Mysorean rocket | |
---|---|
![]() A Mysorean soldier, using his rocket as a flagstaff (Robert Home, 1793/4). | |
Type | Rocket |
Place of origin | Kingdom of Mysore |
Service history | |
Used by | King Hyder Ali and King Tipu Sultan |
Wars | Anglo-Mysore Wars |
Specifications | |
Length | 200 mm (7.9 in) |
length | 1,000 mm (39 in) |
Diameter | 38–76 mm (1.5–3.0 in) |
Crew | 1 |
Propellant | Black powder |
References |
Mysorean rockets were an Indian military weapon. The iron-cased rockets were successfully deployed for military use. They were the first successful iron-cased rockets, developed in the late 18th century in the Kingdom of Mysore (part of present-day India) under the rule of King Hyder Ali.[1] The Mysorean army, under King Hyder Ali and his son King Tipu Sultan, used the rockets effectively against the British East India Company during the 1780s and 1790s. According to James Forbes Marathas also used iron-encased rockets in their battles.[2] Their conflicts with the company exposed the British to this technology further, which was then used to advance European rocketry with the development of the Congreve rocket in 1805.[3][4]
The war rocket used by the Mahrattas which very often annoyed us, is composed of an iron tube eight or ten inches long and nearly two inches in diameter. This destructive weapon is sometimes fixed to a rod iron, sometimes to a straight two-edged sword, but most commonly to a strong bamboo cane four or five feet long with an iron spike projecting beyond the tube to this rod or staff, the tube filled with combustible materials
Roddam
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search