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110-802: The kammerlader was introduced in 1842, and it is thought that about 40,000 were manufactured until about 1870. While the first flintlock breech-loading rifles, such as the Ferguson , were launched decades before 1842, Norway was among the first European countries to introduce breech loaders on a large scale throughout its army and navy. The kammerladers were manufactured in several different models, and most models were at some point modified in some way or other. The kammerladers were phased out as more modern rifles were approved for use. They were either modified for rimfire cartridges, sold off to civilians or melted for scrap. Rifles sold to civilians were often modified for use as shotguns or hunting firearms. Today it

220-449: A " half-cocked " position, which is the "safe" position since pulling the trigger from this position does not cause the gun to fire. From this position, the frizzen can be opened, and powder can be placed in the pan. Then the frizzen is closed, and the hammer is pulled back into the "full cocked" position, from which it is fired. The phrase "don't go off half cocked" originated with these types of weapons, which were not supposed to fire from

330-653: A 1,400-strong Qing-Joseon force and were defeated again by Joseon musketeers. Under the Three Branch System, similar to the Spanish Tercio , Joseon organized their army under firearm troops (artillery and musketeers), archers, and pikemen or swordsmen. The percentage of firearms in the Joseon army rose dramatically as a result of the shorter training period for firearms. In addition, the sulphur mines discovered in Jinsan reduced

440-501: A century of peace and the people not being familiar with warfare that this happened, it was really because the Japanese had the use of muskets that could reach beyond several hundred paces, that always pierced what they struck, that came like the wind and the hail, and with which bows and arrows could not compare. Arquebuses were imported by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) at an uncertain point, but

550-463: A century. The musketeers were the first infantry to give up armour entirely. Musketeers began to take cover behind walls or in sunken lanes and sometimes acted as skirmishers to take advantage of their ranged weapons. In England, the musket barrel was cut down from 4 ft (1.2 m) to 3 ft (0.91 m) around 1630. The number of musketeers relative to pikemen increased partly because they were now more mobile than pikemen. Muskets of

660-419: A far longer range, while preserving the musket's comparatively faster reloading rate. Their use led to a decline in the use of massed attacking formations, as these formations were too vulnerable to the accurate, long-range fire a rifle could produce. In particular, attacking troops were within range of the defenders for a longer period of time, and the defenders could also fire at them more quickly than before. As

770-424: A legitimate innovation is uncertain and may consist of nothing more than a name change. Trigger guards began appearing in 1575. Bayonets were attached to muskets in several parts of the world from the late 16th to 17th centuries. Locks came in many different varieties. Early matchlock and wheel lock mechanisms were replaced by later flintlock mechanisms and finally percussion locks . In some parts of

880-430: A minute, since the kammerlader has a more elaborate loading procedure. Most of the rifles were modified during their service life . The first major modification was the change from a fixed rear sight mounted behind the receiver to an adjustable rear sight mounted in front of it. The first of the adjustable rear sights was a 'flip over' type: an L-shaped piece of metal that was hinged so it could 'flip' over. Later this

990-425: A pre-measured amount of gunpowder and a lead bullet wrapped in paper — both to speed up and simplify loading the weapon. In the early days of the rifle most units used round bullets in their weapons, but in 1855 it was decided that all units should use the a conical ball instead since this gave better accuracy. The paper was wrapped around the cylindrical section of the bullet and secured with wool string secured in

1100-448: A random direction from the aiming point. The practice of rifling, putting grooves in the barrel of a weapon, causing the projectile to spin on the same axis as the line of flight, prevented this veering off from the aiming point. Rifles already existed in Europe by the late 15th century, but they were primarily used as sporting weapons and had little presence in warfare. The problem with rifles

1210-524: A report presented to the Council of Ten on 24 September 1572, observed: They used for arms, swords, lances, arquebuses, which all the soldiers carry and use; their arms are also superior and better tempered than those of any other nation. The barrels of the arquebuses are generally six spans long and carry a ball little less than three ounces in weight. They use them with such facility that it does not hinder them drawing their bows nor handling their swords, keeping

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1320-418: A result, while 18th-century attackers would only be within range of the defenders' weapons for the time it would take to fire a few shots, late-19th-century attackers might suffer dozens of volleys before they drew close to the defenders, with correspondingly high casualty rates. However, the use of massed attacks on fortified positions were not immediately replaced with new tactics, and as a result, major wars of

1430-403: A round ball, Nessler ball or Minié ball all wrapped up in paper. Cartridges would then be placed in a cartridge box, which would typically be worn on the musketeer's belt during a battle. Unlike a modern cartridge, this paper cartridge was not simply loaded into the weapon and fired. Instead, the musketeer would tear open the paper (usually with his teeth), pour some of the powder into the pan and

1540-412: A short hammer (sometimes called the "cock" due to its shape resembling a rooster 's beak ). Before shooting , the hammer is pulled back into a spring -tensioned (or "cocked") position. Pulling the trigger disengages the sear and releases the hammer, which swings forward causing the flint to strike a piece of steel called the " frizzen ". At the same time, the motion of the flint and hammer pushes

1650-489: A shot, and only then are they allowed to give fire. Each time the trumpet gives a blast, they fire one time, spread out in battle array according to the drilling patterns. If the trumpet keeps blasting without stopping, then they are allowed to fire all together until their fire is exhausted, and it's not necessary [in this case] to divide into layers. Frederick Lewis Taylor claims that a kneeling volley fire may have been employed by Prospero Colonna 's arquebusiers as early as

1760-418: A small piece of cloth for cleaning. A variation on the worm called the "screw and wiper" combined the typical design of a worm with a ball puller's screw. The heavy arquebus known as the musket appeared in Europe by 1521. In response to firearms, thicker armour was produced, from 15 kg (33 lb 1 oz) in the 15th century to 25 kg (55 lb 2 oz) in the late 16th century. Armour that

1870-578: A successful military operation in Korea during the Japanese invasions of Korea . Korean chief state councillor Ryu Seong-ryong noted the clear superiority of the Japanese musketeers over the Korean archers: In the 1592 invasion, everything was swept away. Within a fortnight or a month the cities and fortresses were lost, and everything in the eight directions had crumbled. Although it was [partly] due to there having been

1980-697: A very wide range of different models for a collector to collect. The kammerladers were phased out as more modern weapons became available — the Remington M1867 , the Krag–Petersson (adopted by the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1876), and the Jarmann M1884 . It is likely that the last of the modified naval kammerladers was not finally removed from military warehouses until after the Krag–Jørgensen

2090-417: Is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus , capable of penetrating plate armour . By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually disappeared as the use of heavy armour declined, but musket continued as the generic term for smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century. In turn, this style of musket

2200-491: Is a type of lock used on muskets , rifles , and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. It is commonly referred to as a " flintlock " (without the word mechanism ). The term is also used for the weapons themselves as a whole, and not just the lock mechanism. The flintlock mechanism, also known as the true flintlock, was developed in France in the early 17th century. It quickly replaced earlier technologies, such as

2310-452: Is as follows (refer to picture): The exact rate of firing with the kammerlader depends, as with all manually operated weapons, entirely on the shooter. While the sources do not give any indication as to the rate of fire attainable by the average soldier, it is known that it was higher than for a muzzle loading musket  — roughly four rounds a minute — and most probably lower than the contemporary German needle gun 's 10 to 12 rounds

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2420-567: Is hard to find a kammerlader in original condition, or indeed at all. The kammerlader is often claimed to be an outstanding weapon for its time. The only contemporary European rifle which it can be compared to is the Prussian needle gun  — the only other breech loader adopted for service in the 1840s. Images of various models and modifications: Various models of the kammerlader: Ammunition Modifications to rimfire: In use Flintlock mechanism The flintlock mechanism

2530-583: Is hard to find an unmodified kammerlader , and collectors often pay high prices for them. In the early 19th century, the Norwegian Army decided that the nature of warfare was changing away from the massed ranks firing in volleys towards smaller units advancing and firing independently. This conclusion was reached after having observed the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars and

2640-481: Is sounded, at which the musketeers fire in concert, either all at once or in five volleys (齊放一次盡擧或分五擧)." This training method proved to be quite formidable in the 1619 Battle of Sarhu , in which 10,000 Korean musketeers managed to kill many Manchus before their allies surrendered. While Korea went on to lose both wars against the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636 , their musketeers were well respected by Manchu leaders. It

2750-511: The Battle of Bicocca (1522). However, this has been called into question by Tonio Andrade who believes this is an over interpretation as well as mis-citation of a passage by Charles Oman suggesting that the Spanish arquebusiers kneeled to reload, when in fact Oman never made such a claim. This is contested by Idan Sherer, who quotes Paolo Giovio saying that the arquebusiers kneeled to reload so that

2860-461: The Kammerlader was proven to be among the most accurate military long arms in Europe. The Norwegian rifles were shown to be accurate to a range of about 1 km (0.6 mi), which is quite an achievement even by today's standards. Every breechloader must have some form of mechanism that allows the breech to be opened for loading, yet securely locked for firing. This was even more important in

2970-590: The Musket Wars period in New Zealand, between 1805 and 1843, at least 500 conflicts took place between various Māori tribes—often using trade muskets in addition to traditional Māori weapons. The muskets were initially cheap Birmingham muskets designed for the use of coarse grain black powder. Maori favoured the shorter barrel versions. Some tribes took advantage of runaway sailors and escaped convicts to expand their understanding of muskets. Early missionaries—one of whom

3080-522: The Napoleonic Wars , when Brandon flints were exported worldwide with a near global monopoly. It later declined rapidly as flintlocks were replaced by percussion locks. However, Brandon still supplied 11 million flints a year to the Turkish army during the Crimean War and was exporting flints to Africa as late as the 1960s. In France, gun flint production between the 17th and 19th centuries centered around

3190-623: The Norwegian Army preferred the Lund, while the Landmark was the option of choice for the Royal Norwegian Navy . For the Lund conversion , the chamber was replaced with a breechblock , and an extractor was mounted on the left side of the receiver. A chamber fitting the 12.17 x 44 mm rimfire cartridge was milled out of the rear part of the barrel. The right side of the receiver was lowered 6 mm and

3300-407: The kammerlader . Rotating the crank opens the breech of the weapon, allowing for loading. The use of paper cartridges  — a pre-measured amount of gunpowder and a lead bullet wrapped in paper — also sped up the rate of fire . While not as fast as more modern rifles, which use fixed cartridges, the kammerlader was much faster than contemporary muzzle-loading rifles . The loading sequence

3410-461: The matchlock and wheellock and the earlier flintlocks. It continued to be in common use for over two centuries, until it was finally replaced by the percussion lock . Flintlock firing mechanisms made their appearance in the 16th century in the form of the snaplock , the snaphance , the miquelet , and the doglock . The so-called true flintlock was developed in France in the early 17th century. Though its exact origins are not known, credit for

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3520-463: The 16th to 19th centuries were accurate enough to hit a target of 50 cm (20 in) in diameter at a distance of 100 m (330 ft). At the same distance, musket bullets could penetrate a steel bib about 4 mm (0.16 in) thick, or a wooden shield about 130 mm (5.1 in) thick. The maximum range of the bullet was 1,100 m (1,200 yd). The speed of the bullets was between 305 and 540 m/s (1,000 and 1,770 ft/s), and

3630-449: The 1800s. The differences between the arquebus and musket post-16th century are therefore not entirely clear, and the two have been used interchangeably on several occasions. Flintlocks are not usually associated with arquebuses. A variation of the musket known as the caliver , a standardized "calibre" (spelled "caliber" in the US), appeared in Europe around 1567–9. According to Jacob de Gheyn,

3740-507: The 21st century, supplying historic gun enthusiasts who continue to shoot original and replica flintlock firearms. A gunlock was a flintlock mechanism that fired a cannon . They were a significant innovation in naval gunnery and were first used by the Royal Navy in 1745. Their use spread slowly as they could not be retrofitted to older guns – the French had still not generally adopted them by

3850-572: The Great , recruited in 1744 from a Jäger unit of game-keepers and foresters, but the rifle's slow rate of fire still restricted their usage. The invention of the Minié ball in 1849 solved both major problems of muzzle-loading rifles. Rifled muskets of the mid-19th century, like the Springfield Model 1861 which dealt heavy casualties at the Battle of Four Lakes , were significantly more accurate, with

3960-516: The Ming only began fielding matchlocks in 1548. The Chinese used the term "bird-gun" to refer to arquebuses and Turkish arquebuses may have reached China before Portuguese ones. In Zhao Shizhen's book of 1598 AD, the Shenqipu , there were illustrations of Ottoman Turkish musketeers with detailed illustrations of their muskets, alongside European musketeers with detailed illustrations of their muskets. There

4070-586: The Sri Lankan soldiers to the point where, according to the Portuguese chronicler, Queirós, they could "fire at night to put out a match" and "by day at 60 paces would sever a knife with four or five bullets" and "send as many on the same spot in the target." Despite initial reluctance, the Safavid Empire of Persia rapidly acquired the art of making and using handguns. A Venetian envoy, Vincenzo di Alessandri, in

4180-534: The US Congress authorized domestic production of gun flints, but no industry was ever established. In the Eastern United States, Indigenous American people reportedly made their own gun flints by re-working stone spear heads. They also made flints from scratch using local chert , but they preferred imported European flints if they could get access to them. Small scale suppliers of gun flints still exist in

4290-560: The Wokou pirates in Zhejiang Province. Qi Jiguang trained troops in their use for several years until they [muskets] became one of the skills of the Chinese, who subsequently used them to defeat the Japanese." By 1607 Korean musketeers had been trained in the fashion which Qi Jiguang prescribed, and a drill manual had been produced based on the Chinese leader's Jixiao Xinshu . Of the volley fire,

4400-521: The ability to hit a man-sized target at a distance of 500 yards (460 m) or more. The smoothbore musket generally allowed no more than 300 yards (270 m) with any accuracy. The Crimean War (1853–1856) saw the first widespread use of the rifled musket for the common infantryman and by the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865) most infantry were equipped with the rifled musket. These were far more accurate than smoothbore muskets and had

4510-521: The back. The second rank, either marching forward or standing still, [will next] fire together [and] then march to the back. After that, the third and following ranks will do the same. Thus before the last ranks have fired, the first will have reloaded. In the 18th century, regular light infantry began to emerge. In contrast to the front-line infantry, they fought in the loose formation, used natural shelters and terrain folds. In addition, they were better prepared to target single targets. This type of troops

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4620-401: The bolt of a crossbow . The Italian moschetti is a diminutive of mosca , a fly. The first recorded usage of the term "musket" or moschetti appeared in Europe in the year 1499. Evidence of the musket as a type of firearm does not appear until 1521 when it was used to describe a heavy arquebus capable of penetrating heavy armour. This version of the musket fell out of use after

4730-403: The bottom plate exchanged from a brass plate to a steel plate with a track for the extractor. The firing pin was curved to allow the hammer to strike it. The Landmark conversion refers to a modification invented by Jens Landmark . The chamber , which on a kammerlader is a separate piece tilted up and to the rear, is opened as before, but can be tilted further backwards by means of a hinge in

4840-706: The caliver was a smaller musket that did not require a fork rest. Benerson Little described it as a "light musket". Matchlock firearms were used in India by 1500, in Đại Việt by 1516, and in Southeast Asia by 1540. According to a Burmese source from the late 15th century, King Minkhaung II would not dare attack the besieged town of Prome due to the defenders' use of cannon and small arms that were described as muskets, although these were probably early matchlock arquebuses or wall guns . The Portuguese may have introduced muskets to Sri Lanka during their conquest of

4950-558: The coastline and lowlands in 1505, as they regularly used short barrelled matchlocks during combat. However, P. E. P. Deraniyagala points out that the Sinhalese term for gun, 'bondikula', matches the Arabic term for gun, 'bunduk'. Also, certain technical aspects of the early Sri Lankan matchlock were similar to the matchlocks used in the Middle East, thus forming the generally accepted theory that

5060-409: The development of the true flintlock is usually given to Marin le Bourgeoys , an artist, gunsmith, luthier, and inventor from Normandy, France. Marin le Bourgeoys's basic design became the standard for flintlocks, quickly replacing most older firing mechanisms throughout Europe. Flintlock weapons based on this design were used for over two centuries, until gradually superseded by caplock mechanisms in

5170-414: The double-barrel shot gun ( Tuparra – two barrel) during fighting often using women to reload the weapons when fighting from a Pā (fortified village or hillfort). They often resorted to using nails, stones or anything convenient as "shot". From the 1850s, Māori were able to obtain superior military style muskets with greater range. One of the authors was a Pakeha (European) who lived among Māori, spoke

5280-408: The early 19th century. The key element apparently added by Marin le Bourgeoys was the vertically acting sear . The sear is a "catch" or "latch" which holds the mechanism in a position ready to fire; the trigger acts upon, or is part of, the sear, releasing it and allowing a strong spring to act on the mechanism to fire the gun. Previously the sear, located within the lock, had acted through a hole in

5390-462: The early designs made before the introduction of the cartridge . Achieving a gas-tight seal was difficult with the metallurgy of the day, and it can be argued that the Norwegian kammerladers are the first fully successful military breechloaders — the needle gun was slightly earlier, but it leaks a significant gas pressure around the breech. A crank mounted on the side of the weapon operates

5500-491: The enemy with either fire or bayonet. This allowed the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic infantry a much greater degree of mobility compared to their Ancien Régime opponents, and also allowed much closer cooperation of infantry with cavalry and artillery, which were free to move in between the infantry columns of the former rather than being trapped in between the linear formation of the latter. The colonne d'attaque

5610-573: The entire infantry. In the 19th century, a new tactic was devised by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars . This was the ' colonne d'attaque' , or attack column, consisting of one regiment up to two brigades of infantry. Instead of advancing slowly all across the battlefield in line formations, the French infantry were brought forward in such columns, preceded by masses of skirmishers to cover and mask their advance. The column would then normally deploy into line right before engaging

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5720-644: The expense of producing gunpowder. Under the reign of Sukjong of Joseon (1700s), 76.4% of the local standing army in Chungcheong were musketeers. Under the reign of King Yeongjo , Yoon Pil-Un, Commander of the Sua-chung, improved on firearms with the Chunbochong (천보총), which had a greater range of fire than the existing ones. Its usage is thought to have been similar to the Afghan jezail or American long rifle . During

5830-591: The first file has finished shooting they make space for the next (which is coming up to shoot) without turning face, countermarching [contrapassando] to the left but showing the enemy only the side of their bodies, which is the narrowest of the body, and [taking their place at the rear] about one to three steps behind, with five or six pellets in their mouths, and two lighted matchlock fuses ... and they load [their pieces] promptly ... and return to shoot when it's their turn again." Most historians, including Geoffrey Parker , have ignored Eguiluz, and have erroneously attributed

5940-404: The fragments' iron is in contact with air and it rapidly oxidises, making them extremely hot. Some fragments will fall into the powder in the pan and will ignite it. Flame from this burning powder travels through a small touch hole into the gun barrel ; the main propellant charge is ignited, causing the weapon to fire the projectile . Most hammers follow Marin le Bourgeoys's design, and have

6050-451: The frizzen back, opening the cover to a concealed flash pan , which contains a small charge of gunpowder . As the flint strikes the frizzen it creates sparks . The flint is harder than steel so it shaves off the frizzen a shower tiny steel fragments. These fragments exhibit pyrophoricity (the propensity to ignite spontaneously in air). Due to their minute size, they have an extremely large surface-area to volume ratio. A high proportion of

6160-410: The grooves. The end of the bullet was then covered in melted tallow, before the black powder was filled in behind the bullet and the end wrapped. For the 18 lødig rifles, a load of 96 grains (6.22 g) was used. Sources vary in the reported muzzle velocity , but it is known that during tests in 1849, the bullet penetrated 2 inches (51 mm) of wood at a distance of 800 alen (500 m). After

6270-552: The gun was faster and safer as the gunlock didn't use loose priming powder; the main charge was ignited by a quill filled with priming powder that was pushed through the touch hole during loading and pierced the cartridge bag, containing the main charge of gunpowder. After the introduction of gunlocks, linstocks were retained, but only as a backup means of firing. Some early land mines, or fougasses , were detonated by flintlocks. Flintlocks were also used to launch Congreve rockets . A flintlock tinder lighter , or tinder pistol ,

6380-414: The guns (銃裝不及), and frequently this mismanagement costs the lives of many people. Thus, whenever the enemy gets to within a hundred paces' distance, they [the musketeers] are to wait until they hear a blast on the bamboo flute, at which they deploy themselves in front of the troops, with each platoon (哨) putting in front one team (隊). They [the musketeer team members] wait until they hear their own leader fire

6490-418: The half cocked position of the hammer. Weapons using internal flintlock are relatively rare. This variant of the lock does not have an external cock. Its function is similar to striker-fired guns. Instead of the striker there is a rod holding the flint. The pan is located on the upper side of the barrel. The pan has a hinged cover with grooves on the underside. The gunsmith Stanislav Patzelta is considered to be

6600-467: The introduction of the Remington M1867 and its rimfire cartridge in 1867, the Norwegian Army and the Royal Norwegian Navy decided to convert some of the stock of kammerladers into rim fire rifles. There were two designs used for the modification: Landmarks and Lunds . Neither can be considered completely successful, but both were cheaper, and quicker, than manufacturing new M1867s. It seems that

6710-531: The invention of the countermarch to Maurice of Nassau , although the publication of the Milicia, Discurso y Regla Militar antedates Maurice's first letter on the subject by two years. Regardless, it is clear that the concept of volley fire had existed in Europe for quite some time during the 16th century, but it was in the Netherlands during the 1590s that the musketry volley really took off. The key to this development

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6820-517: The inventor of this system. According to other sources this lock could have been invented by the Austrian gunsmith Karl Bischof (Carl Pischoff). A gun flint is a piece of flint that has been shaped, or knapped into a wedge-shape that fits in the jaws of a flintlock. The gun flints were wrapped in a small piece of lead or leather (known as a flint pad ) to hold them firmly in place and were made in different sizes to suit different weapons. Pieces of

6930-485: The kinetic energy was 1,600–4,000 J (1,200–3,000 ft⋅lbf). The heavy musket went out of favour around the same time the snaphance flintlock was invented in Europe, in 1550. The snaphance was followed by the "true" flintlock in the late 17th century. While the heavy variant of the arquebus died out due to the decline of heavy armour, the term "musket" itself stuck around as a general term for 'shoulder arms' fireweapons, replacing "arquebus," and remained until

7040-416: The language fluently, had a Māori wife and took part in many intertribal conflicts as a warrior. The musket was a smoothbore firearm and lacked rifling grooves that would have spun the bullet in such a way as to increase its accuracy. The last contact with the musket barrel gives the ball a spin around an axis at right angles to the direction of flight. The aerodynamics result in the ball veering off in

7150-454: The late 19th century and early 20th century tended to produce very high casualty figures. Many soldiers preferred to reduce the standard musket reloading procedures to increase the speed of fire. This statement is from Thomas Anburey who served as a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army: "Here I cannot help observing to you, whether it proceeded from an idea of self-preservation, or natural instinct, but

7260-564: The latter hung at their saddle bows till occasion requires them. The arquebus is then put away behind the back so that one weapon does not impede the use of the other. During the Sengoku period of Japan, arquebuses were introduced by Portuguese merchantmen from the region of Alentejo in 1543 and by the 1560s were being mass-produced locally. By the end of the 16th century, the production of firearms in Japan reached enormous proportions, which allowed for

7370-733: The lighting of fires. Alarm clocks exist that, as well as sounding a bell, used a flintlock mechanism to light a candle. German and Austrian-made examples of these, dating from the 18th century, are preserved in the collections of the British Museum and the Hermitage Museum in Russia. An example dating from 1550 is in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (National Museum of Germanic Culture) in Nuremberg. Musket A musket

7480-404: The lockplate to engage the cock on the outside of the plate. The vertically acting sear acted on a piece called the tumbler, on the inside of the lock which was mounted on the same rotating shaft as the cock. This design proved to be the most efficient in terms of cost and reliability. A typical flintlock mechanism has a piece of flint which is held in place in between a set of jaws on the end of

7590-434: The manual says that "every musketeer squad should either divide into two musketeers per layer or one and deliver fire in five volleys or in ten." Another Korean manual produced in 1649 describes a similar process: "When the enemy approaches to within a hundred paces, a signal gun is fired and a conch is blown, at which the soldiers stand. Then a gong is sounded, the conch stops blowing, and the heavenly swan [a double-reed horn]

7700-409: The mid-16th century with the decline of heavy armour; however, the term itself stuck around as a general descriptor for "shoulder arms" fire weapons into the 19th century. The differences between the arquebus and musket post-16th century are therefore not entirely clear, and the two have been used interchangeably on several occasions. According to historian David A. Parrot, the concept of the musket as

7810-485: The mid-19th century. The Minié ball was small enough in diameter that it could be loaded as quickly as a round ball, even with a barrel that had been fouled with black powder residue after firing many shots, and the expanding skirt of the Minié ball meant that it would still form a tight fit with the barrel and impart a good spin into the round when fired. This gave the rifled musket an effective range of several hundred yards, which

7920-478: The middle of the chamber. The 12.17 x 44 mm rim fire cartridge is placed backwards, facing the shooter, before everything is rolled back forward. The only part to be modified was the chamber and a curving firing pin was added where the nipple for the cap had been. Pictures showing the Landmark conversion can be found here [2] A number of the kammerladers were also converted with the Remington action , by replacing

8030-500: The military. The volley fire technique transformed soldiers carrying firearms into organized firing squads with each row of soldiers firing in turn and reloading in a systematic fashion. Volley fire was implemented with cannons as early as 1388 by Ming artillerists, but volley fire with matchlocks was not implemented until 1526 when the Ottoman Janissaries used it during the Battle of Mohács . The matchlock volley fire technique

8140-421: The mineral agate could be used instead of flint, but this was difficult and expensive to shape and only used by countries such as Prussia that were without access to flint deposits. The experience of modern flintlock shooters shows that a good quality flint can be used for hundreds of shots, although for reliable shooting it must be sharpened periodically. The use of a worn flint could also be continued if it

8250-496: The more common attachments was a ball screw or ball puller, which was a screw that could be screwed into the lead ball to remove it if it had become jammed in the barrel, similar to the way that a corkscrew is used to remove a wine cork. Another attachment was called a worm, which was used to clear debris from the barrel, such as paper wadding that had not been expelled. Some worm designs were sturdy enough that they could be used to remove stuck ammunition. The worm could also be used with

8360-452: The musket was not entirely new to the island by the time the Portuguese came. In any case, soon native Sri Lankan kingdoms, most notably the Kingdom of Sitawaka and the Kingdom of Kandy , manufactured hundreds of Lankan muskets, with a unique bifurcated stock, longer barrel and smaller calibre, which made it more efficient in directing and using the energy of the gunpowder. These were mastered by

8470-446: The receivers but keeping the barrels and woodwork. These can be distinguished from ordinary Remington M1867s by having a shorter receiver with more rounded corners. It is unknown how many kammerladers were modified in this fashion. The kammerlader rifles were manufactured over a period of 25 years (1842 to 1867) in a wide range of both military and civilian models. Almost all the military rifles were modified once or more, resulting in

8580-530: The reliability of their weapons. A skilled craftsman could make several thousand gun flints a day so they were individually quite cheap items. In times of war, millions of gun flints were needed and in the United Kingdom, mining flint and then knapping it became a substantial cottage industry around Brandon, Suffolk , an area that previously saw large scale flint mining in the Neolithic area. In 1804, Brandon

8690-507: The rest into the barrel, follow it with the ammunition (and the paper as wadding if not using a Minié ball), then use the ramrod as normal to push it all into the barrel. While not as fast as loading a modern cartridge, this method did significantly speed up the loading process since the pre-measured charges meant that the musketeer did not have to carefully measure out the black powder with every shot. Some ramrods were equipped with threaded ends, allowing different attachments to be used. One of

8800-505: The second line of arquebusiers could fire without endangering those in front of them. European gunners might have implemented countermarch to some extent since at least 1579 when the Englishman Thomas Digges suggested that musketeers should, "after the old Romane manner make three or four several fronts, with convenient spaces for the first to retire and unite himselfe with the second, and both these if occasion so require, with

8910-585: The short Swedish campaign against Norway in 1814. Lessons were also learned from the Gunboat War , where small, mobile gunboats outmaneuvered larger, more heavily armed ships. It was decided that a breech loaded rifle was needed, more accurate than the old smoothbore muskets , yet quicker to load than the rifles issued to the Norwegian Jeger and Skijeger units. A special committee was created, and it started considering various firearm actions in 1837. It

9020-404: The slow reloading time became an increasing problem. The difficulty of reloading—and thus the time needed to do it—was diminished by making the musket ball much smaller than the internal diameter of the barrel, so as the interior of the barrel became dirty from soot from previously fired rounds, the musket ball from the next shot could still be easily rammed. To keep the ball in place once the weapon

9130-509: The small towns of Meusnes and Couffy . Meusnes has a small museum dedicated to the industry. A different colour, and a slightly different method of manufacture can allow archaeologists to distinguish between British-made and French-made flints. France was a globally dominant supplier of gun flints until about 1780. After which the British industry began to eclipse it. In North America, imported French and British flints were mostly used. In 1776

9240-401: The soldiers greatly improved the mode they were taught in, as to expedition. For as soon as they had primed their pieces and put the cartridge into the barrel, instead of ramming it down with their rods, they struck the butt end of the piece upon the ground, and bringing it to the present, fired it off". This practice was known as 'tap-loading'. As muskets became the default weapon of armies,

9350-504: The third; the shot [musketeers] having their convenient lanes continually during the fight to discharge their peces." The Spanish too displayed some awareness of the volley technique. Martín de Eguiluz described it in the military manual, Milicia, Discurso y Regla Militar , dating to 1586: "Start with three files of five soldiers each, separated one from the other by fifteen paces, and they should comport themselves not with fury but with calm skillfulness [con reposo diestramente] such that when

9460-439: The three main parts of a musket. Sixteenth- and 17th-century musketeers used bandoliers which held their pre-measured charges and lead balls. The Minié ball , which despite its name was actually bullet-shaped and not ball-shaped, was developed in the 1840s. The Minié ball had an expanding skirt which was intended to be used with rifled barrels, leading to what was called the rifled musket , which came into widespread use in

9570-416: The time of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). The earlier method of firing a cannon was to apply a linstock – a wooden staff holding a length of smoldering match at the end – to the touch hole of the gun, which was filled with loose priming powder. This was dangerous and made accurate shooting from a moving ship impossible as the gun had to be fired while standing to the side to avoid its recoil, and there

9680-555: The time that repeating rifles became common, they were known as simply "rifles", ending the era of the musket. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, firearms were often named after animals, and the word musket derived from the French word mousquette , which is a male sparrowhawk . An alternative theory is that derives from the 16th-century French mousquet, -ette , from the Italian moschetti, -etta , meaning

9790-509: The time. In Korea, the Joseon dynasty underwent a devastating war with the newly unified Japan that lasted from 1592 to 1598. The shock of this encounter spurred the court to undergo a process of military strengthening. One of the core elements of military strengthening was to adopt the musket. According to reformers, "In recent times in China they did not have muskets; they first learned about them from

9900-523: The world, such as China and Japan, the flintlock mechanism never caught on and they continued using matchlocks until the 19th century when percussion locks were introduced. In the latter half of the 18th century, several improvements were added to the musket. In 1750, a detent was added to prevent the sear from catching in the half-cock notch. A roller bearing was introduced in 1770 to reduce friction and increase sparks. In 1780, waterproof pans were added. The phrase "lock, stock, and barrel" refers to

10010-411: Was William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg who in 1594 described the technique in a letter to his cousin: I have discovered ... a method of getting the musketeers and soldiers armed with arquebuses not only to keep firing very well but to do it effectively in battle order ... in the following manner: as soon as the first rank has fired together, then by the drill [they have learned] they will march to

10120-441: Was 2 mm (0.079 in) thick required nearly three times as much energy to penetrate as did armour that was only 1 mm (0.039 in) thick. During the siege of Parma in 1521, many Spanish soldiers reportedly used an "arquebus with rest", a weapon much larger and more powerful than the regular arquebus. However, at this point, long-barrelled, musket-calibre weapons had been in use as wall-defence weapons in Europe for almost

10230-450: Was a device that saw use in wealthy households from the 18th Century until the invention of reliable matches. It somewhat resembled a small flintlock pistol, but without a barrel and with a candle holder and with legs so it could be stood upright. When the trigger was pulled, the sparks from the frizzen lit dry tinder in the pan, from which the candle would be quickly lit. The device provided a quick and reliable source of light, and flame for

10340-418: Was a noticeable delay between the application of the linstock and the gun firing. The gunlock was operated by pulling a cord, known as a lanyard . The gun-captain could stand behind the gun, safely beyond its range of recoil, and sight along the gun, firing when the roll of the ship lined the gun up with the enemy and so avoid the chance of the shot hitting the sea or flying high over the enemy's deck. Loading

10450-433: Was a significant improvement over the smooth bore musket. For example, combat ranges of 300 yd (270 m) were achievable using the rifled muskets during the American Civil War . Musketeers often used paper cartridges, which served a purpose similar to that of modern metallic cartridges in combining bullet and powder charge. A musket cartridge consisted of a pre-measured amount of black powder and ammunition such as

10560-404: Was a trained gunsmith—refused to help Māori repair muskets. Later, common practice was to enlarge the percussion hole and to hold progressively smaller lead balls between the fingers so that muskets could fire several shots without having to remove fouling. Likewise, Māori resorted to thumping the butt of the musket on the ground to settle the ball instead of using a ramrod. Māori favoured the use of

10670-483: Was again modified to a design known in Norway as a 'ski hill sight'; a simple, yet functional, adjustable tangent sight. In principle, this latest sight doesn't differ from the iron sights found on most modern firearms. Towards the end of the service life of the kammerladers , most of the small bore rifles were modified to allow the use of rim fire ammunition. The kammerlader was designed to use paper cartridges  —

10780-566: Was also illustration and description of how the Chinese had adopted the Ottoman kneeling position in firing while using European-made muskets, though Zhao Shizhen described the Turkish muskets as being superior to the European muskets. The Wu Pei Chih (1621) later described Turkish muskets that used a rack and pinion mechanism, which was not known to have been used in any European or Chinese firearms at

10890-420: Was approved for use in 1894, although sources are scarce on this. The rifles were either sold to civilians or melted down for scrap. Most of the rifles sold to civilians were turned into hunting implements, by replacing the barrel and/or the woodwork. Some of these were supposedly used for illegal hunting during World War II , when the occupying Germans had seized all modern weapons owned by civilians. Today it

11000-530: Was approved in 1867, more than 40,000 kammerladers in more than 80 different models were manufactured. In 1860 the caliber was reduced again, to four Swedish Linjer , or about 11.77 mm. When some of the Kammerladers were modified to rimfire after 1867, this meant that the barrels had to be bored out to 12.17 mm to accept the new cartridge. During a military sharpshooting competition held in Belgium in 1861,

11110-457: Was designed to fight against irregular enemy troops, such as militia, guerrillas and natives. At the beginning of the 19th century, the number of light infantry increased dramatically. In the French army, light infantry accounted for 25% of the infantry. In the Russian Army, 50 light infantry regiments and one company in each battalion were formed, which accounted for about 40% of light infantry in

11220-415: Was henceforth adopted by all European armies during and after the Napoleonic Wars . While some British historians, such as Sir Charles Oman , have postulated that it was the standard French tactic to charge enemy lines of infantry head on with their columns, relying on the morale effect of the huge column, and hence were often beaten off by the devastating firepower of the redcoats, more current research into

11330-523: Was loaded, it would be partially wrapped in a small piece of cloth. However, the smaller ball could move within the barrel as the musket was fired, decreasing the accuracy of musket fire (it was complained that it took a man's weight in lead musket balls to kill him). The development of volley fire —by the Ottomans, the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Dutch—made muskets more feasible for widespread adoption by

11440-478: Was next seen in mid-16th-century China as pioneered by Qi Jiguang and in late-16th-century Japan. Qi Jiguang elaborates on his countermarch volley fire technique in the Jixiao Xinshu : All the musketeers, when they get near the enemy are not allowed to fire early, and they're not allowed to just fire everything off in one go, [because] whenever the enemy then approaches close, there won't be enough time to load

11550-648: Was removed from the gun and replaced the other way up. Despite this, it was the British practice to include a new flint in each box of 20 rounds of ammunition for the Brown Bess musket. Contemporary American military manuals suggested a flint could last for around 50 shots, but the American military followed the British practice of supplying soldiers with one flint per 20 rounds. Archaeological investigation of American military sites shows soldiers discarded flints after very little use, suggesting they preferred new flints to ensure

11660-434: Was retired in the 19th century when rifled muskets (simply called rifles in modern terminology) using the Minié ball (invented by Claude-Étienne Minié in 1849) became common. The development of breech-loading firearms using self-contained cartridges (introduced by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835) and the first reliable repeating rifles produced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1860 also led to their demise. By

11770-410: Was soon clear that the desired weapon should: The end result was that a modern, breech-loading rifle was approved for use on the 18 May 1842. The caliber chosen for the new rifle was 18 lødig ( gauge ); in other words, one could manufacture 18 round bullets out of one Norwegian pound of lead. In modern terms this means the caliber of the rifle was 17.5 mm. From 1842, until the Remington M1867

11880-447: Was supplying over 400,000 flints a month to the British military. However flint knappers suffered from silicosis , known as Knappers Rot due to the inhalation of flint dust. It has been claimed this was responsible for the early death of three-quarters of Brandon gun flint makers. Brandon gun flints were well regarded as they had a lower rate of misfire than flints from other sources. The industry reached its height during and after

11990-589: Was the first Qing emperor Hong Taiji who wrote: "The Koreans are incapable on horseback but do not transgress the principles of the military arts. They excel at infantry fighting, especially in musketeer tactics." Afterwards, the Qing dynasty requested Joseon to aid in their border conflict with Russia. In 1654, 370 Russians engaged a 1,000-man Qing-Joseon force at the mouth of the Songhua River and were defeated by Joseon musketeers. In 1658, five hundred Russians engaged

12100-463: Was the tendency for powder fouling to accumulate in the rifling, making the piece more difficult to load with each shot. Eventually, the weapon could not be loaded until the bore was wiped clean. For this reason, smoothbore muskets remained the primary firearm of most armies until the mid-19th century. It was not until 1611 that rifles started seeing some limited usage in warfare by Denmark. Around 1750, rifles began to be used by skirmishers of Frederick

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