Stinkpot (weapon)

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Stinkpot (French: cruche á feu , figure 6) and launcher ( ballista , figure 5), illustration from Jean-Charles Perrinet d'Orval's essay sur les feux d'artifice pour le spectacle et pour la guerre from 1745
War  craft with a stink pot on the bowsprit (French: pot á feu (A), illustration from Ozannes Marine Militaire from 1762. The stink pot was simply dropped from the bowsprit onto smaller ships

Stinkpot (also Stinkpott , Stinkkugel or Sturmtopf ) refers to an artillery weapon that was widely used in sieges and naval battles in the early modern period until more advanced weapons were invented.

variants

There were several variants of the stinker, each with a different purpose.

Odor formation

The original version of the stink pot consisted of a fire pot usually made of clay and thus easily breakable, which was dipped in pitch and provided with one or more detonators . The pot itself could be filled with easily inflammable material as well as substances with a very strong smell ( sulfur , black powder , pitch , tallow , feces , asa foetida , various putrefaction products , arsenic methyl and the cacodyl , which self-ignites in the air, etc.) and was activated after activation the individual detonators hurled, shot, thrown, catapulted or dropped from the yards in the direction of the enemy ship deck . The use of stink pots that burned horn shavings or goat hair was tactically effective: the stench of burning horn triggers an instinct to flee in horses , which caused unrest and disorder in the opposing ranks.

When it hit the deck or another object, the clay pot broke and set the immediate surroundings on fire - at the same time, the now burning filling gave off an extremely unpleasant odor that was difficult for the human sense of smell to endure or in some cases even poisonous. The aim of this variant was therefore, in addition to the effect of the fire, to drive the enemy off the deck and to demoralize them. In a subsequent boarding battle , however , the ship's own crew was also exposed to the stench, but this could be mitigated by appropriate protective measures.

Grenade explosion

Another variant of the stink pot also consisted of the clay vessel, the filling of which was then combined with grenades and black powder as well as several fuses (fuses) laid outside the vessel. This variant was then also called the storm pot . The vessel shattered on impact and the attached fuses ignited the powder. The powder fire, in turn, ignited the inserted grenades, which splintered in all directions. During hand-to-hand combat or boarding combat, these pots, which were hung in the yards or on the outer end of the bowsprit , could cause a mess on the enemy ship and incapacitate many sailors and marines.

reception

The author Karl May referred in his story Kong-Kheou, the word of honor , which took place in China and was later published under the book title The bluish red Methuselah , to Chinese stink pots and explained their effects in a boarding battle.

literature

  • Alfred Geibig: Storm Vessels / Lime and Fire Pots . In: The power of fire - serious fireworks of the 15th – 17th centuries Century in the mirror of its neuter tradition . Art collections of the Veste Coburg, Coburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-87472-089-2 , p. 31-46 .
  • Jean-Charles Perrinet d'Orval: Essay sur les feux d'artifice pour le spectacle et pour la guerre . Paris 1745.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ the vast majority of the literature always relates to naval battles. However, the use of stink pots is also mentioned as an example in the context of the siege of Groningen in 1672 - see the autobiography of Karl Freiherr Rabenhaupt von Suche (or Sucha ) ( Bernhard von Poten :  Rabenhaupt von Suche, Karl Freiherr . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ( ADB). Volume 27, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 85-87.). The vast majority of literature relates the stink pot to "artillery art", while others relate to "fireworks art" - but both clearly refer to fighting the enemy
  2. ↑ a b Stinker . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 16 . Altenburg 1863, p. 838 ( zeno.org ).
  3. ↑ Fragrances and fragrances . In: Meyers Konversationslexikon Volume = 17. Supplementary volume . 4th edition (1885-1892). Leipzig / Vienna, p. 258 . these substances were used in Chinese stink pots
  4. ↑ Stinkpot → Stinkpott . In: Johann Georg Krünitz (Ed.): Economic Encyclopedia or general system of state, city, house and agriculture . (1773-1858).
  5. ^ A b Nicolas-Marie Ozanne: Marine militaire ou, Recueil des différents vaisseaux qui servent à la guerre, suivis des manœuvres qui ont le plus de rapport au combat, ainsi quà l'attaque et à la défense des ports . Paris 1762 (reprinted by the GDR military publishing house under the title “The War Fleet”, Berlin 1989).
  6. ↑ Alfred Geibig: Storm vessels / Lime and Fire Pots . In: The power of fire - serious fireworks of the 15th – 17th centuries Century in the mirror of its neuter tradition . Art collections of the Veste Coburg, Coburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-87472-089-2 , p. 31-46 .
  7. ↑ by equipping your own team with towels soaked in vinegar or fragrant oils that were hung in front of the face, the odor nuisance could be alleviated somewhat
  8. ↑ in Karl May : Kong-Kheou, the word of honor . First chapter: "Tsching tsching tschin!"