martin goddard  | 30 Mar 2015 12:18 p.m. PST |
am building this iconic bomb thrower for the late war WW1 French. There seems to be only one picture of it. It look like a big vehicle suspension strut being pulled back . But how does it work, What are the mechanics etc. Otherwise i will need to sculpt it in th same pose a the picture. Web picture at L'Aralete la Sauterelle Type A thanks martin |
| martin goddard | 30 Mar 2015 12:21 p.m. PST |
Not a good link. Sorry. Try forgotten weapons .com
martin
|
| MajorB | 30 Mar 2015 1:05 p.m. PST |
I think Martin means this:
|
| martin goddard | 30 Mar 2015 1:32 p.m. PST |
Almost. It is a single large strut which a chap puling bak on. The strut is higher than the man. martin |
| skippy0001 | 30 Mar 2015 1:49 p.m. PST |
|
| Sergeant Paper | 30 Mar 2015 9:16 p.m. PST |
It is an arbalest. Think 'crossbow that has a cup/pouch to hold a bomb' (like a big stonebow).In the picture, the guy holding it has his right hand by the crank, and the cord goes up to the back of the pouch/cup. See this picture?
the closer one has been cranked back and a bomb loaded while the one behind appears to be just releasing. |
| martin goddard | 31 Mar 2015 3:39 a.m. PST |
Great stuff but not all of it yet. Imagine one long arm of 8ft length. Bend it back against it's natural curve. thanks martib |
| MajorB | 31 Mar 2015 10:57 a.m. PST |
Great stuff but not all of it yet. Imagine one long arm of 8ft length. Bend it back against it's natural curve. I don't understand your comment Martin. You asked about the L'Aralete la Sauterelle Type A. We have found two pictures of it as shown above and both indicate that it is basically a giant crossbow. The "long strut" you talk about is the "stock" of the weapon. It doesn't bend. And it's not 8ft long either. In fact if you look closely at the picture provided by Sergeant Paper you can see that on the one at the back there are two forward facing struts. In the one at the front these are bent towards the middle. It is these that are providing the torsion to make the thing work. Or are you really talking about some other weapon? |
| Supercilius Maximus | 31 Mar 2015 11:29 a.m. PST |
How was the grenade primed – did you "pull the pin" and then pop it into the cup, or was the pin extracted by the act of launching? |
| martin goddard | 31 Mar 2015 11:40 a.m. PST |
Maybe i am talking about another weapon but that was the site title. Sorry for any confusion chaps! martin |
| Sergeant Paper | 31 Mar 2015 10:25 p.m. PST |
From the website: The maximum range of the Arbalete was about 125 meters. It was intended to be mounted at a 45 degree angle against a trench wall, and different ranges could be chosen by using a sliding stop on the track that the grenade and cup traveled on. That track was marked out with a scale, and the instruction plaque on the left side of the weapon specified where to place to stop for a given grenade weight and desired range. Once it was properly set, the gunner (ideally a 2-man team, but it could be operated solo) would use the hand cranks to drawn the grenade cup back to the stop. Then he would set a grenade in the cup, strike its friction igniter, and pull the release trigger on the Arbalete to let it fly. The official rate of fire was 4 rounds per minute, and the whole assembly weighed 29kg (64 lb). |
| Sergeant Paper | 31 Mar 2015 10:32 p.m. PST |
Martin, what you describe (single long arm) sounds more like a catapult design. If you Google "WW1 grenade catapult" you will find some wild and wonderful catapult grenade throwers. |
| martin goddard | 01 Apr 2015 3:35 a.m. PST |
Thanks for all the work chaps martin |
| Lion in the Stars | 06 Apr 2015 11:45 a.m. PST |
WW1 has so many bizarre weapons that weren't even field improvisations! |
ponders nirvana.
