Thursday, September 8, 2016

Quicklime As A Navel Weapon...!

Waging war against our enemies has been the cause of many new ideas in weaponry over the years.

Take, for instance, the use of quicklime as a navel weapon. Developed by a Captain who thought quicklime, in the right circumstance, could be successfully used in battle. Turns out his thoughts were correct.

Battle Of Sandwich
1217



Photo credit: James Grant

To repel an invading French fleet, the English navy under the command of Baron William D’Albiney used quicklime (calcium oxide), which he stocked aboard his vessels. He purposefully moved his ships upwind of the French and then let loose with the noxious compound into the wind so that the French were almost immediately blinded by the large cloud encompassing their ships.

Unable to defend themselves, they became an easy target for the English navy. The English sailors quickly stormed the French ships and slaughtered all but the knights due to the ransom they could receive. D’Albiney had long maintained a stock of calcium oxide on his vessels for just such an attack, but the Battle of Sandwich may have been the first time he was able to deploy it

I hate to say it, but the use of quicklime was a brilliant idea, and seemed to accomplish the wanted results. Man can be very creative in ways of war.

Coffee out on the patio this morning!

10 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Early chemical warfare.

linda m said...

That was one smart Navy Commander. As Gorges said "chemical warfare".

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
Guess you could say that! Must have been effective.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Linda...
He was far sighted enough to plan ahead for something like this.
Thanks for coming by today!

Rob said...

Everybody died except the Knights, they were worth money.

JO said...

Man that must of have terrible for the French fleet.

The rain has finally stopped but still lots of clouds floating around.

HermitJim said...

Hey Rob...
Guess someone somewhere thought so! Wonder just how much they brought?
Thanks for coming over today!


Hey Jo...
You can bet it wasn't pleasant, without a doubt.
Thanks, sweetie, for dropping by today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

"War is Hell" Yes, war is hell, always has been, is now, and always will be.

HermitJim said...

Hey Dizzy...
You are so right, my friend.
Thanks for the visit today!

Sixbears said...

Early successful use of chemical weapons?

HermitJim said...

Hey Sixbears...
Looks like it was!
Thanks for coming over!