Well I was a very avid member of the re-enactment community for medieval archery. And I can say you are right in that Elm was/is a second choice for archers then and now. But the reason is is that Yew is a naturally flexible wood, and its a very straightforward process to make a bow from it. Because Yew is so flexible, the bow has to be made very thick to get high draw weights. And that thickness has to be compensated by length to retain long draw length. The longbows recovered from the Mary Rose seawreck were on average 2 inches thick, 6 feet long and had draw weights of 100 lbs to 150 lbs. Elm on the other hand is a hardwood, and extremely stiff. It is difficult to make a bow from it, but it can be done. And because the wood is so much stiffer, the bow can be made much thinner for a given draw weight and consequently shorter.

I see! Thanks for that info. Interesting stuff, even if I have managed to derail my own thread derailment!

Welsh archers indeed were famed for very powerfull bows going back before the formation of England.

Since Wales as an entity predates England as one, that’s not difficult 😉

One reason is they used Elm instead of Yew. This made for shorter bows with much higher energy storage potencial due to the stiffness/elasticity of the wood itself.

By all accounts, including I believe experimental archaeology and the re-enactment community, Elm was/is very much a second choice to yew in terms of suitability to the longbowman. Differentially elastic heart and outer woods were used. Decreasing the length would not, I think, increase the potential energy of the bow.

For example its told of how Welsh archers split open 4 inch think Oak doors with their arrows.

Much like the period artwork depicting swords cleaving armoured heads in two, that claim is dubious at best.

Re evidence for the (Scandinavian?) origin of the longbow and its Welsh vs English claims, see this webpage (or god forbid, a book!): http://www.student.utwente.nl/~sagi/artikel/longbow/longbow2.html

Steveyoung, actually it as the WELSH Bowmen who were feared, going back to medieval times. Whilst they were in the English Army, as they were captured, they were not English in nationality… A picky point, i know, but i’m a bit of a stickler for detail when Welsh history is involved…
BARNOWL

Welsh longbowmen certainly made a name for themselves, but there were plenty of ‘ethnically’ English bowmen in the English armies, and just as strong a tradition of bowcraft as in Wales. I believe it was required that a certain proportion of the male population was trained in the use of the bow.

And they were feared for their effect en masse (much like a form of artillery), not for ‘Sharpe’ style Robin Hood marksmanship, or even for their skill. Great strength was all that was required to employ the longbow alongside others in delivering indirect fire on the enemy formations. They were certainly a great equalizer because of the bodkin and other types of arrowhead and the sheer penetrative power they produced on any target from peasant to plate-armoured man-at-arms or knight. I think this is why they hold such a prominent position in folklore, particularly that of the working classes and and Welsh (put upon as they were by the English nobility).

As for the two-finger salute legend, that’s exactly what it is; there’s no way to verify it. The reasoning usually given makes little sense; as archers had no ransom value, why would you cut only their fingers off? It could well have been true in the sense of French propaganda I suppose, or even spread by the English as a way of focussing the mind!

The meeting, or otherwise, of expectations is surely an individual matter, and there is no requirement to be told what we will think. All replicas huh? No kidding. You would think that might have been mentioned in the other 4 page thread- Oh, it was.

There are conflicting reports regarding the flyabilityness of the Sopwith, but are there any pictures of it actually airborne? It looked to me rather a lash-up, and if it IS airworthy, the instrumentation is spartan to say the least.
(photo TCAT co)

I think there were two 1 1/2 Strutters on set, one flying (or perhaps taxiing only?) and one static only. The static builds being basically just 3D props.

I can’t be the only one who found this humourous!!!

You weren’t, but I was at work when I saw it 🙂

Archives of Pain, by Manic Street Preachers.

Thanks Jonathan,
Hmmm. That’s funny, as the reference at http://www.wikipedia.com give the Spartan kings as Leonidas I & II. I’ve always seen it with the last ‘e’ when referring to the engine though.

I had no idea from whence the name was taken, but a little Googling suggests it was named for Saint Leonides rather than the Spartan chaps. Talk about obscure!