The Powerful Hwacha: An Early Korean Rocket Launcher

The hwacha (which roughly translates as fire chariot) is a type of weapon developed in Korea, and used by its army on the field of battle. This weapon is best known for its deployment during the Imjin War. This was a war that occurred during the last decade of the 16th century AD, and is also known as the Japanese Invasions of Korea. The use of the hwacha by the Korean defenders was one of the reasons Japan failed in their campaign to conquer the Korean peninsula.

Early Rocket Launcher

The hwacha may be best described as a type of early multiple rocket launcher. Basically, this weapon consists of a two-wheeled cart, on which was mounted a board with a great number of holes. Each of these holes was filled with a singijeon (roughly meaning ‘magical machine arrows’). This was a type of arrow propelled by a tube of gunpowder attached onto its shaft. In other words, the singijeon was an early type of rocket. The earliest hwachas were capable of firing up to 100 arrows each time it was ignited. The design of this weapon was later improved to allow up to 200 arrows to be fired in each round.

Whilst the hwacha is best known for its use in the defense of Korea during the 16th century AD, by this time the hwacha had already been in existence for about 200 years. Nevertheless, it may also be mentioned that the improvements and developments of this weapon occurred during the earlier part of those two centuries, following which there was a period of stagnation.