A Brief Illustrated History of Machines and Mechanisms by Emilio Bautista Paz Marco Ceccarelli Javier Echávarri Otero & José Luis Muñoz Sanz

Author:Emilio Bautista Paz, Marco Ceccarelli, Javier Echávarri Otero & José Luis Muñoz Sanz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht

On War Machines

The notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) in the “Atlantic Codex” and other manuscripts show several war machines that were designed around 1490. A particularly outstanding model is reported in Fig. 5.2 showing a scythe chariot that was designed to prevent the enemy getting near it.

Fig. 5.2Scythe chariot from the “Atlantic Codex” [132]

It is interesting to see how simplicity of design can create a powerful weapon driven by two horses. The chariot wheels have radial hooks to grip the ground and, simultaneously, they start a series of gears and transmission shafts until the movement reaches a rear blade and a front rotary cross-blade. Thus, a defence system is formed on all four sides of the machine.

The catapult is a war machine that had been well known since Antiquity, as we have seen in the chapter devoted to China (Chapter 2), but it was also studied in-depth by Leonardo. Its new design was not based so much on changing the aesthetics of the device, but on changing its mechanics. His study on springs led him to design a new catapult with a better performance than those built up to that time.

According to Fig. 5.3, when the spring is loaded, the two wooden arms bend towards each other, generating tension and operating a crank that takes up the rope. When the device is ready, the handle is released to launch the projectile on the spring. What made the catapult more effective and suited to long-range launches was the stiffness of the springs. Moreover, Leonardo designed a system that made it easy to load the projectile without excessive force by designing a lever operating the spring movement without the side rods and spokes impairing that movement.

Fig. 5.3Catapults, from the “Atlantic Codex” [132]

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