|
Mysorean rockets were pioneering Indian weapons as they were the first iron-cased rockets that were successfully deployed for military use in the world. Hyder Ali, the 18th century ruler of Mysore, and his son and successor, Tipu Sultan used them effectively against the British East India Company. Their conflicts with the company exposed the British to this technology, which was then used to advance European rocketry with the development of the Congreve rocket. == Technology and deployment == Hyder Ali's father, the naik or chief constable at Budikote, commanded 50 rocketmen for the Nawab of Arcot. Tipu Sultan brought the concept of using sword and blade thrusted rockets in their military force to fight the advancing British army.There was a regular rocket corps in the Mysore Army, beginning with about 1,200 men in Hyder Ali's time. At the Battle of Pollilur (1780), during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, Colonel William Baillie's ammunition stores are thought to have been detonated by a hit from one of Hyder Ali's rockets, contributing to a humiliating British defeat. Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan deployed them effectively against the larger British East India Company forces during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. These 'missiles' were fitted with swords and traveled several meters through the air before coming down with edges facing the enemy. The British took an active interest in the technology and developed it further during the 19th century. The Mysore rockets of this period were much more advanced than what the British had seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile (up to 2 km range). Although rockets existed also in Europe, they were not iron cased, and their range was far less than that of their East Asian counterparts.〔Biography, Mysore History (Tipu )〕 While these hammered soft iron rockets were crude, the bursting strength of the container of black powder was much higher than the earlier paper construction; thus a greater internal pressure was possible. In battles at Seringapatam in 1792 and 1799 these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British." The areas of town where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as Taramandal Pet ("Galaxy Market"). Tipu Sultan wrote a military manual called ''Fathul Mujahidin'' in which 200 rocket men were assigned to each Mysorean "cushoon" (brigade). Mysore had 16 to 24 cushoons of infantry. The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance to the target. In addition, wheeled rocket launchers capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously were used in war. Rockets could be of various sizes, but usually consisted of a tube of soft hammered iron about long and 1.5 to 3 in (3.8 to 7.6 cm) in diameter, closed at one end and strapped to a shaft of bamboo about long. The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well-packed black powder propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards (~900 m). In contrast, rockets in Europe, not being iron cased, could not take large chamber pressures and as a consequence, were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great.〔(Tipu, Biography, Mysore History )〕 The entire road alongside Jumma Masjid near City Market and Taramandalpet, Bangalore was the hub of Tipu's rocket project where he had set up a laboratory. 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「Mysorean rockets」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|