History of Firearms

One of the greatest scientists of the Middle Age was Roger Bacon, born in
1241 in Somerset, England. Between 1257 and 1265, Bacon wrote a book of
chemistry called Opus Majus which contained a recipe for gunpowder. The
earliest picture of a gun is in a manuscript dated 1326 showing a pear-
shaped cannon firing an arrow. Crude cannons were also used by King
Edward III against the Scots in the year 1327. In general, the design of the
firearm components has remained almost unchanged since the first hand-
held weapons were built - except for the ignition system. The earliest
firearm had a simple hole in the barrel, called a touch-hole, where the
powder inside the barrel was exposed. The firearm was fired by touching
either a burning wick or a red-hot iron to the exposed gun powder. Over
the centuries, the development of more sophisticated and reliable ignition
systems distinguished modern firearms from earlier ones.

The use of first firearm started in the early 14th century, which were not
much like a firearm used today. Development in firearms is listed below:

1. Hand cannon

The earliest type of firearm was the 'Hand Cannon' which was developed
in the fifteenth century. It was small hollow metal tube closed at one end
and open at another, with a touch-hole for ignition. The gun powder was
filled in the barrel through the open end of the tube (Muzzle End) of the
Barrel.

It was unsteady, required that the user prop it on a stand, brace it with one
hand against his chest and use his other hand to touch a lighted match to
the touch-hole, and had an effective range of only about thirty to fourty
yards.
 Hand Cannon

2. Match Lock System

The Matchlock was a welcome improvement in the mid-fifteenth century

and remained in use even into the early 1700s, when it was much cheaper
to mass produce than the better classes of firearms with more sophisticated
ignition systems. The Matchlock secured a lighted wick in a moveable arm
which, when the trigger was depressed, was brought down against the
flash pan to ignite the powder. This allowed the musketeer to keep both
hands on the gun, improving his aim drastically. The gun had its
weaknesses, though. It took time to ignite the end of the wick, which left
the musketeer useless in case of a surprise attack. Also, it was difficult to
keep the wick burning in damp weather. For the most part, longbow men
were more effective in battle than the musketeers. The one real advantage
the musketeers possessed was the intimidation factor which their weapons
provided. By 1540 the matchlock design was improved to include a cover
plate over the flash pan which automatically retracted as the trigger was
pressed.

In time, the Native Americans

(Indians) discovered the
weaknesses of this form of
ignition and learned to take
advantage of them.

Fig.1.2 Matchlock Ignition System

 Fig.1.2 Matchlock Ignition System Based Firearm

3. Wheel Lock System

The Wheel Lock was the next step in firearms evolution. Invented by
Johann Kiefuss of Nuremberg in 1517. In this system a wheel with
corrugated edge is put into motion by pressing the trigger. The ignition
mechanism consist of iron pyrites mounted on a striker arm, comes in
contact with a serrated steel wheel producing spark, the spark thus
produced fall on the gun powder contained in the barrel resulting in
ignition of main charge. Although the wheel lock design was eventually
improved with more durable springs, and a cover over the wheel
mechanism to protect it and keep it dry, the wheel lock was an expensive
gun to make and it was impossible to equip a complete army with the more
costly mechanism.

Fig. 1.3 Wheel Lock

4. Snaphaunce

The Snaphaunce first appeared around 1570, and was really an early form
of the Flintlock. This mechanism worked by attaching the flint to a spring-
loaded arm. When the trigger is pressed, the cover slides off the flash pan,
then the arm snaps forward striking the flint against a metal plate over the
flash pan and hopefully produces enough sparks to ignite the powder. This
mechanism was much simpler and less expensive than the Wheel Lock.
The German gunsmiths, who tended to ignore the technical advances of
other nationalities, continued to produce and improve upon the wheel lock
up until the early 18th century.

Fig. 1.4 Snaphaunce

5. Flint Lock

The Flintlock was developed in France around 1612. A key contributor to

this development was Marin le Bourgeoys who was assigned to the Louvre
gun shops by King Henri IV of France. The Flintlock's manufacture slowly
spread throughout Europe, and by the second half of the century it became
more popular than the Wheel Lock and Snaphaunce. The main difference
between the Flintlock and Snaphaunce is that in the Flintlock the striking
surface and flash pan cover are all one piece, where in the Snaphaunce they
are separate mechanisms. This made the mechanism even simpler, less
expensive, and more reliable than its predecessor. This simplicity allowed
for more creative gun designs, such as guns with multiple barrels and
miniature pistols which could be concealed easily inside a garment. By
1664 experiments with rotating-block repeated fire guns were under way
(like a revolver which holds a number of shots in a rotating cylinder) but
such weapons were dangerous to operate and would have to wait for
another century and a half to be made a standard weapon.

The northern Arabs acquired the Snaphaunce and Flintlock in the late
1600s and often designed their long guns with a sharply curving butt so
that they could be tucked under an arm and fired single-handed from the
back of a camel or horse.

In the early 1700s the Brown Bess Flintlock made its appearance. It
probably got its name from the acid-brown treatment of its barrel. I
mention this so that any flintlock owners with those brown-treated guns
(like mine!) will understand just how late in the game they appeared. By
this time, the flintlock was accurate up to about 80 yards but nobody could
aim at a man and kill him at 200 yards. A shooter of average experience
could load and fire two to three rounds per minute.

Fig. 1.5 Flint Lock Mechanism

6. Percussion Cap Action

The Percussion Cap ignition system was developed in 1805 by the

Reverend John Forsyth of Aberdeen shire. This firing mechanism is a great
step in advancement from its predecessors because it does not use an
exposed flash pan to begin the ignition process. Instead, it has a simple
tube which leads straight into the gun barrel.

The key to this system is the explosive cap which is placed on top of the
tube. The cap contains fulminate of mercury, a chemical compound which
explodes when it is struck. This is the same stuff as is used in the paper or
plastic caps in a child's cap gun. As illustrated above, when the cap is
struck by the hammer, the flames from the exploding fulminate of mercury
go down the tube, into the gun barrel, and ignite the powder inside the
barrel to propel the bullet.

This firing mechanism provided a major advance in reliability, since the

cap was almost certain to explode when struck. This mechanism is almost
immune to dampness, though in a rainfall one must still be cautious to
avoid getting water in the gun barrel or into the ignition system while
loading the weapon. The percussion cap was the key to making reliable
rotating-block guns (revolvers) which would fire reliably, and in the early
1800s several manufacturers began producing these multiple-shot sidearm
in mass quantities. The percussion cap firing mechanism gave an
individual soldier a weapon of precision and reliability which was used to
devastating effect in the U.S. Civil War.

Fig. 1.6 Percussion Cap Action

Match Lock Wheel Lock Snaphaunce Flint Lock Percussion Cap

Fig. 1.7 Muzzle Loader Firearm with Different Ignition Mechanism