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When a Ship Became a Bomb: The Antwerp Hellburner Blast
When a Ship Became a Bomb: The Antwerp Hellburner Blast
A body was found fused to charred timber, identifiable only by a gold chain and the name Robles - the commander who died inside the wreckage of a bridge-destroying device. Built in Antwerp in 1585 by an Italian engineer and an anonymous watchmaker, the hellburner carried 3,200 kilograms of corned gunpowder and a clockwork-triggered flintlock - how did a ship become a bomb that would be heard eighty kilometers away?
In this episode, we tell the story of the vessels launched against Farnese’s pontoon bridge across the Scheldt and explain…
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