Thunderclap Fireball

Timeline

1. 1044Kaifeng (Eastern Capital) · KaifengThe fire-attack section of the Wujing Zongyao records the casing material, filling, and ignition method of the thunderclap fireball in clauses and proportions, making it a documented, institutionalized early gunpowder projectile weapon.
2. 1050–1126Kaifeng and frontier cities · ChinaFireballs were thrown by garrison troops or from warships to disrupt attacking formations, ignite works, and produce smoke, forming one element of the Northern Song fire-attack system in conjunction with bows, crossbows, and stone-throwing engines.
3. 1127–1161Jianghuai theater · JianghuaiDuring the Song–Jin wars, 'thunderclap cannons' appear in records of naval battles and city defense, possibly launched by trebuchets, their noise and flame used to break enemy formations, showing that fireball technology had moved from a capital military treatise into actual combat organization.
4. 1220–1279Southern Song frontier and Jianghuai · ChinaOnce more powerful iron-cased explosives such as the 'heaven-shaking thunder' became widespread, the paper- and bamboo-cased thunderclap fireball was no longer a mainstay, though its formulas and launching concepts were absorbed into later bomb and cannon traditions.