Talk:Manby mortar

Earlier attempts section

I added this section rather than remove the original off-topic para on the earlier English invention, and I also added the details of the French invention. I did note in the change summary that I had added the section to include the 'impractical' ship to shore method. Just to explain what I meant. IMHO it would have had very limited application, for example the crew of a fishing vessel would probably not be familiar with setting up and firing a mortar, even on smooth seas. It isn't hard to imagine that a ship perhaps being swept in to shore by a gale wind and rough seas would be an unlikely platform to expect the crew to be able to successfully manoeuvre the ship or the mortar and fire the rope at someone on the shore. Also just who would it be aiming at? if there wasn't a knowledgeable rescue crew at the other end, it's unlikely members of the public would have a clue what to do with the rope. I'm not familiar with the details of the French invention, but given that the reference mentions he had never actually tested the idea, and it was discarded because he was a civilian rather than a professional sailor, it's likely that it had limitations due to his lack of knowledge of how a crew worked. Manby's invention was so successful because of the setting up of hundreds of shore stations and his testing to perfect the idea. Ray3055 (talk) 16:05, 20 February 2019 (UTC)