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Heated shot or hot shot is round shot that is heated before firing from muzzle-loading cannons, for the purpose of setting fire to enemy warships, buildings, or equipment. The use of hot shot dates back centuries and only ceased when vessels armored with iron replaced wooden warships in the world's navies. It was a powerful weapon against wooden warships, where fire was always a hazard. Its use was mainly confined to shore batteries and forts, due to the need for a special furnace to heat the shot, and their use from a ship was in fact against Royal Navy regulations because they were so dangerous, although the American ship USS ''Constitution'' had a shot furnace installed, for hot shot to be fired from her carronades. The French ''Romaine''-class frigates originally also featured the device, but they proved impractical, dangerous to the ships themselves, and were later discarded.〔(La frégate de 24. ), Nicolas MIOQUE, ''Trois Ponts''〕 ==History== The idea of setting fire to enemy warships can be traced back to the ancient world, where fire arrows and early incendiary materials such as Greek fire were used. In 54 BC heated clay balls were used by the Britons to attack Roman encampments, while in medieval siege warfare, catapults were used to hurl fire balls and other incendiaries into besieged castles and settlements. * The first successful use of heated shot fired from cannon was by King Stephen Bathory of Poland in 1579 against the Russians at Polotsk. From that time on the use of heated projectiles became increasingly important, especially against the wooden warships of the period. * During the American Revolutionary War, American and French artillerymen destroyed the 44-gun British warship HMS ''Charon'' using heated shot during the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. * In 1782 during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, French and Spanish forces attempted to use large floating batteries to bombard the British defenders. The batteries were of extremely heavy construction and were considered to be invincible. However, British artillery in Gibraltar used heated shot to destroy 3 of the 10 batteries, inflicting a loss of 719 crewmen. The remaining 7 were scuttled by the Spanish due to heavy damage. * In 1792 the Austrian forces besieging Lille used heated shot against the city, which was described as a war crime by the French Republican press. * In 1801, several days after the Battle of Algeciras Bay, two Spanish ships of the line exploded, killing near 1700 sailors. According to various sources, the fire that caused the explosions of both ships originated from heated shots fired by HMS Superb. * In 1817 the original structure of Fort Gadsden was obliterated in the Battle of Negro Fort when a heated shot was used to ignite a powder magazine. The resulting explosion killed 270 and wounded countless others. * One of the last significant uses of heated shot in naval warfare occurred in 1862, at the Battle of Hampton Roads, when the CSS ''Virginia'' used heated shot to great effect against USS ''Congress'', setting her on fire. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Heated shot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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