Cutlass
| Cutlass | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Axe |
| Designations: | Boarding ax, boarding ax |
| Use: | Weapon, tool |
| Creation time: | around 17th century |
| Working time: | around 17th to 19th century |
| Region of origin / author: |
England , Royal Navy |
| Distribution: | Worldwide |
| Handle: | Wood |
| Lists on the subject | |
The boarding ax (Engl. Boarding Ax ) is a maritime weapon.
description
The cutlass has a heavy, single-edged blade. The cutting edge is crescent-shaped. A curved, pointed blade is attached to the back of the blade. The ax head is attached to the wooden shaft with springs. The end of the shaft (knob) is made wider so that the cutlass cannot easily slip out of the hand during use. The boarding hatchet was developed by the English Royal Navy in order to have a defensive weapon against the boarding attacks occurring at the time. The cutting edge is used to cut ropes on grappling hooks ( Enterdregge ) and enternets. The blade on the back of the blade was used to be struck into the side of the opposing ship in order to climb onto the ship's deck using the axes. Both parts of the ax blade were used as weapons in combat. In combat it served as a secondary weapon in addition to the cutlass . There are different versions, each constructed in the country in which these axes were used. They were in use until the 19th century.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Enterbeil in Pitt River's Museum , (accessed December 13, 2009)
literature
- Grant Uden, Richard Cooper, A dictionary of British ships and seamen , Allen Lane, 1981, page 54, ISBN 978-0-7226-5242-8
- Nigel Cawthorne, A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas , Book Sales, 2004, page 111, ISBN 978-0-7858-1856-4
- Spencer Tucker, The Jeffersonian gunboat navy , University of South Carolina Press, 1993, p. 203, ISBN 978-0-87249-849-5
- Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Victory Vs Redoutable: Ships of the Line at Trafalgar 1805 , Verlag Osprey Publishing, 2008, page 39 f., ISBN 978-1-84603-134-2
