The Origin of Pistols in Rus' (Part I)

Revolvers and pistols, being personal weapons of attack and defense, are designed to destroy enemy personnel at distances of up to 50 m, and they can be either rifled or smooth-bore. Having gone through a long evolution, they have become the most popular weapon of personal self-defense, having won a strong place both in the weapons system of the army and law enforcement agencies, and as the so-called. "civilian" weapons. The combat use of revolvers and pistols determined their role as an auxiliary means of defeating the enemy at short distances and in short-lived hand-to-hand combat.

Studying the history of firearms, you never tire of being amazed at the art of Russian gunsmiths.
The ancestors of the Tula Lefty, who forged the “Aglitsky” steel flea, knew how to make truly wonderful guns and pistols. Three-barreled shotgun with matchlock.
Europe. First half of the 16th century The history of handguns in Russia dates back to the end of the 14th century. The first news of the use of firearms in our country dates back to 1382, during the siege of Moscow by the Tatar Khan Tokhtamysh, when, during the Kremlin attack, the besieged fired crossbows, gunpowder, mattresses and cannons (mattress - Turkish “gun”). The use of handguns coincided with the beginning of the most important transformations in Russian lands - the revival of the economy, culture and technology. This process, caused by the intensification of the liberation war, was accompanied by the rise of cities and the renewal of military potential. There was a common name for hand-held firearms - squeaks, although artillery pieces were also called that way. Russian warriors wore hand-held squeaks, or hand-held pistols, on their backs, which is why they were called curtain-mounted in contrast to back-mounted ones, which, in fact, were small-caliber artillery pieces. Handguns, along with artillery, played a huge role in the progressive struggle to gather Russian lands and create a single centralized state. It was an important weapon in the army of Muscovite Rus', which defended its independence in wars in the west, east and south.

If in the 14th century Moscow received firearms from the Germans, then already in the 15th century the Novgorodians, Pskovites, and after them the Solovetsky monks created their own weapons production, which soon became widespread in Rus'.

In the initial period of its existence, handguns were not much different from artillery weapons. The same craftsmen made artillery pieces and small weapons - one-piece or solid-cast tubes, usually with a blind breech, differing in weight and dimensions. Hand grips, or hand pikes, consisted of an iron barrel, which was attached to a wooden machine (stock) with a butt using screws or clips. The hole through which gunpowder (potion) was poured was called the mouth, and the muzzle of the barrel adjacent to the mouth was called the muzzle; the part of the trunk opposite the muzzle was called the treasury, and the middle part of the trunk was called the middle. In the first arquebuses, the powder charge was ignited by a red-hot rod or wick. With this method of ignition, the use of handguns was quite difficult.

There were two ways of firing. At the first, the shooter, holding his right hand under his armpit or throwing the pole-like butt over his shoulder, set fire to the charge with his left hand. If the weapon was heavy, then shooting had to be done from a support. The second method was even more complicated. One shooter held a hand-held arcal with both hands and took aim, and the second ignited the powder charge.

Further evolution led to the separation of handguns into an independent type of military equipment in the mid-15th century. The main distinguishing feature of this development was the gradual reduction in the caliber of the barrel and its lengthening. In the second half of the 15th century, sighting devices appeared in hand-held pikes; the seed hole was moved from above to the right side of the barrel, and a powder shelf with a lid was attached next to it.

In the last quarter of the 15th century, impractical pulp powder was replaced by stronger granular gunpowder. Shooting was now carried out with a spherical lead bullet sent into the barrel. The bullet was first wrapped in leather, linen, paper or some other material. Subsequent improvements in firearms led, on the one hand, to the appearance of light hand-held hand-held rifles of 18-20 mm caliber, or hand-held arquelas, with a barrel length of 25-30 calibers, and on the other hand, to the appearance of heavy hand-held hand-held hand-held rifles (fortress rifles) of caliber from 25 to 37 mm.

The division of handguns into light handguns and heavy serf weapons is characteristic of the further development of European military weapons during the 15th - early 16th centuries.

This development was significantly influenced by the discovery of the ignition mechanism - the lock. The first ignition mechanisms - wick locks - appeared in Europe at the beginning of the 15th century. In Rus', in military weapons, zhagras (the name of the matchlock in the Russian state) became widespread at the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries.

An early version of the matchlock was a double-armed lever with a trigger that was initially C-shaped and later S-shaped. When pressure was applied to the trigger, the rear arm of the lever rose, as a result of which the front arm, included in the earring, fixedly placed on the trigger pin, fell. The trigger with the smoldering wick pinched was lowered onto the shelf and ignited the seed gunpowder. A leaf spring was mounted on the inside of the locking board, under the action of which the trigger was tilted back and held in the cocked state. Originally, the powder shelf was part of the barrel, not the lock. In the 16th century, the shelf, shelf cover and shield, which protected the shooter’s eyes from the flash of gunpowder on the shelf, were mounted on a key board.

Along with this locking system, a matchlock with a side release (called “zhagra” in Rus') has become widely used in domestic guns.
This mechanism consisted of seven parts. The trigger was a multi-armed S-shaped lever with a hole for the axle, into which a nail entered, which simultaneously strengthened the locking board. The trigger head was adapted to hold the wick. The mainspring was plate-shaped, somewhat curved, one end was attached with a nail to the fore-end of the stock, and the free end acted on the tail of the trigger from the bottom up. The descent consisted of a leaf spring with a protrusion - a sear and a button head. When firing, they pressed the button with their finger, the sear was recessed, releasing the trigger, which, under the action of the mainspring, dropped to the shelf and ignited the seed gunpowder. Iron arquebus.
XV century. The characteristic features of the design of arquebuses of that time were: a relatively long barrel with a solid bottom, small caliber and low weight, barrel length ranged from 1.4 to 1.7 m, caliber - 30 - 40 mm, weight - 38 - 50 kg Simple and cheap a device that made it possible to conduct more accurate aimed shooting, sharply increased the effectiveness of handguns. The introduction of the ignition mechanism brought further changes to the design of guns.

The need to attach a lock forced the abandonment of barrels with tubes instead of stocks, and the desire for accurate shooting led to the replacement of primitive rifle stocks with a pole-shaped butt with a slight curvature at the site of the future neck.

The use of the matchlock significantly influenced the place of handguns in the arsenal of weapons. Hand-held arquebuses not only gradually replaced older types of weapons, such as crossbows and arrows, they became the main weapon of infantry.

The first special formations armed with handguns, the “fiery archers,” were created in Rus' at the end of the 15th century. These are mainly foot soldiers, however, there are known cases of the use of hand-held arquebuses in the same years by horsemen.

The transition to mass production of firearms allowed the Russian state to carry out military reforms that were significant in scope and consequences. If in the 16th century the main core of the Russian army was the local cavalry, armed mainly with edged weapons and the use of firearms was sporadic, then already at the beginning of the 17th century, arming the cavalry with small arms at the request of the authorities became mandatory. In the middle of the 16th century, during the reorganization of the Russian army, Ivan the Terrible created for the first time in our country a regular rifle army of 3-5 thousand people, armed with matchlocks.

The number of firearms that were in the Russian troops at that time is evidenced by the fact that during the Livonian War in 1558, in the decisive battle for the ancient Russian city of Yuryev (Tartu), the army of Ivan the Terrible included only soldiers armed with arquebuses with wicks. castles, 12,000 people.

The spread of small arms in the Russian army by the middle of the 16th century was the result of their superiority over throwing non-firearms. This superiority was especially clearly manifested in the battles of the Cossacks of Ermak Timofeevich with the army of the Siberian Khan Kuchum (1582). A detachment of Russian Cossacks armed with firearms relatively easily defeated the Tatar army, which was many times superior in numbers, and was armed mainly with edged and throwing weapons (bows). With the widespread introduction of handguns in the Russian army, the role of “fiery archers” increases. In 1631, the first dragoon regiment was formed in Rus', armed with special dragoon muskets, shorter and lighter than infantry ones. Already in 1632, the Russian dragoon regiment received a baptism of fire near Smolensk during the Russian-Polish war. By the 1640s, the Streltsy army, which included foot and horse soldiers, already made up a tenth of the entire Russian army and was used in battle as shock units. By 1676, the Russian army numbered over 11.5 thousand dragoons in its ranks.

By the end of the 15th century, all possibilities for improving matchlock small arms were exhausted. A fundamentally new solution was required that could radically change the method of ignition. Therefore, around 1500, the wheel spark lock appeared, which had a great influence on the further development of small arms. It combined a new source of ignition with a fairly reliable mechanism, much superior to a matchlock. Their appearance was made possible thanks to advances in the field of mechanics and metal processing. The greatest scientist and artist of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, took part in the creation of the wheel castle. His manuscripts, dating back to 1482, contain drawings of one of the variants of the wheel lock.

Leonardo da Vinci took part in the development of a more advanced model of wheel locks. The action of this mechanism consisted in pre-cocking the spring of the wheel with a special key, after which, when the trigger was pressed, it was released and began to rotate quickly. Simultaneously with the start of rotation, a trigger with a flint clamped in it touched the wheel with a notch on the edge, as a result of which sparks were struck when the rotating wheel rubbed against the flint (this principle is still used in mechanical lighters).

This rather complex mechanism automatically produced sparks that ignited the seed powder by rubbing the pyrite clamped in the trigger against a rapidly rotating gear wheel driven by a pre-cocked spring. The spring was wound with a special key, which was inserted into the tetrahedral protrusion of the wheel axle. When winding it 3/4 of a turn (clockwise), the sear - a tooth on the front shoulder of the release lever - jumped into a special recess inside the wheel and locked it. In this case, a steel chain connected to the free end of the mainspring was tightly wound around the axis, and the spring was compressed. The powder shelf had a slot in the base into which the jagged edge of the wheel fit. After pouring the seed, the shelf was tightly closed. The trigger was lowered onto the shelf cover and held in place by a strong two-arm spring. During descent, the sear was pulled back, the wheel was released, and the latter, under the action of the mainspring, began to rotate quickly. A special cam on the wheel axle pushed the lever of the shelf cover, and the shelf automatically opened. The wheel struck sparks from the pyrite, which ignited the seed on the shelf. Usually the wheel was placed on the outside of the key board in a casing. The casing prevented the wheel from wobbling, protected it from dust, but at the same time made it difficult to clean the wheel from carbon deposits. In the first quarter of the 17th century, the heavy casing was replaced by a light iron plate secured with a hook.

To fire a weapon with a wheel lock, it was necessary to load it with a powder charge and a bullet, after which the wheel spring was wound up with a key, remove the trigger from the shelf in order to pour powder seed onto it, close the shelf with a lid and bring the trigger to it. However, the mechanism of the wheel lock was very complicated; the wheel often became clogged with gunpowder residues and misfired. Its low reliability often forced it to be duplicated with an additional wick lock. At the same time, compared to a matchlock weapon, the process of preparing a loaded gun with a wheel lock for firing was significantly simplified: there was no need to first strike a fire, tinker with the wick, or open the shelf lid.

Pistol with wheel lock.
Germany. 1580 Subsequently, the wheel lock was significantly improved, which increased ease of use, speed and reliability of operation. For this purpose, a self-opening shelf lid was installed, which was cocked when the wheel began to rotate. The cocking of its spring was carried out due to the operation of the trigger, which made it possible to speed up the preparation of the lock for firing and eliminate the winding key. The details of the lock also underwent changes, and the wheel itself was moved inside the lock. To reduce misfires, flint was replaced with pyrite. To fire, it was now necessary, depending on the type of lock, to either lower the trigger onto the shelf or flip back the safety.

With the invention of the wheel lock in the second quarter of the 16th century, pistols were further developed - a new type of lightweight, portable firearm that could be fired with one hand at close range. First of all, the cavalry needed such weapons, i.e. because the rider needed a firearm that would not be burdensome when riding, small, light, and allowing the weapon to be fired with one hand, since the other needed to control the horse. For this purpose, the arquebus was shortened and lightened, resulting in a short-barreled small-caliber hand-held arcal (“gun”) with a caliber of 13.5-14.5 mm, with a barrel length of 190-220 mm and a barrel weight of 0.5-0.6 kg , suitable for shooting with one hand. This is how Iranian, Arab, and Caucasian pistols - carbines, as well as Western European pistols - blunderbusses, appeared. In Europe, the first examples of a new type of personal self-defense weapon with an original shaped handle, instead of a butt, began to be called pistols.

According to one version, this name comes from the fact that the first examples of such matchlock weapons were created in 1536 by the Italian gunsmith Camilo Vetelli from the city of Pistoia. However, pistols did not become very widespread in those years, because when the charge was ignited using a hot rod or using a matchlock, they could only perform the functions of a personal self-defense weapon only with a very big stretch. Carrying a lit fuse in your pocket was not very convenient in those days, moreover, the rather lengthy and labor-intensive process of lighting the fuse also entailed too much hassle in using such a weapon, and the shot, which was fired using a brought burning fuse, was not only burdensome for the rider, but even dangerous. Such ignition of a powder charge at that time did not ensure constant readiness for a loaded weapon to fire, which was one of the main requirements for a pistol as a weapon of self-defense.

Only with the advent of the spark wheel lock at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries did pistols really begin to serve their purpose. The use of a wheel lock contributed to the rapid spread of pistols, since this ignition mechanism ensured the reliability of the weapon. The result of this was a radical rearmament of the cavalry, i.e. Because the pistol turned out to be a very successful weapon for close combat, it replaced impact-crushing types of bladed weapons. With the advent of pistols, maces, hammers and axes turned out to be unnecessary and gradually began to disappear from cavalry weapons. The first examples of pistols were very large and heavy single-barreled weapons, loaded with heavy lead round bullets.

For the first time, pistols were very successfully used for military purposes by the Prussian heavy mercenary cavalry - the reiters, using them in 1544 at the Battle of Ranti. The German Reiters achieved victory over the French using pistol fire rather than cold steel. This happened during an attack on French positions by German heavy cavalry, when the reiters formed into columns 15-20 ranks deep. Each rank, having approached the enemy within firing distance, stopped, fired a volley at the French and, scattering to the left and right, made room for the next rank, while the first rank again lined up in the rear, reloading their weapons. Such a new maneuver of the cavalry attack “horse snail” forced the command of most European armies (except Russia and Poland) to almost completely reconsider the tactics of large cavalry units and universally introduce pistols into their arsenal, which after this episode gained great popularity precisely as a military weapon, instead of pikes. . New tactical forms of using cavalry were based not on breaking through the line of enemy troops and then going to his rear, but on inflicting the maximum possible losses on him. This method of conducting cavalry combat existed until the end of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).

At the same time, ignition of the powder charge was not always reliable; The lock very quickly became covered with gunpowder soot, and it was extremely difficult to clean it. They tried to compensate for the unreliability of the castle by arming one cavalryman with several pistols at once. Therefore, instead of one, cavalrymen began to arm themselves with a pair of pistols. This is how a new type of paired cavalry pistols was developed, worn in special saddle leather cases - olstras, attached to the front saddle pommel. They had a caliber of 14-17.5 mm with a barrel length of up to 30-35 cm. The length of these pistols varied greatly. Short and heavy samples of large calibers were called puffers or “dogs” and were suitable only for shooting at very short distances. They were intended for hand-to-hand combat, and after firing they were often used as a shock-crushing weapon - a club. It was at this time that the pistol became the favorite weapon of the noble nobleman, who always carried a pair of pistols with him while riding on horseback. Long cavalry pistols of large caliber, which in their dimensions were a transitional form to the arquebus and carbine, were also worn on the right side of the saddle bow in a heavy olstrum, framed with fringe and decorated with emblems and monograms. Their rate of fire was no higher than that of a rifle, and their effective firing range did not exceed 25-50 steps.

Powder flasks.
16th century If the earliest examples of pistols were characterized by a wheel lock and a heavy stock with a straight or slightly curved handle ending in a spherical pommel, the so-called. “apple”, then already in the second half of the 16th century the massive use of these weapons led to the first significant improvements in the ergonomics of weapons, improving their combat properties. Thus, in Germany, longer pistols of 7-14 mm caliber appeared, and the handle, lowered down, forming an angle of 50-60 degrees with the axis of the barrel, ended in a rather massive ball. At the same time, curved handles, tapering at the bottom, came into use from Spain. Sights are extremely rare on short-barreled weapons of that period, as are rifled barrels. At the same time, wheel locks on pistols received the first safeties. The desire to make reloading as easy as possible led to the appearance of the first breech-loading pistols back in the 1540s. The oldest known pistols had a slide-in chamber with a side-hinged lock. Along with this, already around 1560, double-barreled wheel pistols appeared in Italy, intended to replace a pair of single-barreled cavalry pistols. Their barrels were located in a vertical plane, separate from each other and touching only at the muzzle. Each barrel was equipped with its own wheel lock, and the “apple” of the handle was located on the axis of the weapon, therefore, having pre-cocked locks, to fire from the second barrel it was enough to just turn the pistol 180 degrees around its axis. In 1607, similar weapons were introduced to arm the German Reiters.

The Moscow state also sought to keep up with foreigners. In Rus', pistols (pistols) with a wheel lock (in Russia called a “castle with a wheel”) appeared in the second half of the 16th century, the vast majority of them were of Western European origin. They were used mainly for hunting (on horseback), and much less often - by horsemen in battle. However, in Rus', weapons with a wheel lock did not become as widespread as weapons with a matchlock or flintlock. At the same time, hand grips and pistols with axes came into widespread use.

Despite the fact that weapons with a wheel lock marked a huge technical progress in military affairs, the mechanism of this lock was quite fragile, expensive and difficult to manufacture, and therefore unprofitable for mass use. Therefore, matchlock guns continued to be the main weapon of the infantry. By the middle of the 16th century, simpler spark mechanisms for igniting the charge began to be used more and more often in hand-held firearms - percussion flintlocks, the action of which was based on the impact of the flint on a steel plate - flint. First appearing in Europe in 1504 in the Spanish army, castles of this type soon gained wide popularity throughout the world. The benefit of these locks compared to wheel locks was the greater simplicity of the device, and therefore the low cost, mainly in greater ease of use, i.e. because it was not necessary to wind the spring with a special key each time before firing. The external design of the castle was different, while the main structure remained international.

The comparative simplicity of the design and manufacture of flint locks, which were more practical than matchlocks, cheaper and more convenient than wheel locks, led to their rapid and widespread introduction in military weapons. Therefore, they gradually became widespread. The classic version of the Russian-type flintlock was a mechanism with two leaf springs. Hand-held pikelets with a flintlock of the Russian type were made mainly in the central regions of the Moscow state. In the north of Rus', the Karelian type of castle, similar in design to the Scandinavian type, was widely used. In addition to the Russian and Karelian types of locks, foreign locks were widely used in domestic weapons. Locks of the Anglo-Dutch type were especially popular among Russian gunsmiths.

Under the influence of the Dutch castle, in the second quarter of the 17th century in the Moscow state, mixed-type flintlocks were created - original systems developed by domestic gunsmiths as a result of significant improvements and modifications of outdated mechanisms. During these same years, the Mediterranean flint lock type appeared, which had two varieties: Italian and Spanish. Both versions of the lock, as a rule, were mounted on imported weapons and were very rarely copied by Russian craftsmen.

Since the beginning of the 17th century, hand-held squeaks with a flintlock, gradually displacing hand-held and matchlock muskets, became a widespread infantry weapon. At the same time, Russian gunsmiths skillfully modernize obsolete weapons. Thus, already in 1608, during the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery by Polish-Swedish invaders, Russian defenders used matchlock guns converted from matchlocks with Russian-style flintlocks. During the same period, local cavalry began to arm themselves with hand-held firearms with flintlocks.

The widespread use of firearms significantly influenced its further improvement.
During the second half of the 16th - 17th centuries, new designs and forms of weapons were developed; the ballistic qualities of the barrels were improved; rifled weapons appeared, which differed from smooth-bore weapons in their greater range and shooting accuracy, since it was noticed that during the operation of hand-held firearms, not only the accuracy of fire increases, but also the initial speed of the bullet due to its more dense driving into the barrel. However, loading a bullet with tension along the entire contour required significant effort. Back in 1498, the Viennese gunsmith Gaspar Zollner made the first example of a rifled weapon - a carbine, to facilitate loading of which straight rifling was made, which reduced the area of contact of the bullet with the bore. In the years 1500-1515, screw rifling began to be made in the barrel, which made it possible to significantly increase the firing range and accuracy. Guns with screw rifling gave satisfactory accuracy of fire at distances of up to 600 steps. However, at that time, rifled weapons were much more expensive than smooth-bore weapons and had a much lower rate of fire (no more than 1 shot per 5 minutes). Nevertheless, already from the second half of the 16th century, rifled guns (fittings), which differed from smooth-bore guns in their longer firing range, began to be widely used in Europe by hunters and lovers of target (sport) shooting. In Rus', guns with screw rifling in the bore appeared already at the beginning of the 16th century under the name “screw squeaks.” Flintlock pistol.
Russia. Moscow. Armouries. Master Andron Dementyev. 1650-1660 During this period of rapid development of weapons technology, the requirements not only for the design of the weapon itself, but also for the material and technologies for its processing increased significantly. The widespread introduction of firearms into troops in a relatively short time changed the entire nature of warfare. Linear battle tactics, which originated at the end of the 16th century, were adopted by the armies of all states at the beginning of the next century. The nature of the military operations of the troops has changed, their numbers have increased. Ensuring the reliability of the use of a large number of handguns on the battlefield required the production of uniform products.

The manufacture of weapons is one of the most massive industries. In the 16th - first half of the 17th century, the main centers for the production of firearms in the Russian state became centers of developed blacksmithing: Moscow, Tver, Novgorod, the Arkhangelsk region, Tula. They became the armories of large cities and monasteries.

Back in 1511, the Armory Chamber was built in Moscow with a workshop for the manufacture of hand firearms and bladed weapons, and the Pushkar Chamber was founded even earlier. The gunsmith who headed the chamber brought together to Moscow from all over Rus' the best self-made and saber craftsmen, as well as armor makers who made protective weapons: helmets, armor and armor. Moscow trunk-makers, locksmiths and stock-makers worked not out of fear, but out of conscience. The secrets of the home-made business were passed from father to son and from grandfather to grandson. In 1604, Tsar Boris Godunov presented the Persian Shah Abbas with rare beauty “two self-propelled guns made by Moscow masters.” Russian arms making received its greatest development under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In the workshop of the Armory Chamber, transformed into a large royal workshop, a whole galaxy of outstanding Russian gunsmiths worked - Nikita Davydov with his sons, Pervusha Isaev, Vyatkin, Kharitonov, Titov and many others worked on the manufacture of excellent smooth-bore and rifled guns of a wide variety of types: single-barreled, multi-barreled, multi-charged, loaded both from the muzzle and from the treasury.

Domestic small arms of the first half of the 16th century were distinguished by their simplicity of form and decoration, like most ordinary handicraft products. From the second half of the 16th century, as handguns became widespread and their technical sophistication grew, the finishing of weapons became increasingly important. This was most clearly demonstrated when fulfilling individual orders from high-ranking or wealthy buyers. Individual samples were made in elegant, sometimes even ornate shapes and elegantly decorated. The products of Moscow gunsmiths were especially distinguished by the beauty and thoroughness of finishing. However, the main activity of the Moscow Armory Chamber was determined by government orders for the mass production of simple army models of regulated design.

It was in the Moscow Armory in the first quarter of the 17th century that the production of pistols with a flintlock was first mastered in Rus'. Russian pistols were relatively long, their stock was made with a thin fore-end and a smoothly lowered handle. Impact flint locks were used mainly of two types - Russian and Dutch.

The appearance of pistols in combination with various types of bladed weapons dates back to the same period. Pistols were made in combination with a sword, battle axe, flail, dagger, etc. The existence of “pistol axes,” “scorch marks,” “fire daggers,” and other similar types is not at all explained by the extravagance of the taste of the gunsmith or his customer, but an attempt to create a unified weapon that could be used under extreme circumstances as a firearm and bladed weapon. Combined weapons have not become widespread.

Taking into account the experience of combat use of small arms in Rus', new tactical techniques are being created that correspond to the properties of weapons of that time. In the 1630s, cadre “foreign” regiments, or regiments of the new system, were organized in Russia, whose soldiers received government-issued weapons. In order to introduce uniformity in weapons, the tsarist government was forced to partially purchase weapons for them abroad. Therefore, in the soldier regiments of the new system, until the beginning of the 18th century, along with flintlock rifles, outdated matchlock muskets were in service, while in the rest of the Russian army (streltsy regiments and local cavalry) from the end of the 16th century, they used mainly weapons that were advanced at that time with percussion flintlock.

At the end of the 17th century, the center of military weapons production gradually moved to Tula.
Beginning in the 1680s, Tula blacksmiths regularly supplied the state treasury with large quantities of weapons made from standard samples. By the end of the 17th century, the Tula weapons manufactory became the leading enterprise of its time with a high level of division of labor associated with the mass production of military weapons. A distinctive feature of the Tula State Settlement was the pronounced specialization of gunsmiths: barrel makers, welders, locksmiths, machine operators, and trimmers, which indicated the beginning of mass production, almost completely confined to government orders. Flintlock pistol.
Russia. The end of the 17th century At the same time, along with manufactory, small handicraft weapons craft continued to exist in the Russian state, especially in remote areas, which, naturally, left its mark on handguns.

In the 17th century, Western European weapons schools and some weapons schools in the Middle East had a noticeable influence on the design, shape and even decoration of domestic handguns. From the middle of the 17th century, the influence of the French weapons school began to affect Russian weapons. It manifested itself not only in the borrowing of the French battery lock and French stock, but also in the design of the weapon itself. However, the influence of foreign weapons schools did not cause the enslavement of domestic weapons technology by technically stronger countries. It was a diverse, mutually enriching relationship in military affairs. Russian weapons in the 16th - 17th centuries were at the advanced global level of development; they could withstand the weapons of their opponents.

In the second half of the 17th century, the massive use of pistols in Rus' led to the production of simple army models, which, as a rule, were equipped with improved Russian-type locks with two bent springs and an additional trigger safety. The barrel length did not exceed 350 mm, the caliber was 15-16 mm, the handle acquired a comfortable round shape with a spherical end.

New trends in the development of small arms associated with the emergence of more advanced flintlocks have led to the displacement of all other types of ignition mechanisms. However, the wheel lock, despite all the structural complexity, difficulties in maintenance, rapid contamination of the mechanism, slow cocking of the mainspring and high cost, still lasted in pistols until the second half of the 18th century. This was also facilitated by the fact that the wheel lock gave much fewer misfires than weapons with a flintlock, and for pistols - personal self-defense weapons, which often became the last argument in resolving a particular conflict situation, the issue of failure-free operation of the ignition mechanism was of extreme importance . And only by the end of the same century the percussion flintlock was improved so much that the wheel lock was soon completely forced out of use in pistols.

(Beginning. Ending in the article “The Origin of Pistols in Rus' (Part II

)»)

Sergey Monetchikov Illustrations from the author’s archive

Improvement of gunpowder

The explosive mixture, in the form of a fine powder or “pulp,” was very inconvenient to use. When reloading, pushing it into the barrel with a ramrod was difficult and time consuming - it stuck to the walls of the weapon and did not move towards the fuse. To reduce the speed of weapon reloading, the explosive mixture had to be improved without deteriorating its chemical composition.

In the 15th century, gunpowder pulp was held together in the form of small lumps, but this was still not very convenient. At the beginning of the 16th century, “pearl gunpowder” was invented. It looked like small hard balls. In this form, the explosive mixture gave a great advantage in speed - the rounded particles did not stick to the walls, but quickly rolled down.

Another advantage of the innovation is that the new type of mixture absorbed less moisture. Thanks to this, the shelf life was greatly increased. If the previous version was stored for only 3 years, then the storage duration of spherical gunpowder was 20 times longer.

A significant disadvantage of the new explosive mixture was the price. Knights who could not afford these expenses used older versions. For this reason, "pearl" gunpowder was not popular until the 18th century.

Ancient "lights"

Sulfur. A common component of spells and a component of gunpowder

The secret of gunpowder (if, of course, we can talk about a secret here) lies in the special properties of saltpeter. Namely, the ability of this substance to release oxygen when heated. If saltpeter is mixed with any fuel and set on fire, a “chain reaction” will begin. The oxygen released by saltpeter will increase the intensity of combustion, and the hotter the flame flares up, the more oxygen will be released.

People learned to use saltpeter to increase the effectiveness of incendiary mixtures back in the 1st millennium BC. It was just not easy to find her. In countries with hot and very humid climates, white, snow-like crystals could sometimes be found on the site of old fire pits. But in Europe, saltpeter was found only in stinking sewer tunnels or in bat-inhabited caves.

Before gunpowder was used for explosions and throwing cannonballs and bullets, saltpeter-based compounds had long been used to make incendiary shells and flamethrowers. For example, the legendary “Greek fire” was a mixture of saltpeter with oil, sulfur and rosin. Sulfur, which ignites at low temperatures, was added to facilitate ignition of the composition. Rosin was required to thicken the “cocktail” so that the charge would not flow out of the flamethrower pipe.

The “Greek fire” really could not be extinguished. After all, saltpeter dissolved in boiling oil continued to release oxygen and support combustion even under water.

In order for gunpowder to become an explosive, saltpeter must make up 60% of its mass. In the “Greek fire” there was half as much. But even this amount was enough to make the oil combustion process unusually violent.

The Byzantines were not the inventors of “Greek fire”, but borrowed it from the Arabs back in the 7th century. The saltpeter and oil necessary for its production were also purchased in Asia. If we take into account that the Arabs themselves called saltpeter “Chinese salt” and rockets “Chinese arrows,” it will not be difficult to guess where this technology came from.

Development of one-handed weapons

Pistol

A foot soldier could spend time reloading a matchlock weapon, but for cavalry it was inconvenient to use. There were attempts to create a different type of castle, but mostly they were not very successful. It became possible to abandon matchlock guns only at the end of the 17th century. Despite the disadvantages, this type of lock had advantages - it worked simply and reliably.

The first experimental attempts to invent an automatic lock began in the 15th century. A castle was created in which fire appeared from friction. When flint rubbed against iron, sparks appeared, which were supposed to ignite the explosive mixture. A simple flint was attached above the shelf; it had to be hit with a file. However, in this case, 2 hands were still involved - one held the weapon, and the other drew fire. The goal of making the weapon one-handed was not achieved, so this type of gun did not become particularly popular.

At the end of the 15th century, a wheel lock was invented in Europe. Leonardo da Vinci wrote about him. A gear was made from flint, which began to spin when the trigger was pressed. The movement of the gear caused sparks to appear.

This device resembled a watch mechanism. While this was a great discovery, it had a huge drawback. The mechanism became contaminated with fumes and flint particles and stopped working very quickly. Such weapons could not be used more than 30 times. And it was also impossible to clean it yourself.

Despite the shortcomings, the amazing mechanism with a wheel lock was still actively used. It was especially valuable for mounted troops, as it made it possible to use only one hand while shooting.

In the 1630s, knightly spears were replaced with shorter ones and arquebuses with a wheel mechanism began to be used. The city that created such weapons was called Pistol and this type of arquebus was named after it. At the end of the 16th century, pistols began to be created in Moscow.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, European pistols looked very massive. The caliber is 14-16 mm, the barrel length is at least 30 cm, the length of the entire weapon is more than 50 cm. The pistol weighed 2 kilograms. A shot from such a design was weak and not very aimed. It was impossible to shoot further than a few meters. Even a close shot did not guarantee that the bullet would penetrate the armor.

Pistol

The pistols were decorated very richly - with gold and pearls. They featured various decorative patterns that turned the weapon into a work of art. The designs of pistols were quite unusual. They were often made with 3-4 trunks. Although this seemed like an amazing innovation, it brought little benefit.

The tradition of decorating such weapons arose because even without decoration with precious stones and metals they were incredibly expensive. People buying pistols were interested not only in their fighting qualities; their external attractiveness added elitism to the weapon. Moreover, prestige was sometimes valued more than characteristics.

In addition to the listed types of parts responsible for igniting the charge, there were others: electrical and capsule. The electric lock was not used very often due to its bulkiness and inconvenience. Nowadays, this technique has been improved and made convenient for use.

Musket

It is believed that with the advent of firearms, other types of weapons suddenly ceased to be used. In fact, development took place gradually. The types of handguns improved, explosive mixtures also improved, and gradually the knights began to give preference to such weapons. In the 16th century, javelins, swords, bows and crossbows continued to be used, ignoring more expensive options. Knightly armor was improved, and pikes and spears were used against mounted warriors. There was no global revolution ending the Middle Ages.

The era came to an end in 1525. The Spaniards improved matchlock guns and used them in the battle with the French. The name of the new weapon was the musket.

The musket was larger than the arquebus. The weight of the musket is 7-9 kilograms, the caliber is 22-23 millimeters, the barrel length is 1.5 meters. Spain at that time was a very developed country and therefore they were able to produce such strong, long and relatively light weapons.

They fired from a musket with a support. Given its heaviness and large size, 2 soldiers used it. However, it had enormous advantages - a bullet weighing 50-60 grams flew at a speed of 500 meters per second. The shot instantly pierced the armor of both the enemies and their horses. The payoff was huge. If you did not protect the body with a cuirass, you could seriously damage your collarbone.

Thanks to the lengthening of the barrel, aiming has improved. It was possible to hit the enemy from 30-35 meters. However, the main advantage was from salvo fire. Its range reached 240 meters. And even at such a huge distance, iron armor was pierced, and severe damage was caused. Before this, it was possible to stop a horse only with a large spear, and the musket combined the functions of an arquebus and a pike.

Although the new weapon had amazing qualities, it was not used often. Throughout the 16th century, the musket was a rarity. The reason, as in many other cases, was price. Those who could afford such weapons were considered the elite. The musketeer detachments consisted of 100 to 200 people, mostly nobles. In addition to the musket, the musketeer had to have a horse.

Another reason for the rarity of this weapon is that it was not safe to use. When the enemy cavalry attacked, the musketeer either won or died. Even those who could afford a horse and a musket did not always want to put their lives at great risk.

Arquebus

At the beginning of the 15th century, self-propelled guns were still too primitive to seriously compete with bows and crossbows. But fire tubes quickly improved. Already in the 30s of the 15th century, the pilot hole was moved to the side, and a shelf for seed powder began to be welded next to it. This gunpowder, upon contact with fire, flared up instantly, and after just a split second, the hot gases ignited the charge in the barrel. The gun began to fire quickly and reliably, and most importantly, it became possible to mechanize the process of lowering the wick. In the second half of the 15th century, fire tubes acquired a lock and butt borrowed from the crossbow.

Japanese flint arquebus, 16th century

At the same time, metalworking technologies were also improved. The trunks were now made only from the purest and softest iron. This made it possible to minimize the likelihood of explosion when fired. On the other hand, the development of deep drilling techniques made it possible to make gun barrels lighter and longer.

This is how the arquebus appeared - a weapon with a caliber of 13–18 millimeters, weighing 3–4 kilograms and a barrel length of 50–70 centimeters. An ordinary 16-mm arquebus ejected a 20-gram bullet with an initial speed of about 300 meters per second. Such bullets could no longer rip people’s heads off, but from 30 meters they would make holes in steel armor.

Firing accuracy increased, but was still insufficient. An arquebusier could hit a person only from 20–25 meters, and at 120 meters, shooting even at such a target as a pikeman battle turned into a waste of ammunition. However, light guns retained approximately the same characteristics until the mid-19th century—only the lock changed. And in our time, shooting a bullet from a smoothbore rifle is effective no further than 50 meters.

Even modern shotgun bullets are designed not for accuracy, but for impact force.

Arquebusier, 1585

Loading an arquebus was a rather complicated procedure. To begin with, the shooter disconnected the smoldering wick and put it in a metal case attached to his belt or hat with slits for air access. Then he uncorked one of the several wooden or tin cartridges he had - “loaders”, or “gazyrs” - and poured a pre-measured amount of gunpowder from it into the barrel. Then he nailed the gunpowder to the treasury with a ramrod and stuffed a felt wad into the barrel to prevent gunpowder from spilling out. Then - a bullet and another wad, this time to hold the bullet. Finally, from the horn or from another charge, the shooter poured some gunpowder onto the shelf, slammed the lid of the shelf and reattached the wick to the trigger lips. It took an experienced warrior about 2 minutes to do everything.

In the second half of the 15th century, arquebusiers took a strong place in European armies and began to quickly push out competitors - archers and crossbowmen. But how could this happen? After all, the combat qualities of the guns still left much to be desired. Competitions between arquebusiers and crossbowmen led to a stunning result - formally, the guns turned out to be worse in all respects! The penetrating power of the bolt and the bullet was approximately equal, but the crossbowman shot 4–8 times more often and at the same time did not miss a tall target even from 150 meters!

Geneva arquebusiers, reconstruction

The problem with the crossbow was that its advantages were of little practical value. Bolts and arrows flew like a fly in the eye during competitions when the target was motionless and the distance to it was known in advance. In a real situation, the arquebusier, who did not have to take into account the wind, the movement of the target and the distance to it, had the best chance of hitting. In addition, bullets did not have the habit of getting stuck in shields and sliding off armor; they could not be dodged. The rate of fire was not of great practical importance: both the arquebusier and the crossbowman only had time to fire once at the attacking cavalry.

The spread of arquebuses was restrained only by their high cost at that time. Even in 1537, Hetman Tarnovsky complained that “there are few arquebuses in the Polish army, only vile hand cranks.” The Cossacks used bows and self-propelled guns until the mid-17th century.