The catapult : a history

Dispelling any notion that the catapult was precision engineered in the modern sense, the author explains how a robust formulaic design allowed a variety of machines and missiles to be used for particular battlefield conditions or military tasks.

Also included are details of the author's intriguing discovery that there were little personal catapults that were used like rifles.

Although the catapult was displaced by the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, the device marks the beginning of mechanized warfare, the hallmark of modern fighting.