Trebuchet competition helps Artillery troops get in touch with roots

Photo By Spc. Christopher Grammer | The trebuchet designed by Lt. Bryan Holley, Alpha Battery, fires a shot into the Persian Gulf during the trebuchet competition at Camp Patriot, Kuwait on June 13.  

06.18.2007

Story by Spc. Christopher Grammer 

50th Public Affairs Detachment

By Pvt. Christopher T. Grammer
Desert Voice staff writer

To take a castle requires time and overwhelming numbers, but unless its defenses can be penetrated, numbers will lessen and time will run out as the force collides with solid stone walls.

Trebuchets, engines of war mainly employed in the destruction of masonry walls, were originally used in the 12th century B.C. Accurate and deadly, these early forms of today's artillery were responsible for the destruction of many walled cities.

At times, diseased corpses were launched into the cities to spread disease amongst the residents as an early form of biological warfare.

After the discovery of gunpowder and the invention of the cannon, these wooden devices of warfare were obsolete and only were employed when gunpowder supplies ran out, such as Hernan Cortes' siege of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan in 1521. Cortes' trebuchet launched its first shot straight up and had it land on the trebuchet itself.

For the 2-142 Field Artillery Battalion, trebuchets are a shadow from artilleries past. To get in touch with their roots, crude trebuchets were built and pitted against each other in competition on June 13 at Camp Patriot, Kuwait.

Three batteries arrived at the competition to fire three practice shots and three recorded shots. During its first practice shot however, Bravo Battery's launching arm split in two as the force of the shot proved too much for it to handle. Two other trebuchets in the competition however successfully completed their first practice shots without incident.

Alpha Battery and Headquarters Battery completed the subsequent practice shots and were ready to see who engineered the superior siege engine and who could employ greater skill in launching their rounds.

The ammunition for the competition was cantaloupes. Not quite as deadly as the 250 pound boulders used in the past but far more efficient for being hurled into the Persian Gulf. With buoys set up to gauge distance and a crew of Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal personnel in a zodiac to record, the competition began.

Headquarters Battery fired their first shot a distance of 160 meters setting the standard for the match. Alpha Battery's response failed to top Headquarters shot, with only 58 meters.

The second shot from Headquarters beat their previous shot by five meters achieving a distance of 165 meters. Alpha Battery's second shot fell short of Headquarters again but improved its distance by almost 20 meters.

Headquarters final shot failed to gain as much distance as the first two but still went well over 100 meters by reaching a distance of 126 meters. Alpha Battery's last valiant attempt to win resulted in only 74 meters, far short of the 165 meter record for the competition set by Headquarters Battery.

After the competition was ended and the trebuchets retired, a winner was to be awarded for the victory. Lt. Col. Mike D. Merritt, battalion commander of the 2-142 FA Arkansas Army National Guard, awarded the lead builder of Headquarters battery Sgt. Cody Yancey, of the 2-142 FA with the trophy.

"It feels good representing all of Headquarters and going back to the old days of artillery," said Yancey.

Both teams had been working on their trebuchets for about two months in their spare time.

"It was easy to build," said Spc. David Hickey, one of the builders of the Alpha Battery.

"But getting it to launch the objects was more difficult."

Both teams felt positively about the competition and had fun during the event which also featured a barbecue as well as volleyball and horseshoes games. The event, meant to boost morale all while providing a little historical fun, was considered an overall success.

"It was awesome," Hickey said. "It gave us something to do with our free time other than sitting around watching movies."

All the teams involved plan on participating in the next competition slated to be held on the 4th of July. Alpha team hopes to improve on the design of their trebuchet to give it more power and give the Headquarters team a much greater challenge.

"Win, lose or draw, we all had a good time," Hickey said.

• Date Taken: 06.18.2007
• Date Posted: 06.18.2007 14:25
• Story ID: 10886