Editing Catapult (section)

== Modern use ==

=== Military ===
[[File:French grenade catapult.jpg|left|thumb|200px|French troops using a catapult to throw [[hand grenade]]s and other explosives during [[World War I]]]]

The last large scale military use of catapults was during the [[trench warfare]] of [[World War I]]. During the early stages of the war, catapults were used to throw [[hand grenade]]s across [[no man's land]] into enemy trenches. They were eventually replaced by small [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]].

The SPBG (Silent Projector of Bottles and Grenades) was a Soviet proposal for an anti-tank weapon that launched grenades from a spring-loaded shuttle up to {{convert|100|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tankarchives.ca/2016/08/russian-piat.html | title=Russian PIAT }}</ref>

Special variants called [[aircraft catapult]]s are used to launch planes from land bases and sea carriers when the takeoff runway is too short for a powered takeoff or simply impractical to extend.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=87}}</ref> Ships also use them to launch torpedoes and deploy bombs against submarines.{{dubious|date=June 2016}}

In 2024, during the [[Gaza war]], a trebuchet created by private initiative of an [[Israel Defence Forces |IDF]] reserve unit was used to throw firebrands over the border into Lebanon, in order to set on fire the undergrowth which offered camouflage to [[Hezbollah]] fighters.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/14/middleeast/israel-catapult-trebuchet-lebanon-intl/index.html Israeli troops catapult fireball into Lebanon using weapon rarely used since 16th century], Benjamin Brown, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Paul Murphy and Christian Edwards for [[CNN]], posted & accessed June 14, 2024.</ref>

===Toys, sports, entertainment===
In the 1840s, the invention of [[vulcanized]] [[natural rubber|rubber]] allowed the making of small hand-held catapults, either improvised from Y-shaped sticks or manufactured for sale; both were popular with children and teenagers. These devices were also known as [[slingshots]] in the United States.

Small catapults, referred to as "traps", are still widely used to launch [[clay target]]s into the air in the sport of [[clay pigeon shooting]].

In the 1990s and early 2000s, a powerful catapult, a trebuchet, was used by thrill-seekers first on private property and in 2001–2002 at Middlemoor Water Park, Somerset, England, to experience being catapulted through the air for {{convert|100|ft|m|sp=us}}. The practice has been discontinued due to a fatality at the Water Park. There had been an injury when the trebuchet was in use on private property. Injury and death occurred when those two participants failed to land onto the safety net.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2004/02/oxford-university-dangerous-sports-club |title=Scandal: Extreme Oxford Sports |last=Martin |first=Brett |date=August 5, 2013 |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=November 13, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531102033/http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2004/02/oxford-university-dangerous-sports-club |archive-date=May 31, 2017 }}</ref> The operators of the trebuchet were tried, but found not guilty of manslaughter, though the jury noted that the fatality might have been avoided had the operators "imposed stricter safety measures."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/oct/31/highereducation.uk4 |title=Inquest told of student catapult death |newspaper=The Guardian |date=October 31, 2005 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114133709/http://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/oct/31/highereducation.uk4 |archive-date=January 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4401024.stm |title=BBC NEWS UK England Oxfordshire - Safety doubts over catapult death |date=November 2, 2005 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211151741/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4401024.stm |archive-date=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> [[Human cannonball]] [[circus]] acts use a catapult launch mechanism, rather than gunpowder, and are risky ventures for the human cannonballs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_069.html|title=The Straight Dope: How do "human cannonballs" survive?|last=Adams|first=Cecil|date=1991-06-21|website=Straight Dope|publisher=Chicago Reader|access-date=November 13, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106071839/http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_069.html|archive-date=January 6, 2009}}</ref>

Early [[launched roller coaster]]s used a catapult system powered by a diesel engine or a dropped weight to acquire their momentum,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzZHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|title=Coasters 101: An Engineer's Guide to Roller Coaster Design|last=Weisenberger|first=Nick|year=2013|isbn=9781468013559|pages=49–50|publisher=Nick Weisenberger |oclc=927712635|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223060540/https://books.google.com/books?id=OzZHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|archive-date=2017-12-23}}</ref> such as [[Shuttle Loop]] installations between 1977 and 1978. The catapult system for roller coasters has been replaced by [[flywheel]]s and later [[linear motor]]s.

''[[Pumpkin chunking]]'' is another widely popularized use, in which people compete to see who can launch a pumpkin the farthest by mechanical means (although the world record is held by a pneumatic air cannon).

===Smuggling===
In January 2011, a homemade catapult was discovered that was used to [[Smuggling|smuggle]] [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] into the United States from Mexico. The machine was found {{convert|20|ft|abbr=on}} from the border fence with {{convert|4.4|lb}} bales of cannabis ready to launch.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2011-01/mexican-authorities-seize-homemade-marijuana-hurling-catapult-border | newspaper = Pop Sci | date = Jan 2011 | title = Mexican authorities seize homemade marijuana hurling catapult at border | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110130043830/http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2011-01/mexican-authorities-seize-homemade-marijuana-hurling-catapult-border | archive-date = 2011-01-30 }}.</ref>