Great Bombard

A Great Bombard or the Great Turkish Bombard was a Ottoman artillery that are featured in Age of Empires III.

Game Info
The Great Bombard was a slow, expensive, but unique heavy artillery piece used by the Ottoman Empire. The Great Bombards are great at destroying enemy buildings and can kill a good amount of infantry, but sadly fires slowly which gave an adantage to fast moving cavalry. The Great Bombards can be brought free from the Ottoman Home City or Factory.

Real Life
The Great Turkish Bombard was designed by a Hungarian engineer named, Orban in the year 1450 and became the world's first supergun.

The Great Bombard saw action in the Fall of Constantinople led by the Ottoman, Mehmed II on April 1453 using a force of massive siege cannons of immense size. Cast in bronze in the country of Hungary, these heavy tubes were 5.18 m (17 ft) long and 17.27 tonnes in weight. Each gun fired 680 kg (1,500 lb) granite stones with a diametre of 762 mm (30 in). 60 oxen and 200 men pushed the supergun while the other 200 men pulled the guns with ropes. The placing and preparing of these Hungarian Cannons took seven days before they open fire.

Seven times a day, each of these enormous guns fired a granite stone that crashed into the walls of Constantinople and soon after 90 days, on May 29, 1453 the Great Bombards breached the walls and the Ottoman infantry attacked through the breach and soon captured it.

Currently after the Dardanelles Operation, the Great Bombards are now on display to visitors at the Tower of London