Korean Singijeon Siege Weapon

  • Medieval Asia
  • 1 min

By Crusader1307

Part of The Hwacha-Class of Siege Weapons used in Medieval Korean, The Singijeon (aka ''Shinkichon), was better known as the ''Magical Box of Arrows'' by it's contemporaries in the 14th Century AD. The Siege Weapon was specifically designed to fire hundreds of long Spears to a distance of 100 yards. The Singijeon was a gunpowder weapon, in that the projectiles used were launched by igniting blackpowder charges.

 

Each Spear (made of wood with a sharpened wooden tip), was arranged in series of (3). Each series were placed into slotted openings, resembling a ''bee's hive''. While most Hwacha Weapons required each rocket or related projectile to have separate charges, The Singijeon did not. It was a mass Melee weapon, A single ignition launched a wooden pan at the rear of the weapon. This caused a rapid upwards force sufficient to launch the mass of wooden Spears in a ''cloud'' formation. The mass of Spears were very effective against advancing, lightly armored Troops – and very harassing to the more well-armored Warriors. The design of The Singijeon would remain a part of Korean Siege Warfare until the 18th Century.