• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / Who invented rockets and when was the first time rockets were used in warfare?

Who invented rockets and when was the first time rockets were used in warfare?

July 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

How would you explain the “rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,” written during the War of 1812?

Now go back even further, to A.D. 1232. That year signaled the oldest known reference to using rockets in battle. At the time, the Chinese were fighting against Mongol invaders.

The written record shows that the Chinese, experts at gunpowder, repelled the Mongols with a torrent of “arrows of flying fire.” This arrow was a simple solid-propellant rocket—a tube of gunpowder attached to a long, pointed stick.

When launched, they headed more or less in the direction they were pointed. The rockets weren’t particularly accurate, but they were cheap to make, and could be launched in large quantities over a long distance.

The actual physical effects were bad enough, but equally powerful were the psychological effects of hissing, flaming arrows flying into the Mongol ranks.

The Mongol armies fled in panic.

Related Facts

  • Who Built the Saturn Rockets For the Apollo Space Missions and How Many Stages Did Saturn Rockets Have?
  • Is it the Infantry or Machines That Determine the Outcome in Modern Warfare and Why?
  • What Was Nikola Tesla's Star Wars Invention That He Proposed To End Warfare?
  • What Is Sidereal Time and What Is the Difference Between Solar Time and Sidereal Time?
  • What Time Is It At the North Pole, Does the North Pole Have a Time Zone, and What Time Do You Want It To Be?
  • What exactly were the "rockets" mentioned in the U.S. national anthem?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What causes the sound a whip makes when it is cracked?
Next Post: What exactly were the “rockets” mentioned in the U.S. national anthem? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy