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filled with explosives and shrapnel (the payload). Welded to the payload is about a 2-foot metal tube (the tail) about the same circumference as the cannon's muzzle. The full length of the tail is inserted into the muzzle, forming a tight seal inside the cannon. The payload remains outside the muzzle
370:
in Aleppo showed a video of them using an improvised cannon that fired a mortar round. A metal tube with one end closed is the cannon barrel. The projectile is a factory-made mortar round. The round is placed into the barrel and it is laid horizontally such as out the opening of a window. On launch,
251:
but still attached to the tail now inside the cannon. When the cannon is fired, the force of the explosion takes the path of least resistance pushing the projectile towards the target at high velocity. Flight stabilizing fins which are part of the tail ensemble ensure the cylinder doesn't tumble.
383:
deployed a series of breech-loaded cannons mounted on an hydraulic elevation system on the back of a truck and fires with a pull-string. Albeit described by some
Western mass media as a mysterious 19th-century antique cannon, the gun is in reality a modern improvised artillery piece.
170:. An opposition source said Kadour was killed because he refused to work with IS outside Anadan, demanded exorbitant prices for repairing weapons, and equipping the Hell Cannon and preferred to manufacture arms for their arch-enemy, Khaled Hayani.
292:
An unnamed variation uses a projectile similar to the hell cannon (a blue gas cylinder) but the tail fins form a flat base. The entire projectile is inserted into a larger diameter cannon, which is the maximum diameter of the projectile.
301:
The Hell Cannon was followed by the Jahim (Hellfire) Cannon in 2013. This model can fire large ordnance such as water heaters or oxygen cylinders weighing as much as 661 pounds. It was first used in Aleppo's
166:
to booby-trapping vehicles and repairing weapons, then to manufacturing bombs and cannons. He was killed by IS members and his body was found in a mass grave at the
Institute of Electricity near
137:(IS) became more powerful in the region, it negotiated with local arms makers for making the projectiles and a grassroots weapons industry began to emerge. Some of the arms makers moved to
194:. Thus the Hell cannon is vulnerable in the open countryside. In cities, a combination of close quarter fighting and the ability to hide behind walls and buildings gave it an advantage.
857:
896:
772:
323:
A quad hell cannon fired four Hell
Cannons at once. However, the model was reportedly no longer manufactured after it was bombed by a military helicopter during the battle of
273:
350:
In April 2015, pictorial evidence of the
Thunder Cannon became available. The projectile is an empty 100mm shell casing from a T-55 tank that has been re-purposed.
254:
The projectile weighs up to about 88 pounds with three quarters of the weight as explosives. The projectile reportedly has a range of 1.5 kilometers.
891:
796:
661:
488:
198:
749:[Al-Rahman Legion - targeting a building in which Assad's forces are holed up on the Arbin front with Omar's homemade cannon].
367:
115:
720:
186:. The cannons' medium range (about 1.5 kilometers) requires the target to be nearby, but also for the cannon to remain hidden from
611:
358:
62:
19:
408:
including the
Volcano IRAM and Elephant Rockets, were used during the Syrian Civil War by rebels and government forces alike.
183:
836:
746:
201:, as of December 2014, hell cannons were "wildly inaccurate" and have killed over 300 civilians, most of them in Aleppo.
886:
546:
881:
876:
585:
133:
in and around Aleppo in re-purposed manufacturing businesses that had the tools and materials available. As the
239:
The cannon barrel is about 3 feet long, mounted on wheels and towed. It is muzzle loaded. An explosive such as
818:
99:
98:
The
Jahannam (Hell) cannon was first manufactured in 2012 in the Idlib countryside, by the insurgent group
145:
after IS was expelled from Aleppo. The most famous was Abdo al-Hiriatany, nicknamed 'Karo the
Armenian'.
90:
area. It was first noted in 2013 and a number of home-made cannon variants have appeared in Syria since.
278:
187:
551:
392:
In June 2015, a video was posted online showing a large compressed air cannon in Daraa operated by
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150:
324:
79:
640:
766:
417:
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39:
31:
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75:
747:"فيلق الرحمن - استهداف بناء يتحصن فيه قوات الأسد على جبهة عربين بمدفع عمر المحلي الصنع"
422:
162:, named Jamil Kadour, who had close ties with Khaled Hayani. Kadour went from being an
870:
437:
393:
191:
179:
163:
134:
23:
A collection of improvised rocket- and mortar projectiles in Aleppo in
December 2016.
328:
247:
158:
In Aleppo, the Hell Cannon is associated with one of the most famous fighters in
662:"كتيبة المدفعية في لواء توحيد الجنوب تدك مقرات النظام في حي المنشية بمدفع الرعد"
619:
581:
427:
119:
110:. Manufacture of the cannon moved to Aleppo after Khaled Hayani – leader of the
787:"أحرار الشام استهداف تجمعات قوات الأسد في بلدة كفريا بريف إدلب بقذائف مدفع هوا"
371:
the otherwise unattached barrel flies backwards from the recoil of the mortar.
230:
861:
786:
691:
669:
227:
123:
106:. It was manufactured at a plant owned by Abu Adnan al-Idlibi in the town of
463:"Terrorist attacks with gas cylinder bombs cause civilian injuries in Daraa"
432:
303:
547:"After 'hellfire' and 'hell:' meet the Syrian rebels' new rocket in Aleppo"
327:. However, an April 2015 video showed a quad hell cannon being used by the
118:– appropriated the design. It was first noted by the press in May 2013, by
556:
405:
791:
696:
167:
107:
103:
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The Hell cannon and its variants were manufactured by elements of the
142:
138:
87:
612:"Syrian rebel 'hell cannons' kill 300 civilians: monitoring group"
357:
74:(Arabic: مدفع جهنم) is a general name used to describe a class of
61:
18:
462:
243:
is first dropped into the muzzle and tamped with a wooden stick.
240:
66:
A hell cannon found after the Battle of Aleppo in
December 2016.
362:
Factory made and improvised mortar projectiles found in Aleppo.
178:, the Hell cannon was primarily used in the Aleppo area during
257:
There are believed to be 20 such cannons as of
December 2014.
692:"Mortar processing and launch into one army points Asadi"
102:. It was specifically designed for shelling the town of
753:(in Arabic). Archived from the original on May 20, 2022
190:
due to it being unarmored and its limited ability to
721:"Syrian Rebels Are Firing an Antique Mystery Cannon"
837:"'Elephant rockets' kill dozens in Damascus suburb"
262:
216:
858:Hell Cannons: From Minor Nuisance to Major Threat
342:. It was mounted on a front-loading earth mover.
771:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
819:"A new type of Volcano rocket spotted in Idlib"
156:
897:Improvised explosive device bombings in Syria
331:in the province of Aleppo, in the village of
306:neighborhood and was also used to attack the
8:
174:Although invented in the countryside of the
28:Improvised artillery in the Syrian Civil War
489:"Syrian rebels introduce the "hell cannon""
540:
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586:"DIY Weapons In Syria - The Hell Cannon"
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148:According to journalist Basel Dayoub in
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259:
213:
82:in-use by insurgent forces during the
7:
34:created and used by factions of the
719:Kyle Mizokami (November 23, 2016).
610:Oliver Holmes (December 12, 2014).
199:Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
14:
745:فيلق الرحمن (November 22, 2016).
545:Basel Dayoub (December 5, 2014).
668:. April 17, 2015. Archived from
268:
246:The projectile is a re-purposed
222:
42:forces. The weapons include the
799:from the original on 2018-05-29
197:According to the Britain-based
228:Hell Cannon loading and firing
1:
892:Improvised explosive devices
16:Type of improvised artillery
233:2022-05-20 at Ghost Archive
913:
314:Multi-barrel hell cannons
267:
221:
467:SANA Syrian News Agency
366:In April 2015, the FSA
297:Jahim (Hellfire) Cannon
100:Ahrar al-Shamal Brigade
363:
210:Jahannam (Hell) Cannon
172:
67:
46:and its variants, the
24:
388:Compressed air cannon
361:
116:Badr Martyrs' Brigade
65:
22:
288:Unnamed variation #1
279:Syrian Islamic Front
188:counter-battery fire
469:. December 11, 2014
274:Hell Cannon variant
80:improvised firearms
887:Insurgency weapons
641:"Quad Hell Cannon"
400:Improvised rockets
364:
122:(later founder of
68:
32:improvised weapons
25:
882:Homemade firearms
841:www.aljazeera.com
795:. June 27, 2015.
725:Popular Mechanics
559:on March 25, 2015
495:. August 22, 2014
418:Improvised weapon
308:Citadel of Aleppo
285:
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237:
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176:Idlib Governorate
40:Syrian opposition
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877:Syrian civil war
860:, by Type 63 at
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700:. April 17, 2015
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590:Brown Moses Blog
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555:. Archived from
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381:Al-Rahman Legion
341:
319:Quad Hell Cannon
272:
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184:Battle of Aleppo
131:Free Syrian Army
112:Free Syrian Army
86:, mainly in the
84:Syrian Civil War
36:Syrian Civil War
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584:(23 May 2013).
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217:External videos
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38:, most notably
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852:External links
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825:. 4 June 2015.
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493:New York Times
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423:Barrack buster
420:
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346:Thunder cannon
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263:External image
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48:Thunder Cannon
15:
13:
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672:on 2018-05-29
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438:Rifle grenade
436:
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404:New types of
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394:Ahrar al-Sham
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368:16th Division
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354:Mortar cannon
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180:urban warfare
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164:auto mechanic
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135:Islamic State
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52:Mortar Cannon
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45:
41:
37:
33:
29:
21:
840:
831:
823:Syria Direct
822:
813:
801:. Retrieved
790:
781:
755:. Retrieved
750:
740:
728:. Retrieved
724:
714:
702:. Retrieved
695:
686:
674:. Retrieved
670:the original
665:
656:
644:. Retrieved
635:
625:December 13,
623:. Retrieved
615:
605:
595:December 13,
593:. Retrieved
589:
561:. Retrieved
557:the original
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499:December 13,
497:. Retrieved
492:
483:
473:December 24,
471:. Retrieved
466:
457:
403:
391:
378:
365:
349:
329:Levant Front
325:Ard al-Hamra
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248:gas cylinder
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149:
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128:
97:
71:
69:
51:
47:
43:
27:
26:
620:Yahoo! News
582:Brown Moses
428:Barrel bomb
375:Omar cannon
336: [
120:Brown Moses
72:hell cannon
58:Hell-cannon
44:Hell-Cannon
871:Categories
862:Bellingcat
449:References
124:Bellingcat
704:April 19,
676:April 19,
563:March 25,
552:Al Akhbar
433:Chongtong
304:Ashrafieh
281:, Alleppo
151:Al Akhbar
803:June 28,
797:Archived
767:cite web
412:See also
379:The FSA
231:Archived
205:Variants
50:and the
792:YouTube
757:May 20,
751:YouTube
730:May 20,
697:YouTube
666:YouTube
646:May 20,
616:Reuters
333:Bashkoy
182:of the
168:Haritan
108:Binnish
104:al-Foua
94:History
160:Anadan
143:Manbij
139:al-Bab
114:(FSA)
88:Aleppo
78:-like
76:mortar
406:IRAMs
340:]
805:2015
773:link
759:2022
732:2022
706:2015
678:2015
648:2022
627:2014
597:2014
565:2015
501:2014
475:2014
241:ANFO
141:and
70:The
30:are
126:).
873::
839:.
821:.
789:.
769:}}
765:{{
723:.
694:.
664:.
618:.
614:.
588:.
573:^
549:.
509:^
491:.
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338:ar
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154::
54:.
843:.
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775:)
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734:.
708:.
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629:.
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276:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
