Pirate Weapons
The pirate cutlass in swashbuckling lore is perhaps one of their most popular weapons. According to legend, buccaneers invented the cutlass, but this may not be factual. It is said to have evolved from the long knives used by the early buccaneers to butcher their meat. It had a blade length of about two feet, and was slightly curved with a single edge. Strong enough to hack through heavy ropes, canvas, or flesh and bone. It's short broad blade proved to be an ideal tool for hand to hand fighting in the confined area of a ship. Making this sword a favorite weapon among Caribbean pirates in the 17th and 18th century. The cutlass was so successful it was copyed by many naval forces around the world.
The broadsword and cavalry sword may also have seen limited use. These swords weighed around four pounds, and were about forty inches in length. Broadswords had either a straight heavy blade with a double edge, or a slightly curved blade. The cavalry sword had a curved single edged blade that was designed for slashing. There size and the confined area aboard ships made it difficult to use these large heavy swords efficiently. However, the infamous pirate Blackbeard meet his end in battle when he was hacked to death and decapitated by a broadsword. Pirates could also have had the blades shortened on any of these longer swords to adapt them to shipboard service as needed.
Common and popular on ships for fighting fires and boarding parties alike. It was used by pirate crews as often as the cutlass. The boarding axe helped pirates climb the high wooden sides of a large ship. It was also very useful in cutting through the rigging lines, bring down the enemy ships sails. The boarding axe weighed around four pounds, and was roughly two to three feet in length. They were a handy tool in opening closed doors and hatches while boarding. The axe was used effectively as a deadly hand to hand fighting tool as well.
These proven weapons had been used for centuries by many countries. When in range, the bow and arrow could be used by the pirates to pick off personal from the decks and rigging of the victims ship before boarding. The bow was eventually replaced by the developement of firearms. The effective range of the bow as compared to firearms at that time varied. Due in part to the skill of the user, and the quality of the firearms of the period. However, the bow could be difficult to accurately use aboard moving ships unless the wind and seas were relatively calm.
The blunderbuss was much like the musketoon in that it was a close range weapon. Some fired a very large ball. While most were loaded with a cluster of pistol balls, nails, glass or just about anything else that was in good supply. It was very deadly with these anti-personnel loads, and could mame and kill several people with a single blast. The blunderbuss weighed between ten and sixteen pounds, and was two to three feet in length. It had a large barrel bore diameter of around two inches. The barrel was flared outward at the end like a funnel. This odd looking flare design was supposed to help give the gun a wider shot patten. It was truely the crude shotgun type weapon of it's time, with a wide short range that could cause havoc on the crowded deck of a ship. One of the major problems with all firearms of this period, was that if the gunpowder got wet the gun would not fire correctly. And trying to keep a gun dry aboard a ship at sea could be very difficult.
A favorite weapon among pirates for it's small size and light weight. An ideal weapon for personal defence and in boarding enemy ships. The firing mechanism was exactly like the larger flintlock rifles. Most fired a single shot and were loaded through the front of the barrel. Reloading was such a lengthy process that pirates would often carry several pistols and various bladed weapons into battle. Blackbeard was known to have carried six pistols, and Bartholomew Roberts was said to wear four pistols. These pistols were sometimes tied to their belts with silk cords to avoid dropping them overboard during a boarding attack. There was a variety of pistol sizes used by the pirates. Some prefered to carry larger ones that weighed around five pounds, and were roughly twelve to eighteen inches in length. Others carried smaller pistols that weighed about four pounds, and were six to ten inches long. These smaller pistols were normally not as accurate as the larger ones and caused less damage. But a pirate could carry more small pistols.
There were other multi-barreled pistols that were designed to fire several barrels at the same time. These were called volley guns or duct foots. They normally had four or more barrels that were angled slightly to spread out the shots patten when they all fired at once. (Think of it as a sort of mini hand held shotgun.) Only effective at very close range, these pistols were not produced in any great numbers, and were not as popular as the other pistols of the time. Pocket pistols on the other hand were becoming more popular with the gentlemen and ladies of Europe. Designed to be easily carried and concealed, these convenient little pistols could be quite deadly. They were generally single shot, 'derringer' sized, muzzle loaded flintlock pistols. All were meant to be used at extremely close range.
There were several different sizes and types of ship cannon. These guns also fired a variety of shot types. By the end of the 17th century, cast-iron had replaced bronze as the most common metal used in making cannon. This material made it much easier and less expensive to produce them in large numbers. Cannon usually required a crew of three or four men to effectively fire and reload. Taking a couple of minutes for a trained crew to repeat the firing process. It took a lot of practice and training for a gun crew to be effective. In later guns, a flintlock firing mechanism began to replace the slow burning match and touch hole. This proved to be a safer and more reliable method of fire. It worked by pulling a lanyard to activate the firing mechanism. The main guns were normally placed along the sides of a ship. Battle tactics for attacking another ship were usually a broadside style attack. This required a ship to expose it’s side cannons to the enemy ship, then fire all of these guns repeatedly.
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ROUND SHOT The standard iron cannonball. They were made in several common sizes but because of production quality, no two were exactly the same. These relatively loose fitting balls were not very accurate at long distances. But they could travel farther then other types of shot, making them a popular round at medium to long ranges anyway, especially in a defensive role. The cannonball would have been used at close range for it's overall destructive effects. Damaging enemy cannons, crew, masts, and particularly a ships hull in an attempt to sink it. They were also used against shore fortifications. BAR & CHAIN SHOT These odd looking shots consisted of two cannonballs or two halves of a ball attached together either by iron bars or chains. They were designed specifically to damage a ships rigging and sails. These shots could cause major damage, wrapping around masts and reducing them to splinters, or taking out whole sails by simply ripping them to shreds. This type of shot was generally not very effective against a ships hull, and did not have the range of a standard cannonball. BUNDLE SHOT This was simply several short iron bars bundled together with a length of rope. The bundles were custom made to fit snugly inside each cannon. When fired, the rope would loosen and the iron bars would begin to spread apart. Once these bars hit something they would begin to tumble, creating devastating damage to flesh and bone, or wood and sail. Bundle shot was said to be quite impressive when used at relatively close distances. GRAPE & CANISTER SHOT Small iron balls about three quarters of an inch in diameter were packed in bags and used as grapeshot. The bag disintegrated when the powder ignited releasing a cluster of balls in a wide shot pattern. This load was very deadly against crewmen at extremely close range, and often used to repel boarders. Canister shot had a large metal container that was filled with gravel, nails, or musket balls. The container would burst when fired and scatter its lethal contents similar to grapeshot. Canister was more effective than grapeshot at closer ranges and began to replace it during the 1800s. SANGRENEL This anti-personnel round was basically a cloth bag filled with small jagged pieces of scrap iron. The bag disintegrated when the round was fired sending jagged bits of metal flying forward in a rain of destruction and terror. The wounds it could produce were horrible and there was little possibility of removing the jagged metal pieces from a body without causing even more bodily damage. Sangrenel like other anti-personnel loads was mainly used the most effectively at very close range. EXPLOSIVE SHELLS & HOT IRON SHOT These two specialty rounds came into use at the height of the great age of sail. An explosive hollow cannonball fitted with a crude fuse that was lit just before it was fired. The intent was for the shell to explode when it reached the enemy ship. Timing was critically important to be effective, and also to not have it blow up in one’s face. The hot iron shot was heated to a red hot condition just before being fired. The purpose of using this shot was to set the victims ship on fire. This type of round could be dangerous to a gun crew, as the heat of the shot inside the cannon could cause the gunpowder to ignite prematurely. |
Swivel guns or Patarero were small cannon that were mounted on swivels along the railing of a ship. They were mainly used against personnel on the deck of an enemy ship before boarding, or in a defensive role to repel boarders. The guns were generally loaded with grapeshot just before battle. Then lifted into there swivel socket mounts which were strategically located around the railing of the ship. This allowed the guns to be placed where they would be the most effective. It also meant that a ship did not need to carry as many swivel guns. These relatively small 1 to 3 pounder guns, were more lightly constructed than regular cannon, and normally weighed roughly fifty times the weight of there shot. Swivel guns were not very effective at long range, but at close range against enemy crewmen, there firepower and maneuverability made them a devastating weapon. Chase guns could also be placed at the bow and stern of a large enough ship. This was done to attack a vessel being chased down or to damage an enemy ship in pursuit.
