Elenco Multiple Sling - Manual (Page 22)

20
Multiple Sling
Leonardo da Vinci’s idea was to
build a very powerful machine
which could throw eight large
projectiles at the same time.
He positioned eight long arms in a
circle around a central pin, each of
which had a sling capable of
throwing a projectile attached to it.
This kind of project, where weapons
were developed to hurl multiple
projectiles to be more powerful, was common in Da Vinci’s time, because
doing this meant creating more powerful weapons, simply by increasing their
number and power, without the need to develop new building techniques and
using familiar materials. They were therefore potentially attractive weapons
because they were powerful, but they were also relatively inexpensive.
Ship’s Cannon with Shield
The prow of the ship and the cannon are
protected by a wooden shield. Leonardo
da Vinci studied this subject closely,
identified the weak points and
invented his own version with
many more functions. First, he
concentrated on the structure of
the vessel which needed to be
reinforced and keep the cannon
firmly in the middle. The shield,
which previous engineers had
shown as being immobile and almost temporary, in Da Vinci’s drawing was
split in two and became part of the structure and mobile. A system of ropes
and pulleys keeps the shields raised to protect the ship. Once the winches are
locked, the weight of the shields themselves causes them to rotate outwards to
uncover the cannon which can then fire.
DV017
DV018