Firearms. Firearms - history

As you know, gunpowder was invented by the Chinese. And not only because they were a developed nation, but also because saltpeter in China lay literally on the surface. Having mixed it with sulfur and charcoal in the 6th century, the Chinese used gunpowder for fireworks, and in military affairs - in throwing bombs. Later they began to use bamboo cannons, which were enough for 1-2 shots.

In the 13th century, gunpowder was brought to the Middle East by the conquerors - the Mongols. From there, gunpowder, or rather, the idea of gunpowder and firearms came to Europe. Why was artillery born among the Europeans? The answer is simple: they had traditionally developed metallurgy. Appearing for the first time in Northern Italy at the beginning of the 14th century, firearms spread throughout Europe in the 1340-1370s.

It was then that it appeared in Rus', as chronicled sources say. In 1376, the Moscow Nizhny Novgorod army of the governor Bobrok Volynets, the future hero of the Kulikovo Field, marched against the Volga Bulgars. Their enemy brought camels onto the battlefield, hoping that these animals would scare the Russian horses, and the defenders let out “thunders” from the walls of the city of Bulgar. But neither camels nor “thunders” frightened the Russians... Around 1380, in Moscow, “a German named Jan was the first to make fire-fighting gear—handles and self-propelled guns, and iron and copper squeaks.” Muscovites successfully used this weapon during the siege of the city by Tokhtamysh in 1382. Tokhtamysh entered the city only thanks to deception, promising not to touch the inhabitants, for which the latter paid bitterly. Tokhtamysh's troops burned and plundered Moscow, killing 24,000 people there.

Subsequently, the first samples of firearms, regardless of their purpose, were completely identical and were forged iron and copper barrels, differing only in size. This is a “handbrake” 30 centimeters long, weighing 4-7 kilograms, a weapon - “bombard”, in Rus' - “gun”, or “puskich” (from the word let), “mattress” (from the Iranian “tyufeng”). In the East it is a gun, in our country it is a type of weapon. And they “squeaked” (“pipes”) - like hand weapon, and long-barreled guns.

The trend in the development of hand weapons - be it a pistol, arquebus, musket or arquebus - was to lengthen the barrel, improve gunpowder (from poor quality “chaff” gunpowder they switched to “grain” gunpowder, which gives better combustion). The seed hole was moved to the side, and a shelf was made for gunpowder. Typically, gunpowder contained about 60 percent saltpeter and up to 20 percent sulfur and charcoal - although, in terms of proportions, there were many variations. Fundamentally important, however, was only saltpeter. Sulfur was added for ignition - it itself ignited at a very low temperature, coal was only fuel. Sometimes sulfur was not put into the gunpowder at all - this just meant that the ignition hole would have to be made wider. Sometimes sulfur was not mixed into the gunpowder, but poured directly onto the shelf. Charcoal could be replaced by ground brown coal, dried sawdust, cornflowers (blue gunpowder), cotton wool (white gunpowder), petroleum (Greek fire), etc. All this, however, was rarely done, since charcoal was available, and there was little point in replacing it with something else. So any mixture of saltpeter (an oxidizing agent) with some kind of flammable substance should definitely be considered gunpowder. Initially, gunpowder (literally “dust”) was a fine powder, “pulp”, consisting, in addition to the listed ingredients, of all kinds of debris. When fired, at least half of the gunpowder flew out of the barrel unburned.

Iron buckshot or stones were sometimes used as projectiles for hand weapons, but most often a round lead bullet was used. It was, of course, round only immediately after manufacture; the soft lead was deformed during storage, then it was flattened with a ramrod when loading, then the bullet was deformed when fired - in general, after flying out of the barrel, it was no longer particularly round. Irregular shape the projectile had a bad effect on shooting accuracy.

In the 15th century, the matchlock and then the wheel lock were invented in Europe, and the flintlock was invented in Asia during the same period. Arquebuses appeared in the regular troops - weapons weighing about three kilograms, a caliber of 13-18 millimeters and a barrel length of 30-50 calibers. Typically a 16 mm arquebus would throw a 20 gram bullet with initial speed about 300 m/s. The range of aimed fire was 20-25 meters, salvo fire - up to 120 meters. The rate of fire at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century did not exceed one shot per 3 minutes, but armor penetrated already 25 meters. Heavier and more powerful arquebuses were already used with a bipod, but there were very few of them - gunpowder in the form of pulp was completely unsuitable for quickly loading long barrels - the hour of muskets had not yet struck. In Rus', rifled squeaks appeared - fittings. Later, the development of metallurgy made it possible to move on to casting bronze and cast iron cannons.

In the 15th century, it was too early to talk about the mass production of firearms. This did not happen anywhere - neither in Europe nor in Rus'. The number of soldiers armed with firearms in the most advanced armies did not exceed 10 percent. The point here is not only in its imperfection - try shooting a matchlock gun from a horse, but cavalry was the main branch of the army - but also in the neglect of firearms on the part of knighthood. For a noble gentleman, proud of his armor and training, it was shameful to hit the enemy from afar, not in an open, equal battle. And it was a shame to die at the hands of some low commoner, who then not only did not dare to speak to him, but even to raise his eyes to him. Therefore, knights often cut off the hands and gouged out the eyes of captured arquebusiers, and hung gunners on gun barrels or shot them from their own cannons. Martin Luther even declared guns and gunpowder to be the incarnation of hell.

In Rus', where the power of the sovereign - “God’s anointed” - always had a sacred character, it was different: “How Grand Duke Father commanded, so be it!” The development of firearms immediately began on a massive scale with the support of the state, which established the Cannon Yard in Moscow in the 70s of the 15th century, then the Powder Yard, foundries and saltpeter factories, gunpowder mills, and mines. The Russian army in the 16th century was the most equipped in artillery - then it was called “outfit”. Its number was measured in hundreds and thousands of guns, amazing foreigners. The Englishman Fletcher saw in the Kremlin at the end of the 16th century many heavy, long-range, richly decorated cannons - “arquebuses”, which had their own names - “Lion”, “Unicorn”... The same “Tsar Cannon” - it was a combat weapon, not an ostentatious weapon, capable of shooting shot from a machine or simply from the ground. In the 16th century, master Andrei Chokhov made a “magpie,” called an “organ” in the West, a multi-barrel installation of forty barrels. This “medieval machine gun” produced a large burst of fire, but was very difficult to load. A steel rifled arquebus and a bronze rifled cannon, now stored in the Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg. Here the Russians were undoubtedly pioneers.

Compared to the arquebus, the Russian arquebus was powerful weapon: Weighing about 8 kilograms, it had a barrel with a caliber of 18-20 millimeters and a length of about 40 calibers. The charge of gunpowder was solid, so that the armor was penetrated at a distance three times greater than from an arquebus. Like most arquebuses, there were no sights. Probably, salvo fire could be fired up to 200 meters, however, Russian regulations only provided for firing at a distance of no more than 50 meters. To the squeak, because of it heavy weight, a support in the form of a reed was required. Thousands of Russian pikas were exported to Iran, about which the Turks repeatedly protested. Loading the arquebus with gunpowder pulp was not easy.

Naturally, handguns increased the role of infantry. Already at the beginning of the 16th century, foot and horse squeakers were recruited from the cities for war, and they were obliged to go out with their gunpowder, bullets, provisions and horses. For townspeople who were not trained in combat and did not have armor, the arquebus was the most suitable weapon. Pskov alone, which had up to six thousand households, exhibited up to a thousand squeakers! But these duties ruined the cities, which led to disturbances. In 1550, Ivan the Terrible, by his decree, established a permanent Streltsy army, maintained at public expense. This is practically the date of birth of the Russian regular army.

As for the cavalry, “fire combat” was introduced slowly. At the Serpukhov Noble Review in 1556, about 500 well-armed armored horsemen performed, and only some last battle serf had a arquebus - he, the poor guy, probably didn’t get anything else. The cavalry, being still the main branch of the army, neglected the “weapons of the smerds.”

With the development of firearms came changes in tactics. Samopal for a long time could not compete with the bow only until the invention of locks - wheel and flint strikers, which gave rise to the saddle pistol and carbine. In the 16th century, German reiters appeared in Europe - mounted “pistoliers”, who absolutely smashed the brilliant French knights. They had pistols in their belts, in their belts, as well as a couple more in their boots. They drove up to the enemy in rows, shot and drove back behind the last row to reload their weapons. This method was called "caracole", or "snail". For foot musketeers, this tactic of shooting while leaving the formation was called “limakon”. In battle, they were protected from the cavalry by rows of pikemen - the most defenseless branch of the army, because the reiters shot them with impunity. The Russian archers followed approximately the same tactics. But each archer carried with him, in addition to a squeak or a musket, also a reed. The reeds were different: with blades about 50-80 centimeters, and with huge ones, one and a half meters long. In Russia, infantry pikes appeared only in the “regiments of the new system” in the 17th century. Often, the Russians fought in a circle of convoys, as well as in “walking cities” - defensive structures on wheels, the forerunners of tanks. There were even “ghoul governors”.

At the end of the 16th century, horse-drawn “self-propelled men” appeared in the Russian army, and from the 30s of the 17th century - regular reiters, who, as noted, “in battle are stronger than hundreds of people,” that is, the noble militia. From now on, service in the reiters becomes honorable. Gradually, pistols were introduced into the noble cavalry...

People began to create all possible weapons for killing each other back in the ancient times. But firearms have made a real revolution in this direction.

How it all began.

Gunpowder, as you know, was invented in China. There are versions according to which it was described back in the 5th century. However practical use Gunpowder was received only a few centuries later.

Gunpowder was used on holidays for fireworks and other entertainment

Moreover, its creators did not even think that someday their invention would turn into destructive weapon. Gunpowder was used on all kinds of holidays for fireworks and other entertainment.

The first Chinese powder rockets.

And this continued until they learned about the invention in Europe. There they quickly found a completely different use for it. Firearms were first used in the Hundred Years' War (1337−1453). However, then he failed to displace swords, bows, spears, halberds and axes. Still, those guns that the British had in service were bulky, heavy, inconvenient to use and, most importantly, ineffective.

Firearms were first used in the Hundred Years' War (1337−1453)

The so-called bombards could fire a couple of shots per hour, but at the same time, they did not inflict enough damage on the enemy to influence the course of the battle. The British owed their successes in the Hundred Years' War to archers, and the French to Joan of Arc, but not to firearms. Everything changed already in the 15th-16th centuries, when European craftsmen began to create the first pistols and shotguns. So in the twenties of the sixteenth century wide application received arquebuses. These guns pierced right through from 35 meters knight's armor, with the knight together. In 1525, at the Battle of Pavia, the Spaniards, thanks to arquebuses, defeated the army of the French king Francis I. Francis was captured, and the battle itself, in fact, showed a thing that was obvious to modern times: knightly armies are ineffective and helpless in the face of firearms. In the same battle of Pavia, he received a baptism of fire and a musket, which was then long years became the main type of firearm for all European armies.

Musketeer with a musket.

By the end of the 16th century, the nobles almost completely abandoned armor, and each of them had a pair of pistols on their belts.

And yet, European gunsmiths, and most importantly those who placed orders for them, had something to work on. And the arquebus, and the musket, and the pistol were not as effective as we would like. In order to fire an arquebus, you had to light the fuse and wait for it to burn out. The musket, which hit a target at a distance of up to 250 meters, was a kind of version of a hand cannon.

By the end of the 16th century, the nobles almost completely abandoned armor

All of these guns sometimes reached 20-25 kilograms. For aiming, a special stand was used, which was dug into the ground. Locks on pistols jammed more often than on shotguns. And, most importantly, of all this, only one shot could be fired. Then recharging began, which took several minutes. And during such reloading the shooter remained unarmed. But the appearance of multi-charged guns was not long in coming. Already in the 17th-18th centuries, the first machine guns began to appear. These were, of course, not the same machine guns that were actively used, for example, in the Civil War in Russia. In France, for example, gunsmiths created a structure consisting of a wheelbarrow and forty gun barrels tied together. Each of them fired one shot, but together it turned out to be forty. In 1718, British lawyer James Puckle introduced his gun to the world. This invention is notable only for the fact that it featured a drum for the first time.

Already in the 17th-18th centuries, the first machine guns began to appear

It could fire up to 8 rounds per minute, but was too bulky and inconvenient for effective application in combat conditions. Then there was the mitrailleuse, a French artillery piece that fired bursts. It was probably mitrailleuse that inspired American doctor Richard Jordan Gatling to create one of the deadliest weapons of the 19th century.

Patent description of the Gatling gun.

The Gatling gun was patented in 1862 and later found use in the American Civil War. Over time, the doctor improved his invention so that Gatling could fire up to 400 shots per minute.

Samuel Colt - creator of the capsule revolver, which was named after him

Pistols have also undergone evolution. With the advent of a drum designed for 6-7 bullets, they became noticeably more effective than before. The first revolver was patented in 1818 by the American officer Artemas Wheeler. A greatest success Samuel Colt, the creator of the capsule revolver, which was named after him, achieved their production.

Samuel Colt.

Meanwhile in Russia.

In Rus', they became acquainted with firearms in approximately the same years as in Europe. The first mention of the use of firearms dates back to 1399. But it became widespread only at the end of the 15th century. Early examples of firearms in Rus' were called arquebuses. The new product was treated with some caution, and not everyone was ready to adopt it. However, already in the 16th century, special units- Sagittarius. Guns were actively purchased for them in Europe. They established their production in Russia much later. The first attempts date back to 1595, when, by decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, 30 families of blacksmiths and self-finishers were resettled in Tula in order to begin manufacturing firearms. In 1632, the production of cannons and cannonballs was started here. It is not surprising that Peter I, who understood the need to create his own weapons school, chose Tula as the place to found a factory for the production of firearms.

Yakov Bruce is one of the first leaders of the Tula Arms Plant.

Thus, in 1712, an enterprise was founded, which we now know as the Tula Arms Factory. Now this plant is more than three hundred years old, and it is part of the Rostec State Corporation system.

Current state.

Tula Arms Plant throughout for long years remained the flagship of arms production. It was here that the first Russian flint pistols, rifles and revolvers appeared. Since 1933, this company has produced the famous TT pistol - Tula Tokarev. Currently, here in Tula, the Rostec state corporation continues to create military, hunting and sporting weapons. And the enterprise itself has long become a global brand. It is impossible not to mention another plant where small arms are created - Izhmash. It was here that the production of the Kalashnikov assault rifle began in the 40s. Now, the Kalashnikov assault rifle created by Rostec is the most famous small arms in the world.

Mikhail Kalashnikov is the creator of the famous machine gun.

Letters are written about him, he is put on the coats of arms and flags of other states (Mozambique). The machine has proven its effectiveness and superiority over its competitors many times. According to statistics, every fifth assault rifle in the world is an AKM. Moreover, weapons continue to be improved. Thus, at the Army 2015 exhibition, Rostec presented fundamentally new Kalashnikov models.

On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt patented his revolver design. This pistol became one of the most famous repeating revolvers, it radically changed gun combat during civil war. Colt's design turned out to be just the beginning of firearm innovation.

Here is the story of how such weapons evolved from primitive tools to ultra-precise instruments that bring death.

Chinese squeaks

The simplest type of firearm appeared in twelfth-century China and was a arquebus loaded with gunpowder and a pike that warriors carried with them.

Primitive gun

Gunpowder came to Europe along the Silk Road, and since then people began experimenting with simple guns. They were in use in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Matchlock shotgun

During the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe and Asia, firearms technology advanced greatly. Guns appeared in which gunpowder was ignited using complex system, called a matchlock.

Flintlock gun

The wick lock was soon replaced by a flintlock. Pistols and rifles, known to everyone today, appeared, which will soon become the most common weapons in the army.

Musket

muzzle smoothbore weapon, called a musket, was the most common flintlock rifle, often carrying a bayonet.

Whitworth rifle

During the American Civil War, both sides made extensive use of the first sniper rifle- Whitworth rifle, it could hit very distant targets from its rifled barrel.

Breech-loading shotgun

Rear-loading weapons became very common in the 19th century. Almost all shotguns and rifles were like this.

Springfield rifle

The Springfield rifle was one of the first to be breech-loading. It was developed in the 1850s and became known for its accuracy because it used standardized cartridges.

Gatling gun

In 1861, Dr. Richard Gatling invented rapid-fire weapons. The machine gun fired bullets from several barrels rotating under the force of gravity.

Revolver-pepper shaker

The problem of loading a weapon with more than one bullet at a time was practically solved by a multi-barreled pepper pistol with rotating barrels. The shooter had to twist the barrels manually after each shot.

Colt revolver

In 1836, Samuel Colt invented the revolver, which soon became the first revolver. mass production and was widely used during the Civil War.

Lever-action rifles and hard drives

Reloading a rifle of this type is done manually by moving the trigger guard in a semi-circular motion around the trigger. The most popular model that brought popularity to this weapon is the Winchester, model 1873.

Bolt-action rifles

The bolt action soon became the most commonly used method of loading rifles. The rate of fire of such weapons had a great effect in the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Machine guns

The size and weight of the earliest machine guns, Gatling guns, greatly limited their use in warfare. Smaller and more convenient machine guns were invented on the eve of the First World War and brought considerable destruction.

Cartridge strips

Cartridge strip very quickly became popular because it made it easy to store a large number of cartridges and quickly load them into weapons (mainly into machine guns).

The shops

A magazine is a device for storing ammunition in close proximity to or directly on the repeating weapon itself. Magazines received enormous development during the First World War as a means of quickly reloading mainly weapons such as pistols.

Browning HP and semi-automatic shotguns

The nine-millimeter Browning HP pistol, developed by American firearms inventor John Browning in 1929, became one of the most famous models semi-automatic pistols due to its widespread use during World War II. Semi-automatic shotguns are also known as semi-automatic shotguns. These weapons reload cartridges automatically after each shot, but semi-automatic weapons do not require continuous fire, unlike automatic weapons.

Sniper rifle Garand M1

The M1 Garand rifle was invented by John Garand, and General George Patton called it " greatest weapon for battles." This semi-automatic rifle replaced the Springfield rifle in the US Army in 1939 and performed quite well during World War II.

Thompson submachine gun

The Thompson or Tommy gun gained a bad reputation during the American Prohibition era due to the fact that it was these weapons that were used by gangsters. However, Tommy guns also saw action in World War II.

Browning M2

Browning M2 50 caliber was heavy machine gun, developed at the end of the First World War by John Browning and widely used in the Second World War. Known for its reliability and firepower, this machine gun is still in use today. American army and the armies of NATO countries.

AK-47

The AK-47 was not the very first assault rifle, but nevertheless it is more famous than others. The machine gun was invented by a Soviet designer small arms Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1948. Due to the reliability of this weapon, the AK-47 and its various options and remain the most widely used machines today.

M-16 rifle

The M-16 rifle and its various variants were developed in 1963 for jungle warfare during the Vietnam War. Soon the M-16 became a standard combat rifle American troops. Its variants remain in service to this day and have also spread among armed forces other countries.

Modern firearms

Modern firearms technology strives to reduce weight and ease of use in order to increase the mobility and capabilities of soldiers in combat.

3D weapon production

The personal firearms market is becoming increasingly technologically advanced. Today it is even possible to 3D print plastic weapons that fire live ammunition.

And when they first loaded the gun. It is believed that it first appeared in China. The inventors of gunpowder originally intended to use it for fireworks, but by 1288 the Chinese were defending themselves against invasions from the north with cannons.

In Europe, firearms appeared in the 14th century. In 1337, a war began between England and France, called the Hundred Years' War, which lasted until 1453. It was then that the first cannons were used by the English army at the Battle of Crecy in 1346.

The first examples of handguns were iron or bronze pipes sealed at one end. These pipes were attached to a planed wooden block. To load such a weapon, it was necessary to pour gunpowder into a pipe, hammer it with a wad and insert a bullet into it. Then the wick was lit and brought to a small hole in the pipe. Such a weapon was of little use: it fired close, and it took a lot of time to load it.

Russo-Turkish War(1806-1812). Musketeers of the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment (1796-1801)

Since then, firearms have been continuously improved. In the 15th century, more convenient and effective hand weapons appeared - arquebuses, arquebuses, and muskets. By 1500, the major naval powers were already equipping their ships with cannons. Thus, an ordinary warship was armed with about 100 guns. Wars became more brutal and deadly, and victory almost always went to the side with better weapons.

“Every time needs a hero. Every hero needs a weapon." Welcome! Put your Colt aside, pour yourself some whiskey and get comfortable. Today we will talk about hand-held firearms. An invention that equalized wimps and giants. Let's start the story from the distant Middle Ages, talk about the genius of engineering, the ingenuity of soldiers and the courage of human thought. You will learn about the types of guns, ammunition, ignition systems and how their development influenced military history. The narrator leaned back contentedly, drank whiskey and leaned forward again: “It all started in 1324 in Venice, when the authorities gave the order to produce 12 cannoni.”

Handguns, indeed, played a colossal role in human history, influencing the nature of military operations and the social-eco-no-mi-ches basis. However, it is a mistake to think that it was hand-held firearms that defeated chivalry. It, of course, will play its role, but chivalry was defeated by a tactical unit - the pikemen. True, already in 1520 the pikemen were covered by musketeers, which, naturally, plays a role. In addition, the knights themselves considered hand-held firearms something humiliating and discrediting their honor, so at first they used them reluctantly. However, it was gradually introduced and became at the service of chivalry.

The beauty of handguns is that they do not require significant physical strength or lengthy training for the shooter. It goes without saying that it comes from archers or knights. And this is very important! War is designed in such a way that people die in it. That is why the ability to quickly and cheaply replace soldiers and/or equipment is one of the key factors in the selection of technologies. This may sound cynical, but it is true. In this regard, the issue of mass introduction of firearms, in fact, rested only on technical capabilities. And, as soon as guns learned to be produced quickly and cheaply, they immediately became widespread.

Gunpowder, bullets and drill training

“Black gunpowder” was invented in the 9th century in China. The composition of “black powder” consists of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. We will not indicate the co-occurrence of in-gre-di-en-tov, because having access to hand-held firearms increases the likelihood of suicide, with virtually no effect on the ability to self-defense. It is a fact! It is due to people’s low ability to experience stress and orient themselves in non-standard situations. It has already been said above that learning to shoot from a hand-held firearm is quite simple. Easier than using other types of weapons. But orienting oneself in a combat situation is not so easy. That is why in the army, mostly soldiers are taught drill training.

Drill training helps soldiers act in unison, so they can follow commands accurately. And this is how the pikemen defeated chivalry. The knight is beautiful, but uncontrollable. He acts as he sees fit. The pikemen followed orders and acted synchronously. And exactly drill allowed the introduction of hand-held firearms into the army even before they became truly accurate. This was achieved thanks to the use volley fire. It was possible to abandon it only after the invention of the Minier bullet in 1849. He took an elongated bullet, made a cavity at the base and inserted an iron cup into it. The bullet easily entered the barrel, but when fired, the cup straightened out under the pressure of the gases, and the bullet began to tightly block the lumen of the barrel. This ensured accuracy!

From gunpowder to cartridge

Today all the cartridges are stan-dar-ti-zi-ro-va-ny, but once upon a time there were none at all! The first hand-held fire guns were cast from bronze, and bullets were forged from iron. Firearms came to Europe from the East through Spain. It was possible to use hand-held firearms in war already in 1420. They were able to abandon barrel casting in the 18th century, after Maritz invented a lathe, which made it possible to carry out fairly accurate boring of barrels. And even earlier, in the 16th century, in Spain and Italy they began to drill trunks, since the welded ones could burst. That is, progress was made, but until the middle of the 19th century, the military preferred to use smooth-bore weapons loaded from the muzzle.

The first paper cartridges appeared in the first half of the 17th century, but they had to be torn before loading the gun. Since hand-held firearms were mainly used with a smooth barrel, round bullets were used. Although rifled barrels have been known since the 16th century, their mass introduction into the army became possible only after the invention of the Minié bullet. At the same time, co-vet-st-ven-but, weapons loaded from the breech began to be actively introduced. Therefore, the second half of the 19th century is the era of one-in-a-row weapons, loaded from the breech. At the same time, in the 1880s, double-barreled shotguns were already used, but they were too expensive, so they were, as a rule, only taken for hunting.

All this became possible only thanks to the widespread introduction of cartridges. A key invention in this regard was the cartridge of British Army Colonel Edward Boxer. He is the inventor of the cartridge with a metal sleeve and a central-type igniter, which is still popularly used today. Also an important invention late XIX century, “smokeless” gunpowder became. In 1896, it was patented by Alfred Nobel, but independently of Nobel, Vielle in France and Abel and Devaux in England were able to develop it. The basis of this gunpowder is ni-tro-gly-cerin and ni-tro-cel-lu-loza, and the main advantage is the release of a much smaller volume of smoke and soot.

Handgun locks

The capsule lock and the Boxer cartridge are what made it possible to create all the different types of modern hand-held firearms. In fact, the most famous pistol in the world, the Colt Patterson, uses a cap lock. In general, it was the first functional pistol in history to use a primer igniter. True, it should be noted that, firstly, revolvers with a six-row drum appeared already in 1580, and, secondly, “Patterson” was actually invented by John Pearson. Colt only patented the invention. However, it is impossible to imagine an automatic weapon without a capsule lock, “smokeless” powder and a Boxer cartridge.

Modern handguns

Handguns can be single-shot or multi-shot, single-barreled or multi-barreled, as well as semi-automatic or av-to-ma-ti-ches-kim. Single-shot shotguns can fire one shot before requiring manual reloading. Multi-row ones can hold several bullets at once, to fire which you need to jerk the shutter. Po-lu-av-to-ma-ti-ches allow you to empty the magazine by simply pulling the trigger. Auto-ma-ti-ches allow you to empty the magazine by simply pulling the trigger. The difference is that to fire a weapon, you need to pull the trigger every time, but to release the clip, you just need to hold the trigger.

The first semi-automatic pistols predate the invention of smokeless powder in the early 1870s. But the first pistol with a magazine in the handle was developed by Browning in 1897. This removed all remaining obstacles to the development of this type of fire weapon. True, development did not stop there. Even during the First World War, machine guns were developed, which, however, did not find wide distribution then. Other wars awaited them. Much more cruel and bloody. They were first used by bandits in the early 1920s, and then gained their notoriety on the battlefields of World War II.

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Sources

Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen – St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. – p.307

Youtu.be/TDQE8_FcpNc?t=23m10s

Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen - St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. - p. 327

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 110

Channel.nationalgeographic.com/origins-the-journey-of-humankind/articles/how-fire-made-us-modern/

Sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000715368080026X

Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828709/

Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2759797/

Cbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4332490/

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 119

scientificamerican.com/article/the-mini-rifle-ball

History.com/topics/american-civil-war/mini-ball

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 121

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Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen – St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. – p.308

Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen - St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. - p. 311

Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen - St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. - p.315

Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen - St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. - p.338

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 114

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 112

Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen - St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. - p.339

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 130

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 132

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 134

Museumoftechnology.org.uk/objects/_expand.php?key=432

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Beheim Wendalen “Encyclopedia of Weapons” / Beheim Wendalen - St. Petersburg: Orchestra, 1995. - p.351

Zhuk A.B. “Small arms”/Zhuk A.B. – Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1992. – p. 9

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 108

Zhuk A.B. “Small arms”/Zhuk A.B. – Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1992. – p. 23

Diagram group “Illustrated history of weapons from antiquity to the present day” / Diagram group - Minsk: Potpourri, 2004. - p. 148