Missile-throwing weapon

A weapon for propelling elongated missiles, comprising a rigid, elongated body forming a back stock and a front elongated straight missile-guiding member having a first longitudinal axis, a missile-propelling mechanism carried by said body including a missile-engaging member movable along said first axis between a rearward cocked position and a forward position, a first lever pivoted to said body at one end about a second axis transverse to and intersecting said first axis and forwardly spaced from the cocked position of said missile-engaging member, a second lever centrally pivoted to the free end of said first lever about a third axis parallel to said second axis, a straight slide fixed to said body and normal to said first axis and disposed along an axis line intersecting said second axis, a slide block guided by said slide for reciprocating movement, one end of said second lever pivoted to said slide block about a fourth axis parallel to said second and third axes, and the other end of said second lever carrying said missile-engaging member, the distance between said second and third axis being equal to the distance between said third and fourth axes and equal to the distance between said third axis and said missile-engaging member, biasing means carried by said body and biasing said slide block away from said first axis, catch means carried by said stock for retaining said missile-engaging member in cocked position against the bias of said biasing means and trigger means carried by said stock for releasing said catch means and allowing missile-propelling movement of said mechanism under action of said biasing means, constant speed movement of said block away from said first axis causing forward linear accelerating movement of said missile-engaging member along said first axis, said first lever forwardly pivoting during this movement from a rearwardly-extending position taken when said missile-engaging member is in its cocked position.