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A warning shot (in nautical terms, often called a shot across the bow) is a harmless artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
 shot or gunshot intended to call attention and demand some action.

During the 18th Century, a warning shot could be fired towards any ship whose colours (nationality) had to be ascertained. According to the law of the sea
Admiralty law

Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and Conflict of laws governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans....
, a ship thus hailed had to fly her flag and confirm it with a gunshot.

Warning shots are also used in military aviation
Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front....
, to demand some action of an "enemy" aircraft; the most common demand would be for the aircraft to change course.






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A warning shot (in nautical terms, often called a shot across the bow) is a harmless artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
 shot or gunshot intended to call attention and demand some action.

During the 18th Century, a warning shot could be fired towards any ship whose colours (nationality) had to be ascertained. According to the law of the sea
Admiralty law

Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and Conflict of laws governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans....
, a ship thus hailed had to fly her flag and confirm it with a gunshot.

Warning shots are also used in military aviation
Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front....
, to demand some action of an "enemy" aircraft; the most common demand would be for the aircraft to change course. The ostensible justification for firing shots is that tracer rounds
Tracer ammunition

Tracer ammunition are special bullets that are modified to accept a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited upon firing, the composition burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye....
 are very bright and would immediately gain the attention of a crew whose radio is non-functioning, or who might not have noticed radio transmissions. The objective of warning shots is to demonstrate the ability to shoot, and cause fear in the aircraft's crew that they will be shot down if they do not comply with combatant's demands.

On the ground, a warning shot from a pistol, rifle, or shotgun is fired into the air, or occasionally into a nearby object, or aimed so that the shot passes the one being warned harmlessly. This is a sufficiently aggressive act to demand attention, and alert onlookers that they might be shot if directions are not followed.

By analogy, "warning shot" can be said of any action of declaration, especially a demonstration of power, intended or perceived as a last warning before hostile measures.

See also

  • Roof knocking
    Roof knocking

    Roof knocking refers to a code name used by the Israel Defense Forces for its practice of warning inhabitants of a building, suspected by the IDF to contain weapons, before it is bombed....
  • List of airliner shootdown incidents
    List of airliner shootdown incidents

    In the history of commercial aviation, there have been many airliner shootdown incidents which have been caused intentionally or by accident. This is a chronologically ordered list meant to document instances where airliners have been brought down by gunfire or missile attacks, including wartime incidents, rather than terrorist bombings or sa...