Fire shirt
Fire shirt (also fire shirt , sulphurous shirt , English : Fire-Chemise or Curtain (s) , French : Chemise soufrée or Chemise á feu ) describes an early unconventional explosive and incendiary device .
history
The fire shirt is a naval warfare weapon that was mainly used in the age of sailing ships. It was also used in the fortress war under other names such as fire cloth. The use of fire shirts has been documented in the context of fireboat operations .
material
The material composition of the fire shirt as an incendiary device varies according to the sources. The basic material of the fire shirt was usually a piece of cotton cloth, for which a piece of canvas was usually used in practice. Well-known ingredients are fire starters , fire accelerators and mixtures that are difficult to extinguish . In English-language literature, the fire shirt is also described as a cloth soaked with flammable substances and provided with rosin , sulfur , pitch, tallow and ground black powder . Other terms such as "sulphurized cloth" or Dutch : "Zwavel shirt" are derived from the use of sulfur in particular .
application
The fire shirt was used by pinning or nailing and igniting to wooden enemy hulls. Some sources state that the incendiary devices were ignited by gunfire. It should be pointed out here that a shot is understood to mean "the firing of a firearm [...] either just with powder [...] or loaded with projectiles ". It is known that in conventional to the time the guns Steinschlosspistole was used as Zündgeber. Flintlocks were also used as an ignition mechanism in contemporary lighters .
Literature / sources
- Johann-Christoph Adelung , attempt of a complete grammatical-critical dictionary of the High German dialect, with constant comparison of the other dialects but especially the Upper German, Volume 1, p. 1152, Christoph Breitkopf und Sohn Verlag, Leipzig, 1793, ( online , accessed on 20 September 2012)
- Gottfried Erich Rosenthal : Encyclopedia of War Studies: This is: war art, war architecture, artillery, miniature art, pontoon fireworks art and tactics of their history and literature in alphabetical order, 5th volume, p. 287, Karl Wilhelm Ettinger Verlag, Gotha, 1800
- Eduard Bobrik : General nautical dictionary with factual explanations, S 560., 1850, Leipzig
- Pierer's Universal Lexikon, 4th edition 1857–1865, Altenburg, Volume 6, p. 240, ( online , accessed on September 20, 2012)
- Charles James: A new and enlarged military dictionary, Volume 1, 3rd Edition, T. Egerton Military Library, London, 1810
- James Cutbush : A system of pyrotechny: comprehending the theory and practice, with the application of chemistry, designed for exhibition and war, p. 511, Philadelphia, 1825
- Latest state files and documents in monthly booklets, Volume 14, p. 392, Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1829.
- Matthäus von Collin , Friedrich von Gentz : Yearbooks of Literature, Volume 63, P. 15, Vienna, 1833
Footnotes
- ↑ after Adelung
- ↑ after Bobrik
- ↑ Österreichischer Beobachter, 1816, tenth volume, page 1535 online preview
- ↑ after James
- ↑ after Cutbush
- ↑ after James
- ↑ after Cutbush
- ^ To Rosenthal
- ↑ after Pierers
- ↑ Pierer's Universal Lexikon, Volume 15. Altenburg 1862, pp. 477–478 online , accessed on September 21, 2012
- ↑ Frank Gnegel flintlock lighters