A stinkpot or stink-pot was an
incendiary and
suffocating
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
weapon used in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty, especially in naval operations.
It is an earthenware incendiary weapon part filled with sulphur, gunpowder, nails, and shot, while the other part was filled with noxious materials designed to emanate a highly unpleasant and suffocating smell to its enemies when ignited.
British Admiral
Sir William Robert Kennedy recorded the use of the stinkpot in 1856 during the
Second Opium War in his book ''Hurrah for the Life of a Sailor - Fifty Years in the Royal Navy''. He described it as:
Describing the method of use of the stinkpot, Kennedy writes:
Stinkpots were used in the War of 1812 by the British Navy during a bombardment of
Stonington, Connecticut on August 9th, 1814.
Rossiter Johnson in his book, "A History of the War of 1812-1815 between the United States and Great Britain", writes:
"It was toward evening when Hardy opened his ports and fired upon the town every kind of missile in use at that day--round-shot, grape-shot, canister, bomb-shells. carcasses, rockets, and stink-pots."
[Johnson, Rossiter. Chapter XVI. Operations Along the Coast. A History of the War of 1812-1815 between the United States and Great Britain. Rossiter Johnson..]
Stinkpots are mentioned in ‘The Siege of Krishnapur’, novel by J G Farrell.
See also
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Stink bomb
A stink bomb, sometimes called a stinkpot, is a device designed to create an unpleasant smell. They range in effectiveness from being used as simple pranks to military grade malodorants or riot control chemical agents.
History
A stink bomb t ...
References
Bombs
Chinese inventions
Naval weapons of China
Military history of the Qing dynasty
Sulfur
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