When Were Rockets Used First?

Rocket may be thought as a modern invention, rockets are a very old idea. They were invented by the Chinese and it was used as fireworks more than 800 years ago. Rockets then became known in Indian and Arabian countries. In Western Europe rockets was first used in 1256 as recorded. The very first use of rockets in war was quite similar to the way burning arrows had been used. But they were no longer used for war for a long time. Only soldiers and sailors continued to use rockets as signals.

A British army captain read how British troops in India had been attacked with rockets in the year of 1802. This incident gave him the idea of trying them out with the British army and very soon most European armies, as well as the army of the United States, began to use war rockets. During the 19th century, as weaponry became more commanding and more precise, it began to replace rockets and they were not vital in war again until World War 2 and the famous German v-2 rockets. Rockets have a very special place in United States national song, the phrase is "the rocket's red glare".