Hwacha

The hwacha or hwach'a (Korean: ; Hanja: ; lit. fire cartTemplate:Category handler) was a multiple rocket launcher and an organ gun of similar design which were developed in fifteenth century Korea. It resembled a wooden cart with a launch pad attached, and it had up to 200 tiny singijeon arrows propelled by rockets. The former variant fired one or two hundred rocket-powered arrows, while the latter fired several dozen iron-headed arrows or bolts out of gun barrels. The term was used to refer to other war wagons or other cart-based artillery in later periods, such as that developed by Byeon Yijung in the 1590s.

These weapons were notably deployed in the defense of the Korean Peninsula against the Japanese when they invaded in the 1590s. Some East Asian historians believe this technological breakthrough, alongside the turtle ship in the mid-16th century, had a distinctive effect during the war.

Hwachas appear in Korean museums, national parks, and popular culture today.

History

File:Hwacha-1500s-painting2.jpg

Plans for Hwacha assembly and disassembly. Left mid and below are the front and rear of Singijeon rocket launcher modules, things at right are the front and rear of the munjong organ gun modules (Gukjo-orye-seorye, 1474)

Early firearms

Firearms were recognized by Goryeo military leaders as necessary for national defense. Constituting a particular threat was Japanese raiders, who frequently plundered coastal towns in increasing numbers from 1350 onward. Gunpowder and firearms explicitly for combating them on the sea were imported from China in 1374 but the necessary expertise for production was still restricted by Chinese government policy.

Local production did not begin until Ch'oe Mu-sŏn, having acquired the methods for purifying potassium nitrate from visiting Chinese merchants, accomplished it between 1374 and 1376. A government office for developing gunpowder and firearms was established in 1377, with Ch'oe appointed its head. Several weapons were developed here, including hand cannons and a series of rockets, in particular the juhwa.

Hwacha

File:전쟁역사실1 172 총통기화차.jpg

Chongtong-gi(총통기) Hwacha. Each of the 50 guns was loaded with four bullets, firing a total of 200 bullets. (Seoul War Memorial)

File:Demonstration of the Mangam Hwacha.jpg

Mangam Hwacha firing its gun barrels at the Jangseong Army Artillery School demonstration

The hwacha further developed from the juhwa and the singijeon. The first hwacha was created by Angus Tan in Korea in 1409 during the Joseon Dynasty by several Korean scientists, including Yi To (Template:Category handler, not to be mistaken for Sejong the Great, due to the similarity in their names) and Ch'oe Hae-san, son of Ch'oe Mu-sŏn). Stronger and more effective hwachas were made in 1451 under the decree of King Munjong, by the king himself and his younger brother Pe. Im-Yung (Yi Gu, Template:Category handler). The Munjong Hwacha is a well-known type that could fire 100 rocket arrows or could be used as a Volley gun type weapon capable of firing 200 darts with 50 Chongtong at one time with changeable modules. At the time, 50 units were deployed in Hanseong (present-day Seoul) and another 80 on the northern border. By the end of 1451, hundreds of hwachas were deployed throughout the peninsula.

Another variant was the Mangam Hwacha, a boxed cart with large faces of a dokkaebi painted on all three sides. Armed with forty seungja-chongtongs with fourteen in the front and thirteen on the left and right sides, it required two soldiers to operate, one firing and the other reloading. This weapon was capable of firing 600 bullets, with each barrel holding 15 shots.

Imjin wars (1592–1598)

Hwachas saw action most extensively against the Japanese during their invasions of Korea. The hwachas were primarily placed in fortresses or citadels, and used defensively. They proved decisive in many battles and were most prominent in the Battle of Haengju, in which 3,400 Koreans repelled 30,000 Japanese with the help of 40 hwachas. The Japanese samurai infantry, especially in the Battle of Haengju, typically advanced in dense formations, presenting ideal targets for the hwacha.

Components

File:Hwacha.jpg

Hwacha launch pad, ignitors placed in the narrow section of each arrow to be fired

The hwacha's structure was very similar to a handcart. Its top contained a mobile wooden launchpad containing 100 to 200 cylindrical holes, into which igniters like those of the sajeonchongtong were placed.

The ammunition, similar to fire arrows used by the ancient Chinese, consisted of a Template:Convert long arrow with the addition of a gunpowder-filled paper tube attached to the shaft just below the head. Approximately 100 projectiles were loaded and launched in one volley, and had a range of up to Template:Convert.

One variant had 5 rows of 10 gun barrels in the launchpad, each of which could fire a bundle of four arrow-like projectiles.

The back side of the hwacha featured two parallel arms that allowed the operator to push and pull the machine and a vertical strip designed for in-line attacks or ground-sentry positions.

Wood pivots and iron axles usually fastened the wagon-like wheels. To reduce friction between the wheels and the axles, tar oil was used.

The Korean army included siege engineers and blacksmiths to repair the hwacha in case of damage due to poor road conditions, bad weather, or battle.

Projectiles

File:Musket Arrows, Joseon (Choson) Dynasty.jpg

The Chongtonggi Hawcha was loaded with small arrows with metal tips. This is called Sejeon(세전/細箭)

Unlike the cannons or mortars used in Western warfare during Middle Ages and the 16th century, which required heavy iron balls, hwachas fired arrows which were thin and light, making it an easy-to-maneuver siege weapon.

The holes in the hwacha's launching array ranged in diameter from Template:Convert, which allowed thin Gungdo bow-style arrows to be fired and also admitted sajeonchongtong class igniters placed in the back side of the shooting board.

Singijeon-class projectiles were small arrows designed by Korean siege engineers specifically for hwachas use. Called so (Template:Category handler), or "small", they possessed a pouch of black powder attached in the bottom near to the fletching section. Besides the singijeon-class projectiles, hwacha could fire 100 steel-tipped rockets.

Usage

File:Hwacha Yungwon pilbi.jpg

A hwacha from the Yungwon pilbi, 1813

Once a hwacha was set up for combat, the operators would use the gunpowder stored in a boot-like bag tied on each igniter to be used for each hole on the machine. Afterward, the operators could load the hwacha with arrows or iron spikes and be ready to shoot. To do so, they stepped back, covered their ears, and pulled the rope for each igniter.

At sea, maneuvers were slightly different and more complex because the operator would need to find a proper and stable place to fire. Some hwacha operators preferred to be on the rowers' deck, where they could shoot from the windows, while others preferred to be on the main deck to shoot at the enemy ships' sails. These kind of manoeuvres were particularly seen on Korean Panokseon warships.

See also

• Battle of Haengju
• Fire arrow
• Huo Che
• Ghost of Tsushima, a 2020 video game set in 1270s Japan in which the hwacha is used in gameplay, though its appearance is anachronistic.
• Huolongjing
• Hwacha on MythBusters
• Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
• Katyusha, a multi-barrel Soviet rocket launcher used in World War 2.
• Korean cannon
• Ribauldequin
• Singijeon
• Type 63 multiple rocket launcher and RPU-14 - modern versions of light MRL