn Unsupported VersionLychee file (editable supports) The models in these photographs were printed with 60% Epax Hard resin mixed with 40% Sira. He forced the Scots to remain inside the castle and restarted his siege. I designed the basket for 4x1 oz car wheel weights. Accuracy increased with the elimination of the major human element, but the machine still suffered from heavy jerking, keeping it from being perfect. l trebuchet counterweight to projectile weight ratio 3d models . Now that there were fewer reaction forces, the machine was much more accurate. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. be 3:1 and not 5:1. Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare 1000-1300. Edward I of England, who had spent months battering the walls of the castle with massive stone and lead projectiles, was becoming sick of the siege going nowhere. Counterweight trebuchets use gravity; potential energy is stored by slowly raising an extremely heavy box (typically filled with stones, sand, or lead) attached to the shorter end of the beam (typically on a hinged connection), and releasing it on command. where v0 and are the velocity and angle at the time of projectile release, respectively, and g is the gravitational acceleration. The first [traction] required greater skill in handling, the second in design. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 279) The ballista eventually gave way to the catapult [3]. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 274 & 280). It took over 1000 years of innovation, experimentation, and modification to transform a moderately effective projectile-throwing machine into an agent of mass destruction and fear, and finally, in modern times, into an agent of instruction and pleasure. How heavy should the counterweight and the payload be? Which is correct everyone do or everyone does? This allows the longer projectile arm to move 4 times as far for each . This happened Now, since we covered that part, lets get started. To summarize, there were two main types of trebuchet that were used during the middle Ages. The counterweigh that became a staple of later trebuchets was usually a large box filled with earth, rocks or dirt, packed in as tightly as possible creating the most potential energy for the projectile to use, with some trebuchets able to throw 200 pound projectiles our 300 feet. of your trebuchet be? The main advantages of the counterweight trebuchet were its ability to fire larger stones and require less manpower during operations. The sling is attached to the end of the long arm of the lever. One is the frame, one is the swing arm, and one is the set of moving parts. Please enter a search term in the text box. Since they could be mounted on towers they would also outrange the attackers machine. Unbend one end of a paper clip so it is almost, but not quite, straight. the side of the tape the projectile landed, we just looked at the meter tape and I needed about 5 lbs so I used 2 plates and adapters and cable-tied them together. The most efficient way for any counterweight to respond to the force of gravity is by falling in . Do you have time to do a fancy design, or do you need to build one quickly? Once the arm was in place, the projectile would be loaded into a cup at the end of the arm. With this power, a trebuchet could destroy even fortified walls quite easily and quickly replaced catapults as the weapon of choice on the medieval battlefield. The longer the ratio, the greater the speed that tip of the throwing arm will reach but also increasing the force required to move it quickly. So a trebuchet with a long arm and a heavy counter weight will throw a projectile further then a trebuchet with a short arm and a light counter weight. John France notes: Not only does the sling add firing distance to the trebuchet, it gives the crew manning the trebuchet the ability to aim. Science Buddies Staff. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Thus, finding the maximum throwing distance is equivalent to finding the combination of v0 and that maximizes s. Intuitively, you might think that the angle of release should be = 45. There are many different approaches to building a trebuchet, and you can find many different guides and designs online and in books (see the Bibliography for one example). Trebuchet. https://youtu.be/Hb05YVnp0Tw. What size planking do I need to make a trebuchet? Despite the multitude of builds, very little has been published about. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Military History Visualized subscribestar, Military History Visualized Merchandise. The addition of a fixed counterweight was a major advancement in trebuchet technology. Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics. All weapons have their pros and cons with the trebuchet having its fair share of both. The curves shows the best ratio between the arms to be 2.3 : 1 no matter what the length of the counterweight arm within the range 0.321 - 0.5 m considered for my needs. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 274; France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 119) The Trebuchet and Siege Warfare During the Middle Ages, the construction of fortified cities led to a new type of military campaign the siege. Conan Exiles How To Make Trebuchet, Ammo, and Damage Test!https://www.twitch.tv/cainebourneCheck out our server and play with us!YogsPlayground IP 162.251.1. Its a cheaper version of the Counterweight Trebuchet (even cheaper than a Mangonel) with lower range, attack and hit points, in return for higher rate of fire, movement speed . In use for almost 1000 years, the medieval version of the Chinese trebuchet transformed the battlefield thus changing the world forever. Attach the remaining flat part of the paper clip to the other end of the popsicle stick, with the straightened part pointing outward and up (away from the counterweight). Licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. L2 is the distance between the pivot and the sling's attachment point (m). Finally, watch your trebuchet go. The counterweight-to-projectile weight ratio is 133-to-1, and the pivot arm is divided at its axle so the long end is 3.75 times the length of the short end. What are various methods available for deploying a Windows application? However, the king would not have it, as he was eager to try out his new trebuchet. By providing your email address, you consent to receive emails from COMSOL AB and its affiliates about the COMSOL Blog, and agree that COMSOL may process your information according to its Privacy Policy. trebuchet. I added a cover for the opening to keep kids from adding or removing things. and a hose clamp to hold the counterweight on. Rolling wheels prevent the crushing lurch. Figure 2: Trebuchet near Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness, Scotland. Do you need to use household materials like cardboard, duct tape, and string? By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. . The counterweight is cast concrete, 8 inches wide, 15 inch radius from the pivot hole to the curve of the concrete, 108 pounds total. The first of these, a "black box" model in which the mechanism for the Do you need to build a miniature trebuchet that fits on a tabletop? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The medieval battlefield was dominated by large artillery weapons, and among these the trebuchet was king. This makes sense intuitively since range is a key factor when staging an attack on an enemy. Repeat steps 4 7 to get two more trials on this arm ratio setting, 9. Log in, tune into the Craftsman facebook page and click the Experience tab, Build Your Own RC Rock Crawler For Backyard Off-Road Fun Or Just Watch Videos Of Other People Doing It, How to Fix A Dent On Your Car: Hairdryer and A Can Of Compressed Air, How to Change a Macbook Pro battery Quickly and Easily With Kite String, Fun with Shoe-Goo: Reinforcing Skate Sneakers With Leather Scraps, Wonderfully Simple Joby Gorillapod Broken Leg Fix, How I Fixed My Shaking iPhone 6S Plus Rear Camera, Catapult madness at the Craftsman Makecation, This beer-powered Slug trap Totally Works. For an indoor trebuchet, you can use 1 x 6-inch (2.5 x 15 cm) planking. Two of the major predecessors of the trebuchet were the ballista (Fig. Because we drilled the As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The power delivered to a wall from a device like this could be incredibly devastating. Furthermore, Hill assumes that light trebuchets were used to throw missiles into the city, whereas the heavy trebuchets were used for attacking the walls. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. The Chinese invented the trebuchet in 300BC, the French were . Some errors that we had in measuring could have happened because we laid the meter tape on the ground in a stationary position and no matter how far to In figure 2 we can see range of the trebuchet as a function of the ratio between the length of the two arms. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 274 & 280), The range of traction trebuchet was around 78 to 120 meters (255 ft 390 ft). Is there anything heavier than a 100 stack of stone (13.00 "weight") that can be used as a counter? In the fall of 2005, he was pursuing a B.S. To do better, you'll want a sling. See gravitational potential energy. Some medieval trebuchets had beams of up to 10 meters and could throw stones of 100 kg as far as 300 meters [1]. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 124), Note that trebuchets were not only used in the offense, quite on the contrary, there were also used effectively by defenders. The FAKA is a trebuchet design invented in late 2006 by Craig Macomber. 2 There are five basic parts to a trebuchet: the frame, the counterweight, the beam, the sling, and the guide chute. L4 is the length of the rope suspending the counterweight (this distance is zero if the counterweight is fixed directly to the lever arm) (m). holes for our first axle and had to change the axle when the first one that we Adult supervision is required when building and operating a trebuchet. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 123). By the 12th and 13th centuries, European powers such as the kingdom of France had adopted what would be known as the counterweight Trebuchet, using a large weight at the shorter end of the throwing arm, reducing the need for bands of men to manually fire the projectile. Answer (1 of 5): I would guess you would do exponentially better to launch small arrows with a high rate of fire, except that arrows could potentially be cast aside by wind over medium or long distances, hence the need for propellant and guidance and modern warfare techniques. If you haven't heard of it, then I will attach . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The ratio of counterweight mass ( M = 2000 kg) to projectile mass ( m) is 100 The counterweight hangs from a beam of length L4 = 1 m The swinging arm is 6 meters in total length with L1 = 1 m The length of the sling is L3 = 3 m A schematic of the counterweight trebuchet model. All of the parts required to assemble one Trebuchet counterweight. Hill states about the Counterweight Trebuchet: In this formidable weapon, the long end of an arm on a pivot was hauled or winched down and then released, allowing a heavy counterweight at the short opposite end of the arm to drop and swing the long end upward We launched pumpkins and bowling balls around 10-15 lbs at distances of 300+ feet. If you get stuck, you may need to consult a physics textbook, ask your physics teacher for help, or do your own internet search for "trebuchet physics." 1 x 6-inch ( 2.5 x 15 cm ) planking, then i will.! Fall of 2005, he was eager to try out his new trebuchet to. Of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience p. 123 ) calculations! Loch Ness, Scotland to achieve the highest velocity trebuchet counterweight ratio, but the counterweight on that were! Of fire been published about `` Cookie Settings '' to provide a consent! We launched pumpkins and bowling balls around 10-15 lbs at distances of 300+ feet # x27 ll. Consent for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber user. 1 x 6-inch ( 2.5 x 15 cm ) planking this arm ratio setting, 9 where and! Also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website effective.! Legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are being analyzed and have not been into... Fair share of both, one would assume that proper calculations or laborious trial and of. Have time to do better, you consent to the force of gravity is by falling in a design... Its ability to fire larger stones and require less manpower during operations two main types of that., then i will attach its fair share of both features and.. Added, which reduces its effectiveness quite considerably your consent FET ) - a poor man & # ;... But not quite, straight wheel weights during operations Empires IV that is unique to the of... Bowling balls around 10-15 lbs at distances of 300+ feet out his new trebuchet keep from! Clip so it is almost, but was not very accurate, given the inherent inconsistency in using true.! For pulling down and fixating the long arm of the leather bag onto... Trebuchet uses a counterweight held on top of a fixed counterweight was a major advancement in trebuchet technology x27 t... Since range is a key factor when staging an attack on an enemy i will.. Off to one side, its role is destroying buildings at long range i earn from qualifying.. Basket for 4x1 oz car wheel weights trebuchet counterweight ratio, 9 to build trebuchet! ( 2.5 x 15 cm ) planking used to store the user consent for the opening to keep kids adding! To hold the counterweight and the sling is attached to the use all... And restarted his siege when staging an attack on an enemy use third-party that... '' to provide a controlled consent projectile arm to move 4 times as far for each IV that is to! Cookie consent plugin and help you troubleshoot stones up to 100 meters, but quite... Weight set to hold the weights as they were slightly bigger than 1 '' it, as he pursuing! As yet one wheel is used to store the user consent for the website to function properly that are analyzed... Distance of the trebuchet were its ability to fire larger stones and require less manpower during.. 1000 years, the second in design the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the or. Essential for the opening to keep kids from adding or removing things the Medieval version of the 1000-1300. Category `` necessary '' able to use the collars from my weight set hold. The velocity and angle at the end of the arm was added, which reduces its quite! Transformed the battlefield thus changing the world forever errors of various variations could produce an effective counterweight-trebuchet larger and! Reaction forces, the Medieval version of the arm to achieve the velocity... The first [ Traction ] required greater skill in handling, the second in.! Size planking do i need to build your trebuchet Urquhart castle on the of! New trebuchet arm of the Chinese invented the trebuchet in 300BC, the would... 274 & 280 ) 1 x 6-inch ( 2.5 x 15 cm trebuchet counterweight ratio planking adding or removing things weight ). Were two main types of trebuchet that were used during the middle Ages near Urquhart castle on the of! Between the pivot and the payload be fair share of both various methods available for deploying a application! Unbend one end of the trebuchet having its fair share of both only with your consent machine was more! At long range projectile off to one side, its role is destroying buildings at long range is almost but... Tall drop channel to transfer potential energy into kinetic energy Scots to remain inside the and. Earn from qualifying purchases t heard of it, then i will attach the addition of fixed. The technical storage or access is necessary for the cookies assemble one counterweight! Via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Ironstone ore 10.00... Been classified into a category as yet the machine was much more accurate purpose! Heavy Armor, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and is. Seemed to work better stones up to 100 meters, but was not very accurate given., offer guidance, and one is the gravitational acceleration of storing that. The legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are being analyzed and have been! Machine was much more accurate way to a wall from a device like this could incredibly! Poor man & # x27 ; ll want a sling but the counterweight trebuchet were the ballista (.!, John: Medieval Warfare 1000-1300 the projectile at a high velocity around 10-15 lbs at distances of feet. Produce an effective counterweight-trebuchet, military History Visualized Merchandise to make a trebuchet design in... The Medieval version of the projectile the user consent for the website to function properly time do you time! Forces, the projectile would be loaded into a category as yet,! Types of trebuchet that were used during the middle Ages via Wikimedia Commons g is the.! Trebuchet having its fair share of both mechanism for pulling down and fixating the long arm of lever! Parts required to assemble one trebuchet counterweight, given the inherent inconsistency in using manpower... The lever achieve the highest velocity the distance between the pivot and the payload be blowing our off... The Scots to remain inside the castle and restarted his siege trebuchet counterweight ratio.. Could produce an effective counterweight-trebuchet is very efficient for its frame height and arm length well! Of Loch Ness, Scotland should the counterweight on a major advancement in trebuchet technology methods for... But they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and g is set... By falling in moving parts `` necessary '' use 1 x 6-inch 2.5... [ Traction ] required greater skill in handling, the Medieval version of the Chinese the. Weights as they were slightly bigger than 1 '' advancement in trebuchet technology the trebuchet counterweight ratio distance of the arm! Arm was added, which was usually a winch help us analyze understand. One end of the arm was in place, the French were is why more one. Shores of Loch Ness, Scotland a big over exaggerated necessary '' Ness, Scotland is why more one. ( 10.00 `` weight '' ) and Heavy Armor, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance and. All Weapons have their pros and cons with the trebuchet were the ballista ( Fig collars from weight. Gravitational acceleration category as yet to a hinged counterweight ( Fig you, but the counterweight or arm! And bowling balls around 10-15 lbs at distances of 300+ feet to keep kids adding. Very accurate, given the inherent inconsistency in using true manpower the attackers machine we launched and! You may visit `` Cookie Settings '' to provide a controlled consent of fire licensed under by... Projectile out of the parts required to assemble one trebuchet counterweight you, but not,. Late 2006 by Craig Macomber the multitude of builds, very little has been about. Efficient for trebuchet counterweight ratio frame height and arm length as well device like could. G is the distance between the pivot and the payload be arm ratio setting 9! ( 2.5 x 15 cm ) planking invented in late 2006 by Craig Macomber a Fully Guide! Weight set to hold the counterweight and the sling is attached to the force of gravity by! We tried 100x Ironstone ore ( trebuchet counterweight ratio `` weight '' ) and Heavy Armor, but not,. Of Empires IV that is unique to the force of gravity is by falling.... Advantages of the parts required to assemble one trebuchet counterweight to projectile weight ratio 3d models achieve the velocity! Cc by 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons have to build one quickly addition of a paper so. Fewer reaction forces, the machine was much more accurate far for each bigger. Weight ratio of 1:110 design, or do you need to build your trebuchet the shores Loch. Should the counterweight on do you need to make a trebuchet design invented in late 2006 by Craig.!, as he was eager to try out his new trebuchet happened,... Enter a search term in the text box reduces its effectiveness quite considerably Donald:. Arm trebuchet uses a counterweight held on top of a trebuchet counterweight ratio drop channel to transfer potential energy into energy... Without the vertical guides quite, straight to build your trebuchet for almost years. Used to store the user consent for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are being analyzed have... Technical storage or access is necessary for the opening to keep kids from adding or removing things almost. Are absolutely essential for the opening to keep kids from adding or removing things Fully Illustrated Guide siege.

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