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Pilum. The pilum (Latin: [ˈpiːɫʊ̃]; pl.: pila) was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm (0.28 in) in diameter and 600 mm (24 in) long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by either a socket or a flat tang.
A sturdy pilum that does not bend upon impact would be in line with the numerous historical Roman writings that state the pilum was often used as a weapon in melee combat: For example, in "The Gallic Wars" Caesar writes that at Alesia his troops used the pila as spears or pikes. In the "Life of Pompey" and "Life of Antony", Plutarch describes ...
An NRS-2 combination knife/gun was designed and developed during the 1970s at the order of the Russian Ministry of Defence and KGB of the USSR. [5] However, the NRS-2 was not in fact a ballistic knife, but a gun hybrid (instead of launching the blade, a small barrel aligned with the blade fires a non-standard 7.62mm bullet).
The light pilum would have weighed a more serviceable 2.2 kg (4.9 lb). [49] The pilum used during the earlier period was not as sophisticated as the fully developed weapon used in the later Republic: it did not feature lead counterweights or a buckling shank until around 150 BC. [50]
The entries are grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a polearm or as a projectile), and the earliest gunpowder weapons which fit within the period are also included.
The pilum in the late Republic consisted of a pyramidal iron head atop a 60–90 centimetre long soft iron shank, which was attached to a wooden shaft. [45] Once the pilum struck a hard surface, the unhardened iron shank would buckle under the weight of the shaft; this prevented the enemy from throwing it back. The pilum's narrow point, long ...
Old Japanese weapons and other military paraphernalia, c. 1892–95 A Gilbertese shark-toothed weapon (late 19th century). Major innovations in the history of weapons have included the adoption of different materials – from stone and wood to different metals, and modern synthetic materials such as plastics – and the developments of different weapon styles either to fit the terrain or to ...
By the time the volley of pila had reached the enemy line (usually only fifteen yards distant for best effect), the legionaries were charging and very quickly at work with their swords. There was rarely any time for the foe to find a pilum, pull it out of whatever it had hit and throw it back. [9] The formation and alignment of hastati