Dart (missile)

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Darts are airborne ranged weapons. They are designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by the presence of fletching (feathers on the tail) and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible. Darts can be propelled by hand or with the aid of a hand-held implement such as a blowgun. They can be distinguished from arrows because they are not used with a bow.

Darts have been used since pre-history. The

In the modern era, darts have been used for recreation; in lawn darts and the game of darts.

History

Pre-history

Some of the earliest evidence of advanced tool use includes remnants of an early type of dart, which can be considered the ancestor of arrows as well as bows. Reconstructions of this system have a range of over one hundred metres (yards) and can penetrate several centimetres of oak. This technology was used worldwide from the Upper

Its similarity to a bow may not be immediately obvious, but in fact both serve to accumulate energy by elasticity in a similar way. As throwing begins, a dart of this type is designed to flex in compression between the accelerating force at its nock and the inertia of its weighted point, storing energy. Late in this throw, as the point moves faster and so offers less resistance, the dart releases most of this energy by springing away from the thrower. Some energy may also be recovered by the fletching as the projectile "fishtails" through the air. However, this energy is far less than is commonly stated and only effectively increases accuracy by counteracting the downward force on the tail.

To maximize elastic energy storage and recovery, such darts should be held only by the nock and allowed to pivot as they are thrown. This requires a special tool called a

Darts, plumbata and atlatls have been constructed by modern enthusiasts, either with ancient materials and methods or with high technology borrowed from modern archery. While some do this in the context of anthropology or mechanical engineering, many view the practice as a sport, and throw competitively for distance and/or for accuracy. Throws of almost 260 m (850 ft) have been recorded.^[2]

Types of traditional darts

The darts in use by the developers of the English language were used throughout Europe for much of its military history, though they were never a dominant weapons technology. They have also lent their name to quite a few weapons from other cultures.

Thrown darts

It is quite reasonable to speculate the darts used with atlatls were adapted from hand-thrown darts^{[speculation?]}, which in turn were derived from light javelins. In Europe, short but heavy-pointed darts were sometimes used in warfare. These had a length of about 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 in) and resembled an arrow with a long head and short shaft.

The Roman model, the plumbata, was weighted with lead.^[3] In some legions, five of these were carried inside each soldier's shield; reconstructions show a range of 70 m (230 ft) or more when thrown overhand in the fashion of a German stick grenade.

Feathered darts

Prado

, 1554.

Feathered spears, often called darts or javelins, were used in medieval and Renaissance Europe, both as ceremonial objects and as weapons. It is possible no examples have survived, presumably due to their fragility or the deterioration of their

polearms, presumably able to serve for both throwing and hand-held striking. One such example has historically been depicted on French and English pattern playing cards, where the jack of clubs is armed with one.^[6][7][8]

[[File:|147px|alt=An illustration from around 1600.]]

[[:File:| ]]

An illustration from around 1600.

Some later artistic depictions suggest they may have also been used for hunting.^[9]

Kestros

The kestrosphendone, or kestros, was a sling-launched dart, invented in 168 BC for the Third Macedonian War, probably similar to hand-thrown darts of the period. Casting one (according to surviving records) requires a specially designed sling with two unequal loops, though it is not clear whether this is a stave-sling or more closely resembles a shepherd's sling.

Blow darts

The blowgun can be used to fire darts, as well. Often, these are quite small, and do little harm by themselves; instead, they are effective due to poison spread onto their points, from (for example) dart frogs or curare.

Rope dart

This is a pointed weight attached at its blunt end to a length of rope or chain, which can be used to throw and retrieve it. It meets the definition above because it flies freely when no tension is applied to the rope, has a point and – in the form of a square of cloth – even has fletching. Shengbiao is a discipline of Wushu devoted to its use.

Swiss arrow

A Swiss arrow (also known as a Yorkshire arrow) is a dart thrown using a cord to make the dart go farther with the same power.

Modern darts

Of the darts still in widespread use, perhaps the closest to traditional thrown darts are lawn darts. These are large and heavy enough to be thrown by swinging, and to seriously wound a person when thrown.^[10]

An indoor game of

dart boards

.

Tranquilizer darts are related to the darts for blowguns, but include a hypodermic needle and a hollow reservoir resembling a syringe, which is generally filled with sedatives or other drugs. These are launched from a dart gun using compressed gas, a tuft of fibers at the back of the missile serving as both fletching and wadding

.

A type of dart still finds use in military engagements, in the form of

Vietnam

, but treaties have since been enacted to limit their use.

Large flechettes are used as

anti-armour

projectiles.

See also

• Crossbow bolt
• Scorpio (weapon), small catapult discharging iron darts

References

1. S2CID 163650466
   .
2. ^ "Atlatl – resource web page for a primitive hunting tool that predates the bow and arrow". www.flight-toys.com.
3. ^ For an image of a plumbata (without its wooden shaft, which did not survive the passage of time) and other projectiles see http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-spear.html
4. ^ Nikel, Helmut (1968). "Ceremonial Arrowheads from Bohemia". Metropolitan Museum Journal. 1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 78–81. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
5. ^
   ISBN 90-04-14409-9
   .
6. ^ "The Decline of English Court Cards over Time".
7. ^ "Early English Playing Cards".
8. ^ https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/015/825/109/484750445864ea8457fa2736263a9619_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.0.2&w=680&fit=max&v=1489232886&gif-q=50&q=92&s=6ecb096b647baad9557dc9b5a3cb78ac
9. ISBN 1857099133. There are another two such weapons in Titian's Diana and Callisto
   .
10. ^ "Lawn Darts Are Banned and Should Be Destroyed". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 1997-05-15. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2019-08-29. Lawn darts can cause skull punctures and other serious injuries.
11. ^ "Dart Weights and How to Choose". triplebullseye. 2019-12-10. Archived from the original on 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
12. ^ "History of Darts from Harrows, UK". Harrows. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2014.