Explosive arrows in history

[jyl]

Just some random musing.

Was there ever a period in history when armies had gunpowder but not gun barrels, so that they used arrows with explosive tips?

How would you make such a thing, assuming you had the chemical technology for gunpowder but not the metal working technology for a gun or cannon. Pretend you're a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

[GWN7]

Rambo

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by jyl

Just some random musing.

Was there ever a period in history when armies had gunpowder but not gun barrels, so that they used arrows with explosive tips?

How would you make such a thing, assuming you had the chemical technology for gunpowder but not the metal working technology for a gun or cannon. Pretend you're a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Look up "Fire Arrows". They were early rocket powered arrows. Some were metal tipped, some were tipped with burning tar.

Also, bamboo poles were hollowed out, filled with a type of gun powder, which would act like a flame thrower.

Early gunpowder was not explosive. It took a while for the different formulas to develop.

[Charles Freeborn]

Interesting read on how weapons and technology formed civilizations
" Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamond.