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Originally Posted by CutlassCollector
... It is also surprising that there is not more evidence of the use of fire projectiles to burn sails and rigging. There are some drawings of 'frisbees' and fire arrows launched from small arms but not much else. Does anyone know anything more about fire projectiles ...
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You can imagine there was quite a paraphernalia of burning devices. Listen to this episode that took place in Malaca in 1513:
The Malay junks, copied from the Chinese, were excellent ships that in terms of strength and maneuverability were in no way inferior to European ships, on the contrary. Their weak point was that they had practically no artillery, being limited to launching arrows before boarding. On the contrary, the Portuguese ships, in addition to the medium-caliber cannons that fired through the portholes on the side, had "berços", small-caliber pieces, with a high rate of fire, mounted on the rail, numerous rifles, fire spears and gunpowder pots (a kind of incendiary bombs) that sailors threw from the yards into enemy ships in order to set them on fire.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CutlassCollector
... Remember that it was very hard to sink a wooden ship with the weapons of the day. There was nothing that could penetrate below the water and any shot coming through at the waterline could be plugged with wood and canvas and warships carried ready made plugs of the diameter of common sizes of shot...
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Maybe in another time and context; one of the tricks used in the 1500's by the Portuguese was the water tight portholes below deck (read John F. Guilmartin, Jr.), enabling mid gross artillery to fire skipping over the waterline; it did work, according to chronicles. Whether the preference was not to sink the enemy's ship for own use, that would happen in different episodes ... and whether circumstances so favoured.
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