The 17th century was quite interesting in terms of development firearms. All kinds of matchlocks, wheel locks, and flintlocks were used by troops around the world. Gradual improvements in both design and production base greatly influenced the armament of armies.

Here we will try to describe the main weapon systems of 1640-1680, which could have been used by musketeers in Eastern Europe. Let's consider the three most popular systems: wick, wheel and flint-impact.

1.Matchlock

Around the end of the 15th century, the design of the matchlock acquired those features that would be characteristic of it in the future.

The structure can be divided, conditionally, into two units - a shelf and a lock. At the beginning of the century they were separated, by the end of the century they began to be combined into one structure.

Seed powder was poured onto the shelf before the shot, intended to ignite the main charge in the barrel. To prevent an accidental shot, the shelf on top was covered with a sliding lid. Before the shot, the shooter moved it away. On the shelf there was also a special shield (fireshield) - a kind of screen that protected the eyes from a flash of flame when fired. As a rule, the shelf was located directly on the trunk on the right side.

The main purpose of the lock is to ignite the seed powder on the shelf. To do this, before firing, the wick was clamped in an arc (serpent) and special mechanism dropped onto an open shelf. The design of the drive was very different - from the simplestS- a shaped arc, to more advanced mechanisms driven by springs.

The design itself was very simple and extremely unpretentious. This allowed it to remain in service with the European armies almost until the Northern War.

But it also had some disadvantages. The main thing is the need for the shooter to always have a lit wick with him. And the time required to install the wick on the lock before firing. If the first drawback was combated by forcing every 10th soldier to carry a lit fuse, then there was no need to talk about the suddenness of the use of weapons.

2 Wheel lock

Historians have long debated who should be considered the inventor.wheel lock. We agree on only one thing - this lock could not have been invented without a clock mechanism with numerous wheels, springs and winding keys.

The lock consisted of fifty parts, the most important of which was a gear with notches, the axis of which was connected to a spring. After the spring was cocked with a key and the trigger was pressed, the wheel spun, striking the flint with its notches, and the sparks falling from it fell onto the shelf with the seed powder.

Improving the wheel lock, The craftsmen soon equipped it with a stopper that reliably held the spring in the cocked state, and a sliding shelf cover. At the same time, a loaded weapon could be kept ready for battle for quite a long time. And fire a shot by simply pressing the trigger.

In the 17th century, locks appeared in which the spring was compressed after turning the trigger, equipped with an additional rod. And a little earlier they were equipped with a sneller, which accelerated and softened the descent.

The main disadvantage of such locks is their complexity and, accordingly, price. Therefore, only a few privileged units were supplied with wheeled weapons in sufficient quantities. And in most armies of the world they were in service only with officers. Although well-made samples served for a long time and faithfully (by the way, they were used without alterations until the 18th century).

Wheel locks allowed us to make the weapon compact. Only with the advent of this castle did it become possible to make pistols.

3 Flint-percussion lock

The next step inimproving the ignition system combat charge was the creation of a flintlock in the second half of the 16th century. Unlike the wheeled one, sparks were struck in it after one powerful blow of flint on a steel flint. It turned out to be simpler, and therefore more reliable. And here historians argue about the authorship, although most likely such a device was invented almost simultaneously in several countries. Proof of this is the existence of Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Karelian, Mediterranean, Baltic, Swedish and other varieties of it, differing in the arrangement of parts and components and the principles of their interaction.

M. le Bourget

Here we have posted a selection mainly of matchlock muskets from 1630-1700. since, most likely, mercenary troops in Eastern Europe could have been armed with such weapons.

"A new name, musket, appeared around 1530 in Italy. The origin of this term is quite vague. Since many large artillery pieces bore the names of various living creatures, then the use of the word “moschetto” - musket, as a young male sparrowhawk is called - does not seem at all strange. The Italians themselves, however, were among the first to associate this word with the name of the inventor, whose name was Moschetta from Feltro. There was also an assumption about the Spanish origin of the term - precisely from the word “mascas” or “masquas”, which means “sparks from fire”. Another version points to Russia, which was called Muscovy at that time, as the birthplace of this weapon.

In Dresden there are muskets dating from 1570 and 1573, and the first versions of these weapons, which appeared in France, were so heavy that they could only be fired with their elbows resting on a support. The musket was initially unpopular in England, but by 1570 military theorists who had seen it in action during the continental wars began to insist on its use. Thus, the list of equipment issued in 1577 to the troops sent to help the Dutch included “muskets with powder flasks and shooting supports.”

In the case of the musket, the Germans had to be content with a military term of foreign origin, and in the inventory of military supplies of the city of Würzburg in 1584, “muscaten”, “halbe-musketen” and “dop-pel-musketen” are indicated. As for the prices of these weapons, in 1588 the citizens of the city of Norwich paid 27 shillings for each of the muskets made in England with bipods, powder flasks and “matchboxes”. By 1620 the price had dropped to 1 pound 8 pence, and in 1632 a musket cost 15 shillings 6 pence, a bipod 10 pence and a charge bag a further 2 shillings 6 pence.

By the early 17th century the musket was still a cumbersome weapon, as Sir Thomas Kelly in 1623 reports its barrel to be 4 feet long and to have a caliber of 12 balls per pound2.

However, the musket underwent improvements and became lighter, so that by the time of the English Civil War There was no need to use a bipod. The old name continued to be used to designate the most common type of firearm, which is fired from the shoulder. This continued until rifled muskets became so popular that they were simply called "rifles."

(With) William Carman. "History of firearms from ancient times to the 20th century"

“Musket, assassin of the Middle Ages.

How was a musket different from an arquebus? Size! Weighing 7-9 kilograms, the musket had a caliber of 22-23 millimeters and a barrel about one and a half meters long. Only in Spain - the most technically developed country in Europe at that time - could a durable and relatively light barrel of such length and caliber be made.

Naturally, such a bulky and massive gun could only be fired from a support, and two people had to operate it. But a bullet weighing 50-60 grams flew out of the musket at a speed of over 500 meters per second. She not only killed the armored horse, but also stopped it. The musket hit with such force that the shooter had to wear a cuirass or a leather pad on his shoulder to prevent the recoil from splitting his collarbone.

The long barrel provided the musket with relatively good accuracy for a smooth gun. The musketeer hit a person not from 20-25, but from 30-35 meters. But of much greater importance was the increase in the effective salvo firing range to 200-240 meters. At this entire distance, the bullets retained the ability to hit knightly horses and pierce the iron armor of pikemen. The musket combined the capabilities of the arquebus and pike, and became the first weapon in history that gave the shooter the opportunity to repel the onslaught of cavalry in open terrain. Musketeers did not have to run away from cavalry during a battle, therefore, unlike arquebusiers, they made extensive use of armor. Throughout the 16th century, there remained few musketeers in European armies. Musketeer companies (detachments of 100-200 people) were considered the elite of the infantry and were formed from nobles. This was partly due to the high cost of weapons (as a rule, a musketeer’s equipment also included a riding horse). But even more important were the high requirements for durability. When the cavalry rushed to attack, the musketeers had to repel it or die.”

A classic example of a 16th-17th century matchlock musket

17th century Dutch musketeer

The specific meaning of this term may vary depending on the historical period and the characteristics of national terminology.

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  Initially under musket understood the heaviest type of hand-held weapon, intended mainly for hitting targets protected by armor. According to one version, the musket in this form originally appeared in Spain around 1521, and already in the Battle of Pavia in 1525 they were used quite widely. The main reason for its appearance was that by the 16th century, even in the infantry, plate armor had become widespread, which did not always make it out of the lighter culverins and arquebuses (in Rus' - “arquebuses”). The armor itself also became stronger, so that arquebus bullets weighing 18-22 grams, fired from relatively short barrels, were ineffective when fired at an armored target. This required an increase in caliber to 22 or more millimeters, with a bullet weight of up to 50-55 grams. In addition, muskets owe their appearance to the invention of granular gunpowder, which radically facilitated the loading of long-barreled weapons and burned more completely and evenly, as well as to the improvement of technology, which made it possible to produce long but relatively light barrels best quality, including Damascus steel.

  The length of the musket barrel, usually faceted, could reach 65 calibers, that is, about 1400 mm, while the muzzle velocity of the bullet was 400-500 m/s, making it possible to defeat even a well-armored enemy at long distances - musket bullets pierced steel cuirasses at a distance of up to 200 meters. At the same time, the aiming range was small, about 50 meters for an individual living target - but the lack of accuracy was compensated for by tracking volley fire. As a result, by the beginning of the 17th century, the musket had practically replaced the arquebus in the weapon system of the European infantry. Muskets were also very popular among sailors for their ability to pierce a two-inch wooden ship's bulwark at short distances.

  Combat use

  The musket of the 16th-17th centuries was very heavy (7-9 kg) and was essentially a semi-stationary weapon - it was usually fired from a rest in the form of a special stand, bipod, reed (the use of the latter option is not recognized by all researchers), a fortress wall or the sides of the ship. The only hand weapons that were larger and heavier than muskets were fortress guns, which were fired exclusively from a fork on the fortress wall or a special hook (hook). To reduce recoil, shooters sometimes put a leather pillow on their right shoulder or wore a special steel armor. In the 16th century, locks were made of wick or wheel locks; in the 17th century, they were sometimes impact-flint locks, but most often wick locks. In Asia there were also analogues of the musket, such as the Central Asian multuk(karamultuk).

  The musket was reloaded on average in about one and a half to two minutes. True, already at the beginning of the 17th century there were virtuoso shooters who managed to fire several unaimed shots per minute, but in battle such shooting at speed was usually impractical and even dangerous due to the abundance and complexity of methods for loading a musket, which included about three dozen separate operations, each of which it was necessary to carry out with great care, constantly monitoring the smoldering wick located not far from the flammable gunpowder. For example, sometimes a shooter in a hurry forgot to remove the ramrod from the barrel, as a result of which, at best, it flew towards enemy battle formations, and the unlucky musketeer was left without ammunition. In the worst case, with careless loading of the musket (a ramrod left in the barrel, an excessively large charge of gunpowder, a loose bullet seating on the gunpowder, loading with two bullets or two powder charges, and so on), ruptures of the barrel were not uncommon, leading to injury to the shooter himself and those around him. . It was difficult to accurately measure the charge in battle, so special cartridge belts were invented, each of which contained a pre-measured amount of gunpowder per shot. They were usually hung on uniforms, and are clearly visible in some images of musketeers. Only at the end of the 17th century was a paper cartridge invented, which slightly increased the rate of fire - a soldier tore the shell of such a cartridge with his teeth, poured a small amount of gunpowder onto the seed shelf, and poured the rest of the gunpowder along with the bullet into the barrel and compacted it with a ramrod and wad.

  In practice, musketeers usually fired much less often than the rate of fire of their weapons allowed, in accordance with the situation on the battlefield and without wasting ammunition, since with such a rate of fire there was usually no chance of a second shot at the same target. Only when approaching the enemy or repelling an attack was the opportunity to fire as many volleys as possible in his direction appreciated. For example, in the Battle of Kissingen (1636), during 8 hours of battle, the musketeers fired only 7 volleys.

  But their volleys sometimes decided the outcome of the entire battle: killing a man-at-arms from 200 meters, even at a distance of 500-600 m, a bullet fired from a musket retained sufficient lethal force to inflict wounds, which, given the level of development of medicine at that time, were often fatal. Of course, in the latter case we are talking about random hits from “stray” bullets - in practice, the musketeers fired from a much shorter distance, usually within 300 steps (about the same 200 m). However, even at such a distance, confident hits on an individual target, especially a moving one, from a primitive smooth-bore musket, devoid of sighting devices, were impossible: even modern smooth-bore guns are capable of providing an effective bullet firing range of about 50-75 m, only in some cases - up to 100 m. That is why the musketeers were forced to fire in volleys, compensating for low accuracy with the amount of metal released into the air. Other reasons for this were the desire to inflict maximum damage on a fast-moving group target (cavalry detachment) in the very short time that it is in the firing sector, as well as, last but not least, the strong psychological impact of organized salvo fire on the enemy.

  For comparison, one archer fired up to ten arrows in two minutes (however, in the case of both a crossbow and firearms, the low rate of fire of an individual shooter was largely compensated by the use of multi-line formations, caracoling). The experienced archer also surpassed the musketeer in shooting accuracy: it is mentioned, in particular, that under ideal conditions, out of 20 fired arrows at 100 yards (91 m), 16 hit the target, while a musket in the same conditions, at best, had only 12 hits out of 20. Meanwhile, when shooting from bows, it was considered a very good result if at least one out of a hundred fired arrows hit a target protected by plate armor, since an arrow could only pierce it by chance, hitting at a certain angle, preferably in the softest area of ​​the plate with a defect heat treatment(armor steel was very heterogeneous in carbon content and hardened with “spots”) or into their unprotected joint, the likelihood of which was low, especially in the case of later armor, in which all joints were well covered. A heavy musket bullet practically did not ricochet, did not get stuck in shields, and it was impossible to protect against it with freely hanging panels of fabric that stopped the arrows. The damaging effect on a living target of a soft, large-caliber lead bullet, capable of flattening in the wound canal and effectively transferring its energy to its tissues, was incomparably stronger than that of a relatively slowly flying pointed arrow. Moreover, attempts to increase the lethality of arrows by increasing the width of the tip almost completely deprived them of their penetrating ability, making them suitable only for hitting an enemy not protected by armor, while the bullet combined high lethality against a living target and a stopping effect with high armor penetration. The crossbow was also usually inferior to the musket in terms of penetrating power and lethality, and heavy siege crossbows with mechanical cocking were not superior to it in rate of fire.

  Both the bow and the crossbow were firing along a suspended trajectory for a hundred meters, while the musket, with its relatively high initial bullet speed, made it possible to shoot directly (in fact, it was in relation to firearms that targeted shooting itself first arose in modern sense of the word), which made it easier to make adjustments and significantly increased the likelihood of hitting a group target with a salvo in constantly changing battle conditions. Archers and crossbowmen could show amazing accuracy in competitions, firing with specially prepared arrows at a target located at a predetermined distance, but when shooting in the field at a moving target, even the most experienced of them experienced difficulties due to the low speed of the projectiles thrown by these weapons, especially when, instead of a relatively small supply of their own arrows, they began to use mass-produced ammunition from the general supply. The same low speed of arrows also made accurate shooting difficult in windy weather (in fairness, it is worth noting that loading a musket in strong wind it was not very comfortable, and in the rain it was practically useless; mounted shooting from bows and crossbows was sometimes useful for hitting a target located behind a fold of relief, a low wall or other obstacle). In addition, a musket shooter spent much less energy during a battle than an archer or crossbowman, so the requirements for his physical training were significantly lower, and he could fire without breaks for rest for much longer. To conduct more or less intense fire from a crossbow, good general physical training is required, and for an archer - also special, since successful archery requires good development of specific muscle groups, achieved only by many years of training. These requirements made the creation of mass armies of archers from recruits impossible, while musket fire could be carried out by soldiers without special physical training.

  Moving on to guns

  Meanwhile, in the 17th century, the gradual withering away of armor, as well as a general change in the nature of combat operations (increased mobility, widespread use of artillery) and the principles of recruiting troops (a gradual transition to mass conscript armies) led to the fact that the size, weight and power of the musket over time began to be felt as clearly redundant. The appearance of light muskets is often associated with the innovations of the Swedish king and one of the great commanders of the 17th century, Gustav II Adolf. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that most of the innovations attributed to him are borrowed from the Netherlands. There, during the long war between the United Provinces and Spain, Stadtholder Moritz of Orange and his cousins ​​John of Nassau-Siegen and Wilhelm-Ludwig of Nassau-Dillenburg fundamentally changed military system, having carried out a military revolution. Thus, John of Nassau-Siegen wrote back in 1596 that without heavy muskets, soldiers would be able to move forward faster, it would be easier for them when retreating, and in a hurry they would be able to shoot without a bipod. Already in February 1599, the weight of the musket was reduced by the Dutch charter and amounted to approximately 6-6.5 kg. Now such muskets could be fired without a bipod if necessary, but this was still a rather difficult process. It is often claimed that it was the Swedish king who finally abolished the bipod in the 1630s, but records in the Swedish arsenals of the time indicate that he himself personally placed an order for the production of bipods for muskets from the Dutch entrepreneur Louis de Geer, who moved to Sweden, as early as 1631. Moreover, their mass production continued even after the death of the king, until 1655, and bipods were officially abolished in Sweden only in the 1690s - much later than in most European countries.

  Later, already in 1624, the Swedish king Gustav Adolf, by decree, ordered the production of new matchlock muskets, which had a barrel of 115-118 cm and a total length of about 156 cm. These muskets, which were produced until 1630 in Sweden, weighed approximately 6 kilograms, which indicates that they were still not entirely comfortable, and the long barrel similar to the old ones did not greatly increase their effectiveness when shooting. Lighter and more convenient muskets were produced around the same 1630 in the German city of Suhl, which was achieved by shortening the barrel. Such a musket had a barrel of 102 cm, a total length of about 140 cm and a weight of approximately 4.5-4.7 kg. . They initially fell into the hands of the Swedes, most likely, after the capture of German arsenals. In May 1632, in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, only a few Swedish soldiers were seen carrying such Suhl muskets without bipods.

  By the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century, muskets began to be massively replaced with lighter weapons weighing about 5 kg and a caliber of 19-20 millimeters or less, first in France and then in other countries. At the same time, flintlocks began to be widely used, more reliable and easier to use than the old matchlocks, and bayonets - first in the form of a baguette inserted into the bore, later put on the barrel with a tube. All this together made it possible to equip the entire infantry with firearms, excluding from its composition the previously necessary pikemen - if necessary, the fusiliers entered into hand-to-hand combat, using guns with a bayonet attached, which acted in the manner of a short spear (with a musket this would be very difficult due to its weight) . At the same time, at first, muskets continued to be in service with individual soldiers as a heavier type of handgun, as well as on ships, but later they were completely replaced in these roles.

  In Russia this the new kind lightweight weapons were first called fusee- from fr. fusil, apparently, through the Polish. fuzja, and then, in the middle of the 18th century, renamed gun.

  Meanwhile, in some countries, in particular - in England with colonies, including the future USA - there was no change in terminology during the transition from muskets to guns; the new lightweight weapons were still called muskets. Thus, in relation to this period, English. musket corresponds to the Russian concept "gun", since it denoted precisely this type of weapon, real muskets in the original sense had not been made for a long time by that time; whereas in the 16th-17th centuries its correct translation would have been precisely the term “musket”. The same name was subsequently transferred to muzzle-loading smoothbore shotguns with a cap lock.

  Moreover, even the general army rifled weapons that appeared in the mid-19th century, which in Russia until 1856 were called “screw guns”, and subsequently “rifles”, in the official English language originally designated by the phrase “rifled musket” (English: rifled musket). This is exactly what, for example, in the USA during the Civil War they called mass-produced army muzzle-loading rifles, such as the Springfield M1855 and Pattern 1853 Enfield. This was due to the fact that before that the infantry had two types of weapons - relatively long guns - “muskets” (musket), more rapid-fire, suitable for hand-to-hand combat, and shorter for ease of loading the rifle (rifle; in Russia they were called fittings), which shot much more accurately, but had a very low rate of fire due to the need to “drive” a bullet into the barrel, overcoming the resistance of the rifling, were of little use for hand-to-hand combat, and also cost several times more than smoothbore guns. After the advent of special bullets, such as the Minier bullet, and the development of mass production technologies, it became possible to combine positive traits the old “musket” guns (rate of fire, suitability for hand-to-hand combat) and rifles (combat accuracy) and equip all infantry with them; This model was initially called a “rifled musket.” Finally the word musket disappeared from the active vocabulary of the English and American military only with the transition to breech-loading rifles, in relation to which the more easily pronounceable word was finally “legalized” rifle.

  It should also be remembered that in the Italian official military terminology"musket" - moschetto- was the name of the weapon corresponding to the Russian term "carbine", that is, a shortened version of a shotgun or rifle. For example, the Carcano carbine was in service as Moschetto Mod. 1891, and the Beretta M1938 submachine gun - like Moschetto Automatico Beretta Mod. 1938, that is, literally, "Automatic musket "Beretta" mod. 1938"(the correct translation in this case is "automatic carbine", "automatic").

  Muzzle-loading weapons of the past - muskets, squeaks, fuses - did not have high accuracy and rate of fire, but were incredibly deadly, any wound threatened death or injury. Moreover, every major improvement in weapons led to a change in military tactics, and sometimes to a change in the military paradigm.

  It is believed that handguns appeared in the 14th century simultaneously with artillery. The first samples were essentially the same cannons and bombards, only reduced so much that they could be fired from hand. They were called that - hand cannons. Structurally, these were bronze or iron pipes with a tightly sealed end and a pilot hole near it. Short trunks were laid on rough stocks, similar to elongated logs. Sometimes, instead of a stock, a long metal pin stuck out from the sealed end of the pipe, by which the weapon was held. The shooter aimed it at the target and ignited the gunpowder with a smoldering wick or a red-hot rod (often two people were involved in this process).

  The Last Battle of the Middle Ages

  For almost two centuries, handguns did not provide any advantages. Bulky and inconvenient “hand cannons” were inferior in rate of fire to bows and crossbows - a good archer could shoot up to 12 times in a minute. The firearms operator spent several minutes on just one shot. The bullets of the first guns were not superior in penetration to crossbow arrows. In the second season of the documentary series Deadliest Warrior, an experiment is shown: a bullet fired from six meters from a modern replica of a Chinese handgun from the Ming Dynasty ricochets off a musketeer's shell, leaving only a dent on it.

  Everything changed in the 15th century thanks to large-caliber muskets that fired bullets weighing 50-60 grams - they were guaranteed to hit a knight in armor. By the way, the term “musket” (like most other names for muzzle-loading weapons) is conditional. This was the name given to both heavy matchlock guns of the 15th-16th centuries and guns with a percussion flintlock of the 17th-19th centuries.

  No matter how primitive early firearms were, they revolutionized military affairs: skilled and strong professional warriors soon found themselves powerless before the barrel of a musket. Historians consider the Battle of Pavia in 1525 between the French and Spaniards to be a turning point - it is called the last battle of the Middle Ages. It was then that firearms showed unconditional superiority over knightly cavalry. From that time on, the musket became the main weapon of the infantry, its tactics changed, and special musketeer units were created.

  Matchlock guns of the 15th-16th centuries are still slow and cumbersome, but they acquire more or less familiar features; the wick is no longer brought to the ignition hole manually - it is mounted on a snake-like serpentine lever, activated by something like a trigger. The ignition hole is shifted to the side, next to it there is a special seed shelf on which gunpowder is poured.

  And muskets and arquebuses are unusually deadly - a hit from a heavy or soft bullet almost always leads to death or severe injury - a soldier wounded in an arm or leg, as a rule, lost a limb.

  Leonardo wheels

  But even the most advanced matchlock muskets are too inconvenient - the shooter thought more about how to ignite the gunpowder, and not about how to aim more accurately. The wick easily went out in bad weather, matches and lighters had not yet been invented, and it was impossible to quickly light the wick using a flint in case of a sudden alarm. Therefore, for the sentries, the wick was constantly smoldering, hidden in a special wick, wound on the butt of a musket or directly on the musketeer’s hat. It is believed that the guards burned out five to six meters of wick during their night shifts.

  

  The wheel lock, known since the 15th century, slightly improved the situation. In it, a spark for igniting gunpowder on the seed shelf was struck using a rotating wheel with a notch. Before shooting, it was wound up with a key, like a music box, and when the trigger was pressed, it rotated, while at the same time a holder with a fixed piece of pyrite was pressed against it from above. Several engineers claim the authorship of the wheel lock; in particular, drawings of such devices are in the work of Leonardo da Vinci called Codex Atlanticus.

  Although the wheel lock was superior to the wick lock in reliability, it was too capricious, complicated (they were made by watchmakers) and expensive, and therefore could not completely replace the serpentine with a smoldering wick. In addition, almost simultaneously with the wheel lock, a much simpler and more advanced percussion-flintlock appeared - it is also called percussion, battery, or armchair. In it, a trigger with a flint hit a metal plate-chair, striking sparks, and at the same time a shelf with seed gunpowder opened. It flared up and ignited the main charge in the barrel.

  Historians believe that the impact lock was invented in the Middle East. In Europe, the Spaniards were the first to use this scheme, and the French brought it to perfection. In 1610, gunsmith Maren Le Bourgeois combined the best features of different models and created the so-called French battery lock, which until almost the middle of the 19th century was the basis of handguns in Europe, the USA, and many countries of the East (not all, in Japan until the last quarter of the 19th century matchlock guns were used for centuries). TO XVII century The final appearance of the flintlock gun was formed - the total length is about one and a half meters, the barrel is up to 1.2 meters, the caliber is 17-20 millimeters, the weight is four to five kilograms. Everything is approximate, because there was no unification in production.

  

  In addition to classic muskets, the military was armed with hand-held mortars for firing grenades and short blunderbusses with thick bell-shaped barrels from which they fired chopped lead, nails or small pebbles.

  Why bite the cartridge

  Perhaps the most famous flint weapon is the British land musket of 1722, nicknamed the Brown Bess. The wooden stock of the musket was brown, and the barrel was often covered with the so-called “rusty” varnish. “Dark Bess” was used in Britain itself, in all its colonies and was in service until the middle of the 19th century. This weapon did not have any outstanding characteristics, but gained its fame due to its wide distribution. The singer of British militarism and colonialism, Rudyard Kipling, even dedicated one of his poems to the brown musket - it is called Brown Bess. In the 1785 British Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, the expression “to embrace Dark Bess” means “to serve as a soldier.”

  Experts call the French musket of 1777 the best flintlock gun. By that time, the engineer and fortification master Marquis Sebastien Le Prêtre de Vauban had improved the flintlock and invented the bayonet tube, which made it possible to shoot with a fixed bayonet - before that the bayonet was inserted into the barrel. With this gun, French infantrymen went through all the wars of the Revolution and the Empire. A shotgun with a Vauban lock was almost immediately adopted by all European armies. The Russian musket of the 1808 model was essentially a copy of the French gun with a slightly modified caliber.

  

  The impact lock and development of the loading algorithm have significantly increased the rate of fire of muzzle-loading shotguns. Historians claim that 17th-century Prussian infantry fired up to five shots per minute with four reloads, and individual riflemen fired up to seven shots with six reloads.

  To speed up loading, gunpowder, wad and bullet were combined in one paper cartridge. The French manual for loading weapons included 12 commands. Briefly, the process looked like this: the soldier put the trigger on the safety cock, opened the cover of the priming shelf, bit into a paper cartridge, poured some of the gunpowder onto the shelf, and then closed it. He poured the remaining gunpowder into the barrel, sent a paper cartridge with a bullet there - the paper served as a wad, nailed the bullet with a ramrod, then cocked the hammer. The gun was ready to fire.

  By the way, the paper cartridge played a cruel joke on the British - it is believed that it was this that served as the reason for the sepoy uprising of 1857-1859 in India. In February 1857, the 34th Bengal Regiment of Native Infantry heard a rumor that the casing of the new paper cartridges was impregnated with either cow or pork fat. The need to bite such cartridges offended the religious sentiments of Hindus and Muslims. One of the native soldiers announced that he would not bite the cartridge, and when the regimental lieutenant arrived to investigate the incident, the native shot at him, wounding his horse.

  How demons spun bullets

  But even the most advanced musket was not accurate - hitting a target one meter square from a hundred meters was a very good result. Aimed salvo fire was carried out at distances of 50-100 meters - it was believed that it was impossible to hit the enemy line further than 200 meters. Most armies allowed soldiers to fire three to five practice rounds to become familiar with the loading process. Everything else is in battle.

  But the techniques of volley firing were worked out to perfection - to reduce the time intervals between volleys, a formation of riflemen from several ranks was used. The first rank fired a volley, went back to load guns, the second rank took its place with loaded muskets, after the volley it gave way to the third rank, etc. There were techniques for shooting in three ranks at once: the soldier in the first rank stood half-turned, the next one remained in place, the third took a step to the right.

  

  The first examples of rifled weapons date back to the 15th century - in the arsenal of Turin there is a rifled gun from 1476. Already by the first quarter of the 16th century, high-quality rifled guns were available in different countries Europe, especially in Germany. But these were isolated samples, available only to the rich.

  Early rifle sometimes called a "premature invention", in the sense that the level of technological development at the time precluded its widespread adoption. The first flintlock revolvers are also among the same premature inventions - one of the oldest samples dates back to 1597 (Colt’s first revolver appeared in 1836), and in the Kremlin Armory there is a revolver arquebus from 1625.

  The accuracy of the first rifled gun made such a strong impression on contemporaries that it provoked a religious dispute. In 1522, a Bavarian priest (according to other sources, a warlock) named Moretius explained the accuracy of rifled weapons by saying that the demons swarming in the air cannot stay on rotating bullets, because there are no devils in the rotating heavens, but there are plenty of them on Earth. Moretius' opponents insisted that the demons just like everything that rotates, and they probably direct the spinning bullet.

  An experiment conducted in the German city of Mainz in 1547 put an end to the dispute. First, plain lead bullets were shot 20 times at targets from a distance of 200 yards, then another 20 shots were fired with blessed silver bullets with crosses inscribed on them. Half of the lead bullets hit the target, while the silver ones missed. The answer was obvious. Church authorities banned the “devilish weapons,” and frightened townspeople threw their rifles into the fire.

  True, those who could afford rifled weapons continued to use them. But more than three hundred years passed before, by the end of the 17th century, they created a rifled gun suitable for relatively mass armament of infantry. It was only in the second half of the 19th century that rifled muzzle-loading rifles replaced classic muskets from the army.

  For many people, the word musket sounds romantic. Duels, honor of a beautiful lady, incredible adventures. All this comes from childhood, when battles between the “king’s musketeers” and the “cardinal’s guards” were still held in the courtyards. Today all this is in the past and muskets are primarily of historical value, but once upon a time muzzle-loading guns were the latest weapons, through which the outcome of battles was decided and even the course of history was turned.

  According to most historians, the first muskets began to be manufactured in Spain in the early 20s of the 16th century. The use of muzzle-loading guns is documented in the Battle of Pavia in 1525, during which a Spanish corps of 3 thousand people defeated an eight thousand-strong French army, which consisted mainly of knights. Which was the beginning of the end for the power of knightly orders in Europe.

  By and large, knightly ammunition became the reason for the appearance of muskets. By the beginning of the 16th century, plate armor appeared even among infantrymen, who were good protection from arquebuses (arquebuses).

  The increase in the destructive power of muzzle-loading weapons also led to an increase in its mass. During the XVI-XVII centuries. muskets weighed about 9 kg, and the length of the barrel could reach one and a half meters. The muzzle velocity of the bullet ranged from 400-500 m/s. Shooting from such heavy weapons was carried out from a rest; as a rule, a special stand was used for this, as well as the sides of a ship or the walls of a fortress.

  The rate of fire depended on the agility of the musketeer, how quickly he could add gunpowder, insert a bullet with a wad into the barrel and light the fuse. On average, this took 1.5-2 minutes, but there are cases when soldiers fired several shots per minute, however, there is no need to even talk about accuracy at such a rate of fire. And such a rate of fire was not required. For example, it is known for certain that in the Battle of Kissingen in 1636, during a battle that lasted as much as 8 hours, the musketeers fired only seven volleys. Such intensity, by modern standards, is comparable only to air raids. The comparison is quite correct, since a shot from a musket pierced the armor of infantry at a distance of 200 meters, and the destructive force was even 500 m, a real superweapon for the 16th century.

  A general change in combat tactics required, over time, a new small arms. In addition, armor was gradually becoming a thing of the past.

  The first modernized muskets appeared in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century. And in 1624, the Swedish king Gustav Adolf signed a decree on the production of muskets of a new type with a barrel length of 115-118 cm, they weighed about 6 kg. After another hundred years, the muskets already weighed 5 kg with a caliber of 19-20 mm. At the same time, bayonets and flint locks began to appear, which were much more effective than matchlocks. Well, the last “battlefield” of muskets was the Austro-Prussian campaign of 1866, after which there was a final transition to guns and cartridges loaded from the treasury.

  These days, the popularity of muskets is growing. And what happens is not so much at the expense of collectors and connoisseurs, who see weapons mainly as works of art. More and more men who are passionate about weapons want to test themselves in the shoes of a medieval musketeer. Today, several companies produce muskets. Of course, they differ significantly from their prototypes in terms of the quality of aiming and destructive power, but their operating principle is absolutely the same and they are performed in a skillful “antique” manner.

  To a large extent, the growth in popularity of muzzle-loading weapons is facilitated by simplicity of design. Since the weapon is historical, no documents are required to purchase it.

  Of course, even rare weapons require compliance with safety measures. It must be stored in hard-to-reach places, in a dry place, for muzzle-loading weapons - this is especially important.

  For shooting it is necessary to use black powder (GOST 1028-79); the use of smokeless powder can lead to injury to the shooter.

  In order to properly load a musket, you first need to put the hammer on the safety cock. Then remove the grease inside the barrel. Then, pointing the barrel in a safe direction, put the primer on the fire tube, cock the hammer and fire. Repeat several times to dry the fire tube opening and the barrel from the inside using the primer flame. After making sure that the trigger is in the neutral position, you should pour gunpowder from the dispenser (it would be useful to make sure that it is smoky). Then place the oiled wad on the muzzle and push the bullet into the barrel. All that remains is to use a ramrod to lower the bullet until it comes into full contact with the gunpowder. It is important that there is no empty space left between the bullet and the gunpowder, and strong pressure with a cleaning rod should be avoided. It is best to make three marks on the ramrod that will measure the correct levels: gunpowder, wad and bullets.

  The “kingdom” of muzzle-loading weapons lasted for several centuries; it is not surprising that it is in great demand among various historical clubs for reconstructions, which are gaining more and more followers and admirers.

  For many, this will be a revelation, but muskets can increasingly be seen in hands modern hunters. New technologies and materials have turned muskets into good weapon with a high-quality sight and firing range, and probably there is something musketeer-like in this too - only one shot, if there is no miss on the second attempt, because by the time you reload the gun the prey will already be far away.

  Famous video blogger and happy owner of a flintlock musket Mish Gunshared with us video reviews on shooting and musket maintenance.