Roll shot
Roll shot (also roll cast or Gell shot ) is a shot type with early guns , the projectile, with a flat in the elevation fired, moving away gradually under lower and lower cracks on the surface. This firing technique was only applicable to older smooth-barreled guns when a concentric cannonball was fired. Guns with a rifled barrel fire long projectiles which are not suitable for this type of shot.
The terrain had to be flat or slightly sloping and hard in order for the rolling shot to succeed. Calm water surfaces and ice surfaces are also suitable. Since the terrain is rarely ideal, the shots got stuck in the soft ground or were deflected. The roll shot was therefore an unreliable shot. The cannonballs fired could be fatal up to 1,800 meters, depending on the gun and caliber.
The terrain should be known, so the application was limited to retreat and prepared positions. Another application of the roller shot was when fog or powder steam made target observation and thus an archery shot difficult.
Rollshot was used when several targets of a certain width were in a line, e.g. B. low-level troops. In a battalion 30 meters wide, the accuracy is 25 percent at 1000 meters and 20 percent at 1200 meters.
The ricochet shot is similar to the roller shot , but with a higher firing angle and lower charge.
Principle of a roller shot
literature
- C. von Sonntag: Considerations on the nature of artillery , Nast, 1828 p.127
- August Schuberg : Handbuch der Artillerie-Wissenschaft , Verlag Malsch and Vogel, 1856 p.566
- Karl Theodor von Sauer : Floor plan of the weapon theory , Verlag JG Cotta, 1869 p.477
- Journal of Art, Science and the History of War , Volume 26, Verlag CS Mittler, 1832 p.59
- Karl Eduard Pönitz : Tactics of the Infantry and Cavalry for use by officers of all degrees and weapons Volume 1, Verlag-Bureau, 1852, p. 147
- Brockhaus' Konversationslexikon , 1902–1910; FA Brockhaus in Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna, 14th edition, 1894–1896; Volume 13, p. 932