Modern Designs

The Science Project Experiments Catapult Kit The Ultimate Science Project Experimenter's Catapult Kit! It's fully adjustable, multi-configurable and repeatable. Now made from top-quality Engineered hardwood plywood.
$59.00 more info

Floating Arm Trebuchet ™
- Hobbyist Version A fascinating machine that converts potential energy into kinetic and uses it to throw a ball, this machine is only 34 inches tall, 18 inches long and 12 inches wide (including the steel counterweight boxes) but it hurls a golf ball over 200 feet.
$179.00 more info

Scorpion II The Scorpion II was designed from the start to hurl golf balls and tennis balls, but you can try it out on just about anything small and round.
$69.00 more info
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Mangonel Plans
Including Ballista, Scorpion, Petraria, Trebuchet and Onager.

The HURL
A comunity of hurling enthusiasts.

Trebuchet.com
All about Trebuchets and the art of hurling.

Onager.com
All Onagers, all the time.

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Interesting Notes

What is a Mangonel?

The term "mangonel" literlally means "engine of war." It is a ballistic device, usually some type of artillery. In other words, a catapult. But "catapult" is a more general word that includes a broad range of things that use mechanical means to shoot a projectile, including slingshots and aircraft carrier launch systems. So a mangonel is a unique type of catapult.

The word Mangonel derives from the ancient Greek word "Manganon", literally meaning "engine of war". The Romans called it a Manganum. In pre-medieval French the word Manganum was changed to Manganeau, and the English changed that to Mangonel in the 1300s.

The history gets a little sketchy in the middle ages, but some historians believe that "mangonel" was shortened to the word "gonnel" about the same time that cannons were being developed, and later still, "gonnel" was shortened to "gun." And to this day, in the military a gun is strictly big artillery. (Rifles and pistols are referred to as "weapons", NOT "guns".)

The three most common types of ancient mangonels are the Greek Ballista, The Roman Onager, and the Trebuchet.

In France, the word Mangonel is used for a Trebuchet that uses a fixed counterweight for power. (The other kind of trebuchet, the hanging counterweight type, is called a "Trebuchet". Go figure!)

The English use the term Mangonel and Onager interchangeably for the Roman single-arm torsion machine.

The Greek catapult, probably the first machine to be called a mangonel, was also known as the Ballista and is where we get the word "ballistic".