Bulava - the weapon of heroes and Cossacks: history, photo

How much land costs, so much time and wars, civil strife, various conflicts between people. If in our time any problem is tried to be solved peacefully, through negotiations, then many centuries ago the main way to resolve the conflict was to fight. Its participants tried to fully equip themselves to hit the enemy as much as possible. One of the interesting and historically significant weapons is the mace. The word came from the "bula" - the nodule, the cone, the knob. We will talk about this interesting subject of defense and attack today.

A bit of history

Mace - a cold weapon, features a short pole and pommel of stone. It is a shock-shattering device that has a long and glorious history. The ancient peoples of South and North America, Australia, Asia, Europe and Africa used this type of weapon for many centuries . During the First World War on the battlefields it was possible to meet the mace as the main means of fighting the enemy.

In Russia, the ancient weapon of the club appeared in the 11th century. Scientists-historians believe that it "came" from the South-East. In ancient times, it was believed that the ancient weapon mace - not a combat, but rather an honorable attribute. They were invariably equipped with infantry and mounted troops. The weapon was made of steel, iron, and not only the "head", but also the handle. Supplemented the original design with spikes, which increased the effectiveness of the weapon.

Perfect settings

The progenitor of the club can be considered an ordinary club. It was she who was the main and basic weapon of the peasants - in all conflicts simple farmers tried to prove their rightness with the help of a simple adaptation. But it had such a stunning effect that the infantrymen gradually became "used". Excavations of archaeologists clearly show how the mace changed over time. Initially, the head of the weapon was round and smooth, but gradually it becomes more complicated and becomes rectangular, it is supplied with spikes and ribs over the entire area. The weight of weapons ranges from 500 grams to two and more kilograms. The length of the handle was about 60 cm - this parameter was "standard". For convenience of use, a leather strap was attached to it, and some copies were supplemented with a dagger.

In other words

The mace is a unique weapon. It has many modifications, which became possible due to ubiquitous distribution. In the countries of the East, the mace was called "burzhakhan" or "busty", its pommel was round. In Europe, weapons were called "cleaver" and had an elongated, pear-shaped or bar-like shape. In the West, traditional clubs were supplied with thorns and ribs, and called them "sixths" or "pervchanami". The Germans nicknamed the first version of the mace "morning star", because just one blow of uncomplicated weapons could break through the strongest armor and defeat the enemy. The device, equipped with sharp feathers, was also called a "pug mace".

A further relative of the club is a mace or "trench baton", as they began to call it during the Second World War. In India and Persia, weapons were supplemented with a closed hilt, which was the main difference between all the weapons of those countries. Bulava - weapons of the Cossacks, they called it "insect". Only the appearance and distribution of pistols pushed the mace and her sisters to the background, and then completely "survived" them from the battlefields.

Advantages of weapons

The main advantage of the club is its incredible simplicity and speed of production. Materials do not cost a lot of money, which makes weapons available to many warriors. Particularly fond of the mace on the battlefields for excellent striking properties - it is capable of being dealt with even with an enemy fully equipped in iron armor. For this she received an unusually wide circulation. The mace is a weapon of the rich and the poor.

Simple peasants made a mace made of wood, iron, its shape was simple and uncomplicated. Who was richer, he fought with weapons of copper, the handle of which for convenience was covered with a cloth, decorated with monograms and distinctive signs. Over time, the club became more sophisticated. It changed its appearance and purpose, which eventually became more "peace-loving."

Sign character

The mace was so fond of our medieval descendants, which gradually became the symbol of power and dignity. French gatekeepers of churches, rich houses and royal chambers proudly held a mace in their hands, emphasizing their importance. Now it was made of brass, covered with gilding, decorated with stones and gave an intricate shape. In many Western countries, noblemen tried not to appear in public without a richly decorated mace closed behind the belt, and military commanders and officers did not have the right not to wear it permanently. Guardsmen of the tiny "state in the state" of the Vatican at the festive parades still decorate themselves with historical weapons.

Mace of the 21st century

Russia has always been one of the strongest powers in the world, and this fact is proved constantly by its numerous discoveries and developments. It's no secret that in the military equipment the state is not inferior to others. The pride of the domestic manufacturer are ballistic missiles. Russia's most famous weapon is the Bulava. This is a ballistic intercontinental missile, to which the developers have placed great responsibility for the integrity of the borders of the Motherland. It is a three-stage solid fuel, provided for basing at sea. Atomic submarines of the last generation are equipped with this modern weapon, the well-known Topol-M complex operates with it. The most noticeable weapon in recent times is the Bulava missile. The designers tried to unify the land and sea missiles that operate on solid fuels.

"Bulava" - weapons of true patriots

His birth is due to the engineers-designers of the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering, who in 1988 began to fulfill a responsible task. This is completely Russian development: designers are proud of their brainchild, and the military loudly discuss the controversial weapons - the Bulava missile.

Tests of the ballistic missile began in 2004, and despite a series of failures and miscalculations, she became a good "helper" submarine "Yuri Dolgoruky." Today, the fate of the Bulava is not fully defined, but the developers continue to modify and improve the design.

Weapon Characteristics

An ignorant person is difficult to understand the figures and abbreviations, but some indicators will amaze the imagination of a simple Russian. So, the range of the rocket is 8 thousand kilometers! The starting mass of weapons is more than 36 tons. The nuclear blocks equipped with the Bulava can individually change the trajectory of their flight. They can be from 6 to 10 pieces, which makes the weapon virtually invincible.

The inclined start of the rocket can allow it to be launched from the position "on the fly", which makes the Bulava universal and simple to operate and start. Without going into the characteristics of weapons, it is clear that this is one of the large-scale projects that will strengthen the state's borders and equip the military with the latest technology. This powerful weapon - the Bulava missile - is a large-scale project of the last decade, which is still being finalized, but promises to be grandiose.

Behind not one start

The first test launch of the ballistic missile was made on September 23, 2004 from the submarine "Dmitry Donskoy" in Severodvinsk. This event marked the beginning of a series of tests of finished products. It became clear that the weapon "Bulava" can be delivered on submarines. After almost a year in Kamchatka, the second launch of the rocket was completed, during which the combat units successfully hit the desired targets on the test range. A month later, the Bulava once again proved to be the best side, having coped with the military task set.

For two years all subsequent tests of the ballistic missile were not so successful: the Russian weapon - the Bulava missile - then completely deviated from the intended course, then unexpectedly self-destructed, then not all the missile battleheads achieved the desired goal. In the future, it was decided to change not only the plant, which produced a powerful weapon, but also the composition of designers and developers.

Perhaps the problems with launching the missile can be explained there, that the weapons designed for "working" at sea were designed by specialists in overland projects. Subsequently, "Bulava" began to produce at the company "Moscow Machine-Building Plant" Vympel ".

Under close scrutiny

It is interesting that during the whole process of production of the Bulava ballistic missile, observers from the United States monitored the progress. According to the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms, from 1988 until December 5, 2009, American counterparts continuously carried out visual inspections on the territory of the factory workshops. On the monitor screens, foreign observers saw weapons leaving the city of Votkinsk, a special program determined the dimensions and some technical characteristics of the weapon. On the territory of the plant, American employees regularly conducted a detour to identify and suppress transport violations of the Bulava. Wagons in which a ballistic missile could theoretically be removed were carefully checked by observers from America. This fact suggests that, despite some obstacles in the form of unsuccessful launches, "Bulava" - a formidable and promising weapon.

The echo of history

It is noteworthy that weapons with a centuries-old history and modern developments in the field of defense and rocket construction have the same name. The mace is a weapon of heroes not only of the Middle Ages, but also of the fighters of our days. Developers knowingly called their offspring this way, because they tried to give a modern ballistic missile a loud name and give it a special power.

The mace of past centuries and today are two completely different weapons, both in appearance and functional purpose. It remains to be hoped that the sonorous name will become one of the pledges of the successful work of the team of designers, testers and developers. Despite a number of problems with the tests, we believe that the main weapon of Russia is the Bulava.

Now you know almost everything about the formidable ballistic ammunition. We presented the birth story, important characteristics of the Bulava missile, photo. The weapon is not yet fully put into service, but it already has certain merits. The "Bulava" military hopes are high, so the work on the high-profile project does not stop.