Recoil, Weather and Bounce: More Gunnery Questions
How mounting, medium, wind and ball surface change a bombard's shot
The list of artillery problems continues, again as text without diagram. Leonardo asks how the bombard's recoil differs when it rests on ground, on a block, on straw or on feathers, and what happens when two bombards fire in opposite directions with their breeches braced against one another. He then turns to the ball's flight: how weather, wind direction, and firing at sea or on land affect its power, where it bounces most, why a smooth ball is faster than a rough one, and whether it rotates as it travels through the air.
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Mounting, opposed firing, and power at sea or on land
He asks what difference the mounting makes to recoil when the bombard rests on ground, block, straw, or feathers, and what happens when two bombards fire along one straight line with their breeches pressed together. He also asks how the power differs between a shot fired at sea and one on land.
Weather, bounce, and whether the ball spins in flight
He lists conditions that alter the ball's motion: firing upward or crosswise, and weather that is humid, dry, windy, rainy or snowing, with wind against, across, or along the ball's course. He then asks where the ball bounces most (over stones, earth, or water), how a smooth ball outruns a rough one, whether the ball turns as it flies, and what the nature is of the places it strikes.