Da Vincis Inventions of War

By: Jack Martha

Leonardo da Vinci made many inventions and famous paintings in his lifetime. He was

the most fascinated with war and military weapons. He created a lot of military weapons that led

to the most important military weapons today. Without his inventions or ideas some of the things

we have today would not exist. Many of his inventions and ideas were well ahead of his time.

One of Leonardo da Vincis most deadly inventions he made was the Giant Crossbow.

The crossbow was 27 yards across and it struck fear in opposing sides in war. The crossbow had

six wheels and three on each side for mobility. The bow was also made of thin wood so it would

be flexible. They did not launch giant arrows, they launched large stones on fire and flaming

bombs. The crossbow is a weapon that has been used for centuries and is the weapon the

Chewbacca uses in Star Wars. That is a smaller version of Da Vincis giant crossbow.

One of Da Vincis other weapons he invented was the Triple Barrel Canon. Da Vinci was

one of the best military engineer of all time. He created this cannon because he believed in the

mobility to win in war. This cannon did a lot of damage on the battle field but was also fast and

light. There were three thin canons that were loaded in the front. This cannon allowed soldiers to

load and shoot three shots at once which was a big deal because cannons before that could only

shoot one shot before reloading. What made this invention even better was that Da Vinci made it

to use gunpowder with was just invented at the time so he predicted that it would be the weapon

of choice in 19th and 20th century warfare.

Another of Da Vincis military marvels was the armored car which was the early stages of the

tank. This invention was probably the most famous of his war machines. It was designed to
intimidate and scatter an opposing army. The tank had a number of light cannons on a circular

platform with wheels that allowed the take to go in all directions. The platform is covered by a

large hard outer shell, similar to a turtles shell, which protected it. It was made of metal plates

that were slanted to deflect enemy fire. Eight men had to power the machine by turning cranks

and spinning wheels. The one flaw with was the powering cranks went in opposite directions.

Which made it impossible to move forward. Some scholars think he did this on purpose so the

tank would never been built because it would have been a very powerful weapon.

Da Vincis specialty was building weapons for war and another weapon he built was the 33-

Barreled Organ. This was built because the cannon took too long to load and fire cannons. It was

33 small caliber guns connected together. They were divided into three rows of 11 guns each and

were all connected to one revolving platform. There were large wheels attached on each side of

the platform. During the battle all the guns would be loaded and when the first row is fired they

would rotate the platform and aim the next row of guns. This is set up so one set can be firing,

another cooling and the last one loaded and ready to fire. This system helped the soldiers shoot

ammo a lot faster than it would have with cannons. This invention was the basis for the modern

day machine gun.

Another one of Leonardos inventions is scuba gear. Da Vinci was fascinated with nature

and the world around him. He invented scuba gear for sneak attacks on enemy ships from

underwater. It was a very primitive version of scuba gear. The diving suit was made of leather

and had a bag like mask that went over the divers head. Two cane tubes were attached to the

mask. The tubes also led up to a cork diving bell floating on the surface. Air came through the

tubes to the diver underwater. This invention did no become popular until the Codex Atlanticus

was published after his death.

 One of Da Vincis most famous inventions was the flying machine. He did not intend it to

be a military weapon but it eventually became a military and domestic weapon. He designed this

invention from his fascination with thinks that flies like birds and kites. The wings have pointed

ends which is very similar to a bat. The wingspan of the machine was bigger than 33 feet. The

frame was made of pine covered in raw silk. The pilot would lie down on a board in the center of

the flying machine and had to power it by pedaling a crank connected to a pulley system. It also

had a hand crank for more power. The wings would flap has the pilot turns the cranks. This

machine would never work because even if it could fly the pilot would never been able to get

enough energy to get it off the ground.

Leonardo Da Vinci was not just a great painter. He was also a great inventor and probably

one of the greatest engineering marvels of his time. He was way ahead of his time. Things that he

thought of were not created until the 1900s like the flying machine, tank, and machine gun. He

was truly a genius and rivals some of the smartest people to ever live on Earth. Without him war

would not be as high-tech and deadly as it is today.

 Works Cited

http://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/

http://www.geniusstuff.com/blogs/10-leonardo-da-vinci-inventions.htm

http://www.history.com/topics/leonardo-da-vinci