Weapons : A Brief Introduction-2

Note: It is the continuation of a previous article titled ‘Weapons: A brief introduction’. Please consider reading that one first to catch up. Happy weapon-ing ;)

Last time we discussed about a couple of mechanisms, matchlock and wheellock to be precise, that were used to in early handguns. We understood how those mechanisms worked and what pros and cons are associated with them. Now that we know how those two works, it is only appropriate to go through some examples. This is my favorite part!

Type: Matchlock

Country: Japan

Date: Edo Period (1615-1868)

This is a Japanese matchlock pistol, which were referred to as ‘Bajozutsu’. Firearms made their way into Japan through Portuguese sailors who docked (or ship-wrecked) on Tanegashima. These pistols were not very practical for a horse back fight, since you need to lit the match-cord to fire the pistol, but still Samurais kept these as a symbol of power, pride and honour.

 

Type: Wheellock

Country: Germany

Date: 1575AD

Barrel: 11 inches

This beauty is a classic example of vintage over-decorated firearms. Back in 1500s, guns were not as popular as they are now; therefore, those who owned pistols were high-class people with large pockets. Carefully crafted and heavily designed firearms resonated with their status in society. The gun is comparatively angular, at least as compared to the other guns of that time, for example the German wheellock carbines. This angular body allowed user to carry the gun in a holster. The heavily decorated pommel at the end of the gun worked as a counter weight. Most wheellocks were of same design, except the embroidery and decoration, which was unique to every gun.

Type: Wheellock

Country: Italy (controversial)

Date: 1520

Barrel: 11.5 inches

This Wheellock is a typical 16^th century Italian craftsmanship. The origin is not clear as Italy and Hungary had great ties back then, and many Italian-styled firearms were crafted in the Hungarian lands. Wheellocks were very expansive as compared to matchlock and flintlock mechanisms, still royalty and rich merchants kept this model in business as long as 19^th century.

“The idea of Wheellock mechanism seems to have emerged from the Codico Atlantico of Leonardo da Vinci, where da Vinci explains a similar kind of mechanism. Since Wheellock was the first truly concealable pistol, after its invention it soon became a matter of concern for monarchs. This resulted in the banning of pistols to avoid the assassination attempts on VIPs.”

 

Flintlock Mechanism

This mechanism is the true predecessor of Matchlock in terms of popularity and production. A number of mechanisms also appeared during the development phase of flintlock, for example the Spanish Miquelet system and the Dutch Snaphaunce lock, emerged in the 1540s. Snaphaunce lock featured a flint gripped in the jaws of a spring-loaded hammer, which when released struck a steel-piece and directed a shower of sparks into the priming pan. The new system became popular quickly, and evolved into the true flintlock in the early 1600s. Early flintlocks were very heavy and were completely useless for anything beyond 15 metres. The flintlock system replaced the old and less reliable systems and established a complete dominance all over the Europe. The flintlock was a combination of Miquelet, developed in early 17^th century Spain, and the Snaphaunce lock. A gif below explains the working of a flintlock mechanism.

 

As you can notice, the flint is used here to ignite the sparks, unlike the matchlock that used match-cord or the wheellock that used a spinning wheel and a pyrite for igniting the gunpowder. When the trigger is pulled, arm holding the flint strikes the steel panel. As a result, sparks are created and the steel panel, which was acting as a lid for the gunpowder pan, open up to expose the pan. The sparks then shower over the gun powder, henceforth launching the fireball. Although I tried to explain it as good as I can, I think you can better understand the movement by the GIF.

Flintlock models saw a tremendous amount of advancement and were the most used in the 18^th century. By the dawn of 19^th century, these pistols made their way to become the standard auxiliary weapons of Calvary forces. By this time decoration became a pointless luxury. The quality of these guns was as profound and as modern as possible at that time. The design of military level firearms allowed the use of the pistols as clubs if flipped; this was possible because of heavy brass plating on the butts. Flintlocks remained mainstream handguns for a very long time, and to mention each and every development is not possible, simply because of two reasons; firstly, I am not aware of each and every development and secondly, excitement of writing about pistols will outweigh the flintlocks.

 

Asia’s love for Matchlocks

As mentioned earlier, matchlocks were not very popular among the European gunsmiths. But this was not the case with Asian gunsmiths. Asian countries, especially the southern and south pacific Asian nations kept on manufacturing matchlocks while the Europeans upgraded to the wheellocks and flintlocks. Majority of Indian firearm of earlier times featured matchlock. Matchlock was a very basic mechanism and required very little craftsmanship and input. On the other hand, wheellocks were very expensive and required precision and skills. Flintlocks too, were harder to manufacture as compared to the matchlocks. ‘Tanegashima’ rifles were famous Japanese variants of matchlock rifles, named after the place where Portuguese first arrived (crashed) with these guns in 1543. If a matchlock or ‘Tanegesima’ is in form of a pistol, it is called a ‘Bajozutsu’. These guns, although were not much useful for horse-riding samurais, succeeded in gaining popularity early on. Samurais started carrying these ‘Bajozutsu’ everywhere as a sign of pride and power. Artwork on guns was a common thing back then and Samurais decorated the barrels of their ‘Tanegashima’ rifles and ‘Bajozutsu’ pistols with their respective family crests. In India, matchlocks dominated for a very long time. Still flintlocks were not completely neglected; many specimens of flintlock rifles and pistols are available till date. Many matchlocks were made in the Indian subcontinent and these guns became very popular among the infamous Indian pirates. Many freedom fighters also used to matchlocks to fight against Britishers, who were well equipped with more advanced flintlocks. Below is an example of Indian matchlock from 1700s.

This is the end of this article. In the next article we will go through the mechanism that revolutionized the manufacturing of handguns. We will also look into early revolvers. And, in case you’re interested in vintage firearms, go to Royal Armouries. All the pictures used in this blog are from that site.

Hope you learnt something new today….

Please help us reach more and more people by sharing this article…..