Engineering:Pumhart von Steyr

Pumhart von Steyr
The Pumhart von Steyr in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum at Vienna
Type	Cannon Artillery
Place of origin	Liezen, Styria, Holy Roman Empire
Service history
In service	Holy Roman Empire
Used by	Habsburg
Production history
Designed	Early 15th century
No. built	1
Variants	None
Specifications
Mass	~ 8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons)
Length	2,590 mm (102 in)
Barrel length	1,440 mm (57 in)
Diameter	760–880 mm (30–35 in) (conical muzzle)
Crew	4-6
Shell weight	690 kg (1,520 lb)
Calibre	800 mm (31 in) (ball diameter)
Barrels	1
Rate of fire	1 round every 2-3 Mins
Maximum firing range	~600 m (2,000 ft)
Sights	None

The Pumhart von Steyr ("Styrian Bombard") is a medieval large-calibre cannon from Styria, Austria, and the largest known wrought-iron bombard by caliber. It weighs around 8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons) and has a length of more than 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in). It was produced in the early 15th century and could fire, according to modern calculations, an 800 mm (31 in) stone ball weighing 690 kg (1,520 lb) to a distance of roughly 600 m (2,000 ft) after being loaded with 15 kg (33 lb) of gunpowder and set at an elevation of 10°.

The bombard is today on display in one of the artillery halls of the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum at Vienna.

Besides the Pumhart von Steyr, a number of 15th-century European large-calibre weapons are known to have been employed primarily in siege warfare, including the wrought-iron Mons Meg and Dulle Griet as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette, Faule Grete and Grose Bochse.

See also

• List of the largest cannon by caliber

References

• Schmidtchen, Volker (1977a). "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit". Technikgeschichte 44 (2): 153–173 (162–164). 

Further reading

• Schmidtchen, Volker (1977b). Bombarden, Befestigungen, Büchsenmeister: Von den ersten Mauerbrechern des Spätmittelalters zur Belagerungsartillerie der Renaissance. Düsseldorf: Droste. pp. 33–34. ISBN 3-7700-0471-X.