Artillery and The First Firearms – Royal Armouries DVD
This DVD is part of the Royal Armouries’ Arms in Action series that was shown on TV.
ARTILLERY: The destructive force of gunpowder appears to have been first understood in Europe at the beginning of the 14th century.
This film charts the story of how uncertain beginnings artillery came to dominate the battlefields and oceans of the world. It became the greatest man-killer known in military history – such a frighteningly efficient killing machine that despite all the technological advances of the 20th century, despite all the new and ferociously powerful weapons that have been developed, nothing has superseded the big gun.
The film includes unique footage of the making and testing of three replicas: the earliest European cannon, which fired arrows; a wrought-iron breechloader and a cast bronze cannon from King Henry VIII’s warship Mary Rose.
FIREARMS: It took some 200 years from the first use of the gun in Europe to produce a battle winning weapon. This film explores what it was that at the end of the Middle Ages made firearms so much more effective that they changed the course of world history, for ever.
The film also considers how the gun’s sudden success unleashed an explosion of effort to make it even better, more reliable, more accurate and faster shooting. It shows guns of different periods being made and used for war, hunting and self-defence.
Running time 61 mins
