What Leonardo da Vinci weapon was designed as a giant bow for launching large bolts?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a giant crossbow for launching large bolts.

Leonardo’s giant crossbow appears in drawings from the late fifteenth century. It was intended to be unusually wide, with a bow mounted on a wheeled base. A winch and mechanical system would help draw the bowstring, because a weapon of that scale could not be cocked by hand.

The design illustrates Leonardo’s interest in combining engineering, military technology, and dramatic visual impact. The broad bow may have been meant to frighten opponents as much as to improve range or projectile size. Like many of his military machines, it survives primarily as a drawing rather than as a documented weapon used in battle.

A crossbow differs from a cannon because it stores energy in a bent bow rather than using an explosive charge. Leonardo’s giant crossbow is also separate from his 33-barrel cannon, another military design that relied on gunpowder.