مدفع مياه

Water cannon during a German demonstration, 2001

مدفع المياه water cannon هوجهاز يقذف سيلاً عالي الضغط من المياه. وعادة، فإن مدافع المياه يمكنها توصيل كميات كبيرة من الماء، عادة لمسافة تفوق عشرات الأمتار. ويـُستخدموا في اطفاء النيران ومكافحة الشغب. ومعظم مدافع المياه تـُصنـَّف تحت fire monitor.

اطفاء النيران

مكافحة الشغب

أول مدفع مياه لدى الشرطة الألمانية

The first truck-mounted water cannon were used for riot control in Germany in the beginning of the 1930s.

Truck-based water cannon were used widely in the الولايات المتحدة during the 1960s for riot control. Although they were safer than a combination of firearms, tear gas, and batons, their use as a less-lethal riot control mechanism has fallen out of favor in the United States.

Since then, other higher-tech non-lethal weapons have been developed for domestic use. Whether these newer weapons are more effective and safer than water cannon remains controversial. Their competing vendors disagree as to which is more effective and safer.

Water cannon designed for riot control are still made in the United States and the United Kingdom, but most customers are overseas, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia. The most modern versions do not expose the operator to the riot, and are controlled remotely from within the vehicle by a joystick. These vehicles can carry 2000 gallons (8,000 L) of water, and have a delivery rate of 250 gallons per minute (15 L/s). The water can be delivered as a continuous stream, or in pulses; as a hard jet or as a spray.

وحدة مكافحة الشغب في الشرطة البولندية، filming a gathering. The film could later be presented during a trial as evidence. A water cannon is seen in the background.
Croatian Police water cannon CVT-6000
German police water cannon
French National Police water cannon
Water cannon of the French National Police deployed to prevent rioting following Nicolas Sarkozy's election, May 6, 2007
Demonstration against G8 meeting, 5/9/2007
A futuristic water cannon of the Dutch police.

السلامة

Early (1960s) water cannon (usually adapted fire trucks) would knock protesters down and on occasion, tear their clothes.

حمولات بديلة

الصبغة

In 1997, pink dye was reportedly added to the water used by Indonesian police to disperse a riot.

الكهرباء

One manufacturer^[] is experimenting with additives (salt and additives to reduce the breakup of the stream into droplets) that would allow electricity to be conducted through water. They have demonstrated delivery from a distance of up to twenty feet (6 m), but have not yet tested the device on people.^[]

Although referred to as an electrified water cannon, this experiment involved a water jet much less powerful than a water cannon.

أنواع أخرى

Water cannon differ from other similar devices in the volume of water delivered in a given time, the nozzle speed, the pressure that it is delivered at, and to a lesser extent the total volume that can be delivered.