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A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt missile such as a stone, it is also known as the shepherd's sling to distinguish it from other meanings. The sling is not to be confused with the slingshot which works on completely different principles. The usual construction of a sling comprises a small cradle or pouch that holds the projectile in the middle of two lengths of cord. In use, both of the cords are held in the hand, the sling is swung at arms length and then one of the two cords is released thus freeing the projectile which may be propelled at great speed. The sling was used for hunting game and for combat. Today it continues to be an object of interest to sportsmen, as a survival tool and as an improvised weapon. The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ...
A missile (British English: miss-isle; U.S. English: missl) is, in general, a projectile—that is, something thrown or otherwise propelled. ...
Typical slingshot A slingshot, also called a shanghai or a catapult (not to be confused with either the catapult siege engine or shepherds sling) is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. ...
The sling in antiquity
Origins The sling is an ancient weapon, the origin of which is lost in antiquity. It is certain that slings were known to Neolithic peoples around the Mediterranean, but it seems likely that the sling is very much older. With the exception of Australia, the sling became common all over the world, although it is not clear whether this occurred because of cultural diffusion or independent invention.
Archaeology Whereas sling-bullets are common finds in the archaeological record, slings themselves are rare. This is because the materials from which slings are made are generally fragile and because slings are low-status weapons that are rarely included in a wealthy person’s grave where preservation might be more probable.
There are exceptions. The oldest known extant slings were found in the tomb of Tutankhamen who died about 1325 B.C.. A pair of finely plaited slings were found among a number of other weapons. The sling was probably intended for the departed pharaoh to use for hunting game. Image of sling from the Tomb of Tutankhamen. Tutankhamun (alternate transcription Tutankhamen), named Tutankhaten early in his life, was Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1334 BC/1333 BC - 1323 BC), during the period known as the New Kingdom. ...
Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1370s BC 1360s BC 1350s BC 1340s BC 1330s BC - 1320s BC - 1310s BC 1300s BC 1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC Events and Trends Egypt: End of Eighteenth Dynasty, start of Nineteenth Dynasty (1320 BC) Significant People 1323...
Another Egyptian sling was excavated in El Lahun in Al Fayyum Egypt in 1914 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie and now resides in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. It was found alongside the remains of an iron spearhead and thought by Petrie to date from about 800 BC. The remains are broken into three sections and not quite complete, although very fragile, the construction is clear: it is made of bast fibre (almost certainly flax) twine; the cords are braided in a 10-strand elliptical sinnet and the cradle seems to have been woven from the same lengths of twine used to form the cords. Image of the Luhn sling and reconstruction by Burgess. Al Fayyum is one of the governorates of Egypt located in the centre of the country. ...
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (3 June 1853 – 28 July 1942) was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. ...
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London is run by the Institute of Archaeology, which is part of the University of London. ...
Bast are the strong fibers in the phloem of some plants. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Binomial name Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus. ...
Step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings To braid is to interweave or twine three or more separate strands of one or more materials in a diagonally overlapping pattern. ...
A sennit is a kind of flat cordage made by plaiting thinner strands of rope or grass. ...
Ancient representations Representations of slingers can be found on artefacts from all over the ancient world. Including, on Assyrian and Egyptian reliefs, the columns of Trajan [1] and Marcus Aurelius, on coins and on the Bayeux Tapestry. Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the city of Ashur. ...
Trajans Column is a monument in Rome raised by order of emperor Trajan. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Marcus Aurelius depicted in The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, as translated by George Long Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. ...
The Bayeux Tapestry (French: Tapisserie de Bayeux) is not actually a tapestry (that is, a weaving), but is embroidery, and dates from c. ...
Written history The sling is mentioned in the Bible and provides the oldest textual reference to a sling in Book of Judges, 20:16 [2]. This text was probably written about 1000 BC but refers to events of several centuries earlier. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Michelangelos David. ...
In the Abrahamic religions, Goliath (גָּלְיָת Passage; revolution, Standard Hebrew Golyat, Tiberian Hebrew GolyÄṯ) was a Philistine warrior that lived in the 11th century BCE. He hailed from Gath, one of five ancient city states in Philistia. ...
Jump to: navigation, search The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this...
Judges (Hebrew: שּ×ֹפְטִי×) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ...
The Bible also provides the most famous slinger story: the battle between David and Goliath from The First Book of Samuel 17 [3], probably written in the 7th or 6th century BC, describing events from around the year 1000 BC. In this story, the shepherd David, unarmoured and equipped only with a sling, defeats the warrior champion Goliath with a well aimed shot. The story serves to emphasise several important aspects of the sling as a weapon: it is clearly a low-status weapon, but in the hands of an expert it is not to be underestimated. Jump to: navigation, search Michelangelos David. ...
In the Abrahamic religions, Goliath (גָּלְיָת Passage; revolution, Standard Hebrew Golyat, Tiberian Hebrew GolyÄṯ) was a Philistine warrior that lived in the 11th century BCE. He hailed from Gath, one of five ancient city states in Philistia. ...
The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: ש×ְמוּ×ֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally written in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ...
(8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC - other centuries) (700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Scythians arrived in Asia Collapse...
(7th century BC - 6th century BCE - 5th century BCE - other centuries) (600s BCE - 590s BCE - 580s BCE - 570s BCE - 560s BCE - 550s BCE - 540s BCE - 530s BCE - 520s BCE - 510s BCE - 500s BCE - other decades) (2nd millennium BCE - 1st millennium BCE - 1st millennium) The 5th and 6th centuries BCE were...
The sling is also mentioned by Homer [4] and by many other Greek authors. The historian of the famous retreat of the Ten Thousand, 401 BC, relates that the Greeks suffered severely from the slingers in the army of Mithridates, while they themselves had neither cavalry nor slingers, and were unable to reach the enemy with their arrows and javelins. This deficiency was later rectified when a company of 200 Rhodians who understood the use of leaden sling-bullets was formed. They were able, says Xenophon, to project their missiles twice as far as the Persian slingers, who used large stones. Jump to: navigation, search Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ...
The Ten Thousand were a group of mercenary units, mainly Greek, drawn up by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece (401 BC-399 BC) was recorded by...
Xenophon (In Greek , c. ...
Jump to: navigation, search The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ...
Ancient authors seemed to believe, incorrectly, that sling-bullets could penetrate armour and lead projectiles, heated by their passage through the air, would melt in flight. In the first instance, it seems likely that the authors were indicating that slings could cause injury through armour by a percussive effect rather than by penetration. In the latter case we may imagine that they were impressed by the degree of deformation suffered by lead sling-bullet after hitting a hard target.
Various ancient peoples enjoyed a reputation for their skill with the sling. Thucydides mentions the Acarnanians and Livy refers to the inhabitants of three Greek cities on the northern coast of the Peloponnesus as expert slingers. Also, as if in passing, Livy also mentions the most famous of ancient skillful slingers: the people of the Balearic Islands. Of these people Strabo writes: And their training in the use of slings used to be such, from childhood up, that they would not so much as give bread to their children unless they first hit it with the sling.[5] Bust of Thucydides Thucydides (between 460 and 455 BC–circa 400 BC, Greek Θουκυδίδης, ThoukudÃdês) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens. ...
Bust of Livy Titus Livius (around 59 BC - 17 AD), known as Livy in English, wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab urbe condita, from its founding (traditionally dated to 753 BC). ...
Jump to: navigation, search Capital Palma de Mallorca Official languages Catalan and Castilian Area – Total – % of Spain Ranked 17th 4 992 km² 1,0% Population – Total (2003) – % of Spain – Density Ranked 14th 916 968 2,2% 183,69/km² Demonym – English – Catalan – Spanish Balearic balear balear Statute of Autonomy March...
Strabo (squinty) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. ...
 A slinger from the Balearic islands (famous for the skill of its slingers). The late Roman writer Vegetius, in his work De Re Militari, wrote: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1695x2336, 2620 KB)This picture illustrates a slinger of ancient times from the Balearic islands (famous for the skill of its slingers). ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1695x2336, 2620 KB)This picture illustrates a slinger of ancient times from the Balearic islands (famous for the skill of its slingers). ...
Jump to: navigation, search Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ...
Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus) was a celebrated military writer of the 4th century. ...
De Re Militari (Latin On military matters) was a treatise of late Roman warfare that became a military guide in the middle ages. ...
- Recruits are to be taught the art of throwing stones both with the hand and sling. The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are said to have been the inventors of slings, and to have managed them with surprising dexterity, owing to the manner of bringing up their children. The children were not allowed to have their food by their mothers till they had first struck it with their sling. Soldiers, notwithstanding their defensive armour, are often more annoyed by the round stones from the sling than by all the arrows of the enemy. Stones kill without mangling the body, and the contusion is mortal without loss of blood. It is universally known the ancients employed slingers in all their engagements. There is the greater reason for instructing all troops, without exception, in this exercise, as the sling cannot be reckoned any encumbrance, and often is of the greatest service, especially when they are obliged to engage in stony places, to defend a mountain or an eminence, or to repulse an enemy at the attack of a castle or city.[6]
Combat It is clear that many ancient peoples used the sling in combat and that organised armies included specialist slingers as well as equipping regular soldiers with slings as a back up weapon. As a weapon, the sling had several clear advantages. In general, the sling with a range of some 200m could outrange the bows of the period, which were only effective up to about 100m. Modern authorities vary widely on their estimates of the effective range of ancient weapons, but ancient writers repeatedly stress the sling's advantage of range. The sling was light to carry and cheap to produce; ammunition in the form of stones was readily available and often to be found near the site of battle. The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ...
On the other hand, some modern historians have posited that unlike archers, it was probably difficult to deploy slingers in very close formation because each man requires a significant space in the line of battle and slingers cannot easily be deployed in multiple ranks. Historian Arther Ferrill has attempted to contradict this proposition by pointing out that the underhand technique (see "How to Sling" section below) would have allowed a slinger to swing his sling within a space not much larger than one needed by an archer or a comparable missile-armed warrior, and the debate remains largely unresolved to this day. An archer can easily shoot from behind protection or fortification — including downwards from the top of a wall — whereas a slinger must expose his person to the missiles of the enemy. An arrow is more likely to penetrate armour or shield. It has been said that to achieve range and accuracy with a sling required a long period of training. However, this is probably no more the case than for the bow, and when the target was a mass formation great accuracy was probably not so essential. A bow is a weapon that shoots arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow and/or its string. ...
Japanese arrow (ya) and head An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow. ...
Jump to: navigation, search A hoplite wearing (only) a helmet, breastplate greaves and a shield. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Statue showing a Gallic shield with a butterfly boss. ...
Caches of sling ammunition are frequently found at the sites of Iron Age hill forts of Europe. 40,000 sling stones were found at Maiden Castle in Southern England. It is proposed that Iron Age hill forts of Europe were designed to maximise the effectiveness of defending slingers. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...
The term hill fort is commonly used by archeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. ...
World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ...
Maden Castle from the north Maiden Castle is a hill fort, mostly dating from the Iron Age, situated 2 miles south of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. ...
The hilltop location of the forts would have given the defending slingers the advantage of range over the attackers and multiple concentric ramparts, each higher than the other, would allow a large number of men to create a hailstorm of stone. Consistent with this, it has been noted that, generally, where the natural slope is steep, the defences are narrow and where the slope is less steep, the defences are wider.
Construction A classic sling is braided from non-elastic material. The classic materials are flax, hemp or wool; those of the Balearic islanders were said to be made from a type of rush. Braided cords are used in preference to twisted rope because a braid resists twisting when placed under strain. The overall length of a sling could vary significantly and a slinger may have slings of different lengths, the longer sling being used when greater range is required. A length of about 120cm would be typical. Jump to: navigation, search Binomial name Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus. ...
U.S. Marihuana production permit, from the film Hemp for Victory. ...
Wool in a shearing shed Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, AR Wool is the fiber derived from the hair of domesticated animals, usually sheep. ...
Genera Andesia Distichia Juncus - Rush Luzula - Woodrush Marsippospermum Oxychloë Prionium Rostkovia The Juncaceae, or the Rush Family, is a rather small monocot flowering plant family. ...
At the centre of the sling, a cradle or pouch is constructed. This may be formed by making a wide braid from the same material as the cords or by inserting a piece of a different material such as leather. The cradle is typically diamond shaped and, in use, will fold around the projectile. Some cradles have a hole or slit that allows the material to wrap around the projectile slightly thereby holding it more securely; some cradles take the form of a net. Jump to: navigation, search Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ...
At the end of one cord, a finger-loop is formed; this cord is called the retention cord. At the end of the other cord it is common practice to form a knot; this cord is called the release cord. The release cord will be held between finger and thumb to be release at just the right moment. The release cord may have a complex braid to add bulk to the end, this makes the knot easier to hold and the extra weight allows the loose end of a discharged sling to be recovered with a flick of the wrist.
Ammunition The simplest projectile was the humble stone, preferably well-rounded, suitable ammunition may frequently be found in a river. The size of the projectiles can vary dramatically in size from pebbles weighing no more than 50g to fist-sized stones weighing 500g or more.
Projectiles could also be purpose-made from clay; this allowed a very high consistency of size and shape of the shot that would be an aid to range and accuracy. Many examples have been found in the archaeological record.
The best ammunition was cast from lead. Leaden sling-bullets were widely used in the Greek and Roman world. For a given mass, lead, being very dense, offers the minimum size and therefore minimum air resistance. In addition, leaden sling-bullets are small and difficult to see in flight. Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ...
In some cases, the lead would be cast in a simple open mould made by pushing a finger or thumb into sand and pouring molten metal into the hole. However, sling-bullets were more frequently cast in two part moulds. Such sling-bullets come in a number of shapes including an ellipsoidal form closely resembling an acorn - this could be the origin of the Latin word for a leaden sling-bullet: glandes plumbeae (literally leaden acorns) or simply glandes (meaning acorns, singular glans). Casting is a process by which a material is introduced into a mold while it is liquid, allowed to solidify in the shape inside the mold, and then removed producing a fabricated object, part, or casing. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Egg-shaped. ...
Other shapes include spherical and, by far the most common, resembling the shape of an almond nut - like an American football that has been squashed so that it has an elliptical rather than circular section. This shape is sometimes referred to as biconical, although this really fails to convey the subtlety of the shape. Almond shaped leaden sling-bullets were typically about 35mm long and about 20mm wide. United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ...
The ancients do not seem to have taken advantage the manufacturing process to produce consistent results; leaden sling-bullets vary significantly. The reason why the almond shape was favoured is not clear: it is possible that there is some aerodynamic advantage, but it seems equally likely that there is some more prosaic reason such as the shape being easy to extract from a mould or that it will rest in a sling cradle with little danger of rolling out.
Very often, symbols, or writings were moulded into lead sling-bullets. Examples of symbols include a stylised lightning bolt, a snake, and a scorpion - reminders of how a sling might strike without warning. Writing might include the name of the owning military unit or commander or might be more imaginative: "Take this," "Ouch," and even "For Pompey's backside" added insult to injury whereas dexa (catch!) is just sarcastic.
For example, a collection of about 80 sling-bullets from the seige of Perusia in Etruria from 41 BC is to be found in the museum there (modern Perugia). Octavian was imperator at that time and he was pursuing Mark Antony, who had sought refuge in the city. The football-shaped shot average 40 mm long and 10-15 mm in diameter. They display various messages, which were inscribed into the mold. Some identify the name and number of the slinger's legion. Others ridicule the opposing leaders' physical characteristics. Still others contain obscenity and state that the darts were aimed at the genitals of the leaders. Apparently formal religious imprecations or curses were not used. The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the twelve confederate cities of Etruria. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Etruria was an ancient country in Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium and Umbria. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Perugia (population 150,000) is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ...
Augustus Caesar The title Caesar Augustus, given to every emperor of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, originates from this person. ...
The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Bust of Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N¹) (ca. ...
Julius Caesar writes about clay shot being heated before slinging, so that it might set light to thatch.
The sling in medieval period
Europe By the middle ages the shepherd's sling was militarily extinct. The Staff sling continued to be used in sieges and the sling was used as a part of large siege engines.
The sling continued in use for the hunting of game.
The Americas
 A south American sling made of alpaca hair The sling was known throughout the Americas. [7] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1953x1253, 240 KB)Taken by Neal Grout and released into the public domain. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1953x1253, 240 KB)Taken by Neal Grout and released into the public domain. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Binomial name Lama pacos (Linnaeus, 1758) The Alpaca is one of two domesticated breeds of South American camel-like ungulates, derived from the wild guanaco. ...
In the ancient Andean civilizations such as Inca Empire slings were made from the wool of the Llama. These slings typically have a cradle that is long and thin and features a relatively long slit. Andean slings were constructed from contrasting colours of wool; complex braids and fine workmanship result in beautiful patterns. Ceremonial slings were also made; these were large, non-functional and generally lacked a slit. To this day, ceremonial slings are used in parts of the Andes as accessories in dances and in mock battles. Jump to: navigation, search A view of Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, now an archaeological site. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Binomial name Lama glama (Linnaeus, 1758) The Llama (Lama glama) is a large camelid native to South America. ...
The sling was used for hunting and warfare including attempting to resist the conquistadors. Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ...
Variants
Staff sling The staff sling, also known as the stave sling, consists of a stave (a length of wood) with a short sling at one end. One cord of the sling is firmly attached to the stave and the other end has a loop can slide off and release the projectile. Staff slings are extremely powerful because the stave can be made as long as two meters, creating a powerful lever. Ancient art shows slingers holding staff slings by one end, with the pocket behind them, and using both hands to throw the staves forward over their heads. Jump to: navigation, search A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is the xylem tissue of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ...
Jump to: navigation, search The principle of the lever tells us that the above is in static equilibrium, with all forces balancing, if F1D1 = F2D2. ...
The staff sling has a shorter range than the shepherd's sling, is less accurate and requires two hands so the user could not carry a shield. It was generally used to throw heavy projectiles. Staff slings were good siege weapons because masses of stone could be launched at fortified locations at a high-arcing angle. Jump to: navigation, search Statue showing a Gallic shield with a butterfly boss. ...
The French word is fustibale.
Kestrosphendone The kestrosphendone (also known as the kestros, cestrus or cestrosphendone) is an intriguing sling weapon mentioned by Livy and Polybius. It seems to have been a heavy dart flung from a leather sling. It was invented in 168 BC and was employed by some of the Macedonian troops of King Perseus in Third Macedonian war. The description is quite confusing: Jump to: navigation, search Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. ...
Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC - 160s BC - 150s BC140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 173 BC 172 BC 171 BC 170 BC 169 BC - 168 BC - 167 BC 166 BC 165...
The Third Macedonian War (171 BC - 168 BC) was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. ...
- The so-called cestrus was a novel invention at the time of the war with Perseus. The form of the missile was as follows. It was two cubits long, the tube being of the same length as the point. Into the former was fitted a wooden shaft a span in length and a finger's breadth in thickness, and to the middle of this were firmly attached three quite short wing-shaped sticks. The thongs of the sling from which the missile was discharged were of unequal length, and it was so inserted into the loop between them that it was easily freed. There it remained fixed while the thongs were whirled round and taut, but when at the moment of discharge one of the thongs was loosened, it left the loop and was shot like a leaden bullet from the sling, and striking with great force inflicted severe injury on those who were hit by it. [8]
The exact construction of the Kestrosphendone remains somewhat mysterious. However, experimental reconstructions based on the available information have resulted in quite spectacular results. None-the-less, the Kestrosphendone did not stand the test of time and seems to have been abandoned quite quickly.
Catapults The onager is a torsion powered siege engine which uses the energy stored in a mass of twisted ropes to rotate what was, essentially, a staff sling. The onager was a post-classical Roman siege engine, which derived its name from the kicking action of the machine, similar to that of an onager (wild ass). ...
The trebuchet is a gravity powered siege engine which uses the energy stored in raised weight to rotate what was, again, a staff sling. Some trebuchets were small and operated by a very small crew; however, unlike the onanger, it was possible to build the trebuchet on a gigantic scale: such giants could hurl enormous rocks at huge ranges. Jump to: navigation, search Trebuchet at Château des Baux, France A trebuchet (IPA: , or , also sometimes called a trebucket IPA: , < Old French trebuchet < trebucher to throw over < tres over, beyond and buc torso < Latin trans and a Germanic word) is a medieval siege engine, a weapon employed either to...
Slings today The sling is used today as a weapon primarily by violent protestors, launching either stones or incendiary devices, such as Molotov cocktails. The Finns made use of sling launched Molotov cocktails in the Winter War against Soviet tanks. An incendiary device is a device or weapon designed to create a fire. ...
Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ...
Jump to: navigation, search The Winter War (also known as the Soviet-Finnish War or the Russo-Finnish War) broke out when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939, three months after the start of World War II. As a consequence, the Soviet Union was expelled from the...
Jump to: navigation, search State motto (Russian): Пролетарии вÑех Ñтран, ÑоединÑйтеÑÑŒ! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Area - Total - % water Largest on the planet 22,402,200 km² ?% Population - Total - Density 3rd before collapse...
The sling is of interest to athletes interested in, for example, breaking distance records. The best modern material is a polyester twine (trade name Dacron). Dacron is strong, smooth, immune to moisture and never rots. Jump to: navigation, search Close-up of a polyester shirt SEM picture of a bend in a high surface area polyester fiber with a seven-lobed cross section Polyester is a category of polymers, or, more specifically condensation polymers, which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. ...
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the current record for the greatest distance achieved in hurling an object from a sling is: 477.10m (1565ft 4in), using a 127cm (50in) long sling and a 62g (21/4oz) dart. This was achieved by David Engvall at Baldwin Lake, California, USA on 13 Sep 1992. The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ...
Slings of tomorrow The principle of the sling is simply too good to go away. Various methods have been proposed for tether propulsion systems for spacecraft and many of these are slinging on a grand scale. Artists conception of satellite with a tether Tether propulsion uses long, strong strings (known as tethers) to change the orbits of spacecraft. ...
How to sling For a conventional throw, one does not make multiple rotations of the sling, a proper slinging action requires just one rapid rotation. The more times you swing it, the less likely you'll hit anything.
(Some slingers will rotate the sling slowly once or twice to seat the projectile in the cradle.)
One makes an overhand throw, using the sling to extend one's arm. The motion is similar to bowling a cricket ball. This is relatively accurate, instinctive and quite powerful. One faces 60 degrees away from the target, with one's weak hand closest to the target. The coordinated motion is to move every part of the body, legs, waist, shoulders, arms, elbows and wrist in the direction of the pocket in order to add as much speed as possible to the stone. One releases the projectile near the top of the swing, where the projectile will proceed roughly parallel to the surface of the earth.
Another method of release said to be favoured by slingers firing into grouped or massed targets is an underhand throw. The motion is similar to that of throwing a softball. The trajectory arc is relatively high. The thrower stands 60 degrees away from the target, and takes one step forward from the trailing foot, letting the sling swing forward. Range is said to be increased with this method, sacrificed for accuracy. Several historians have conjectured that this was the most commonly used method in ancient warfare due to its practicality.
There are also sideways releases, in which the swing goes around. These throws make it very easy to miss the target by releasing the projectile at a slightly wrong time. Other slinging methods can be seen, but many authorities deprecate them.
The clumsiest part of using a shepherd's sling is to regain control of the release cord. Conventionally, the loop of the retention cord is placed around a finger of the strong hand. Several projectiles may be held in the weak hand. After the release, an expert will continue the motion. The cradle will catch around a stone held out with the weak hand, so that the end of the release cord swings back to the strong hand retaining the loop. Just after the knot begins to swing, slightly before the knot reaches the strong hand, one drops or throws the projectile toward the ground with the weak hand, starting into the next release. Some persons braid the end of the release cord around a weight to help perform this manoeuvre. With this method, a skillful user can throw an aimed stone every few seconds in a cyclic coordinated movement, until the weak hand is empty.
See also Jump to: navigation, search The atlatl, or spear thrower, is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to temporarily store elastic energy during the throw. ...
Jump to: navigation, search The tail end of a Swiss arrow. ...
External links - Slinging.org resources for slinging enthusiasts.
- Sling Weapons The Evolution of Sling Weapons
- The Sling - Ancient Weapon
- Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, Joseph Strutt, 1903.
Further reading - The balistics of the sling, Thom Richardson, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Volume 3 1998.
- An Ancient Egyptian Sling Reconstructed, E. Martin Burgess 1958, Journal of the Arms and Armour Society, 2.10 June:226-30.
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