behind a
Pavise shield, carrying a on his arm One theory of how gunpowder came to
Europe is via the
Silk Road; another holds that it arrived during the
Mongol invasion in the first half of the 13th century. English Privy Wardrobe accounts list
ribaldis, a type of cannon, in the 1340s, and
siege guns were used by the English at the
Siege of Calais (1346–47). The first mention of firearms in Russia is found in the
chronicle, which stated that during the 1382 defense of
Moscow from Tokhtamysh's
Golden Horde, Muscovites used firearms called (), which were of
Eastern origin; this word derives from
Turkic "gun". Around the late 14th century in Italy, smaller, portable
hand-cannons or were developed, creating in effect the first
smoothbore personal firearm. The earliest surviving firearm in Europe was found in
Otepää,
Estonia. It dates to at least 1396. Firearms evolved during the
1419-1434 Hussite Wars. The
Hussite army consisted mostly of civilian militia who lacked the skill, experience and often weapons and armor comparable to that of the professional Crusader invaders that they faced. Gradually, Hussites pioneered battlefield use of firearms together with
war wagons. Firearms were employed in auxiliary roles in 1419–1421. The first use of firearms as primary offensive weapons came in the 1421
Battle of Kutná Hora. From this moment on, firearms formed the core of Hussite tactics as well as a staple of
Czech civilian possession. The Hussite militia used a number of handheld firearms, including ''
, which later found its way through German and French into English as the term pistol, , an infantry weapon heavier than , and yet heavier (fauconneau). For artillery, Hussites used the , which gave rise to the English term, "howitzer" ( meaning crowd
for its intended use of shooting stone and iron shot against massed enemy forces), bombarda
(mortar) and dělo'' (
cannon). The first English source about handheld firearms discussed hand cannons in 1473. In the late 15th century, the
Ottoman Empire used firearms as part of its regular infantry. The earliest type of Turkish hand cannons are called
Şakaloz, after the Hungarian hand cannon
Szakállas puska in the 15th century.
Early modern age (Plate 4) from Jacob de Gheyn's (1608) During the
early modern age, hand-held cannons evolved into the matchlock,
wheellock,
doglock, and
flintlock rifle, respectively, as ignition devices, matchlocks, wheellocks,
snaplock, flintlocks and
percussion caps were used in turn. This was then followed by the
breech loader and finally the
automatic weapon. The
paper cartridge was introduced sometime before 1586, and the
bayonet came to use in 16th century France.
Hand grenades, thrown by
grenadiers, appeared around the same time. Early cartridge firearms had to be cocked and caught by the "
sear", which holds the hammer back, before each shot. Pulling the trigger allows the hammer or striker to fly forward, striking the "firing pin," which then strikes the "primer," igniting an impact-sensitive chemical compound (historically, first fulminate of mercury, then potassium chlorate, now
lead styphnate) which shoots a flame through the "flash hole" into the cartridge's propellant chamber, igniting the propellant. The
Springfield Armory in
Springfield, Massachusetts became important during the 1850s, when it debuted the
Springfield rifle. Springfield rifles were among the first
breech-loading rifles, starting production in 1865. By that time, metallurgy had developed sufficiently so that brass could be made into ammunition cases. Previously, each round was custom-made as needed: the shooter poured loose powder down the barrel, used leather or cloth for
wadding if time allowed, selected a suitable projectile (lead ball, rocks, arrow, or nails), then seated the projectile on top of the powder charge by means of a
ramrod. Performance was erratic. Fixed ammunition combined a primer, the pre-measured charge, and the projectile in a water-resistant brass cartridge case. Most importantly, the soft brass expanded under pressure of the gas to seal the rear end of the barrel, which prevented the shooter from being maimed by escaping high-pressure gas when they pulled the trigger.
Repeating and automatic firearms A repeating firearm, ("repeater") can hold multiple
cartridges and be fired multiple times before reloading. Repeaters employ a variety of mechanisms for readying a bullet for firing. This typically involves ejecting a used cartridge and moving a new one into the firing chamber. Mechanisms include
bolt-action,
lever-action,
slide-action,
semi-automatic, and
fully-automatic firearms. Automatic weapons cycle a new round into the firing chamber without the help of the shooter. Semi-automatics fire one round per trigger pull. Full automatics fire multiple rounds per pull.
Revolvers Revolvers hold cartridges in a rotating cylinder, which serves as both a
magazine and firing chamber. They were the earliest repeaters. Revolving rifles were sometimes called "
turret guns". Single action revolvers were fired after manually cocking the hammer for each shot. This design dates from at least 1836, with the introduction of the
Colt Paterson. Double-action revolvers emerged around the same time. They can be fired after cocking the hammer, but also by pulling the trigger without first cocking it.
Double-action only or DAO revolvers can be fired only using the trigger. The
Springfield Model 1892–99 was used during the
Spanish–American War.
Self-loaders The first successful self-loader was the
Gatling gun, a hand-cranked revolver. It was invented by
Richard Jordan Gatling and fielded by the Union forces during the
American Civil War. Self-loaders use energy to reload. The world's first machine gun was the
Maxim gun, developed by British inventor Sir
Hiram Maxim in 1884. The world's first successful self-loading rifle was the
Mondragón rifle, designed in 1908 by Mexican general
Manuel Mondragón. It was the first self-loading firearm able to be operated by one person. It was used during the
Mexican Revolution (Mexican Army) and
World War I (
Imperial German Flying Corps). The first
submachine gun, which fires pistol cartridges and can be used by one soldier, was the
MP18.1, invented by
Theodor Bergmann. It was introduced in 1918 by the
German Army as the primary weapon of the
Stosstruppen (assault groups specialized in trench combat). During World War II well-crafted versions such as the
Thompson were replaced by mass-produced alternatives, such as the
M3. The first successful
assault rifle was the
StG 44, introduced during
World War II by the Germans. It was the first firearm to occupy the gap between rifles and submachine guns. The assault rifle was more powerful and had longer range than the submachine gun, but was less powerful and shorter range than standard rifles. It used intermediate size rounds as well and offered select-fire option (switch from full automatic to semi-automatic). The
AK-47, commonly known as the "Kalashnikov", is the most manufactured assault rifle. The
battle rifle was a select-fire rifle that retained the long range of the
M1 Garand.
NATO members adopted battle rifles of their own. In practice, the powerful cartridge of the battle rifle proved to be difficult to control during fully automatic fire. ==See also==