Rikoshot

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In the case of a rikoschett shot (from French ricocher , “bounce”), also a bounce shot and earlier temporarily enfilier shot (from French enfiler , “line up” or “thread in”), a projectile (often a cannonball ) is fired so that it is in the target area hits at a flat angle and ricochets (rikochetted). This effect was deliberately used in the artillery of the 18th and 19th centuries, either to achieve a greater range than would normally have been possible, or to achieve a greater effect through multiple impacts of the bullet on the target.

definition

If a ball or a solid ball hits hard ground with a flat trajectory, it bounces off and jumps into the air again at a (slightly) steeper angle, with each subsequent jump being shorter than the previous one. This rule also applies to cannonballs. However, the first guns - just like the siege machines of the Middle Ages - mostly fired stone balls, which were mainly due to their weight and often shattered on impact with a hard target, so that the rebound shot only after the introduction of cast iron cannon balls (shortly before 1500) was observed more often. Since the success or the effect of a bounce shot depends on several unpredictable parameters, such a shot can seldom be reproduced exactly: For example, if a bullet hits a field, it behaves depending on whether it has been plowed beforehand and in which direction whether the affected area is wet or dry. Since a bounce shot is highly dependent on chance (i.e. primarily on the current soil conditions in the target area), it was hardly consciously attempted for a long time, even if its devastating effect was observed again and again.

The riketting

As early as the 16th century, during sieges, attempts were made to “enfilade” the parapet of the ramparts (that is, to line the rampart lengthways). During the sieges of Maastricht (1673) and Philippsburg (1688), the French marshal Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban had special "rikosetting batteries" installed for the first time and tried to convince the artillerymen to shoot only flat in the longitudinal direction over the parapet. However, the gunners found this too difficult and ineffective, so that he met passive resistance in both cases. Therefore, Vauban then had shooting attempts carried out until the cannonball regularly bounced up again in a low arc with a very flat shot and with significantly reduced propellant charges. Even so, regular rikowetting could only be achieved up to a distance of about 500 to 700 paces; At greater distances, either stronger propellant charges were required, which caused the balls to jump back up into the air after the impact, or larger tube elevations were necessary, with which the balls then usually bored into the earth without ricocheting.

This technique became widely known through the siege of Ath (1697), during which Vauban managed to silence the artillery of the fortress in just 24 hours with the help of ricocheting. In order to counter this new danger, the gun positions on the ramparts of most of the fortresses in Europe were subsequently fitted with high traverses , and with the introduction of the polygonal system (around 1820) the risk of rikosetting was largely averted in fortress construction.

During the 18th century the technique of ricocheting was systematically developed, primarily by the French artillery through numerous attempts. In the other armies, on the other hand, this method was not very well received, as it was believed that the effort required for it was out of proportion to the success (in the middle of this century a number of shooting attempts were also carried out in Germany). Therefore, the artillery of most German states used in sieges rather howitzers to enfilade Wall lines even better satisfied with their grenades at longer distances this purpose, and was in the battle against infantry on shorter distances the grapeshot preference.

See also

References and comments

  1. ↑ Brockhaus' Konversationslexikon. Volume 13, FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1908, p. 886.
  2. ^ Riistow: Military concise dictionary. 1859, sv trajectory
  3. ^ Riistow: Military concise dictionary. 1859, sv trajectory [1]
  4. ^ Delbrück: History of the art of war. Volume IV, 1920, p. 41ff.
  5. ^ Bernhard von Poten : Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences. 1879, sv rikochettieren and sv rikochettschuß
  6. ↑ the upper limit with which the bullets can hit the ground if they are to bounce off again is about 7 degrees (Hoyer: General Dictionary of War Architecture. Sv Rikoschettbatterie) - This number may vary with other authors; it depends on several factors, such as the type and composition of the soil, the size of the sphere, etc.
  7. ↑ Hoyer: General dictionary of war architecture. sv rikoschett battery
  8. ^ Bernhard von Poten : Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences. 1879, sv rikochett battery
  9. ^ Bernhard von Poten : Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences. 1879, sv rikochett shot

literature

  • Georg Ortenburg, Siegfried Fiedler: Armies of the modern age. 10 volumes, Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1984–93, ISBN 3-7637-5813-5 .
  • Carl Ramsauer: About the ricochet shot. Dissertation 1903 ( digitized version )