Weapons - A Pictorial History
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WEAPONS A PICTORIAL HISTORY
the army's "Nike," ANTIAIRCRAFT guided missile
A PICTORIAL HISTORY WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY
Edwin Tunis
CLEVELAND AND
THE
WORLD
NEW YORK
PUBLISHING COMPANY
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 54"5342
THIRD PRINTING
3CWIO56 COPYRIGHT I954 BY EDWIN TUNIS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT! WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUB-
REVIEW APPEARING IN A NEWSTHE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. DESIGN AND TYPOGRAPHY BY JOS. TR \l 1\\ IN
LISHER, EXCEPT FOR BRIEF PASSAGES INCLUDED IN A
PAPER OR MAGAZINE. MANUFACTURED
IN
1
To
three oldfriends:
GEDDY, BETTY AND BILLY HARDY
PREFACE IT
WOULD BE comforting to believe that nobody could have written this book
"right out of his head"; certainly step
and
thing.
got
it.
It
came from
couldn't do
I
experts
it.
I
hollered for help at every
and from just plain
folks- who-knew-some-
They have loaned me rare books; they have loaned me valuable weapons;
with admirable patience they have explained and demonstrated. failed to understand, that isn't their fault for the book's errors
If I
have
still
and they cannot be held accountable
and shortcomings.
Bowman, U.S.A.; Captain Elmer C. Clusman, U.S.N.R.; Mr. Osborn M. Curtis, Jr.; Mr. James V. Lecocq, of the Office of Technical Information, Army Ordnance; Mr. Harold I. Lessem, Acting Superintendent of Fort McHenry; Mr. F. D. McHugh, of the Office of Technical Brigadier General Frank D.
Army Ordnance; Mr. Richard Harding Randall, Jr., of the MetroMuseum; and Mr. Eustis Walcott have given indispensable aid and
Information, politan
comfort and
I
thank them
Above and beyond
all
gratefully.
others
interest in the subject, has
even when correction was
I
typed
thank all
my wife
these words,
Lib, who, with only the faintest
and not complained
too
much,
itself corrected.
E.T.
Long Last February
2,
1954
CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS "Nike," Antiaircraft Guided Missile Preface
Note
2
The Greeks and
7
Greek Hoplite 500
14
Stone Weapons
Man Throwing
Prehistoric
a Tied Stone
Greek Phalanx
26
Diagram
26
5
16
Chipped
Ax
Flint
Throwing
of
16
Stick
Corinthian Helmet
27
Boetian Helmet
27
Greek Sword
27
The Roman
29 29
Roman
17
Sword
Types of Arrowheads
18
Velite
18
Gladiator's
Boomerang
18
Copper and Bronze (5000 b.c.-iooo
B.C.)
Copper Ax B.C.
'9
Bronze Chaldean Dagger
19
Copper Spearhead
l
Asiatic
Composite
Egyptian
Bow
20
Egyptian Sword
Chaldean Egyptian
War War
9
*9
Bow and Arrow
Centurion and Legionary
29 30
Helmet
Roman Battering
O 2.
T
2
I
Sieges and Siege Engines
Onager
Ram, Testudo and Tower
in
Action
1
33
Ballista
33
Catapult for Javelins
34
Trigger Operation of Catapult
34
The Dark Ages
35
I
Frankish Throwing
Babylonian Battering Spear
3
32
Frankish Warrior, Sixteenth Century
Chariot
30
Onager Loaded, Showing Slip-Hook
20
Chariot
30
(200 b.c.-a.d 400)
18
18
Chaldean Warriors 2000
28
Legionary Helmet
17
Blowgun
Soldier (200 b.c.-a.d. 400)
17
American Indian with Bow and Arrow
Australian
Phalanx Advance
16
American Indian Bow and Arrow
Filipino
25
l
16
Ax
b.c.
25
>5
War
Polished Stone
B.C.)
26
*5
Flint Knife
B.c-150
Peltast
Simple Sling Spear and Fishing Spear
Iron (680
Ax
22
35 35
Early Frankish Shield
35
22
Anglo-Saxon Taper Ax
36
Homeric Warrior with Tower Shield
23
Anglo-Saxon Broadax
36
Homeric Warrior with Figure-eight Shield
23
Frankish Soldier, Ninth Century
36
Bronze Spearhead
23
Morning Star
37
Long Stabbing Sword
23
Frankish Sword
37
Homeric Foot Soldier
24
Anglo-Saxon Iron Arrowheads
37
24
Scramasax or Dirk
37
The Greeks and Bronze (1000
The Trojan Horse
B.C.)
Anglo-Saxon Spearhead
37
Anglo-Saxon
37
Bill
Longbows and Crossbows
(1
300-1400)
57
Archers, Fourteenth Century
58
38
Two-Fingered Draw
59
38
Longbow
59
Xorman Sword and Scabbard
39
Flight
Mace
39
Diagram: Aiming Arrows
60
Knights' Spurs
40
Arrowheads
60
Chain-Mail Pattern
40
Shooting
The Norman Conquest (1066)
Two
Saxons and
Norman Knight
Castles
Early
Norman
Castle
41
41
Stone Keep, Interior View
42
Tower Keep
43
Crossbowman
43
Archer Shooting through Crenel
Hoardings
43
44
Machicolations
44
Moated
45
Castle, c. 1300
Portcullis,
Closed
45
War Games (1200- 13 00)
Arrow and Livery Arrow
Tab and
Bracer
59
61
Mantlet
62
Pavise
62
Lock Mechanism of Crossbow
63
Simple Crossbow
64
Archer Drawing Crossbow
64
Belt
Claw
Quarrel
for
Drawing Crossbow
Crossbow
for
64 64
Operating Cord and Pulley of Crossbow
64
Composite Crossbow
65
Staff Sling
65
Knights and Guns (1300-1400)
46
66
Knights Jousting
46
Basinet with
Tilting at the Quintain
47
The Black
Bout with Quarterstaves
48
Armored
or Barded Horse
67
The
48
Pot de Fer
—
67
48
Lance with
"Exercise of the Sword-and-Buckler"
Knights and Armor (1200-1300) Iron Heaume
49
Helmets
49
Falchion and Misericord
50
Knight Arming
51
for
Tournament
Caltrops
5
Medieval Arms and "Gyns" (1300-1400) 52
Cannon Early
Movable Visor
Prince in
First
66
Armor
66
Metal Cannon
Coronel Point
at Battle of
67
Crecy
68
Bombard
68
Hooped Bombard
69
One-man Hand "Gonne"
69
Two-man Hand "Gonne"
69
Hand "Gonne," Fourteenth Century
69
Foot Soldier
52
Proof Armor, Arbalests and Breechloaders
The Royal Standard
53
(1400-1500)
Crested Heaume
53
Joust with Barrier
70
The "Mouse"
54
Helm, Fifteenth Century
71
Scaling Ladder
54
Billman wearing Brigandine Jacket
7
Springal
54
Pole Arms: Oxtongue, Poleax, Glave
72
55
Hunter Shooting an Arbalest
Mangonel or "Nag"
55
Setting Arbalest with Windlass
Large Trebuchet
56
Gaffle for Setting Arbalest
Ballista
70
1
72
and Tackle
73 73
"Works"
73
Moving
"Goat's Foot"
74
"Double
Prodd or Stonebow
74
Setting a Prodd
75
War
of a Gaffle
Quarrels and
Two-man
Game
Bolts
75
Culverin
75
One-man Culverin
75
Large Siege Bombard
76
Breechloader
77
Matchlocks and Wheel Locks
500-1600) 78
(i
Arquebusier and Helper
Gun
Matchlock
79
Matchlock
Inside of Bullet
78
79
Pouch and Touch-box
80
Musketeer Using Rest
80
Wooden Powder Chargers on
Bandolier
The "Monk's Gun" Inside of
Wheel Lock
Spanner
for
80 81
81
Winding Wheel Lock
81
Ball-butted Wheel-lock Pistol
82
"Holy-water Sprinkle"
82
Soldiers (1 500-1600)
Knight
in
Maximilian Armor
83
83
a Culverin firing"
90
from
a
Mortar
90
Cavaliers and Snaphances (1600-1700)
Dutch Pikeman
91
of 1607
91
Cavalier and Attendant
92
Roundhead
Puritan Inside a
92
Snaphance Lock
93
Inside a Flintlock
93
Plug Bayonet
94
Soldier with Flintlock
Musket
94
Brass-barreled Blunderbuss
95
Coachman with Blunderbuss
95
Spring-gun
95
Guns and Bastioned
Field
Forts (1600-1700)
96
Swedish Cast-iron Four-pounder
96
Canister
96
Small Coehorn Mortar
97
Howitzer
97
Gunner's Quadrant and Level
97
Two
98
Bastions of a
Profile of a
Vauban
Vauban
Fort
Fort
99
Diagram of Vauban's Siege System
99
Powder Magazine
100 101
Reiter
84
The Kentucky
Pikeman
84
German
Swiss Halberdier
85
Frontiersman with Rifle
101
Kentucky
Rifle, Left Side
102
Rifle,
Pole Arms: Guisarme, Partisan, Fauchard,
Flintlock Rifle (1727-1820)
101
Rifle
Halberd
85
Kentucky
Flamberge
85
Loading Patched Bullet
Claymore
86
Rifling
Cinquedea
86
Pouch and Powder Horn
Duel with Swords and Daggers
86
Bullet
Duel
86
The Hall
87
Court or Dress Sword
105
87
Naval Cutlass
105
87
Cavalry Saber and Scabbard
105
Flintlock Pistol
106
in the
French Style
Rapier Hilts
Nobleman with Rapier
in Baldric
Sixteenth-Century Headpieces
Cannons (1500- 1 600) Ship Cannon, Sixteenth Century
The
Six
Cannon
Sizes of
Henry
II
88 88 89
Right Side
1
102
Bench
103
104
Mold
104 105
Rifle
Eighteenth-Century Artillery
Horse Artillery
02
(1
700-1 800)
106 106
Grape Shot
107
Navy
Barbette Carriage
107
Krag-Jorgenson Rifle
iig
Truck Gun
119
Single-shot Pistol
1
108
Henry Repeating
Ladle
108
.30 Caliber Cartridge for
Rammer
109
Borchardt Automatic
Handspike
109
Warmer
109
Sponge
109
Linstock
109
1
Rifled
it-
109
Scraper Semi-fixed
109
Ammunition Pera ission
10
1
8 oo- 1850)
1
10
Forsyth "Scent-bottle" Percussion Lock
1
10
Inside of the Scent-bottle
1
1
1
1
(1
U.S.
Army Model
of 184 1 Rifle
12
1
12
Diagrams of Minie
1
12
JI 3
Derringer
"3
Pepperbox
(1850-1900)
Colt's Patent
Revolver the
121
Thirteen-inch Civil
War Mortar
Breechblock for Big
Gun
Eighteenth-century
Handling a
Bomb
Bomb
with Rings
with Tongs
121 1
22
Fixed Ammunition
123
Gun on
123
Disappearing Carriage in Recoil after Firing
Montigny
124
124
Mitrailleuse
Early Gatling
125
Gun
125
Gardner Portable Quick-firing Gun
Maxim Automatic Machine Gun Colt-Browning Machine Shoulder
126 126
Gun
126
Arms and Hand Arms (1900-1925)
114
"Soda Bottle"
(1800-1850)
120
Shell for Parrott Rifle
U.S. Air Force Survival
The Rocked Red Glare and
ig
120
Cannon
Light Parrott Rifled
Ir 3
"Texas Model"
1
120
Pistol
(1850-1900)
1
Maynard Tape Primer
Rifle
Quick-Firing and Machine Guns
Belted Ball and Bore Ball
Krag
Cannon and Recoil Mechanisms
French "75"
Shaw Cap Lock
Rifle
18
127
Gun
127
Double-barreled Eight-Gauge Elephant
114
Gun
114
First Colt
127
Automatic
128
Pistol
"5
Mi 903
English Military Rocket about 1900
Ir
Lewis Light Machine
Gun
129
Friction Primer
"5
Great Guns and
Guns (1900-1925)
130
Congreve Military Rocket
li
Foredeck of a
Bomb Ketch
Cavelli Shot
5
5
116
37
Springfield Rifle
mm. Gun on
Little
Tripod Mount
Truck-mounted Antiaircraft Gun
116
"Skysweeper" 75
Whitworth Shot
116
Dahlgrcn "Soda Bottle"
"7
Antiaircraft
155 Gastight Cartridges and Smokeless Powder
(1850-1900)
Maynard Carbine and
Pierced Cartridge
Pistol-carbine
Model One, Smith and Wesson Revolver
129
mm.
mm.
1
1
Gun
Howitzer
7
n8 1
18
Fourteen-inch
The
Paris
191
131
Pulled
Railway
Gun
130
Radar-Controlled
by Five-ton
Artillery Tractor
117
130
132
Gun
133 133
Armor-piercing Shell
134
Canister, 1953
135
Special
Da
Vinci's
British
60
(i 900-1 925)
"Tank"
Heavy Tank, World War
Pineapple Rifle
Weapons
I
of
Mortar, Current Model
Torpedo
Mine Detector
I
35
a
Submachine Gun
Mine
Field
Gas Mask
143
Browning Air-cooled Machine Gun Sizes of .30-
143
and .50-Caliber Rounds
144
1954
144
136
155
mm. Gun on
Pneumatic-tired Carriage
144
i37
155
mm. Gun on
Self-propelled Carriage
145
138
"General Pershing" 45-ton Tank
r
Navy Frogman Clearing World War
J
M3
136
Grenade and Launcher
Diagram
35
*35
Hand Grenade
mm. Trench
J
39
"Patton" 48-ton
145
Medium Tank
146
*39
Walker Bulldog 26-ton Light Tank
146
140
280
mm. Mobile Atomic Gun
147
3.5-inch Super-bazooka
Self-Loading and Automatic After 1925
Garand
Rifle
Guns 140
147
57
mm.
Recoilless Rifle
148
75
mm.
Recoilless Rifle
148
Bomb
140
V-i Buzz
140
V-2 Rocket
141
Flame Thrower
Carbine with "Sniperscope"
142
2000-pound Demolition
Tommy Gun
142
Hydrogen Bomb Explosion
"T-47" Automatic
Mi
Rifle
Carbine
149
Bomb
149
150
Bomb
I5 1 152-
!53
ASIDE
FROM those for hunting, there are two kinds of weapons as there are two kinds of fighting,
and defensive. An offensive weapon, whether it be a simple club or an automatic rifle, is an arm which will lengthen the reach of a man something with which he hopes to strike from a greater distance than that from which he can be struck. The other kind of weapon, the defensive one. the man hopes will ward off blows which are directed at him; it may be a wooden shield, a suit of armor or a offensive
—
fort.
This book
is
mainly about offensive weapons but because one kind has usually been opposed
other, the defensive ones are here too.
nothing
The book
is
not about wars but about weapons.
about strategy and mutters only enough about arms and "engines."
to say
of certain
To avoid
tactics
and
It
to the
has almost
siegecraft to explain the use
weapon is discussed in detail only when it was of prime importance in its time, or when there is something new to say about it. For instance: The bow was first used before the memory of man; it made its most recent appearance as a "civilized" weapon of war in 1630; to examine its use in all the years between, when it was still a bow and still operating on the same old principle, would build a mountain of dullness. So it gets the full treatment only at its peak in history when its force tipped the balance and the longbow was the most important weapon in the world. Another thing: men love weapons and collect them. Nearly every division of this book is the area of someone's fervent enthusiasm. "Someone" is going to feel that his pet subject is slighted. That's right, it is. This is a swift look at the whole business from start to finish. To cover in detail every known repetition, a
weapon, including the complicated ones of the present, would take not a book but a library. Merely to mention all the varieties would fatten this volume to dictionary size and there wouldn't be any room for pictures. It
seems customary
for the
author of a book on
this
rooted abhorrence of all war; so this author does so,
man who
doesn't sincerely hate
trolled for the
war and
there are a
kind of subject to announce
here and now. lot
of decent
who have
interest in fighting
and the implements of fighting. So there we
of us
We hate war at the same time that
Every device we have contrived
much
men
in the
hair on our chins or the prospect of
all
it
at the start his
would be hard
to find
deep-
any decent
world; yet mankind, con-
most part by these same decent men, has always had war and
are honest, nearly
ency:
It
it
still
has
it.
Further,
must admit
are, stuck with our
if
we
to a built-in
human
inconsist-
fascinates us!
in the past to
shorten the lives of our fellowmen has been robbed of
of its terror and finally nullified by some countermeasure. There seems no reason to believe that
this neutralizing
14
process has stopped. Let's look at the record.
PREHISTORIC
MAN THROWING A TIED STONE
Stone Weapons It's
useless to talk
about the kind of weapon
which was seized merely by chance. Danger threatened, the hair on the spine of the ape
man
bristled
and he grabbed the nearest stick and struck out with it. Baboons do as much. What weapon did man first make for himself? That's something to guess at. Perhaps he found a rock which hefted well in his hand and kept it by him.
When
stone he
idea
he tied a thong of hide or vine to that
made
was only
his first
to
weapon. Maybe
his original
keep the stone from being lost; but
whirled at the end of its lanyard and outdistance anything his
let fly, it
arm alone could
would
do.
What he had was the crude beginning of a sling and all he needed to complete it was a way to hold on to the thong and let the stone go. That was easy: he made a loop on the end of the thong to slip over a finger, then doubled the thong and held the free end. The stone was slung in the bight. A cradle for the stone was an extra refinement. The spear must have been next, though it may have been made ahead of the sling. At first it was only a stick sharpened by charring one end and rubbing it on a boulder. Soon it was given a head made with cleft in
a naturally pointed stone lashed in a
the stick;
and shortly
it
was headed with a
stone shaped, not by luck, but by the warrior him-
some member of his tribe who was good shaping and could be paid for the job with a
self,
at
or by
wolfskin. Flint proved to be the best material for heads, though other stones,
were used.
and sometimes bone,
Flint
is
not actually so difficult to shape as
was thought
make
to be.
An
it
once
expert (there are few) can
a complete, usable arrowhead in five min-
has the characteristic possessed by
utes. Flint
many
hard, pure minerals, including plate glass, of chip-
ping rather than splitting cated, glancing blow.
when
it is
struck an edu-
even possible
It is
to chip
by hand pressure with a bluntpointed bone implement, or a tooth, which is the way the finest flint articles were made. This can't be done casually by anybody who happens to pick these materials
up a rock and old bone, but
hands it is was formerly
for skilled
by no means the dreary labor
it
thought to be.
Mr. H. ter
L.
Skavlem of Wisconsin studied the mat-
thoroughly and became so skilled that, using
only such tools as the Indians had, he
made arrow
points as good as those any aborigine ever pro-
duced. In
making
he once demonstrated arrowhead group of amazed Indians who had
fact,
to a
—
never heard of such a thing! Incidentally, the
same gentleman
also exploded
the old theory that a stone ax required a lifetime to
make.
He produced one complete
hafting groove
and ground
it
to a
Then he put a handle on down a small tree.
four hours. to cut
with edge and
smooth it
finish in
and used
it
Stone weapons didn't disappear when metal ones were invented.
The two
gether for centuries, as
is
kinds existed
to-
proved by the finding of
stone axes shaped to imitate bronze ones. Stone
arrowheads and lance heads were used by the
15
SIMPLE SLING
WAR SPEAR AND
FISHING SPEAR
Normans
in
France as
late as the eighth
century
From spearheads gressed to other
the
shapers soon pro-
flint
weapons and implements such
axes and knives.
Some
as
axes were planned to be
used without handles but most of them were hafted. All primitive people were skilled at lashing and
knot tying.
They could
handle and make able, but there
it
lash
an ax head
into a split
completely firm and depend-
was a better way
to haft an ax. The made in a growing
flint
head was forced into a
tree
limb and simply left there for two or three The tree, seeking to heal its wound, would
split
years. fill
in the split tightly
around the stone and the
ished ax could be harvested by simply cutting at
in Swiss lake
dwellings and there are drawings on
cave walls which show them in use.
A.D.
both ends.
Time was no
object.
fin-
it
off
A few late stone
Thev were
much
longer than the American Indian bows of more recent times and not very powerful.
The materials available determined what bows and arrows were made of. The American bows were made of Osage orange, hickory and ash; the strings were rawhide or animal tendons. Arrows were naturally straight, or artificially straightened; fairly
strong
and as light
as
it
was practical
to
make
them. Indians in eastern North America used viburnum, which is still called arrowwood. The heads of primitive arrows were usually of flint or bone.
The nock, or string end of the shaft, had two
or three half-feathers attached to
curate
flight.
Many
an aid
to ac-
primitive arrows had a
lump
it
as
inserted.
make the arrow easier to grasp between the thumb and finger. This is not the best way to draw a bow but it is the way used by nearly
Indian
all
ax heads, or celts as they are called, have been found
which have holes through them
for the haft to
be
Some stone axes such as the American tomahawk were intended for throwing.
at the
nock
to
uncivilized people,
POLISHED STONE AX WITH HEAD LASHED
IN
and any uninstructed
per-
HAFT
CHIPPED FLINT AX WITH HEAD GROWN INTO HAFT
Some spears also were made
&
are usually shorter
and are
and
lighter
for
throwing. These
than regular spears
called javelins. In Australia the
bushmen
learned to use a throwing stick to increase the
range of their small javelins.
It
was very accu-
who handles
a
bow
stinctively pinch the
for the first
time will
end of the arrow and
in-
pull.
The prehistoric arrowhead was set in a cleft made in the front end of the shaft, and both head and feathers were lashed in place. Making a hole
easily out-
in a flint
arrowhead
shot the smoothbore muskets of Captain Cook's
difficult
but impractical, since the head broke
men in a friendly match. Similar throwing sticks made of reindeer horn were used by the cave men. An arrow is actually a small javelin and a bow is a better kind of throwing stick. An arrow shot from a bow has great penetrating force. There are rec-
when
while others were very pointed;
ords of Indians shooting arrows clear through buf-
barbed, notched for lashing or plain. So strongly
rate in practised hands,
faloes
and the natives
and the English longbow was even more Some prehistoric bows have been found
powerful.
16 Pi
son
im
knife, the edges
probaby chipped by pressure
the arrow hit
to receive a shaft
its
tional
shape
for
Each of the
target.
groups of ancient people had
was not only
its
larger
favorite or tradi-
arrowheads. All arrowheads were
some were quite blunt
generally triangular, but
did each "nation" stick to
its
still
own
scientists are able to trace their
others were
pet shape that
migrations by the
THROWING
STICK OF
THE AUSTRALIAN BUSHMAN
AMERICAN INDIAN SHOOTING WITH BOW AND ARROW
17
TYPES OF ARROWHEADS
Triangular,
b
a Leaf-Shaped, Prehistoric European
Prehistoric
they
flints
left
d American Indian
Tanged,
c
European
Prehistoric
game
From Swiss
The Hopi
often
^^
boomerangs, but
to get so close to
and deer were
shot from a distance of a few feet.
Indians of the Southwest have curved
throwing sticks which they throw at jack rabbits. These have been called "boomerangs" because they look almost exactly like the Australian weapon, but when they are thrown they act not like
idea, the average American Indian was not a remarkably good archer. He depended on his won-
derful ability at stalking
f
American Indian
Lake Dwelling
behind. Contrary to the accepted
that he couldn't miss. Buffalo
e
European
it
like plain,
crooked
sticks.
Copper and Bronze FILIPINO
BLOWGUN
(5000 B.C.— IOOO Copper was the to work.
or
less
When
dart with a fluff of fibers at
its
rear
end
in-
found
was
it
He knew
it,
man
learned
probably in more
just another kind of
nothing of purifying
it
by
by casting; he just beat it that it wouldn't break easily
smelting or of forming
The
metal which
first first
pure chunks,
stone to him.
A
he
B.C.)
it
stead of feathers can be blown through a long tube
into shape.
by lung power and delivered with real force. Such blowguns were used in medieval Europe and are
and that its shape could be changed without knocking pieces off it
fact
made
it
most desirable.
used in the jungles of Brazil, in the Philippines
still
and on the Malay Peninsula. The darts are much lighter than any arrow and are sometimes tipped with large thorns which not infrequently are poisoned.
There is one astonishing primitive weapon which was developed
in only
one place
Australian boomerang. This
is
in the
world
bent stick of precise shape and balance which
thrown follows a curved path, spinning end as
it
travels.
An
mark and
it
be thrown
in
expert can throw
way
thrower. This feature for casual
as to
makes
experiments.
18
\I si
it
KALIAN BOOMERANG
it
when
for
end
accurately at a
strikes with a vicious blow. It
such a
— the
a deceptively simple
can
make it return
also
to the
a dangerous gadget
copper ax (the handle
is
imaginary)
BRONZE CHALDEAN DAGGER The use of copper for weapons seems to have begun around 5000 B.C., and for a couple of thousand years it was rare in most places. Around 3000 B.C. a Sumerian must have used a chunk of copper ore to
prop up the
impure
to
worthless.
and
sticks of his fire, possibly a piece too
commodate
from that of the orig-
Only the copper melted;
the heat did
bows which,
sible
Some experts think this is posbow made of two separate pieces
only with a
joined in the middle at a slight angle, and the representations of these teristic.
happened purity.
to
The
have a
tin
little tin
in
it
as a natural im-
melted along with the copper, and
the result astonished the metallurgist by appearing to
be a
new
metal.
couldn't beat give
it
it
to
was much harder; you
It
shape so easily but you could
a cutting edge which
and a sword made of
had
real authority
wouldn't embarrass you
bows include
this
charac-
Since the only knowledge of them comes
from sculptures,
Later on, somebody smelted some ore which
order to ac-
into a semicircle.
mon this.
in
the arrows, actually could be bent
not affect the impurities in the ore. Ordinary comsense could see at a glance the possibilities in
The arrows
they used seem to have been very long compared to the length of their
into a shape entirely different inal piece.
with copper and bronze heads, and those who carried swords carried bronze ones.
Anyway,
the heat melted the "stone"
in these re-
gions used spears, arrows, battle-axes and maces
be shaped by hammering and therefore
flowed into a gleaming pool which cooled
it
Chaldean warriors
in all directions.
it
isn't possible to tell
how
the
two halves were fastened together. You can see from the drawing at the left that the relaxed bow hanging on the warrior's shoulder looks as if it were made
this
way.
Such a weapon would have been a "self-bow," which is one made entirely of one kind of wood. At about this time, or not too much later, the com-
by suddenly folding up in your hand. This was bronze. It has been an important metal for weap-
bow was invented in this part of the world. Though it isn't very big, it is the most powerful kind of hand bow that has ever been made. Its
ons ever since.
use spread
it
posite
are
still
all
over Asia.
No
doubt composite bows
used there in remote sections; they were
the principal Asiatic
weapon
until they
were
dis-
placed by guns.
ASIATIC COMPOSITE
BOW COPPER SPEARHEAD
CHALDEAN WARRIORS 2000
Copper and bronze weapons
first
B.C.
appeared
in
the lower part of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley in
what
is
now
called Iraq,
and from there spread
Strung
Unstrung
ASIATIC COMPOSITE
shot record,
BOW
made
in
1949 by Jack Stewart,
640
is
yards. It's odd that the Egyptians used wooden selfbows because wood was the scarcest material in ancient Egypt. Some of these weapons have been found in tombs. They are straighter than the longbow and don't taper so rapidly; otherwise they are nearly the size and shape of the longbow as it was
a couple of thousand years
later.
Some Egyptian
arrows had queer double points, and Egyptian weapons seem oddly shaped
The
early Chaldeans don't
much
ered
seem
to
most
like
to us.
have both-
with any defensive armor beyond a
bronze cap and a shield, but the Assyrians who
them had body armor of overlapped
followed
bronze hoops, as well as chest protectors made of
many
layers of linen stiffened
and glued one upon
another. These protectors were also used in Egypt;
they were comfortably light and would turn the
Drawn
cut of a sword but not the thrust of a point. Scale
armor was Most composite bows are
When
reflex.
unstrung reflex bows actually bend
they are
in the opposite
way they are bent when the string is tight. A composite bow is built up of three different materials: a thin wooden stave, flat on both
direction to the
runs the
sides,
full
length of the weapon, serving as
a framework; a layer of split horn
tached to the belly, which
EGYPTIAN
archer;
BOW AND ARROW
but
when
the
bow
is
is
is
bent
this
is
compressed
has the quality of springing back to
it
nal shape.
The back
of the bow,
its
origi-
away from
archer, has dried animal sinews lashed to
firmly at-
the side toward the
the
and glued
these also return to their original length after
it;
made
also
worn by the
Assyrians. This
was
of many small metal plates sewn onto a lea-
row of scales overlapped row below it. Scale armor has the longest history of any; some of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers ther jacket so that each
the
wore
it.
The
body of
solid
foot soldiers, shoulder to
shoulder, shield to shield,
which
is
known
ally associate
as a
and
bristling with spears,
phalanx and which we usu-
with the Greeks, was actually
vented in Chaldea. We'll take a closer look
phalanx when we come
in-
at the
to Greece.
The Chaldeans also introduced the idea of fighting from chariots.
Even before
horses were tamed,
being stretched by the bending of the bow. Few
they hitched small, wild asses to their battle carts
composite bows are more than four
and gained a moving, elevated platform of enormous advantage in archery and javelin work. There is little doubt that all the ancients stood in great awe of the horse, and even after he was tamed, possibly about 2500 B.C., he terrified his
To bows
give you are:
feet long.
an idea of how good these small
At an archery match
in
England
in
795 one Mahmoud Effendi, secretary to the Turkish Ambassador, made the English longbows 1
and goggled the eyes of the local archers when he shot an arrow 482 yards with a composite
master almost as
bow. The Turk didn't seem
war horse
look
silly
to think his shot
was
in the
impressed by
Turkish Sultan Selim had done nearly twice as
and
Mahmoud
recent years by
has been beaten
20 EGYPTIAN SWORD
times in
American longbowmen, but
Selim really shot 972 yards, he world's record.
many
The American
if
Book of Job was,
his subject:
to say the least,
"He paweth
in the valley
rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth
on
to
meet
armed men. He mocketh at fear .... He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha!; and he smelleth the the
holds the
battle afar
regular-style flight-
shouting."
still
as he did his master's ene-
my. The writer of the famous description of the
anything much, and mentioned casually that the well!
much
off,
the thunder of the captains,
and the
CHALDEAN WAR CHARIOT DRAWN BY WILD
EGYPTIAN
ASSES
WAR CHARIOT
21
Both the Egyptians and the Assyrians mounted two or more quivers on their chariots to hold an extra supply of arrows.
usually
hung on
quite late did
it
in a
anyone
A mace or a
fight
Egyptians never did care
When men
first
they
protection,
battle-ax
was
Not until from horseback and the
handy
much
position.
for
It isn't
known
that the Assyrians or Babylonians
had any kind of siege weapon which would throw large stones or spears.
a contraption
who
Uzziah,
is
The earliest mention
in the Bible
of such
which says that King
lived in the eighth century ».c,
made
engines "to be on the towers and upon the bul-
it.
invented the village for mutual
warks
to shoot
arrows and great stones withal."
undoubtedly surrounded the
group of dwellings with a stockade of logs. In time the logs were replaced by stone walls and, as the towns grew and enemies became stronger, the enclosures were
made
The measurements
larger
long;
i
have come down
20 feet high, 30 feet thick
upon them were
The capture
set
nians finally did capture
it,
to us:
and the Babylo-
required something
get through
Romans
later did; to
them the Babylonians used a kind
The weapons of the early days of Greece were Though iron was known to them the time of the Trojan War, it wasn't much
mostly bronze.
more than foot soldiers and chariots. The attackers had to get over the walls or through them or under them. To get over them they may have used ladders or movable wooden towers as later besiegers did; to get under them they probably dug long tunnels or "mines" as the
(about 1000 B.C.)
and 50 miles
1500 towers.
of such a place,
The Greeks and Bronze
higher.
of the walls of Nineveh, the
later capital of Assyria,
thev were
and the walls
of
in
used, possibly because
it
was hard
to get
but more
probably because the smiths hadn't yet learned
work
it
well or to harden
What
is
to
it.
known of war and weapons
in this early
time comes from the Iliad of Homer and from excavations like those at Troy and Mycenae. The later
Greeks painted the Trojan heroes on
vases, but styles
had changed and they missed by
battering-ram in the form of a huge metal-tipped
a mile the actual appearance of the warriors
spear
mounted on wheels and rammed repeatedly, point first, against the gates by the combined
sacked Troy.
strength of many men.
equipped, have been reconstructed from
The two
their
who
warriors on page 23, each differently earlier
BABYLONIAN BATTERING SPEAR
22
sources.
The
warrior with the
tall,
straight-sided
"tower" shield is wearing a bucket-shaped bronze helmet decorated with a horsehair plume. On the
upper part of his body he wears leather armor; on his feet, sandals;
and, on his lower
legs, shin
guards
called greaves. That's all the clothes he wore rest
— the
of him was naked. His spear was his principal
fighting
weapon; a dagger and perhaps a sword line of defense if the spear was lost
were a second or broken.
The Homeric soldier with in the
was
the figure-eight shield
shape of a bull fiddle wears a helmet which
at
one time a complete mystery.
scribed by
Homer
as being
which made no sense nected
it
to
made
It
was de-
of boar's tusks,
anybody, and no one con-
with wall paintings of an odd-looking
helmet showing bands of curved marks until an actual helmet
was found
in a
made
of parallel rows of hog's teeth
tomb.
The cuirass or breast plate of this warrior was made of overlapped metal bands, a design probably based on the arrangement of human
ribs. In-
stead of greaves, he wore leather leggings
and
ried a couple of light javelins,
car-
one of which he has
already thrown.
HOMERIC WARRIOR WITH TOWER SHIELD
Both the tower shield and the figure-eight shield had a strap at the top, called a telemon, which passed
The telemon
al-
be carried on the back
in
over the wearer's right shoulder.
lowed the shield
to
marching and held
up
it
have the use of both arms the tower shield was
hide or metal.
The
man
Probably
in a tight spot.
made
could
of wood, covered with
fiddle shield (scientists call
figure-eight shield)
it
The
a
was almost certainly made of
hide stretched on a frame with the hair
bull's
on.
a
in a fight, so
left
paintings of it, crude as they are, always
show a splotched pattern like a bull's hide. Though there were some pitched battles at
this
time,
much
single
combat between armored heroes while the
of the fighting seems to have been
ranks of both armies simply stood and watched.
These combats were preceded by long wrangles of the you-and-who-else variety, delivered from be-
hind
shields.
been suggested that the
It's
served as endurance tire first
which man would
tests to see
from holding up
heavy
his
shield.
had chariots
In general battle most of the heroes
but usually dismounted from them to ots
were
for transportation
talks
on the
fight.
field
Chari-
and
as a
means of escape from tough situations. Occasionally a hero would cast javelins from his chariot. No Greek of this period seems to have fought on horseback.
The ordinary Greek
foot soldier of
Homer's time
carried a small round shield which
had a simple
handhold
in the
middle of its back; otherwise he
wore no armor of any kind. For weapons he had a couple of javelins and a woolen prising that he let the heroes
The bow was and to hear them
ing.
but they used
it
known
well
tell it,
as a
sling, so
it
isn't sur-
do much of the to the early
fight-
Greeks
they were good archers,
hunting weapon. Only a few
specialists occasionally shot
an arrow
in battle.
Ancient Greek drawings and sculptures show both the
European wooden bow and the
com-
Asiatic
posite kind. If the
Greeks tried
to
break
down
the walls of
Troy, they failed. You've probably read
how
they
are supposed finally to have taken the city: they
pretended they'd given up, took
to their ships and rowed away, leaving behind them a huge wooden image of a horse. The rather gullible Trojans ex-
pended
a lot of energy dragging the thing inside
their walls.
That
night, while the
town was
sleep-
ing offits "victory "celebration, the horse disgorged
THE TROJAN HORSE
24
from
its
interior
open and
enough Greeks
let in their
gang,
to get the city gates
who had
returned from
behind the nearest promontory. That did This was surprise, treachery
if
you
for
like,
Troy.
one of
than bronze
for
swords and spearheads and was
used for such weapons, while bronze remained
more popular
for
helmets and body armor.
This section has been dated from 680
b.c. be-
the best of siege weapons, which has succeeded
cause at about that time there was a change
many times between Troy on the Mediterranean and Trenton on the Delaware.
Greek fighting gear and
Greek warrior. He began plate
and
to carry the big
to
wear a metal
The Greeks and Iron
man
breast-
round shield which we
think of as Greek. This soldier was the elite fighting
in
in the appearance of the
of Greece.
hoplite,
the
He came from one of
the three upper property-owning classes and was
(680 B.C.— c. 150
B.C.)
subject to service between the ages of eighteen
and
fifty-nine. It isn't
possible to say exactly
learned to work iron properly.
It
when
the Greeks
was a better metal
All
Greek
citizens
were subject
Those below the third property
to military draft.
class served aspel-
GREEK HOPLITE, ABOUT 5OO
25
B.C.
tasts
or javelin men.
The
peltasts
The famous Greek phalanx was made up of They stood in solid ranks with their
were equipped
with slings as well as javelins and carried small,
hoplites.
round shields as their Homeric forebears had done,
shields overlapping
but they were
and
now
protected by helmets, greaves
feet long,
leather shirts.
and
their spears thrust for-
ward. Since those spears were about twenty-one even those carried by the
sixth
rank pro-
jected well ahead of the front line of shields and the
enemy was
faced by a very prickly affair. The phalanx had about two hundred men in
earliest it.
By the time of the Persian War
increased to about five thousand;
these still
had been
later,
when
Greece fought Rome, there were sixteen thousand
men
each phalanx.
in
Local war was polite and quite formal at time.
It
armies on the march, or encamped so there lite
had
this
wasn't considered good form to attack for the night,
were no scouts and no guards. Each hopat least
provide his
one servant with him and had
own
to
food. Greece isn't a very large
and the enemy was seldom more than a day's march away, so not too much had to be carried. place
Thebans 1
\
1
1
l
ilUUMiniTTTTTiri
f
!
!
t
Spar fans
DIAGRAM SHOWING OBLIQUE ADVANCE OF PHALANXES
GREEK PHALANX
When
the armies met, almost by appointment,
Some
breastplates were
molded
to the exact
drew up their phalanxes about two hundred yards apart and charged one
was hung from the bottom of the
another at the double. This produced a curious
the belly.
on
a nice, flat field, they
sult: since
side,
each man's shield protected only
re-
his left
made a quarter turn to the he advanced. Thus the two phalanxes
he automatically
right as didn't
meet head-on
Instead, the
left
as they
were originally aimed.
of each phalanx was enveloped or
outflanked by the right of the other. Epaminondas of Thebes, the
first
general
who
deliberately took
advantage of this situation, beat the tar out of the
who
Spartans
shape
of the body. After 500 b.c. a fringe of leather tabs
and
A short shirt
a few inches of
cuirass to protect
was worn under the armor
it
hung below
the leather
fringe.
Greaves were individually tailored of bronze
and
fitted the leg so well that
to hold
them
in place.
they needed no straps
Their fronts were made
high to protect the kneecap.
The Greeks
are credited with the invention of most of the stone-and-spear-throwing siege weap-
considered themselves practically
invincible. In ordinary neighborly scraps, however,
one side or the other would presently ask permission to bury feat
its
dead. This was an admission of de-
and everybody went home. Don't think from
this that the
Greeks couldn't
fight;
they could and
did.
When
cavalry began to be used in Greece after
War, the "knights" of which it was composed were drawn from the highest class only. They were equipped exactly like the hoplites except that they wore spurs and carried no shields. the Persian
Since stirrups hadn't been invented, for a
man in armor to mount a
were trained
to kneel for the
agile knights
it
horse.
was no cinch
Some
horses
purpose but the really
used their spears
to pole-vault a-
board! Until the time of Philip of Macedon, 359 B.C., Greek cavalry was more showy than effective.
corinthian helmet, with visor covering the whole face
Like everything else the Greeks made, their
weapons were
beautiful. Their swords were fairly
long and double-edged for slashing. Both edges
were curved so that the blade had a narrow little below the handle. Most of their had handsome leaf-shaped heads, and the javelins had a strap attached to the middle of the
"waist" a spears
shaft to help in throwing.
There were two main kinds of helmet; one a bronze bucket with eyeholes and a nose guard, the
somewhat bowl-shaped with a pierced projection in front which covered the whole face in combat; when this helmet was pushed back on the head the face-piece stuck out in front like a cap brim. High crests plumed with horsehair were sometimes worn on both kinds. The usual cuirass or body armor was made of two plates, front and back, laced together and conother
nected over the shoulders by curved metal plates.
GREEK SWORD
BOETIAN HELMET
— THE MOST POPULAR SHAPE 27
ons which were in use until guns became powerful enough to take over; in fact, some authorities think that the Greeks brought projectile throwers to the highest point they ever reached. This may be true,
but there
scant evidence today of how the Greek
is
engines worked or what they looked shall
have
to fall
back on the
like, so
we
Roman ones of
later
which we have some knowledge.
You a
have heard of "Greek Fire." This was
will
much
Greeks, but
"Greek/' ter the
unknown
later invention, it is
It
dealt with here because
was developed
of
fall
to the ancient
in
Rome and was
it is
called
Byzantium long
af-
used to frighten the
compromising edge of his short sword was felt from Egypt
poured from
thrown
city walls
and there seems it
to
was the napalm* of its time; it whatever it hit, burned fiercely and was
out of a tube.
clung to
upon the heads of besiegers
by hand and by "engine"; have been some way of blowing
in bottles
It
believed to be inextinguishable.
The
exact composition of Greek Fire was top
secret in
its
day and
it
has remained
bly contained pitch, resin, grease,
so. It
proba-
original design for the legionary's
mans
hooped
was borrowed from the Greeks but the Ro-
cuirass
tailored
it
to their
own
fancy.
which encircled the chest were hinged
The hoops at the
back
They were actually supported by the leather tunic to which they were sewn. The shoulder pieces, made in four strips, were less cumbersome than the single plate of the Greeks. The and clasped
in front.
leather tabs at the bottom of the cuirass were re-
tained by the
Romans, and they added others over
the upper arm.
The Roman helmet also was copied from a style but it was much less fancy and more
daylights out of the Crusaders. Greek Fire was
or
to Britain.
The
Greek
practical than the original.
Reinforcing bars
crossed one another at the crown of the head and at the crossing there
was a ring to support the crest.
Most Roman helmets had hinged cheek pieces and a small bar across the front as a visor. On the march the helmet was carried on the right shoulder.
The
powdered metal
legionary's shield
out cut-out corners.
On
was oblong with or withslightly bulging face
and some form of petroleum, possibly naphtha. Its mystery, and hence its ability to scare an enemy, increased its value as a weapon far beyond the real
was the insignia and number of the legion to which
damage
the length of a man's arm. In later days
it
did.
its
owner belonged.
Its
its
height was supposed to be
when
the
Roman soldier
was a hired man without the old punch, his shield became much larger and oval in shape; and the famous short sword was lengthened,
The Roman Soldier
to
(200 B.C.—400 A.D.)
inches long, double-edged and perfectly straight;
keep the enemy further away. In
its
heyday
this
sword was about twenty-two
the point a quite obtuse angle.
As the company
is
the basis of the
modern
ment, so the century was the basis of the legion.
A century was commanded
by a centurion,
with a standard-bearer as second in
Two centuries made
command.
a maniple, three maniples a
cohort, ten cohorts a legion.
variably a hundred men;
and the
regi-
Roman
size of a legion
it
A century
wasn't in-
could be more or
less,
varied at different times
from as few as three thousand thousand men.
to as
many
as six
The legionary was a heavy foot soldier. Although weapons and armor altered somewhat in the
right side
which
is
It
was worn on the
hanging usually from the kind of belt
called a baldric, passing over the
shoulder. Spain was sword-maker to
left
Rome and
she kept her fame for fine blades for centuries after
her
first
customer had passed on.
More important was
his pilum, the
history.
The
right hand.
to a legionary
than
his
sword
heavy spear with which he wrote
legionary on page 29 holds one in his It
was only about
five
and
a half feet
long but at least a third of its length was iron head.
The
thick
wooden
socket took another third in the
his
middle. This was used to ward off blows and was
course of Rome's long history, the changes were
swelled a
not great
and across
five
hundred years the un-
•Jellied gasoline used in flame throwers
28
and incendiary bombs.
where it met the handle, so it could hand guard. The pilum served as a regspear but it was also thrown as a javelin.
serve as a
ular
little
ROMAN CENTURION AND LEGIONARY
29
In a Greek phalanx each soldier was allowed a total of three feet of space,
on orders and
A
in
and he could
unison with the
act only
rest of his
gang.
legionary in ranks had three feet clear on each
him and what was much more important, he was allowed to use his head and did so. When the Romans met the Greeks, drawn up in solid array on a nice level pasture, they laughed, marched
side of
around them and took the town the phalanx had it was guarding. When legion met phalanx on rough ground the battle tactics were changed. Charging with locked
supposed
shields
High
molded
officers
wore
closely to the
solid
bronze body armor
shape of the body. In early
days the breast piece extended
down over
the belly
and usually had some kind of ornamentation which was raised a
little
from
its
The
surface.
leather
worn with this armor was often plated with metal. Officers wore a cloth tunic under their armor and an official military mantle over it, knotted
fringe
on the right shoulder. Their helmets, swords and shields cier.
were
much
Oddly, no
like those
Roman
of the legions but fan-
sculpture shows an em-
peror or a general wearing a helmet.
on a boulder-strewn hillside presented difThe legionaries ducked under the waver-
ficulties.
ing shields
and
spears, thrust
upward with
the pi-
lum and Greece became a Roman province. Not all of Rome's soldiers were legionaries. There was cavalry called equites composed exclusivelv of blue-bloods. They ordinarily wore scale armor and carried a small oval shield and a spear lighter
and longer than the pilum.
There were also light-armed foot soldiers called These wore iron skull caps and leather tu-
veliles.
nics,
sometimes studded with metal in the style The velite shield was oval and
called jazerant.
about two
feet high.
with swords and
Though
they were equipped
light spears, the velites
were
pri-
GLADIATOR
S
HELMET
marily sling-men. Their lead sling-pellets were
and had "thunderbolts" on them or remark like "Take this!" The same idea has been expressed in chalk on modern artillery shells. The Romans made good use of the mobility of the velites in carrying out end runs.
specially cast
some
bright
The
gladiators
who
entertained the
Roman citi-
zenry by slaughtering one another in public wore special
armor
for their
work, and also used some
special weapons; for instance, one cialists
used a
net
and a
group of spe-
three-pronged fork!
The
first
gladiators were captive slaves but later freemen
went in for gladiating and attended schools to learn the business.
Roman
Sieges and Siege Engines
(200 B.C.— 400 A.D.) The Romans were
experts at both fortification
and siege. Rome itself was surrounded by walls which were increased in length three times to accommodate the growth of the city; and in Roman Britain the northern frontier
30
was guarded by a
six-
teen-foot wall built seventy miles long, clear across
the island.
methods
Of more
interest here are the
Roman
for getting past other people's walls.
When
they besieged a town the
to pass
Romans sur-
with a log stockade or an earthwork,
rounded
it
built just
beyond bowshot. Sometimes,
for a long
siege, the walls were built double with a roof over
make
above
his shield
his ear to the top of
vancing,
it
its
Inside the town
watch would
down and put
bulge. If a
mine was ad-
and
town's next
move would be a counter-mine. Usu-
was a deep trench
which the sappers
it.
Since
of preserving food at that time left
much
would unexpectedly break.
If
be desired, not too large a supply could be stored
available they could then be
drowned
all
into
and a besieged city was usually cleared of dogs, cats and even rats by the time it gave in; and in the end,
The
it
almost always gave
oldest siege
spear-on- wheels which was really the same thing, its
a whole tree trunk tipped at a heavy iron ram's head.
Roman form this was its
The
business end with
log
nel; if not, they
into
were allowed
plenty of water was in their tun-
to dig themselves into
an oil-soaked brush heap which was
set afire in
their faces.
in.
weapon, excepting the Assyrian
was the battering ram. In
ally this
lay
side
would reach a point where the officer When he located them the
sure that no one escaped from the city
was brought
city.
on the ground hollow
could hear the diggers.
that no food
tried, the attackers
officer of the
was
methods to
under the wall of the
on quiet nights the
object, of course,
the space between them. to
The
Mining was nearly always
tunneling from behind their wall and attempting
was suspended
from a framework by ropes which allowed
it
to
be
Sometimes, working at night, the besieger built
an earthen ramp from wall, a
little
a
towards the
city
closer each night; but if the townsfolk
were on their
ramp
his wall
little
their best to
toes,
they built
their
wall facing the
higher each night, as well as doing
make
life
short or at least uncomfort-
swung forward and back. The swinging was done by as many as fifteen hundred men, the nearest
invaders would be to push a fighting tower out
ones working under a heavy roof called a testudo
onto the
or tortoise, which took the brunt of the boiling
engines and arrows, finally lowering a drawbridge
oil,
able for the ramp-builders.
molten lead and other unpleasant substances
from
which the besieged dumped from
fenders
ments.
their battle-
its
ramp and
The
attack from
next
it
move
of the
with throwing
top to the town wall and meeting the de-
hand
During
all
SIEGE
to
hand.
these operations there
was a constant
WITH BATTERING RAM, TESTUDO AND FIGHTING
TOWER
two-way bombardment of big stones thrown by ballistas, onagers and catapults; heavy, medium
when it was discharged. The onager was usually mounted on wheels. Some onagers had a kind of
and light artillery respectively. Basically all three worked the same way: a very thick skein of cords was twisted to a terrific strain which was suddenly released upon a projectile. It isn't known just what
scoop at the beam's end to hold a stone
kind of cords were used; they stood up under weeks of constant use, and hair or animal sinew seem the
a pin at the
will
modern experimentstand the gaff for more than a
The onager was
the simplest of the engines be-
likeliest
ers
substances. Nothing
have tried
it
vertical tight
had
only a single horizontal skein with
beam
inserted in
it.
The skein was
by geared winches, working on both
twisted
its
ends.
beam upright. To load, four or more men manned a windlass and pulled the pole back and down until it was nearly hori-
zontal and had put a still greater twist on the skein. Onager means wild ass. It earned the nickname from the soldiers because its rear end kicked up
IN
32
ACTION
on the more
free.
One
sling.
end of the
Using a
part
sling
throw-
effective ones the stone
side of the sling
beam, the other
beam was
the
side
was
was attached
merely being hung on
pole.
This slipped
way up and
off when
the stone sailed
added about a
third to the dis-
tance a stone could be thrown. With either kind
beam was restrained by a slip-hook which could
be tripped instantly by a yank on
The
one
This was done with the
ONAGER
to the
the
few shots.
cause
ing, but
put into a
for
heaviest
were very
were lista
much
and the
to a
its
lanyard.
Roman
alike in basic design
built in all sizes
down
lightest
artillery
and probably
from a monster four-ton bal-
hand catapult which had no more
weight or power than a medieval crossbow. The
was aimed, continued
heaviest ballista, once
it
throw
same
It
its
rocks at the
to
spot time after time.
could heave a sixty-pound rock as
far as five
hundred yards. This was pretty good. An Amer-
force
came from
the bending of a large
bow; but the
Roman
sion, like the
"wild ass."
ballista It
wooden
was powered by
tor-
was the construction
that was different. Instead of a single
beam operat-
ing vertically, the ballista had two short arms
which moved horizontally, each arm with
its
own
was
trans-
ferred to the projectile by a heavy bowstring
which
separate, vertical skein of cords. Force
connected the ends of the arms. The windlass
which drew the "bow" thus formed, didn't
pull
on the bowstring but was hitched
to a
directly
which the ammunition was The bowstring was restrained by a trigger mechanism which was fastened to the trough.
sliding trough in
placed.
Pawls on the the frame
sides of the trough
engaged
teeth
on
and prevented the trough from moving
forward with the projectile when the trigger was sprung.
Catapults were really small
ballistas,
but they
were swiveled so that they could be aimed readily from
side to side,
and they were balanced on a pin
so that their elevation could easily be changed.
ONAGER LOADED SHOWING SLIP-HOOK
This suggests that they
A short,
accuracy.
made some
heavy javelin was
pretense to their usual
ammunition. The catapult bowstring; was held by
cannon had little more than twice that range and little better accuracy with a shot weighing half as much. A ballista could outrange an onager. So, while the "wild ass" was
allowed the hook to
lobbing headsize rocks just over the walls, the
string
ican Revolutionary naval
ballista
was plunking boulders well
into the center
of the town.
and
and clamping
the string on both sides
of the javelin butt. Springing the trigger simply
whanged
rise,
and the released bow-
the dart forward in the trough to
a good start in the right direction.
had four
You may read that the ballista was an oversize crossbow and in medieval times this was true. In those days the ballista was a lighter job
a double-trigger hook fastened on the rear end of
the trough
some
five
foot
A
large catapult
arms and threw a six-pound javelin
hundred vards.
its
BALLISTA
33
'
catapult for javelins. The legionary
is
dressed for winter
PART OF A CATAPULT SHOWING TRIGGER OPERATION
34
peared and with
The Dark Ages
all
security of life or property.
For mutual protection
men huddled in little groups
it
Rome was the keystone which sustained the European civilization of her time and when she fell the whole structure went down with her. So
under some strong leader. Sometimes they hid
complete was the demoralization that even records
neighbors.
of it are fragmentary. short a time
men
learned but that
was
fear that
It
seems incredible that
could forget is
exactly
all
that
what they
caused them to do
it.
in so
had been
did;
Law
and
it
disap-
former
Roman
stronghold and defended
they could or used
it
as a base for raids
was out of the welter of petty
It
gling
first
for survival,
man
from and giving service
than himself. The
erful
in
a
as best
on
their
chieftains, strug-
then for supremacy, that
feudalism was born: each tion
it
to
receiving protec-
another more pow-
earliest
massing of these
scattered groups in any real strength was that of the Franks under Clovis, about 480 a.d.
EARLY FRANKISH SHIELD
Back
Front
As the result of tomb probing some notion has been gained of the equipment of Frankish warriors.
They used
iron
and shaped
hadn't learned to harden
it.
it
well but they
Their spears were iron-
tipped; their thirty-inch swords were iron, but
FRANKISH WARRIOR, SIXTH CENTURY
poor things; iron rimmed and braced was
round wooden mounted
in
its
their
shield with a large iron boss center. Iron-headed too
francisc, the curiously
was the
shaped throwing ax which
was the Frank's prime weapon.
The Frankish warrior used no armor
except a
leather cap reinforced with crossed metal bands.
He wrapped
his legs to the
knee with
strips of cloth
or leather over the lonij "trews" or pants he wore.
On
his
way PRANKISH THROWING AX
body was a belted
to his
fur jerkin reaching half-
knees and giving him some protection.
In England the Anglo-Saxons used very similar
35
This was the as long as
of the "pole arms," and was used
first
any of the pole arms. Only a few exam-
ples of English military bills
seemed only
ANGLO-SAXON BROADAX
exist,
because
it
sensible to the ex-soldier, returning to
the farm, to put his
and most
still
back
bill
to
original work,
its
them were worn out
of
that way.
The
Saxons also worked a variation on the mace which
must have had great
good man.
name
— the
possibilities in the
hands of a
was called by a gentle and
It
"morning-star."
Its
poetic
heavy, usually
spiked head was attached to a handle by a short length of chain, and though
hard
when
to control,
out of the toughest
The beginnings knighthood were
it
it
all, is
it
little
took the fight
Norman. of the system of vassalage and
set
up
in
England about the time
of King Alfred the Great (872). lived at
might be a
did land
King Arthur,
if he
assigned to a period about two cen-
That would make him a half-wild Round Table of knights was invented him by later romantic legends. The paintings
turies earlier. chieftain. His
for
of them in fourteenth-century plate armor hit some
kind of high
mark for the ridiculous. Actually, only Saxon leaders could afford chain
a few wealthy
ANGLO-SAXON TAPER AX
equipment. Their broadax had a longish handle
and was swung as a battle-ax but their shorthandled "taper ax" was thrown. King Canute measured some land by marking it "as far as a taper ax can be thrown."
By the time of Charlemagne (c. 800) the Franks, though clinging to the francisc, had learned to harden
began
iron; to
and the
lorica,
a jerkin of chain mail,
be worn by him and his men. Charle-
magne's sword was longer than a crossed guard at the
swords
for six
hilt
Clovis's,
and
it
had
which was used on
hundred years
after
him.
now wore
the crack troops of the Franks
Some of helmets
with scalloped leather curtains which hung about their faces,
and they ornamented
crisscrossing the
was a general
and tish
is
wrappings
style
all
the
their legs by
way
almost everywhere at
up. This this
time
the ancient basis of the design of the Scot-
Argyll socks.
The Anglo-Saxons had long-handled pruning off limbs other
36
bill
discovered that their
was
useful for lopping
than those which grew on
trees.
FRANKISH SOLDIER, NINTH CENTURY
mail or jazerant jackets and iron hats; most of
them fought bareheaded in their shirts. The Anglo-Saxons used the bow, but a hunting
FRANKISH SWORD WITH CROSSED HILT
weapon. In war they depended more on
the sling, a
Roman
adopted during the
Once
chiefly as
habit which they
may
have
Roman occupation of Britain.
the cavalry of mounted knights was estab-
common foot soldier became and remained for some centuries almost useless. He was armed with whatever he could pick up around home, and he could rarely do any real damage to a mounted man in chain mail. Some yeomen were used as slingers and archers and some few had lished, the
arms given to them, but for the most part they seem to have impeded the knights who did most of the fighting, as
much
as they
helped them.
The Dark Ages remembered nothing of the Roman science of fortification. They began again with wooden stockades and earthworks. By the beginning of the Middle Ages,
men were building stock-
ades, ditches and drawbridges
for defense
and
came a return ram and some kind of ballista. The old "tortoise" to protect the men at the ram also came back with the new name of "snayle." with these, at least as early as 585,
of the battering
ANGLO-SAXON SPEARHEAD
SCR AMASAXOR DIRK
37
\\(.l
O-SAXON
1UI
I
Much at this all
what
For instance,
that the Saxons
(1066)
them dressed
and
Harold and
his
of military equipment
it
provides
it is
wore
kilts,
like the
is
wholly depend-
known from
other sources
but the Tapestry shows
Normans
in divided knee-
whole
length hauberks of chain mail or scale armor.
The
hauberk was descended from Charlemagne's
lori-
illustrates the
depicts the Battle of Hastings which
Saxons
the doings of knights
known
England by Duke William,
The Bayeux Tapestry which story of the invasion of
is
the information
able.
The Norman Conquest
of
time comes from the Tapestry, though not
lost to
the invader, shows
and men-at-arms but
disregards plain soldiers.
TWO SAXONS AND A MOUNTED NORMAN KNIGHT
King
largely
ca. In front
to allow
its
and behind
was
split to
the crotch,
to ride a horse. Hauberks had and most of them had hoods with an
wearer
short sleeves
opening
it
for the face.
They were
usually topped
with a conical iron cap which had a nose guard attached to
A
it.
quilted jerkin was probably
hauberk, as
it
always was
later,
wore banded-over narrow
legs
worn
in
seem
to
worn under
and the
NORMAN SWORD AND SCABBARD
the
warrior's
trews, such as those
Charlemagne's time. These trews, also, may have been leather. Some important people have worn chain-mail leggings.
Norman
and pointed feet high.
were usually round
shields
Nearly
at the top
bottom and from three
at the
of
all
to four
them had painted
deco-
on them but none of the patterns were
rations
as-
sociated personally with the bearer, as they were in later heraldry.
Each mounted knight carried a wooden lance with an untapered shaft probably eight or nine long and tipped with a broad iron head.
feet
Some
"couched" the lance under the right arm in the new fashion which had become possible with the
more
introduction of stirrups, but
older overarm stroke.
The
thrown
and
stirrup
like a javelin
when
it
was a
full
its
butt rested on the
wasn't needed. Swords had by
time reached their
and tapered
thrust with the
lance was frequently
growth; broad near the
full
to the point, their
this hilt
double-edged length
pommel
forty-four inches from
to tip.
This was the ''knightly blade" which, changing very four
little,
"carved the casques of men"
hundred years.
from a
belt straight
At
saddle
his
bow
Its
for nearly
ornamented scabbard hung
down the
at the knight's left side.
Norman
MACE
warrior carried
an iron-headed mace or a broad-bladed
either
battle-ax according to his taste.
King Harold was
killed
by an arrow
at
Hastings
and the Tapestry shows massed bowmen for the
Normans.
On
the
Saxon
an occasional archer mixed
who
fight with bills, spears
appeared on both
in
and
fighting
side there
is
only
with men-at-arms, axes.
Thus
the
bow
sides in this ancient battle, but
from
social position,
though not entirely uninflu-
enced by wealth. The king's son might be a mere squire
and a man-at-arms might
though the Conqueror's son Henry encouraged
a knight, as a result of
archery by ruling that accidental shootings
battle.
tice
shouldn't be punished as crimes, the
at prac-
bow
as a
major English war weapon didn't come into
own
until
many
its
years had passed.
There had been an elaborate feudal system
among its
them
military rank
men-at-arms; and
some remarkable
to
at least fifty
He who
must defend land. The usual military
was a thing wholly separate
and equip
feat in
do that took cash or
equivalent, which was land.
forty days.
become
next step higher, however, the knight
banneret had to "own" and equip
Normans swept most of and set up their own. Among
the Saxons, but the
regulations aside
The
aspire to
Clergymen and
its
held land
service
ladies of estate
was
were
not required to serve personally but had to furnish substitutes or pay tcutage. This
39
was
"shield
money" which
KNIGHTS SPURS, NORMAN
times any vassal
in easy
could pay to the king for release from the obligation of military service; the king could use the
money
to hire
who were always availamong Duke Wil-
mercenaries
mercenaries fought
able; in fact,
liam's invasion forces. It
Eleventh-Thirteenth Centuries
should be understood that a man-at-arms was
a superior soldier, potentially, at least, a knight.
His lord might pay for the arms of such a one
if
he
was particularly good with sword or spear; but the common infantry had to arm itself as best it could.
Armor was to
own,
far too expensive for
people actually were value
ordinary people
more than
little
upon armor
set
slaves.
indicated by the
is
Fourteenth Century
common
especially in France, since the
The little
Bayeux Tapestry, who
figures in the border of the
are busily stripping mail shirts from the fallen
while the battle It is
still
probably true that few who wore the golden
spurs of chivalry actually lived
up
to all
ideals of bravery, piety, generosity
well
Fifteenth Century
rages above them.
enough
to qualify as
and
to
purity
Chaucer's "very gentil
parfait knight," but at least those ideals
up and served
high
its
smooth a
little
were
set
rough
bit the
manners of the time. There were few people then
who
could read, and the civilizing
ature was slight; so even
if
it
When
the oath
on the neck with the
flat
were then fastened to
of a sword; gilded spurs
his heels
and he was a
knight "without fear and without reproach."
Unfortunately
it
didn't always stick.
as a
stripped of the honor in another ceremony, which
and absurdity,
in
its
consisted of having their spurs hacked off by the king's cook.
aspirant to knighthood normally began
this
about the age of twelve by serving
page in the castle of a nobleman. During period he was
women
much
in
the
company
of
but he underwent constant training in
the use of
arms and
in
horsemanship. At sixteen
became a squire or shieldbearer. In early days he was just that: he rode behind some knight and carried his shield for or thereabouts he
him. Later, squire or esquire was an honorable title
just
bore
all
below knighthood, which many
men
their lives.
Unless he greatly distinguished himself before
become a knight un-
that age, a squire couldn't til
he was twenty. Then, having confessed, he
went through an elaborate after
an all-night church
oath to
4
tell
the truth
dis-
chivalry later reached
ing savages into gentlemen.
The
Some
graced themselves so completely that they were
shared with religion the job of turn-
his training at
had been
sworn, the king or some great lord hit the novice
effect of liter-
fantastic heights of pretense
early days
weak, good or holy.
ritual of fasting,
vigil,
and
he took a great
and protect
all
that
was
ONE PATTERN OF CHAIN MAIL
EARLY NORMAN CASTLE
%f&is&£&*?i-"
f
There seem
Castles
man
his leaders
hang on to what he was The Saxons showed a distaste for Nor-
told each
given.
have been no Saxon
to
A
fortified towns.
castle
is
The Norman began
ing of it the Saxons were "persuaded" to contrib-
thrown toward the center
ute their labor gratis.
mound
Norman
had but slight resemblance to anything you think of when you see the word "castle." Most of their defenses were structures
was
fort. It
over to England.
dred
first
a private
invented in France in the Dark Ages and brought
mans which suggested to each Norman knight wisdom of building a stronghold where a night's sleep could be had safely. For the build-
the
These
castles, be-
cause they had never been needed; the Saxons
William divided England among
and
to
his castle
and wide ditch around a diameter.
feet in
circle
The
form a flat-topped
ringed with an earthen rampart.
top of the bank a strong built,
from the ditch was
dirt
to
by digging a deep perhaps two hun-
and
On
the
wooden stockade was was a
in the center of the ring there
well-constructed but nearly windowless wooden
earthworks, and such buildings as were put on
house. Here the knight, his family, his servants
them were
and
entirely of
was through haste
them was tles
wood. Partly, of course,
to get
something up (one of
built in eight days); also,
were quite usual
The Millennium,
Normandy
in
this
wooden
cas-
at the time.
the year iooo a.d., was not
long past, and since
all
Christendom had
fully
his
men-at-arms, surrounded by their horses
and dogs,
lived a crude
The entrance called,
to the
was through
and pungent
mound,
was
literally
the planks of one section could be
ered to build permanent structures and soon they
towards the castle
had forgotten how
cult to pass. All other
Norman
to
do
it.
Only
a few of the
buildings in England were stone,
but the conquerors were terrible masons: Winchester Cathedral tower actually collapsed fifteen
years after they built
it!
In trying to
sheer bulk for their lack of walls of the keep of the feet thick.
skill,
Tower
of
make up with
they built the
London
fifteen
was
across the
a "draw bridge" because
expected the world to end then, they hadn't both-
earliest
it
a single gate reached by a
wooden bridge which sloped upward ditch. This
existence.
or motte as
drawn back
at night, leaving a
gap
movable bridges were
diffi-
after-
wards called drawbridges, no matter how they worked.
The need
of
more space,
especially for the ani-
mals, soon led the knight to enclose another
and
larger ditch-and-stockade area next to his strong-
hold and surrounding the approach to his bridge.
This forecourt was called the bailey;
its
stockade
41
main ditch and marched up the join the motte stockade on both sides
crossed the
mound
to
of the gate.
now The
The
outer entrance to the castle was
across another bridge leading into the bailey.
bailey could be defended for a while
then abandoned
if
and
necessary, for a last stand on
the motte when the knight ''burnt
his bridges be-
hind him." As time went on the ditches were
made deeper and more motte which made
which are
as high as
it
was added
dirt
higher; a few
a hundred
feet.
still
Then
smaller.
the
making the
top
itself
wooden
fence. In time of siege
it
hang wet hides on the timbers
be defended
from
them
first
stone donjons were nearly square and
weren't as narrow or
The whole floor,
structure
tall as
was above ground and the
which was used
outside door.
they later became.
The entrance
for storage,
to the
had no
keep was on
the second floor through a small projecting structure, to
all
cooking was done
its
way
wind was
out through a hole in the roof
which an outside
one wall. Sometimes the
bottom and a drawbridge
if
the
the only access to the storeroom was
room, by a
built within the
little stair
Thus
his lordship
his provisions personally.
gave access
to the top of the
built higher
A
similar stair
than the roof of the place and
where watch was kept
at all times.
In the course of time the
wooden
the motte was replaced with stone
one around the bailey was fense of the castle
could
donjon wall, which
was
still
also,
fence around
and soon
the
but the main de-
the keep.
Its
stair led stairs
upward along
had
a gate at the
at the top.
projectiles.
New
ones were
made
windows
higher and nar-
rower, like a tower, by the device of putting the
chamber above the great hall, on the Sometimes there was an entry floor below the hall, making the whole tower four knight's
third floor.
stories high.
The
best assault against a keep
usually under one corner.
The
was mining,
thick walls were
actually two walls with loose rubble between
stone keep with cutaway showing
42
find-
room was smaller and chamber for the lord and his
thickness of the wall.
was
fire
right; the other
served as a private
guard
re-
in a corner
were small and very high as a defense against
fire.
The
first
was necessary
to protect
ing
And
had
two rooms. One of these was
near the well, the smoke of the kitchen
this
by a few men. This was the donjon or keep, and for a while it was still surrounded by the old
to
Here
tainers.
from
much
into
used as living-and-sleeping quarters for the
lady.
wooden house was replaced by
a stone stronghold which could
was divided
stand
This added
flat
the inside, the second floor of the donjon
to the
height, sloping always towards the center, the further effect of
On
interior
them, so when the mine caved
the whole
in,
corner of the donjon came rumbling down. The
wreckage made a ramp place
became
invader and the
for the
To make mining
indefensible.
as
difficult as possible the later
keeps were built with
an extended base, called a
plinth.
had gaps, called
Tower
keeps
tection
^tfe
crenels, in the tops of their walls,
from which an archer could shoot with some pro-
from the "merlons" which were
left
TOWER KEEP
be-
33
tween them. Vertical slots were cut in the walls at
lower points, where a
man
W?
with a crossbow
might be stationed. Such a tower, well provisioned
and with a few
stuffed
be defended by twenty entery,
dummies
men
for
show, could
unless they got dys-
which they usually did get because
sani-
tation wasn't part of the plan for defending a castle.
Lo-in
X
CROSSBOWMAN AT A LOOPHOLE
At the time of the Conquest the Norman bow
was probably about charge an arrow, chest.
it
five feet long,
was drawn
At some time around
lengthened to
six feet or
i
and
to dis-
to the archer's
ioo the
bow was
more, and the draw was
then to the "ear" (actually to the angle of the jawbone);
the
shooting
range
was
increased
ARCHER SHOOTING THROUGH A CRENEL
43
HOARDINGS
MACHICOLATIONS
greatly. Three-foot
ship at meals.
To
Next hoardings were applied. These were wooden
arrows began arriving through
windows and disturbing
the keep's high
hold the
bowmen
his lord-
balconies projecting from the tops of the walls,
out of range,
allowing the defenders to drop discouraging sub-
the low walls of the bailey were extended and
stances on the heads of storming parties.
strengthened and more vigorously defended.
later the
Then, towards the end of the twelfth century,
overhangs were
the walls
and
Much
built of stone as part of
rejoiced in the
thumping name of
stone-throwing siege weapons began to get better;
machicolations.
not only could they clear the outer walls with
more defense was needed. Sappers could start work at some distance and run their galleries underground to the bases of the walls un-
ease but, worse, the stones hit the tops of the
and fractured
walls
into
The obvious cure was
to
murderous fragments.
make
the walls higher.
Still
answer
proper romantic look.
into existence.
The main defense of the place was now the outer walls. The keep lost its importance and no new mottes were built. As the years passed (we're
in those
covering a
of time now), the keep was re-
lot
placed by a strong, square gatehouse with towers at
its
corners
and
living quarters
were
built against
the inner face of the high "curtain" walls. These
Any
tunnel that could be built
days would be flooded
if it
were dug un-
der a moat.
Water was kept the castle by
dam was to
in the
damming
shallow moat around
The
a natural stream.
often separately fortified
prevent the draining of the moat.
and guarded The gate on
added. The
addition was flanking towers. These were
spear practice were held, and, in time, any ground
it
was hard
bases, so first
and the
to that;
moat was called the barbican. The drawbridge was lowered from the list gate. It admitted to the list which was the grassy strip between the walls. Here tournaments and
high walls were a good defense against projectiles,
but
Water was the wet-ditch, or moat, came
detected, or at least undeterred.
This was done and the castle began to take on a
to
keep miners away from their
something more had
usually round
to be
and projected outward
so that the
defenders could shoot along the face of the adjacent wall.
It
was soon discovered that the old
curved shape of the bailey required too towers, so castles were then built square.
44
many
the enemy's side of the
laid out for a
When
tournament came
to be called a
the old keep was abandoned, the
gatehouse became the place
list.
main
for a last stand,
and
and his family lived there in times of emergency. The small turrets on the inner corners the lord
A PRIVATELY OWNED, MOATED CASTLE
and on
of the gatehouse
covered narrow spiral
With the
castle
(some of them
the larger
round towers
completely surrounded by water
sat in the
middle of artificial
lakes),
the approach was by a bridge so built that a section nearest the castle could be
and gate
up-ended by chains
windlasses, leaving an impassable gap. defenses
impregnable. Almost the only
way
to capture
such a castle was to make a deal beforehand with
stairs.
were elaborated.
Little
The
subforts
a pal on the inside to
and open the always in
little
this little
and
warfare
at
for you.
midnight
There was
postern gate for sneaking couriers
out. This
when
come down
back gate
was one of the few periods
the defense
the offense.
called barbicans were built on the shore side of the bridge for preliminary defense. side,
On
the castle
beyond the drawbridge, the narrow passage
through the gate tower was defended by means
and round holes in its oil and hot pitch could be poured down on an uninvited guest. Exit from the passage to the inner court was barred by a stout oaken gate which could be of loopholes in
its
sides
through which boiling
ceiling,
reached only by passing one or two
A
portcullis
spiked along
The
JM1M
portcullises.
was a heavy wood or iron grating its
lower edge.
It
could be dropped
suddenly across the passage from the
ceiling.
foregoing improvements were developed
gradually and some of them were added to the older castles, but not until the end of the thirteenth
century was a castle built which had defenses
and which was
all
of the
for that time, practically
in
had the advantage of
PORTCULLIS, CLOSED
45
C.
I
3OO
barred. Considerable blood was spilled, and occasionally one side or the other to the
up
War Games (1200— 1300) In our day the business
the
and
interest of
first
dominant
is
was not too much
England. Kenilworth Castle was one of
didn't
the
enter
game
personally
thronged to watch.
The most tests
spectacular and exciting of
was the tournament
or, as
at the time, the "hastilude,"
of spear-play.
The
first
it
all
con-
was often called
which meant a game
tournament was held
in
France the same year the Normans invaded England.
The
idea was enthusiastically imitated and,
though often condemned by kings and
tournaments flourished Ages.
Weak
were made and the holding of
difference
them
all
priests,
through the Middle
kings, fearful of the
power of
their
and
restricted to five localities in
green tiltyard
level,
its
—
at the other at full
tilt,
spear under his right
unhorse his
his
gripping the shaft of
arm and
opponent, that
earliest of these
entertainments were not
The
armed themselves
actly as
if
for
knights
war and went
at
ex-
one another with
everything they had, no rules and no holds
to
To oppose made very high
and there are records of knights being
tied in
Ordinarily three of these "courses" were run. if
both
men were
upright, they'd meet
still
and exchange
three
blows with the mace or the battle-ax. Surviving this,
and miraculously they
change three sword
often did, they'd ex-
slashes, either
dle or dismounted. If one
from the sad-
champion was knocked
KNIGHTS JOUSTING
46
his
place.
in the center of the field
The
it
knock him out of
backs of the saddles were
encouraged them and even rode
child's play.
is,
seeking with
saddle and over his horse's stern.
this the
Then,
them.
these,
still exists.
The rules divided the hastilude into three types. The first and most important was the joust, which was singles one against one. The joust almost always began with the familiar tilt or charge. From his own end of the field each man ran his horse
nobles, were against tournaments; strong kings in
this
was reducing the strength of the
so rules
tournaments was
were some form of combat or a contest of skill which prepared the players for combat. As now,
who
army;
it
to the
was found that
It
after that
since sports were warlike too. Nearly all of
those
sort of thing
adding
was war and
interest
sports, but there
most men
medieval times
back
talk
umpire; then everybody present mixed
in a free-for-all, the spectators
fun by throwing stones.
after that sports; in
would
IN
A TOURNAMENT
out at any point there wasn't any doubt about
Since only knights could enter tournaments,
commoners staged
own games and
the winner; otherwise, the judges decided the
the
match on
combats. Individual bouts with the quarterstaff
The
next hastilude in importance after the
and
joust,
points.
less
technical but even
was the tourney. In sides
and fought a miniature
under ful.
this the
rules; the
chances
The tourney
The
battle,
for fouling
created a
the spectators loved
more
exciting,
knights drew up
though
still
at the quintain
is
behourd
with spear and
known. (In
its
impale a small suspended ring on the point of
tilting
a lance while riding at ing to
wonder
if this
full
may
gallop. It
is
interest-
be a descendant of the
Everybody turned out
for a
tournament. There
was a canopied gallery for the queen and her ladies and another for the king and his nobles.
The commoners crowded
the barriers around the
and the boys unquestionably climbed
trees.
was more than a mere "passage of arms"; it was a pageant, and as time went on it became less and less a combat and more and more a It
show, until
other end
which was
or drenched
post
and
a pail of to hit the
large, as to avoid being slugged
after hitting
it.
At Easter the younger London
went
set
in for
from boats on the Thames. This was the
same game which
is
now played
camps with canoes, except
summer
at
that the boats were
heavier and each was rowed by several oarsmen.
behourd.)
lists
one end of a horizontal beam. The
hung a sandbag or water. The object was not so much
at
target,
to
at
beam was pivoted on top of an upright
what kind isn't Maryland and Virginia something called a "tournament" is still held; in it the "knights" attempt
target, but exactly
at the
tilt
a blunt spear at a shield-shaped target which
was called the
sort of exercise
borrow one. To
quintain the contestant, riding at a gallop, aimed
was hung
It
was favored by those who could
afford a horse or
uproar and
last of the three forms of the hastilude
and was some
and with sword-and-buckler were common producers of cracked heads and minor scars. Tilting
were wonder-
terrific
it.
something of a mystery.
their
it
finally
reached a pitch of
which the human race didn't exceed thought of flagpole
sitting.
A
single
in the
combatant managed the padded lance
bow, and the object was simply
times they were a
little
rough about
push
winter "jousts" were staged on
ice,
it.
In the
the charges
made on bone skates. The quarterstaff was named from
being
was handled, not from
its
length which might well qualify
until
staff. It
was straight and
just
thick for most of its length.
the
way
it
six-and-a-half-foot
silliness it
to
the opposing boat's lancer into the drink; some-
it
as a whole
under two inches
The ends were
a
TILTING AT THE QUINTAIN
47
little
what
it
was. Spectators placed bets and champion-
ship bouts were held. Boys practised with sticks
and homemade
shields.
The
sport
remained pop-
ular for several centuries.
Archery contests were frequent, and were usually held after
mass on Sunday
churchyard, but
in every country
we'll wait to a later
amine them, when the record
is
time to ex-
dimmed
less
with age.
Knights and Armor (1200— 1300) The
knights of the early thirteenth century
wore the same chain-mail hauberks that their fathers had worn at Hastings, except that the skirts
were made longer, following the fashion of
civilian clothes,
BOUT WITH QUARTERSTAVES
and the
sleeves
were made
length to protect the arms better.
ended
in mittens of
getting the
hand
mail which had
out. All
The slit
full-
sleeves
palms
for
armor now included
chain-mail leg and foot coverings.
and were usually loaded with iron. In operation the quarterstaff was held in
thicker
middle
in
one hand while the other grasped
about a quarter of the
The
the name.
and
the
trick
way from one
was
to spin the staff this
that, shifting the grip of the
it
end, hence
way
hands from
Each link and welded.
of this mail
was separately forged
would have been easier to make the links of wire but no one had yet discovered how to draw wire. A number of patterns of mail were in detail
It
use, all of
which are recorded
on tombstone statues and
all
in exact
of which are
quarter to quarter, thus delivering blows from
unexpected angles and, at the same time, using the staff to
ward
off attack. It
was quite a rugged
sport. In Ivanhoe, the swineherd,
Gurth, ended his
bout with the miller by sliding his right hand
from the middle of the the quarter
The
staff
and delivering
down
to his left at
a haymaker.
"Exercise of the Sword-and-Buckler" was
a fencing match with slashing swords.
was a small round called a "target."
It
The buckler
shield of the type sometimes
was about a
foot in
diameter
and was provided with a handle on its back by which it was held in the left hand. The sword used was straight, tapered and double-edged,
much
like the knights'
swords but shorter, about
three feet overall.
For a couple of slashing
away
amusement
48
at
for a
men
thus equipped to stand
each other seems a strange
Sunday
in the park,
but that
is
THE EXERCISE OF THE SWORD-AND-BUCKLER
None
various combinations of interlocked rings.
of the actual material of these very early hauberks
has survived.
rusted quickly
It
must have been tendency sleeveless
armor
and then,
too,
fine stuff for scouring pots.
to rust
it
This
caused the introduction of the
chemise or surcoat which was worn over
to protect
it
mail became rusty,
When
from dampness.
was put
it
chain
into a barrel with
small stones and coarse sand and rolled around the courtyard for an hour or so to clean
Chief
among
it
was the "heaume," or helm on the head. In first
form
this
HELMETS
up.
the added protections however
was an iron pot
in the
its
shape of a
flat-topped cylinder, open at the bottom, pierced
or slotted for seeing and breathing,
and weighing
thirteen or fourteen pounds. The helm was worn over the mail hood which was part of the hauberk, and often covered an additional iron skullcap called a basinet. The basinet was elab-
some
orated over the years into the headpiece ally think of
when we
The weight entirely
of the
by the head;
first
were made deep enough fighting
slots in
the
usu-
great helms was borne
later in this century,
helms had domed tops and hinged
A man
we
say helmet.
needed a
to rest lot
of
when
fronts, they
on the shoulders. air,
helm were made small
and to
since the
keep spear
points out, quite a few fighters smothered in their
buckets. Smaller iron hats,
some with
some with nose guards, were used battles without the
which means
helm and were
"little
helms."
brims,
at times in real
called helmets,
The
knights'
hand weapons had changed
The
since Hastings.
perhaps a
bit heavier,
The sword was
the
cross hilt turned
but
it
was
same except that
down
a
little,
and
The
the knight's breadbasket.
worn on the
a simple pole.
still
a fancy draped belt which put the
to be
little
lance was somewhat longer,
it
it
now had
its
was hung on
hilt right
over
misericord began
right side. This
was a dagger
which has been called the "dagger of mercy' 'with the idea that
it
was used
for the
which, presented point pelled
him
to
quick dispatch of
it
was the persuader
first
to a fallen foe, im-
a suffering loser; actually
plead for mercy and come across
with a healthy ransom. In war, though not in tournaments, the falchion
became deservedly popular. It was a real snickera sword, but built more like a knife or a cleaver, and nearly three feet long, with a single, snee
—
curved cutting edge supported by a very IRON
HEAUME
backed blade, which gave
it
thick-
weight and authority.
49
mere pennon, but a banner of the
ing bears not a
knight's heraldic arms.
Chain mail was heavy and the plate armor of
much
the fourteenth century was
strong. Fairly
heavier, so the
armed knights had
horses ridden by
to
be big and
nimble Spanish horses were favored
in the thirteenth century, but later, in France,
Flanders and England, special horses were bred
which could carry more weight. Their descendants, the Percherons, Belgians
and Clydesdales,
are the best draft horses in the world today.
Nearly everybody
in the
Middle Ages belonged
some trade guild, and the brotherhoods of chivalry have been called "The Guilds of the Horse
to
Butchers.'' horses.
It's
as well as his
most vulnerable point. Kill or cripple
and you had your knight where you
his horse
MISERICORD
FALCHION
true that they went for each other's
A knight's horse was his fighting platform,
wanted him. One device for accomplishing this was to sow the field where an enemy would charge with
four-pointed metal gadgets called
little
The points of a caltrop were so arranged one of them always stood straight up. trops.
cal-
that
In order to protect their horses from spears and
arrows the wealthier knights began
drape them
to
with a "trapper" of chain mail. Hoods with eye-
A knight's face was this
hidden under
required that some
from
his
way be found
foe in the midst of battle; so
helm, and
to tell friend
men began
to
paint their shields with striking patterns. Each
man
chose his
own mark and
associated as closely with
him
stuck to
cers at
who were
war
each man's device. Thus the whole
sys-
tem became known it
as heraldry. Like all the rest
was badly overdone
In the illustration, the knight
in later days. is
in
complete
chain mail with a basinet under his hood and added plates at his knees. He wears his sword over his
long surcoat. His helm
and with
his left
he
is
is
under
about
his right
hand
to place the guige
(strap) of his shield over his head.
A squire is hold-
ing his horse while pages help with his equipment.
This
is
a wealthy knight of
perhaps a baron. His horse sive
is
some importance,
trapped with expen-
chain mail, and the spear his squire
50
is
to
rusted,
came
it
to
be covered with a drapery on
which the knight often painted Poorer
men
this
his heraldic de-
protected the horse with quilted
is
in
of chivalry,
head and neck and hung nearly
long was spread over the horse's rump. Since
vice.
announ-
tournaments and the go-betweens
to record
was
became
it
the
it
Cow
as Elsie the
with canned milk. As the idea spread, the business of the heralds
it;
holes covered
the ground on both sides; a blanket of mail equally
hold-
cloth.
When
the Crusaders took their strong horses to
Palestine, they suddenly discovered the advan-
The light-armed, swiftmounted Saracens rode circles around the plow horses and hit them from all sides. All of the Saracen weapons were planned for these hit-and-run tactics and hence were very different from the tages of military mobility.
European false) story
ones.
There
which
is
a famous (and probably
illustrates
one of the
differences.
showed
off his bull
At a truce meeting Richard
I
strength by severing an iron bar with one sword stroke.
teeth his
The Sultan Saladin then
on edge by
set
everybody's
slicing a sofa pillow in half with
curved, razor-sharp scimitar. However, a scim-
itar
was not too good
for slicing
an iron
hat,
which
A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY KNIGHT ARMING FOR A TOURNAMENT
51
may
be the reason the Crusaders were able to
Holy Land.
a toehold in the
maintain
In battle, archers and crossbowmen were usu-
placed in front of the mounted knights, and
ally
footmen had shot their arrows, the cavwould charge through them; or in France, sometimes over them after all, they were only
after the
alry
—
Medieval Armies and "Gyns"
dogs of peasants. At the battle of Crecy the Geno-
(1300— 1400)
ese
crossbowmen, when they had shot
down
for the French, were ridden
years were rough times. Just as
The medieval
in the twentieth century, citizens
were often
at-
tacked and robbed, so nobody went about in public without arms of some kind.
The tradesman,
wore a short sword
priest or knight in civvies
(or
long dagger) called a baselard suspended from the
gown. Lesser men carried the quarter
belt of his
suffered
own
side than they did
Up of
mounted knights over
own two
feet,
fastened to their girdles.
some of
in
some way involved when an
army had to be raised, but to judge from the records, some of the service was on the casual side and the draft boards apparently weren't very
who went
tough. At least one archer
was required
had
with him a
ish
of bacon
flitch
took
foot soldiers, but at
began
to
the French knights in a crossfire
was gradually becoming a
respect,
his
the peasants cattle,
weight
had
felt.
rows.
on
On
the
same day, the Black Prince made remove their spurs and fight
his knights
foot with shortened lances.
have used a cannon, but
ization but there
and defendknew where they were or where
idea in the Middle Ages. Attacking ing armies seldom the
enemy was; sometimes
they played hide-and-
An army was made up
mob.
each consisting of a greater or routes or retinues
eighty
self-
like
in heavily for organ-
was some attempt
men
at subdividing
of three
lesser
battles,
number
of
containing from twenty-five to
A
each.
route might consist of the re-
tainers of only a single lord or knight-banneret,
or several such retinues might be grouped together as a route.
Command of an army so organized was
badly complicated by the fact that each soldier
would obey only felt
his
own
landlord, each landlord
responsible only to the baron from
held his
fief,
and
this
nobleman
garded everybody but the earl sworn fealty.
52
to
whom
he
in turn disre-
whom
later.
paigns in advance but strategy was a forgotten
they behaved accordingly.
Medieval armies didn't go
also to
about that
The Greeks and Romans planned whole cam-
foot soldier
and were treated
He seems
we'll talk
On the Continent where
no rights
and
annihilated their horses with carefully placed ar-
and was a soldier only it. However, the Brit-
yeoman, because he was allowed some
their
embarrass the horsemen.
he had finished eating
who made
the
to the wars
with the king's army "until he
away hys arrowes," and another
shotte
until
to stay
since the
as to the superior-
Crecy the English longbowmen, standing on
They caught
Everybody was
had not been,
heyday of Rome, any question ity
French
the knights of their
from the English.
to that battle there
and some sort of dirk. Gentlemen's daggers were often hung around their necks or carried in a pouch. Even women wore fancy little daggers
staff
more hurt from
and
their bolts
by the
he had
FOOT SOLDIER
•g
THE ROYAL STANDARD MOVES UP TO THE FRONT LINE
seek for weeks
and went home without ever
find-
ing each other. There were no maps. Often an
invading army arrived in front of a town either with no idea what town that
it
it
was, or else quite sure
was some other place
Crecy was fought
entirely.
and
in 1346,
in the battle the
things.
Most
were a
battles
bats between knights, to
Up
much about
such
series of personal
com-
then nobody had thought
and the nearest they came
concerted action was to help a friend out of a
tight spot
now and
confusion
it
then. Because of the resulting
was necessary
of some kind. Banners
to
have rallying points
marked with
or "badges" were one device for
this.
the crests
became very
elaborate
very, very high.
Battle cries were popular,
whooping up the cult to
and
in addition to
fight, like the Japanese
they helped to rally
English used some tactics planned in advance. to
more imposing, and
men around
"Banzai,"
a leader.
It's diffi-
imagine a battalion of American GI's
States" or
"Ha, Eisenhower!" At times they shout
as they attack but the
The
words are quite
different.
trompe, the oliphant, the claironceau
it;
often this
sounded
(drum
to
for rallying,
and the
labour or tambour
you) was beaten for the same purpose
coats of arms
Similarly the
mounted
banner was flown from a
staff
on an ox-drawn wagon. As long as the
standard could be glimpsed above the
fight, the
men who
not com-
followed
it
knew they were
pletely licked.
Men
also
needed
and recognized, on or
their
to
be seen above the melee
so knights
began
to
wear
crests
heaumes. These were carved from wood
molded of leather, and usually represented some
animal or object which served trade-mark just
little
as a
secondary
CRESTED HEAUME
The first crests were but when it was real-
for the knight.
fans of feathers,
ized that they
made
their wearers look taller
and a
dozen other horns with handsome names were
king had his standard and a picked group to de-
fend
at-
tacking with shouts of "Liberty and the United
and
53
THE MOUSE
and
pie handles
it,
too,
had small chance against
a stone castle.
The fighting tower, officially called a beffroi, was known to the soldiers of the Middle Ages as a "cat." Usually to
it
couldn't be brought close enough
a castle's walls to be effective, since in the
sary to
fill
Under
the
name
moat
to
make
it
was neces-
a passage for
it.
of escalades, ladders of various
kinds were used to try to climb over high walls;
but a
though
it's
hard
to see
how
was heard over the
it
Siege was no small part of medieval military
and the reduction of
was a long, weary job.
It
the top of a
above him who are trying
racket which prevailed.
operations,
man on
and
to stick
him
full
ladder has no per-
to
push
armed men
his ladder over
of spears and arrows.
In view of these things
a strong castle
took Oliver Cromwell's
tall
ceptible advantage over a group of
the besiegers of castles
it
hard
isn't
why
to see
depended mainly on mis-
Puritans three years to capture Corfe Castle, even
sile-throwing gyns for their assault. In the old days
though they had cannon and muskets by then and
of
the garrison of the place consisted of
little
more
wooden
castles the springal did very well. This
was a version of the
Roman falarica which
than the doughty Lady Bankes and her serving
pelled darts by spanking
wenches.
ber.
The
oldest
and simplest of
siege
weapons was
the battering ram, but against a ten-foot-thick
stone wall
it
wasn't worth a hoot. Medieval ar-
mies used them against town gates could be worked.
Roman
terebra
The "mouse" was
had been.
It
when
they
a drill as the
was rotated by sim-
Usually the darts were incendiary and kept
the defenders busy putting out to
be used as a material
fires.
Lead came
for roofing castles largely
as a protection against attacks of this kind. Be-
cause
it
was the
lightest of projectile-throwers
and
because ships were highly inflammable, the springal
was
for centuries
Quite a
SCALING LADDER
pro-
them with a springy tim-
bit
an important naval weapon.
more powerful than
the springal
which was sometimes called an
the
ballista
lest,
but because the latter
name
is
was
arba-
also applied to
the high-powered crossbow, we'll stick to the older
term. This gyn was really like a catapult and was
never as large or as powerful as the
Roman
ballista
had been. The medieval one had no skein of twisted fibers; it was simply an enormous bow, bent by a windlass.
The Roman
SPRINGAL
sliding trough
BALLISTA
was missing; the
trigger
The medieval
hook.
was a simple forked
slip-
ballista pitched a javelin in
very good style however and was probably the
son that the
the trebuchet, picture a seesaw
rea-
hundred-pound Uncle Henry on the short end and
Romans called it a "wild ass," because its rear-end when it was fired. The
hold the long end down while you put thirtypound Junior on it. Now let go and watch Junior
"nag"
for the
word was
later years the first
cannons
also
threw stones, they became known
too.
In principle the mangonel was exactly
onager; but in practice
it
as
advantage was that
The
it
could be moved;
skein which
was
as efficient as the
its
gonnes like
a
was a much
cruder machine and puny in comparison.
was never
lights out of the residents of a castle.
same
as a
shortened to "gonne," and since the
gun."
turned
with one short end and one long one. Put three-
mangonel threw stones. In
"field
it
to scare the day-
and
mounted on
kicked up
Roman
damage,
four wheels
mangonel was
was familiarly known
it
walls any real
performance good enough
To understand
most accurate of the siege weapons.
The
and seldom did in a
Its
great
it
was a
sail
over the house
— never mind what happens to
Uncle Henry.
On
the actual gyn the seesaw was pivoted at
was a large box of stones and earth hinged
to a fork
"propellant"
Roman
version. It
MANGONEL OR NAG
seems usually to have been equipped with a scoop
and was seldom given a sling; on the other hand the trebuchet almost invariably had a sling. for
holding
its
projectile
The trebuchet was
the heavy howitzer of me-
dieval artillery. Usually to
beam it
it
was
so large that
be constructed at the scene of action; ordinarily was
made
its
it
had
verge or
of an entire tree. While
never equaled the range of the classic
its
balance point, and instead of Uncle Henry there
ballista
55
LARGE TREBUCHET
on the short end. The means of setting and
mangonel except
ing were like those of a
releas-
that the
windlass was under the main trestle where the
skein-winch would be on a mangonel, and the setting ropes
were led
to
under a
it
roller at the
back of the base frame. The trigger was often a large
hook which held the verge
necessary to ing.
The
unhook the
itself,
making
it
setting ropes before shoot-
stone projectile was placed in
its
sling
on
a long platform which began just back of the windlass. It
verge,
was snatched from here by the released
and swung
in
an arc
at the
end of the
pole.
At a point about two-thirds of the way up, one side of the sling slipped off the end of the verge
and the
stone sailed free, following a high curve to
its
tar-
and back and came Apparently
In large trebuchets there was nothing to stop the
verge after the projectile
between the
56
left
trestle legs; the
it. The weight swung arm threshed forward
to rest standing straight up.
was then necessary
to shinny
up the
verge and hook the ropes onto the pole again after
every shot! ally
The weight on
dropped
to a rest
reaching an angle
That was
and
much
a small trebuchet usu-
lay there, the
arm never
higher than sixty degrees.
right because with a sling, the stone
all
had already
left
Trebuchet
is
when
the
arm got that far up. name of this gyn; used
the French
Norman aristocracy, it has somehow remained in modern English. In the English of its own day it was called a "trip-gate "or a "trap-
of course by the
gate."
A stone from it was "trapped"
and we tiles
still
at the target
practice /ra/>shooting at small projec-
thrown by a machine.
The
get.
it
trap-gate was used as a siege
into the sixteenth century without principle.
and the
weapon -well
any change of
Metal bearings improved
its
operation,
substitution of a metal weight for the old
box of junk made
However, it
it
handier and more permanent.
doubtful
it's
if
the
ornament lavished on
added even an inch to its range or accuracy. You will have gathered that siege engines had
small effect on strong castles beyond annoying the tenants; sometimes the besiegers,
would concentrate on being ble.
annoying
this,
as possi-
spears, they
would
the carcasses of very dead animals or,
if they
Along with
toss in
as
knowing
their rocks
had caught one, a courier sent by the
live prisoner,
good old
The besieged
sometimes the
castle to bring help. People
weren't squeamish about in "the
and
jokes of that sort
little
had gyns of
its
own which
operated from the court. They'd have been more
from a higher point but the towers
effective
wouldn't stand the shocks of discharge. In their
day the Romans had were
the
solid all
way
bered that or thought of
way
a coal it
mine
is
as
an
The work was done
in the
way
dug today. As the tunnel advanced,
When
the
under the masonry-, the castle walls were supported
on the shoring; then the diggers soaked
their tim-
oil and pitch, set fire to them and went camp. Unless the defenders could find a flood the tunnel, the wall fell down when
bers with
way
to
the shoring
with
oil
castle wall
and
drawing. Those handles projecting from both
men's backs belong
when
resorted
to the
mauls
their arrows
Bows weren't new
in
England
conquest but the Normans
them
bow
in battle
to
which archers
were gone. at the time of the
made
greater use of
than the Saxons did. The
Norman
doesn't seem to have been the "great
bow" longbow which gave England her undisputed
mastery in archery, but a shorter weapon which,
judge from the way
to
it
is
shown drawn
to the
chest in old pictures, couldn't have approached the
longbow
in
range and power. Yet
six-foot
bows
boats which were buried not later than the year
to set
pitch; so slots
above the gates
when the English bow was lengthened and method of shooting was developed isn't known. When the longbows of some outlaws made his peace officers look foolish, Edward III had the Just
a better
idea of encouraging archery practice and forming
companies of bowmen
around
for his
army; but
wooden
were angled
gates in the
such a way that
in
water poured through them would drench the
was
Crecy, where the longbow startled the world. lot
of
bow
for a long
time before that. or "livery
man, but some of them were exists
which
to
be as
Little
six feet seven!
is
bow" as
weigh about
The
old
pull to
fifty
draw
it.
was as a
John's Bow,
The
"weighed" about a hundred pounds
much
it
tall
six feet four inches
long and one monster, called still
A
shooting must certainly have gone on
The ordinary longbow,
took that
outer face of the wood.
this
1 330, only a few years before the battle of
sometimes called, was supposed
burned away.
Attempts also were made afire
this
it.
digging had progressed far enough to be directly
to
but showing them
simpler to get both into the same
800.
was shored up with heavy timbers.
back
it
they've also been found in the hulls of old Norse
of toppling walls by digging under
their foundations.
among them;
which
We've mentioned mining several times effective
than from
way made
mounting
but in the Middle Ages nobody remem-
ballistas,
at the opposing crossbow-
were not new. The Egyptians had them, and
built special towers
up, expressly for
arrow point-blank
men. Actually, archers shot from behind the sharpened stakes of their anti-knight defense rather
or
days.*'
castle
livery
livery
bow
— that
is, it
Most modern bows
or sixty pounds,
if
they are heavy.
longbow was a self-bow made from a
stave
Of these yew phrase, "a bow of
of yew, basil, wych-elm, ash or hazel.
was by
Longbows and Crossbows
far the best,
good English yew,"
yew than
(1300— 1400)
but the old is
misleading.
Much
from Italy and Spain by the Venetians, and In the illustration on page 58, the nearer is
about
to
release a long flight
enemy's rear rank; the other
man
arrow is
at
man the
starting a
better
the native kind was brought to England it
was
imported from very early times.
A
longbow was about an inch and a half wide
and an inch and
a quarter thick in
its
middle,
57
FOURTEENTH-CENTURY ARCHERS
58
where the hand grasped the archer,
was
flat,
it.
and
The
away from
back,
him, was
the belly, facing
»
nearly half-round. Both ends tapered evenly and
were capped with a
was cut tion
bit
of horn in which a notch
The careful selecwood had much to do with
to hold the bowstring.
and shaping of the
bow
the merits of a
craftsmen
who
as a
weapon, and the expert
did the work were called bowyers.
The English archer used he called
it
a bowstring (sometimes
an arrow-string) of hemp
whipped with
light linen cord.
carefully
Against
he
it
the nock (end notch) of an arrow with a
aspen-wood "stele" or
set
light
metal "pile" or
shaft; a
head; and "fletched" or "flighted" with the halves of three goose feathers near the nock end. This
was the "cloth yard shaft."
A cloth yard was thirty-
seven inches; only a very could draw the length.
bow which
The arrow was
tall,
very strong
man
took an arrow of that
generally assumed to be
the length of a man's arm, or half the length of a
bow; but
flight
arrows
known
for distance are
to
have been longer than the ordinary sheaf arrow.
To
shoot, an archer held his
length of his
left
bow
arm, standing with
at the full
his feet
apart, his heels in line with the target.
the heels are nine inches apart but in the
Ages they seem to have straddled a
The bowman's body as his feet did; his left,
of the
all
it
more.
but faced
head was turned sharply
mark and sighting arrow. The nock end of
facing his
little
Middle
little
wasn't turned at
a
Nowadays
to the
over the pile
the arrow lay
against the middle of the string (the place was
marked) and was held there
lightly
between the
THE TWO-FINGERED DRAW
LONGBOW Unstrung
Strung
59
FLIGHT
ARROW AND LIVERY OR SHEAF ARROW
right forefinger
and the middle
finger
which lay
across the string protected by a glove or a leather
1500 the third finger also held the
tab. After
string.
way was more effectual than the ancient pinch draw. Arrow and string were drawn back Either
together until the nock
under the
lay directly
a thirty-seven-inch arrow to
length, most
and
men have
hard
it's
to sight
to
it
draw
left
is
actually above the target.
tion of his
things that
It is
makes a good
An arrowsmith made themselves were
archer.
made by
a fletcher.
Arrowheads
and the broad. The pile was sometimes leaf-shaped and sometimes lozengeshaped, but more often it had a quite blunt point
The
pile
end
resting on the
bow
loosed; the
divisions: the pile
and was its
little
larger in diameter than the shaft of
arrow. This was the war head which could
pierce chain mail or
rest.
kill
a horse at two hundred
ARROWHEADS archer can't sight along his arrow as one
along a gun barrel, directly at the
It isn't
physically practical to
target.
draw a bow with
the arrow on the eye level. There's only one right
height to use a man's strength effectively and that at the level of the angle of the jaw.
eye
is
hard
about four inches above
The
sighting
that. It isn't too
to learn the feel of lining the shaft
up
hori-
zontally by drawing to a point directly under the Broad-head
right eye, but in the vertical plane the eye looks
downward the point
is
at the arrow. If impulse
raised until
it
is
followed and
appears to center on the
bull's-eye, the shot will pass high over the target at
any ordinary range.
So, for distances
up
to sixty
vards, archers learn to pick an "aiming point" be-
low the
target.
Sixty yards fly
is
about the distance an arrow
straight without dropping;
ance must be made
60
will
beyond that allow-
for the effect of gravity
shooting at a higher angle.
the selec-
heads only. The arrows
**:?&».
sights
long
aiming points plus a number of other
diagram: aiming arrows
An
for
past the jawbone
left,
aimed and
range
and
varied widely in shape but there were two main
its
hand. In an almost continuous mo-
tion the archer drew,
did the
coincides with the bull's-eye,
full
accurately.
of the arrow lay to the bow's
bowman's
it
it
ar-
cher's right eye, just at the angle of the jawbone.
To draw
with increasing distance, passes through a point
where
The aiming
point
by Naval
rises
Pile
yards; at closer range
would puncture ordinary
it
The standard broad head was quite sharp and had two wide barbs; it was much fa-
plate armor.
for hunting.
vored
A
public.
broad head was
special very
used in sea fights to cut
and was a permanent fixture set up at the expense of some important person to cull favor with the
and
There
Robin Hood
certainly did not shoot
an arrow
such as the fork head and
many of the archery stories which have come down to us we can take for gospel because
a crescent shape, which were fancied for special
they have been approached, duplicated or beaten
were other
trick shapes,
sails
rigging.
purposes.
an arrow.
strations of the penetrating force of
have been pinned
gle shaft
own
in our
The longbow has provided remarkable demon-
Men
a mile; but
through both
to their
legs
mounts by a
and the
horse!
At
sin-
close
range arrows from longbows have been shot
was able
day.
Only
to shoot
seventh before the
The
peeled
by young men who as 1793 the
one-inch oak plank.
and
Henry
VIII encouraged archery and gave prizes
for
it.
wand
in Ivanhoe has
longbow beat the musket
pistol experts look silly
might shoot at a target were fixed by law. In
But
France, after the great successes of the British bow-
military
men, there was a movement
for his size
encourage archery
nobles were afraid of so dangerous a the hands of the peasants.
who was
The
good terms with
his overlord,
in
English yeoman,
man and who was on
a free
weapon
reasonably
could usually be
trusted not to put a gray-goose shaft into the boss's
back.
times
As
late
for accuracy;
made
twelve
out of seventy-two into a twenty-six-inch target at eighty yards; the pistol
to
many
by putting seventy arrows
scored worse.
was soon quashed because the
split
1924 General Thord-Gray
in
and the minimum distances from which a man
it
been
also drive automobiles.
At some periods archery practice was compulsory,
as a sport, but
for
thenticated distance in history. Locksley's one-inch
and an arrow from a bow two hundred and twenty yards away has been driven entirely through a III to
Hiawatha
present flight shot record exceeds any au-
through oak doors three and a half inches thick,
Every English king from Edward
the ground.
first hit
we have only Longfellow's word
shot ten, but it.
a few years ago a Dr. Pope
seven arrows upward, loosing the
let's
back
get
men
mor except an
iron cap
and a quilted
The
tunic; a few
keep
clear of the bowstring,
archer's hair was cropped short to
beard, he held
same
ar-
shirts or boiled-leather chest
pieces.
the
The
a stout fellow, selected
Normally he wore no
strength.
lucky ones had mail
it
shot nearer and
to the fourteenth century.
longbowman was and
all
it
in his
reason. His
and mouth while
left
wrist
if
he had a
shooting for
was protected from
the snap of the bowstring by a leather wristlet
Target competition was keen. There were earth-
called a bracer,
and he held a leather tab
en butts in every hamlet and rounds were shot on
right
hand
Sundays and
gers.
For arms aside from
feast days.
For variety the popinjay
was put high on a tower and used
as a target.
The
to
keep the string from cutting his
in his
his fin-
bow, he sometimes
wore a sword, but almost always he carried on
popinjay was a brightly painted wooden bird, sup-
posed to look
like a parrot.
Clout shooting, in
which the target lay on the ground and was shot at
from a long distance, was popular. In
this
SHOOTING TAB AND BRACER
game
markers stayed near the target behind shields and
came out to signal the success of shots with flags. To indicate a shaft "in the clout" the marker fell flat
on
his
back!
Another archers' amusement was the curious
game
of "rovers," which has been likened to golf
because the players
moved
across the fields, shoot-
ing from one target to another. Special fields were set aside for
the sport.
Each
target
had a name 6l
back a twenty-five-pound maul with a fourfoot handle and an iron-bound head of lead. his
On the battlefield the archer often set up a stake sharpened at both ends and leaned an angle,
to protect himself
Or he might have
it
forward
at
from cavalry charges.
with him a soldier
who
held an
that they picked their targets
while he shot. At sieges the likely to
gular
work behind a
mantlet
wooden screen with
which was a rectan-
a prop hinged to
its
Perhaps the outstanding point about these men, as
about the American riflemen of later times, was
them; they
didn't just cut loose in the general direction of the to shoot
a dozen arrows in one minute at a man-size target
two hundred and with
At
away
forty yards
— and
hit
his waist the
archer carried a sheaf of two
dozen arrows, "four-and-twenty Scotchmen
was
belt"
it
twelve.
all
his
way
of putting
in
my
Eighteen of these
it.
would be sheaf arrows, the other half-dozen were arrows. In action the whole bundle was
flight
back.
hit
enemy. Any qualified archer was expected
over-size shield called a pavise to cover the archer
bowman was more
and
shaken out and the arrows lay on the ground
some say under, the arch-
points outward, near,
Some
er's foot.
very early drawings show a quiver
holding the arrows behind the right hip, but
for
When
use was abandoned.
its
his arrows,
a
man had
shot
all
he sometimes could advance and
re-
cover them or others from the bodies of the
slain,
then shoot with them a second time at the rear guard.
The English archer
three times in a row, at
Crecy, at Poitiers and at Agincourt, decimated "the flower of French chivalry," and so doing he
map
put the foot soldier back on the military the
time since the decay of the
first
There was been used
MANTLET
at Hastings
very
stiff
new
bow,
but there
is
is
no representa-
principle. It
was a very
set crosswise at the
or stock. In effect a small ballista.
vantage was that
and could hold and
it
legions.
said to have
Bayeux Tapestry. The crossbow
tion of one in the
involved no
Roman
also the crossbow. It
for
it
its
small,
end of a Its
staff
great ad-
could be drawn ahead of time
draw while
the
bow was aimed,
could be raised to eye level and sighted. Ac-
tually, the early ones
were pretty poor weapons,
but the Pope considered them too murderous
for
"Christian warfare" and pronounced an interdict against dels
them
in
1
139.
The
Hearted disobeyed the felt
use of them against
infi-
was permitted, however. Richard the Lion-
that
it
edict,
served him right
and people generally
when he was
killed
by
a crossbow bolt.
There was a metal crossbow stock.
When
stirrup
on the front of the
he wished
to set the
bow,
the archer put one foot into the stirrup, then
grasped the bowstring with it
PAVISE
62
back
far
enough
called the "nut."
to
his
hook
it
hands and strained over a
little
The nut was something
catch like
a
spool with a notch in
it.
The notch
enough
to let the string slip
never improved upon for
its
The upper drawing shows an early crossbow
the nut
in a "set" position
The
ivory nut
is
trigger of
with string on
ready to be
all
kept in
and
its
"let
metal socket by
a catgut lashing; later a pin was used for
this.
The lower drawing shows the nut and trigger still "set" in the same position, but the wood of the stock has been cut away to show how the
these were called quarrels.
from
side of the nut to prevent the nut
turning until the trigger
wedge of metal the trigger.
set in
is
squeezed.
A little
the nut takes the wear of
short, thick shafts
The heads were
iron.
were wood and the "feath-
were leather or paper. Bolts
ers"
for
hunting
were nicely finished and had three vanes
like
a
standard arrow, but two of them were directly op-
posed so the bolt could stock.
in the
lie flat
War quarrels were quite
groove of the
roughly
had only two vanes, which were made inserted into a saw-cut which
made and as
one and
was lashed
tight be-
hind them.
spring holds the end of the trigger bar in a notch
on the under
had square heads,
called bolts. Later, because they
The
purpose.
nut and bolt against string, off."
This device was
off.
Mostly the crossbow discharged short arrows
held the string
until pulling the trigger allowed the spool to rotate
It isn't
peared a
belt
known
just
when
the
first
gadget ap-
for helping to set a crossbow. It
claw
and
hung from a
that's
belt.
what
it
By hooking
was called
was: a double hook it
sticking a foot in the stirrup, a
on the string and
man
could take
CLOSE-UPS OF THE LOCK MECHANISM OF
CROSSBOW
63
SIMPLE CROSSBOW LOADED
QUARREL FOR CROSSBOW about
1
— length
5 inches
ARCHER DRAWING CROSSBOW
BELT CLAW FOR
DRAWING CROSSBOW OPERATING THE CORD AND PULLEY
64
COMPOSITE CROSSBOW, WITH CORD AND PULLEY FOR SETTING
advantage of
bow
too
piece of rope running through a pulley which had
the bolt was placed in the
the rope was attached to the archer's belt; the
groove with
its
square end (a bolt seldom had a
other end could be hitched to the stock of the
set
a hook on
arms.
bow was set
After the
muscles and so
a
his strong leg
stiff for his
nock) lying between the two lugs of the nut and
To
against the string.
shoot, the
bowman
raised
the stock to eye level, sighted directly at his target over the knuckle of his right
squeezed the
thumb and
rel
was slow.
It
could shoot only one quar-
It
while the longbow was delivering six arrows.
Though
did not require a specialist and was
it
more accurate
at short
so
short that
enough string in
to the
it
enemy
to bother
him.
its
entirely limp
set his
bow
the
bowman
with his foot in the
bent forward, hooked on to the string and
the stock simply straightened up. In addition to
back and of nearly
hips, this
two
strong man's
gave a mechanical advantage
to one; so a
weak
soldier could set a
bow and crossbowmen didn't have to
be exceptional physical specimens.
range
gut,
and
and
use-
armies which depended heavily on the this to
To
stirrup,
The bow-
was ordinarily twisted of sinew or
bow found
crossbow.
often couldn't be brought close
damp weather it became
less;
engage the bowstring. One end of
range in the hands of the
average soldier than the longbow was, yet
was
to
taking advantage of the strong muscles of the lower
trigger.
There were disadvantages. The crossbow was heavy.
it
cross-
be something worse than a mere
nuisance.
The
constant efforts which were
crease the in
made
to in-
power of the crossbow presently resulted
adding whalebone and animal tendons
to the
yew frame. This composite was an improvement, and it was now too stiff for a man to set
basic
even with a
belt claw.
STAFF SLING
A simple little purchase was
invented to help with the job. This was a short
65
lower edges to protect the knight's neck, but
work too
didn't
and was replaced by an
well
neckpiece which could be fastened
When in the
(1300— 1400)
two knights charged each other, whether or in battle, the one whose lance point
lists
outreached
archery came into the
mounted man-at-arms discovered something more than chain mail and
his reputation.
body
to the
armor.
Knights and Guns
When good
it
iron
Some
of his
fight, the
that he
needed
to save his skin
soft spots
were
al-
his lance a little longer
the thing a
man
was stopped
now he added
to
more of them over
by the end of
was added
the century he was entirely encased in iron.
Then
he discarded the mail.
be about fourteen
ened
and then longer
at the
maximum
like
made
still,
until
length that
could handle on horseback, which proved
ready protected by iron plates, but his mail, until
opponent's had the advantage,
his
a prize fighter with long arms. So everybody
feet.
to the lance
A little round hand shield
and the butt end was
back of the handle
just
ance.
Even
so,
cleats
began
to
in holding
to
thick-
improve the
bal-
lances were so clumsy that
little
be attached to breastplates to help
them
steady. Shields, too, often had a
notch in the upper right-hand corner,
in
lance could be rested. Swords changed
which the
little
except
to get longer.
The advances
bowmen
of archery
and the
to get at the knight
efforts of the
through
his
mount The
led to the adoption of heavy horse armor.
and rump were covered
horse's head, neck, chest
either with chain mail or with iron plates having
an ornamented cloth over the metal
Nothing
rust.
less
to discourage
strong than a draft horse could
any longer serve a knight. All this horse armor, together with the man's
iron fighting suit, was not only heavy but very expensive.
basinet with movable visor. The pin had a it and held the visor open
spring behind
The law forbade
controlled
its
price, but
a knight usually
mor
in his will,
made
and
it
it
the export of armor
was
still
and
so valuable that
a special bequest of his ar-
customarily descended from
father to son.
The
great
helm or heaume proved
still
bigger, until
its
had been
tinge, with bits of female clothing tied to helmets
and the winning champion's lady crowned as the Queen of Love and Beauty. The Masked Marvel act was a favorite. A strong knight would appear
on the warrior's shoulders, but
it
in a real fight
was too cumbersome and could be knocked easily.
There had
so the basinet
to
be head protection in
it
off too battle,
was gradually improved from a sim-
ple skullcap into
an elaborate helmet with a mov-
able facepiece or visor. This was closed only in
combat and had breathing holes in its right but none in its left, so that a lance point could
disguised (an end accomplished simply by giving his shield a coat of paint),
up
as
side
take on
nets
The earlier basi-
had a kind of skirt of chain mail laced
to their
66 the black prince in armor halfway between chain mail and plate
all
"Knights of the Round Table," each taking
name
the
catching in them.
and would challenge
comers. Sometimes a group would get themselves
actual
slide off without
took on a dizzy romantic
weight rested entirely
the right thing for jousting; in fact,
made
The tournaments
to be just
all
of a knight in the story,
and
they
would
comers. This act was carried so far that
they dined together
at
an actual Round Table
with each man's place lettered with his play-acting
tf
LANCE WITH CORONEL POINT TO REDUCE CASUALTIES IN TOURNAMENTS
simply lived off the country, taking what they
needed and anything
was loose
else that
at
one
end. France and Italy were devastated by these
some called themselves English or Scottish and a few actually were. These gangs and one other thing eventually ended chivalry and feudalism. The other thing criminals;
was gunpowder. There's
little
doubt that
it
was
discovered by the Chinese long ago, but they used it
only for firecrackers.
projectile with
and
to a
it
The
idea of propelling a
has been credited to the Arabs
German monk named Schwarz who blew
himself up finding out about
Perhaps the very
first
it.
cannon was the Arabian
madfaa which was a deep wooden bowl holding
powder; the cannon at all but
ARMORED OR BARDED HORSE
ball didn't enter the barrel
was balanced on the muzzle and popped
by the explosion. The pot defer was better. It was an iron bottle with a narrow neck. The powoff
der
filled
the bottle
itself
and an iron arrow,
hangs on the
wrapped with
leather for a tight
wall of Winchester Castle Hall, or did twenty-five
into the neck.
Near the bottom
years ago.
was a
name. One of these table tops
Since
it
still
was sincerely believed by
all
that
God
invariably would be on the side of justice and
both
truth, lawsuits
civil
and criminal were
tomarily settled by combat. tual fighting
Many
cus-
times the ac-
was done by champions hired by the
little
was thrust
From veloped.
and
was rammed
touchhole through which a red-hot wire to set off the explosion.
the pot defer the
first
They were simply
true
cannon were de-
pipes, closed at
one end
an inch or
so in di-
firing stone or lead balls
ameter.
fit,
of the bottle there
Some guns may have been made of wood,
principals in the case or appointed by the court.
In the case of a prosecution by the State, there
would be a King's Champion against the offender or his substitute.
Few doubted
that justice was ac-
complished, and they often ended the matter by
hanging the
loser if he survived the fight.
About the middle
of the fourteenth century a
type of organization appeared which scourged Eu-
rope for nearly three hundred years. This was the
Company.
members weren't knights but armed like knights. A Free Company was really a private army, owned and Free
Its
they were frequently
equipped by est
bidder.
It
its
leader
and rented out
to the high-
was without allegiance or conscience;
a higher offer might night. If there
was
make
it
change
no offer, the Free
sides over-
Companions
POT-DE-FER, THE FIRST METAL CANNON
67
bound with iron. There was no carriage or framework of anv kind to support them: they were simply laid on the ground with a heap of earth under the muzzles to
Sometimes they
aim them up fired
in the air a little.
crossbow
bolts.
Though the French knights were outraged on when the English used cannon at Crecv.
principle
actually a
man
in
armor was quite
safe in front of
these earlv ones. Their noise was impressive but the missiles they threw
had
little
more punch than
arm could have given them; they bounced off plate armor and hardly dented it. It was soon realized that this popgun wasn't much of a weapon. There was no immediate way
a man's
more power to a small projectile, so it seemed best to make the whole business larger. There was no way to cast a large iron ball, so to give
each
ball
was cut laboriously from
not a case of slow growth from little
ones were
flops, so
stone.
little
It
The
to big.
enormous ones were
was
built
at once.
These big fellows were called bombards. The first ones were short-barreled and much smaller at the breech
end than
at the muzzle.
With a bore
that shape, the exact size of the stone ball was was. the further
down
Since the short bombards hadn't nearly as
much
not important; the smaller the barrel
it
it
went.
range and force as a trebuchet, longer and larger barrels were tried.
iron bars
These were
built
bound with hoops, on
principle that a beer barrel
is
up of parallel
exactly the same
made; and the bores
of the larger ones were considerably greater than
those of any guns balls
commonly
in use today.
The
were twenty or even twenty-five inches
diameter.
in
A mortar christened "'Little David" was World War II: it had a bore of three
tried out in feet
but
cause
it
it
The
didn't
become a common weapon
be-
weighed 93,000 pounds!
invention of the "slow-match," which was
and gunpowder and which would smolder more or less continuously, made a rope boiled in lye
68
HOOPED BOMBARD
CULVERIN OR TWO-MAN HAND GONNE, OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
END
ONE-MAN HAND GONNE
the handling of guns
somewhat simpler and
mitted the development of hand-"gonnes."
per-
The
cannon lashed to a stake and served by two men, was called a culverin. The next was still smaller and was lashed to a round wooden stock. One man could handle it. first
He
one, really a small
cradled the stock under
fired the
his right
arm and
gun by applying a slow-match
to
pow-
der in the touchhole.
Lead
balls
were used
in these guns, but the best
that could be done for the
hoops around the stone
bombards was iron keep them from
balls to
shattering. Experiments with red-hot stone projectiles
proved disastrous
powder charge was
to the
set off
cannoneers; the
by them before they
could get away from the gun muzzles.
69
HAND GONNE, END OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
JOUST WITH BARRIER
_ w c in the tightly fitted
^
e
armor through which
.
to reach
a vital spot; so an ax was borrowed from a woodcutter
Proof Armor, Arbalests
and the
fallen heroes
were broken up
like
lobsters!
The needed
and Breechloaders (1400— 1500)
resistance of armor
by "proof" and when This seems to have been a century, not of
in-
novations but of refinements and improvements.
Armor, crossbows, guns,
were improved. The
all
complete plate armor of the knights grew very fancy but
it
was
also very good.
of the cloth-yard arrow
armor became once down was helpless. Presently the
of armor
to
be
thrust
and the punch of the
crossbow bolt demanded good metal to
The joints
The
came
so
to
resist
them.
marked,
it
was known
plates
very tight
a story of some came upon them unhorsed, and undertook to finish them
known little
strength.
Many
suits of plate
metal
the bolt hit the armor a
armor from
at closer range,
to
this
museums, and
ing to note in passing that nearly
all
period and
it's
interest-
of them are
modern man to wear. There are exWindsor Castle which belonged Henry the Eighth looks easily big enough to
too small for a
Their points could find no crevice
at the
test
two marks were made.
ceptions: a suit in
70
Where
For double proof which was tested
knights whose enemies
off with daggers.
armor." The
key-shaped mark was stamped on the metal.
to resist rapier thrusts. There's
supine and helpless
as "proof
from a fixed distance with a crossbow of
later are preserved in
made
was determined
had been proved and
was the very practical one of shooting
heavy that a man
be
it
cover two
men and
a small bov.
Tournaments were now more popular than ever and a
lot less
about three dle of the
own
lists
A heavy wooden barrier now
down the midand each knight had to keep to his high was
built
side of it. This eliminated the collision of the
horses lances let
dangerous.
feet
and saved a
lot
now were made
them
shatter easily,
they were hurt
less if
to stay in the saddle.
wood which and the knights found that
they didn't try quite so hard
As an aid
to
dismounting, the
cantles of the saddles were lowered so a slide
over his horse's
The
of good horseflesh.
of light, brittle
tail
man
and clang down
could
into the
dust with no worse injury than a few bruises.
As the century progressed the barriers became higher, until they were so high that the knights
could barely get a poke at each other across them.
At the same time, the tournament helm reached
its
ultimate size and weighed about thirty pounds.
The extremes went on
in
of play-acting
and display which
connection with tournaments at
this
time have no place in a book about weapons.
The
English knightly swords changed not at
all,
toward about the middle of
this
but in France,
century, the big slashing sword began to give to a
narrow blade which was exactly the
tool for slipping into the joints of
sword was the predecessor of the
way
right
BILLMAN WEARING BRIGANDINE JACKET. Scales were riveted to the inside of the fabric.
armor. This
rapier.
When
a
striking
weapon was needed,
the French knight
resorted to a clout with his mace.
Real war was becoming a grimmer business.
Though
in theory
common
soldiers to shoot at
in practice
was considered impolite
for
mounted gentlemen, the common soldiers were doing more
and more of
it
— and with
14 1 5, the English
more
it
relish.
At Agincourt
in
longbow against great odds once
flattened the ironclad might of France and
the prestige the archers gained began to extend to
other classes of foot soldiers.
Infantry
became important enough
wear
to
armor. Nearly everybody had a headpiece of some
kind and followed
his
fancy or his luck at looting,
in the matter of body protection. Breastplates
were
now common and so were shirts of mail. The invention of wire drawing brought the cost of mail down. Brigandines, which were leather or cloth became
jackets closely studded with metal scales,
very popular; and for those
who could afford
noth-
ing better, there were quilted jerkins.
HELM, FIFTEENTH CENTURY
The infantry was becoming divided
into special-
71
The
variety of heads.
three principal ones were the
poleax. the oxtongue
and the
glave. Pictures are
The
better than words to describe them.
was
literally a battle-ax
poleax
on a long pole; the ox-
tongue was a spear with a two-edged blade
for a
head; and the glave was a big knife blade with a pole for a handle. Pole arms were useful against cavalry and in any close
fight.
One
of their major
jobs was protecting archers, arbalesters and gunners while they were reloading.
The It
military
flail
was
was simply two stout
One
stick served as a
by
also used
foot soldiers.
end
sticks swiveled
to end.
handle while the other was
thrashed about to do what damage seems, somehow, that
if
a
man had
could.
it
to
It
go into a
fifteenth-century battle, he might wisely choose
some other weapon than the
Though longbows rule the field
was above
all
the century of the arbalest. it
provided a powerful
could be handled by special training
common
this:
ist
Poleax
Glavt
groups. Aside from the archers
and cuherin
men. there were javelin throwers, sword-andbuckler men and men with pole arms. The Saxons
had used their long-handled bills at Hastings. In time the hooked blade sprouted a couple of spikes and other long-handled weapons appeared with a
72
this
When it
bow which who had no
and were not strong enough
to
happened some-
Crossbows were made
crease their power: in the
Oxtongue
soldiers
a longbow. Its development
thing like
POLE ARMS
flail.
hands of experts could
and guns were slowly improving,
was perfected,
draw
in the
suffer to in-
end they had
to
be
made
of steel
and looked not unlike one
spring. Better gear than the simple
leaf of a little
wagon
cord-and-
pulley was needed to bend them. There were two solutions to the
problem and both of them were
wide use
long time. Because of the resem-
for a
in
blance of some of this tackle to that used for setting a ballista,
an English translation made
this
kind of
arbalest. The word doesn't get much and its meaning is a bit faded; since all crossbows are not arbalests, but all arbalests are cross-
crossbow an use
bows.
The
and more powerful of the two
earlier
was an elaboration of the cord-and-
setting-rigs
pulley system.
used four pulleys working as two
It
parallel purchases,
and did the needed pulling
with a windlass which slipped over the end of the stock
and was turned by two hand
could
set the heaviest of
about
it,
and
it
cranks.
bows but took
its
was a constantly tangled mess
handle. Between shots
and out of action
it
it
It
time to
usually lay on the ground,
was a cumbersome burden on
the archer's belt.
The
other setting device was also clumsy and
heavy but
it
was a
little faster,
and
it
had
at least
the advantage of having no strings to
it.
known
it
as a gaffle, a eric or a cranequin
on the rack-and-pinion
It
was
worked
principle. It operated in a
"gear case" which had a loop on stock of the arbalest.
and
On
it
to slip over the
the case was a crank
which turned a small pinion
inside. In
its
simplest
GAFFLE FOR SETTING AN ARBALEST
SETTING A STRONG ARBALEST WITH WINDLASS
AM) TACKLE
THE WORKS OK A GAFFLE 73
form the teeth of the pinion engaged those of a long rack which passed through the case parallel to the stock of the
bow. For very strong bows the
PRODD OR STONE BOW SIXTEENTH CENTURY
advantage was increased by putting a gear between the crank-pinion and a rack-pinion;
this
shown in the drawing on page 73. The forward end of the rack had two hooks on it to hold kind
the bowstring.
The
gaffle
was disengaged from the
and removed from the stock before shooting. The same lock and nut which served the simple crossbow was used on the arbalest. string
The maximum range
of a strong arbalest in dry
by hand.
to set
to a
much
Shot level at what's called
For close fighting
a
especially valued for shooting
prodds had sights and double
later
strings.
Arbalesters were generally put in the front ranks
longbowmen behind them and shooting over their heads. The arbalester carried his own with the
hundred and twenty yards. To get this had to be shot upwards at an angle
point-blank range, a bolt would carry about
inflict
The
pavise strapped to his back, which he turned to the
of forty-five degrees.
weapon;
birds.
clay or metal
enemy while resetting his bow. His quarrels he car-
in the rain)
the bolt
yards.
and was
pellets
It fired
was
weather (the range was about zero
up
enough
light
is
it
this
was an
sixty-
effective
could pierce ordinary plate armor and
bad wound.
excellent sporting weapons. For this purpose they light
and could be
called a "goat's foot."
set
There was
with a lever
also a type of
crossbow called a "prodd" or stonebow which was
at his belt
army
and an additional supply
in a cart.
By and large, the weapon for
arbalest seems to have been a better
the defense than for the offense, though for both.
For loophole-shooting
loopholes
In addition to their use in war, crossbows were
were usually
bag
ried in a
followed the
came
it
it
was
was used
great,
Three men
arbalesters a wider range of vision.
working behind a loophole and shooting could keep up a good steady holes back of the
enough
and
to be cross-shaped to give the
fire.
The
little
in turn
cubby-
in later castles are just big
slits
men.
for three
In the second half of this century the culverin,
though
it still
couldn't equal the longbow in the
hands of an expert, began Europe. it
began
Its
to look
more
still
arbalest in
like a
gun.
The
heavier cul-
served by two men, the muzzle
These heavier guns
resting on a forked stick.
could be fired nearly as hit
crowd the
shape and balance were improved and
verins were
now
to
fast as
an arbalest and they
harder at greater distances, penetrating
the very best
armor
at ranges
up
to a
all
but
hundred and
fifty feet.
The
man
lighter culverins could be
alone.
managed by one
As the design improved the stock was
curved downward somewhat and was given a
broad butt which could be rested against the gunner's chest. Barrels
began
to
be
made
improved accuracy, though the do shooting from
his
longer which
best a
breastbone was to
goat's foot" for setting light hunting bows
man could let
go
in the
=g2.
GAME BOLTS
SETTING A PRODD
WAR QUARRELS
oq
ONE-MAN CULVERIN WITH PRIMING PAN AND COVER 75
general direction of the target. Firing was easier by the addition of the
made
priming pan which
continued to be used on guns until the early nineteenth century. This was a
movable cover fastened
little
to the
metal dish with a
gun barrel just
be-
The enormous bombards still threw stones. There was no way to allow the big guns to recoil when they were fired. They were fixed in a wooden frame strong enough to keep them where they were. This would have been possible only with the
now
fifteenth century's
drilled in the side of the barrel. Loose powder,
The operation
low the opening of the touchhole, which was
ignited in this pan.
and
set off the
would
flash
through the hole
main charge.
The impure powder
of early days would so foul
had
up a hand-gun
barrel that
after every shot.
This was the chief reason
slow rate of
fire
it
to
be cleaned for the
from guns and the reason archers
made jokes about gunners. The Germans an idea. They cut grooves on the inside way
to the
entirely.
Before the fifteenth century was out the matchlock
had been invented, but tance at
first.
it
were highly paid professionals and as temperamental as emotional actresses. Like the Free Companions, they often changed sides without notice
if
they saw a chance to better themselves. Though the
cannon could now surpass the trebuchet.
was not of great impor-
costly
and
its
rate of fire
bombard. So the trebuchet remained was not abandoned
it
was
was much in use
and
more than two Cheap and handy, it was built a entirely for
hundred years. more carefully; otherwise
bit
in
there was no change
it.
Now, though it didn't know it, feudalism was done for. The baron in his castle was no longer safe
from attack. Four or
five
hundred pounds of
LARGE SIEGE BOMBARD
76
the
Thev
slower; two or three shots a day was good for a
from one end of the barrel
and served another purpose
left in
years.
of a gun
other; years later they were given a spiral twist, called rifling,
many
much more
of the bullet. These grooves were just
straight "ditches"
cannon was
civilian experts for
then had
barrel to give the dirt a place to accumulate, out
of the
hands of
weak powder. of large
stone plunked against his gate would knock
down, and even
his thick walls
was the Germans who which would
iron balls
more
finally
fit
managed
to cast
cannon
the bore of a
tightly than stone ever did. This reduced the
"windage*' between the ball and the bore and used a lot
of the force of the explosion to push the
more
About the same time purer saltpeter was produced and hence powder became much better. Stronger explosions more tightly confined were too much for the bombards; they blew up all over projectile.
the place.
When
this
danger appeared, gunners
powder from the touchhole along the top of the barrel all the way to the muzzle. Then the cannoneer lighted it and took himbegan
to lay a train of
self hastily
way while
out of harm's
burning back
the train was
About ward smaller cannons which could have walled barrels. After it
all
thicker-
a small iron ball with real
could do as
much damage
and the
cannon. They
as a two-
it.
The
bores
in diameter,
barrels usually were long to take
ad-
full
vantage of the expansion of the gases of the plosion.
Most
into a hollow breechblock
which was wedged
place against the breech. This didn't tightly but
Some piece
it
of the smaller guns were
and were mounted
These frames had in place
try to jump
to
do
it
in
very
fit
served at the time.
to
when
it
now
cast in
one
frames so arranged
in
that the angle of fire could be
gun
ex-
of these guns were breechloaded
changed
as needed.
be heavy enough to hold the fired.
When
guns go
off they
backwards. Modern guns are allowed
for a short distance
and the
recoil
is
ab-
sorbed and gradually slowed up, but in the fifteenth century all guns,
to the touchhole.
1470 there was a quick trend back to-
kick behind
real
merely tossing
fired a ball instead of
ran from about two to four inches
by a bombard. It
These smaller guns were
it
could be crumbled
even the biggest, were
held rigid by timbers strong enough to take the
shock of recoil.
Somebody
in this century
came up with
of holding a cannon and balancing
it
the idea
on a couple
hundred-pound stone which just barely reached
of lugs called trunnions which were cast as part of
the target.
the barrel.
With
these the elevation of the shot
77
could be controlled by resting the breech on a big
wedge called a quoin which could be moved forward or back as needed. The problem of firing red-hot shot was solved bv putting a wad of
damp
clay between the
powder and the heated cannon ball. The Germans bomb which was a hollow iron
also invented a ball filled
with gunpowder, but
or so to learn first
how
to shoot
it
took a century
one from a gun: the
ones were just tossed by hand. Fire pots were
They were pierced iron balls filled with burning oil, gunpowder and powdered metal. They didn't explode, or at least they weren't sup-
tossed too.
posed
to;
they merely spat flames from their holes.
Tossing one must have called for some dexteritv. There's a
weapon
of this period of which few re-
member anything but its name — the petard. It had little to recommend it. In essence it was an iron bucket
which was
filled
with gunpowder and
hung on the gate of a stronghold to explode there and blow in the gate. Presumably the "gunner" had to drive his own nail to hang it on and bring along
his
78
own courage
for the job.
Matchlocks and Wheel Locks
(1500— 1600) Because of the changes
it
forced on the ways of
warfare and in spite of the awkwardness of the
weapon itself, this was the day was the Spanish, coming into
of the
hand gun.
It
their spurt of mili-
who made the basic improvement. This way to make a gun shoot like an arbalest,
tary glory,
was a
by squeezing a
trigger. In the late fifteenth cen-
tury they invented the arquebus which was soon
taken up by the
rest
with a matchlock.
of Europe.
It
The Spaniards
that they could sight a
gun
recoil better if they pressed
right shoulder to fire
it,
better its
but the
was equipped
also discovered
and absorb
rest
of Europe pre-
ferred for a while to go on shooting from
The
stock of
better.
means of firing hole
its
chest.
an arquebus was better shaped
than that of the older culverin and
anced
its
stock against their
The
its
weight bal-
great advantage was in the
— the matchlock
and the priming pan with
itself. its
The
touch-
cover weren't
VERY OLD MATCHLOCK GUN
new and the old slow-match was still used. The new thing was a movable clamp known as a serpentine
which held the match on the gun. The serpen-
was pivoted on a pin and connected
tine
trigger like the
when
one on an arbalest,
the trigger was pressed
so that
to a big
it
moved
and dipped
its
smoldering match into the powder in the pan,
which had been uncovered by hand. The serpentine didn't
snap forward
modern gun,
of a
it
like the
hammer
THE
moved only as fast as its move it. There was when the trigger was readvantage? The gun could
pan" which we
leverage on the trigger would
the
a spring to return
not even that.
What was
leased.
it
the
INSIDE OF A
or bolt
be sighted and the arquebusier didn't have
to
If the
still
gun did go
off,
MATCHLOCK
talk about, or
sometimes
the soldier set about the
long job of cleaning up for the next shot. Powder
take his eye off his target to look for the touch-
was very dirty then, and even the touchhole had
hole.
to
Shooting one of these things was a major operation.
Before loading, the burning match was
re-
moved from the serpentine to avoid accident. Then coarse powder was measured and poured muzzle of the gun. Next the lead
into the
(usually cast in
with a
by the
wad
keep the ball
rammed down on top of it to from rolling out when the piece was pan was uncovered and a
fine-grained priming into
powder was
carefully
little
poured
the cover being instantly closed again; any
it,
loose
was dropped
soldier himself)
of rag
Now the
leveled.
ball
powder grains were meticulously blown
The match burned keeping
fire
knocked
off
clamp
at
both ends to make sure of
on hand. One end of it had and was carefully adjusted
of the serpentine, so that just
stuck out and the coal was blown
glowed
nicely.
A
ash
in the
enough of it
upon
until
it
match
in
the clamp. Now!
cover. Squeeze trigger
the time nothing
its
wait before firing would neces-
sitate readjusting the
Open pan
off.
— and about half
happened except
that "flash in
be carefully cleaned out with a priming wire.
Wet weather made matches powder quickly.
useless. It
Gunpowder
was not
for
absorbs
moisture
nothing that Oliver Crom-
well,
whose men used guns
your
trust in
God,
go out and made
my boys,
like these, said,
"Put
but keep your powder
dry."
The arquebusier carried a big flask of regular gunpowder and a smaller one called a touchbox with the finer priming powder in it. The necks of these flasks held just enough powder for one charge. The soldier put his thumb over coarse
the top
and turned the whole thing upside-down.
A
cutoff
little
ran
was pressed open and the powder
down and
itself
filled
the neck.
by a spring when
charge could be poured
it
in
The
cutoff closed
was released and without spilling
the
much
powder. Extra match cord went around the hat (sometimes
arm
the
left
lets
were
in
mediate use
in
the hat in wet weather) or around
hung in a bunch at the belt. Bula belt pouch with a couple for imheld in the mouth; soldiers who suror
79
BULLET POUCH AND TOUCH-BOX
rendered with honor "marched out with
mouths." In addition, the match-
bullets in their
man
lock
ramrod
carried a
and
scrapers
their
(in the
gun
stock),
and cleaning
bullet extracters
rags,
and a brass mold for casting it, flint and steel for relighting matches, and nearly always he wore a sword. In short, he was as encumbered as a modern doughfoot and needed his bullet lead
who tended
helper,
a small
fire
and carried some
of the equipment.
The musket and was the
in fact
only a larger and longer version of
same weapon, designed
armor it
followed the arquebus out of Spain
at
long range.
was necessary
A
to fire
solely to
musket was it
from a
puncture
so
heavy that
rest
which the
The
rest
Lead
balls
were the ordinary
ammu-
nition.
A pound of lead made eight of them, if they
had a sharp end which could be
were a
tight
used for defense between shots.
To
stocky men.
his
musketeer carried by a loop of cord around wrist.
WOODEN POWDER CHARGERS ON A BANDOLIER
fit,
of sizing by the
ten
if
they "rolled"
number
in.
of bullets to the
This way
pound
is
speed up loading, powder charges came
to
be measured out in advance and were carried
in
In spite of having pioneered with cannon, the
belt called
English were slow to take up small arms because
little
wooden
bottles
hung on a shoulder
a bandolier. Because of the weight
musket
(it
ounces of powder),
80
and kick
was charged with as much all
as
the basis of
some time
of a
for
two
sired.
musketeers were strong,
modern shotgun "gauges."
When
their
longbow
left little to
they did adopt the musket they
a naval weapon of it. For
this
be de-
made
job they frequently
which were extremely short arrows
fired "sprights"
with vanes and wooden heads, but which neverthe-
could be driven through the timbered sides of
less
Two
a ship.
made
musket
by a
balls joined
a "chain shot." This
six-inch wire
would cut up
rigging better than a broad arrow but
sails
it
and
did the
THE MONK
musket no good whatever.
The
came along about
caliver
the musket. At caliver rel
man
to
the
same time
that the caliver bar-
a standard size so that, instead of
having
to cast his
regiment could draw on a
own
bullets, a
common
whole
stock cast
ahead of time. Time changes meanings. After a while an arquebus was a heavy matchlock and a caliver was a lighter gun with a wheel lock, and the old
word "culverin" became the name of a
cannon of respectable
make
own
its
fire.
The
"Monk's Gun" like
a
fire
for
a gun which could
one
oldest
which accomplished the
feat
in Dresden.
To
the so-called
us
it
looks
from a
general use.
it
aim and
mechanism was copied not from a
fire-lighting device
INSIDE OF A
more
worked
hold. Its
fire-fighting de-
which was
A springy serpentine held a
iron pyrites close to the flash
THE
now known
is
extinguisher than a gun, but
in spite of being very difficult to
vice but
down on
in
piece of
pan and pressing
the roughened surface of a
flat steel bar.
A loop handle served to draw the bar back smartly across the pyrites, automatically removing the
cover with the same motion. fell
on the powder
in the
pan
A shower of sparks
pan and produced
the
desired result.
The it
next step was to get this general principle
more
into a
when
15 1 5.
size.
Obviously the need was
GUN
as
the only difference between a
and an arquebus was
was bored
each
first
S
It
practical gun.
The Nurembergers
they produced the wheel lock as early as too
had a serpentine with
in itsjaws, but instead of a bar, steel
did
wheel. This wheel was
it
pyrites
clamped
had a roughened
wound up
like
a clock
with a "spanner" or key which put tension on a short chain attached to a strong spring. trigger released the wheel,
against the stone
The beginning
it
When
the
rotated rapidly
and spurted the necessary sparks.
of the rotation pushed back the
pan cover which was then held open by a spring The serpentine had to be moved by hand
catch.
but
this
could be done any time after the gun was
WHEEL LOCK
SPANNER FOR WINDING A WHEEL LOCK
loaded, and a spring kept
it
of the way.
the pan
The
moved
the cover out
would
top of the wheel met
the pyrites in
ing.
able, but
lock
was excellent and very depend-
was also very expensive and
it
cost kept the
matchlock
With the new
years.
time a really
in use for a great
lock the
gun was
good sporting weapon:
great
its
many
for the
first
could
now
it
be loaded and "spanned," then held ready for
in-
game was stalked. Sporting game were usually made with
stant use while the
wheel locks
for small
very small stocks shaped to be held against the right
cheek
up the is
this
for firing; in fact, its impossible to line
sights of a
so held.
wheel lock with the eye unless
The pistol
was born with the wheel
delighted the cavalry
who
hadn't
it
lock;
made
out
very well trying to shoot matchlocks on horseback.
The
The
soon tried for a gun which
more than just one
fire
best ones
shot without reload-
had two or three
barrels
on one
stock like a'modern double-barreled shotgun; but
itself.
The wheel
Of course somebody
pressing on the pan
cover until pulling the trigger
early wheel-lock pistols were
on the butts of
heavy
balls
curved
stocks. In a
made
pinch they could be reversed
and used as maces. This ball was a pistol feature for quite a while
but
it
came
to
ornament with a neck too weak
be to
made
a
mere
be any good
a fight. Cavalry pistols were about
two
in
feet long,
also
an alarming type
in
which
many
as
wads between them, barrel and hopefully fired
as eight loads, with leather
were put into a single one
and a
at a time with a sliding serpentine
of touchholes. This never
An arquebus
with four chambers, each of which line
to leak too
much
gas.
A
kind of "machine gun"
was made by mounting a number of barrels on a wheel and bringing one position;
one
man
after
another into
could load, another
on around the wheel, a
man
for
fire,
operation.
When in a
a
tough
led to
gun misfired a man might spot,
and guns missed
find himself
fire often.
odd combinations of weapons
all
guns shorter than three
feet.
built with the
dition to the ball-butt, pistols often
had dagger
blades on them; battle-axes and even whips had
guns
in their handles.
But the prize of the
its
business end.
five
lot
Each
was
mace
small barrels drilled into
barrel
was loaded separately
with bullets, but the powder went into a
BALL-BUTTED WHEEL-LOCK PISTOL
HOI Y-WATER SPRINKLE
82
This
idea of giving the gunner a second chance. In ad-
which had four or
hibiting
so
each necessary-
but smaller ones called daggs were soon
A statute
firing
and
soon outlawed because of the ally kept.
up
with the barrel, proved to be too tricky also and
the "holy-water sprinkle," a great spiked
made and company they naturwas enacted in England pro-
series
became very popular.
could be loaded separately and rotated to
with
their only slightly
was
there
common
chamber
handle into which
in the
breeches opened.
It's
hard
weapon but
English"
England
to
was a great
it
of the
all
imagine a more "unfavorite in
in the sixteenth century.
The system
of putting spiral grooves in a barrel
caused the bullet to spin around an axis parallel to its line of flight,
and hence
to stick to that line of
way and
instead of tumbling this
flight
that as a
did from a smooth barrel. Rifled guns came
ball
into general use
on the Continent
in the sixteenth
century and were especially prized for hunting
The
large game.
English stuck to the smoothbore
and never considered the rifle as a miliweapon until long after their unpleasant en-
for all uses
tary
counter with
it
in
America.
KNIGHT Soldiers
Armored
knights
men dwindled
steadily. Infantry
was taking over
often the knights themselves condescended to
By 1600 they no longer took to the field as knights at all and in 1605 the publication of Don Quixote laughed them out of existence. do
battle
The
on
foot.
harder-hitting bullets of the arquebuses re-
quired that armor be
made
hopelessly heavy and
the introduction of the musket
man
made any armor a
could carry almost useless. Ordinary soldiers
hated
For one thing,
it.
common. When
soldiers
had become
now took who was armed
a knight sallied forth he
along an assistant, also mounted,
with a sword and javelins and was known as a
Mounted arquebusiers appeared who
custrel.
fought with short-barreled matchlocks which a
would have called musketoons or carThese men wore armor and helmets with-
later age bines.
out visors because
it
was found that a gun couldn't
be aimed very well through a peephole.
The
invention of the wheel-lock pistol produced
a mounted "pistolier." Since a pistol could be
de-
charged with one hand, he carried a pair of them.
not to say that armor disappeared in the
The model on which all other pistoliers formed themselves was the German reiter. He was a member of a Free Company which rented itself to any
had
to
wear
it.
By
men were permanently
formed from the weight of the
stuff.
Maximilian of
sixteenth century, because
it
Germany invented
kind, built with ribbed
bulges,
Other kinds of mounted
the
age of thirty some
is
was deducted from
cost
its
their pay; for another, they
This
MAXIMILIAN ARMOR
operated through the
still
sixteenth century but their effectiveness as fighting
and
IN
(1500— 1600)
which
a
new
to his eyes
didn't.
was handsome but which
much as the old store. The shapes
army and
generally he was an extremely unpleas-
ant character.
Mounted on
big horses
and clad
reminds us today of nothing so
black armor to appear more fearsome, the
pot-bellied stove in the general
massed themselves
used in Maximilian armor were copied from the puffs
and
slashes
which were fashionable
clothes at the time. Later fied
extremes were modi-
but armor, like the feudalism to which
longed, had still
its
in civilian
lost its
how
be-
usefulness in the world. Both
existed but only because
realized
it
useless they were.
men
hadn't yet
dis-
for battle
twenty ranks deep.
Their fighting maneuver was the consisted of charging at the
in
reiters
caracole
which
enemy one rank
at a
time, discharging their big, ball-butted weapons
and turning aside ing rank. the
first
to clear the
way
for the follow-
By the time twenty ranks had charged,
rank had reloaded, spanned their
and were ready
to
have another go
at
pistols
it.
83
abandoned
lock wasn't
until the
beginning of the
eighteenth century.
The
pike evolved either from the sharpened
stake which archers stuck into the ground in front
of them, or from the similar use of a knightly
were as long as twenty-two
lance. Pikes
ance which
afflicted their users.
and dribbled
rain
of
"handles'"
and
them
it
down
They
collected
their staves onto the
them.
Sometimes
tassels of various kinds
were put on
carrying
The
as rain spouts.
made
staff
it
men
shoulders
great length of the pike-
the favorite support for the severed
heads of traitors when they were displayed lic
to discourage imitation. This
made
and
feet,
was the cause of an odd annoy-
this great length
pub-
in
same length
also
a pikestaff very noticeable, so whatever was
obvious became
"*as
plain as a pikestaff"
and
still
is.
After the gunners
A
ened up the enemy
and the pikemen had resistance, pole
were shorter, more versatile and personal were used for
mopping
more
infinitely
up.
soft-
arms which
It
wouldn't
be safe to say that the old shapes were improved;
On
the Continent guns replaced crossbows en-
tirely earlv in the
century, the English
the arbalest in 1535
began
to lose out to
and
abandoned
1550 the longbow-
after
powder. Even
in the latter half
of the century however, an expert archer could
outshoot any gunner in accuracy and
ber of shots he could
word
'"expert" that
fire in
a hurry.
in the It
num-
was that
whipped the bow. Any
could learn to handle a gun satisfactorily
soldier
in
a
few-
weeks but only a lifetime of training could make an archer. In old days kids began shooting as they could hold a
little
as soon
bow. but that kind of
enthusiasm had died and, too, powder was provYou'll have gathered that a soldier took some
time to prepare his gun to
fire
and that while
he was about this he was practically defenseless. That's where the pikemen
mously long spears, phalanx,
were
came
as long as
very
in.
Their enor-
any used
effective
in
against
as the
company
matchlock was
PI K
KM AN
was called a guisarme. The oxtongue sprouted
it
a couple of curved points at as a partisan,
The
much
glave grew a
spurs on
unsharpened
its
afauchard.
its
base and was
known
which was a thrusting weapon
The
only.
bigger blade, with a few side,
poleax, with
and was then
called
spear part
made
its
much longer and its blade crescent-shaped, became a halberd. The variations of shape in these main kinds were wide and many of them were incrusted with ornamentation.
As the Germans were addicted
to pistols,
and
ing
them with conspicuous
fights,
success in their
own
they formed into mercenary companies and
hired themselves out for the work, with always the reservation in their contract that they wouldn't be
compelled
of arquebusiers. As long
in use
halberds were the weapons of the Swiss. After us-
cavalry-
armies held to a fixed
proportion of pikemen to gunners, and the match-
84
on
with two or three extra spikes
bill
a Greek
charges and a hedgehog of them proved to be the ideal cover for a
new names. A
the English were skilled with bows, so pikes and
ing stronger than yew.
little
rather they were elaborated and some were given
seem
to
to join in
and of little
Of all left
a
storming any strong fort. They
have had an ingrained
fear of cannon
else.
the Free
remnant
Companies only
to
our
own
day.
the Swiss have
The Pope
still
SWISS HALBERDIER OF
maintains
his Swiss
THE VATICAN GUARD
guard of halberdiers who con-
and the
tinue to wear the fancy costume
body armor and morion of their greater
steel
days. This
morion was the favored headpiece of the Spanish conquistadores in
Mexico and Peru.
It
was a bowl-
shaped iron hat which dipped on the
and
sides
turned up in points in front and behind; nearly of
all
them had high
circular
"combs"
POLE ARMS
across the
crown, also running from front to back.
As was the case with the longbow, strong
man
to wield
Though
sword.
the
inally
Italian, the
the Swiss, the Ger-
the Scots, whose "claymore" was orig-
double-handed. These long-bladed, long-
handled slashers saw more use at
any other time
in history.
them on horseback foot soldiers
in
in this period
tournaments, and
swung them
than
Knights dueled with
in actual war.
specialist
They
all
had two-edged blades, most of which were straight, but there was a variety with a as ajlamberge.
The advantage
wavy
blade,
known
of the waves
is
not
quite clear.
Both kinds were too long belt in a
ing
to
be hung from the
scabbard. Instead they were carried hang-
down
the back or shouldered as a
soldier carries his
rifle.
Halberd
Fauchard
Partisan
took a
an espadon or two-handed
word sounds
weapon was most popular with
mans and
Guisarme it
To make
modern
this possible
with-
out slicing into the shoulder muscle, the blade
near the
hilt
was covered with
great length of blade which effective slashing in the
was the
leather. It
made
these swords
weapons, and the same feature
end caused them
to
be abandoned.
A man
swinging one of them needed plenty of space
around him, and he couldn't always in a while his
somebody
forgot to look,
swing and clipped the
file
get
it.
all
Once
wound up for
behind him.
By 1500 the old knightly sword with its bulky, rigid blade had been pretty well replaced by lighter, thinner swords of the rapier kind and by shorter, very
heavy-bladed swords
Malchus and the cinquedea. Not rapiers.
The German
estoc
all
like the Italian
thin swords
was a
were
rigid thrusting
sword with a grooved blade and a simple
hilt.
85
FLAM BERG E
CI
AYMORE
DUEL WITH SWORDS AND DAGGERS
made DUEL
IN
their
days; so
THE FRENCH STYLE
own. Honor was very tetchy
much
so that
was evidently
it
speak to a French gentleman
to
to avoid
provoking him
have been true because of
in those
to
difficult
enough
civilly
combat. This must
in ten years of the reign
Henry IV of France six thousand nobles were and thousands more followed them
killed in duels
in later reigns.
Most sixteenth-century rapier dition to the simple grip
and
hilts
had,
in ad-
quillons as the cross
guards are called, a complex guard formed of and y
around a series of metal rings. A clever swordsman would make use of this guard to disarm an at the end of the century the rings and shaped into a hand-protecting
opponent. Just
were Rapiers usually had
flexible,
As
made
in
was very
in
Roman
Spain
at
common
times, the best blades were
Toledo. Dueling with rapiers in the sixteenth century. It re-
placed the old judicial combat as a means of tling tion.
arguments but lacked the same
The system
of attack
thrusting swords which
ated in Italy, where at
cup surrounding the blade, just below the quillons.
Anyone whose
handsome and elaborate
blades and were given hilts.
highly tempered
is
first
set-
legal sanc-
and defense with
called fencing originthe fighting was done
filled in
as the hilt
espadons were
ficult to
hung over
baldric,
a wide belt
with
two ends attached
its
way
that the sword
use of the main gauche as the dagger was
an eternal nuisance else; the forty-inch
86
CINQUEDEA
was taken over by the French and
was
it
dif-
didn't
it
into things
the right shoulder
to the
scabbard
hung diagonally
its hilt
was gradually dropped when the
of dueling
the back
look very dressy. Both problems were solved by a
lower back with
fine art
down
to
At
sometimes carried, but the
be quick on the draw. Besides,
designed dagger in the
The
allowed him
in public at all times.
wasn't readily accessible there and
a
called,
it
rapiers were carried hanging
first
with a sword in the right hand and a specially left.
social position
carry a sword wore
to
at the left hip. its
in
such
across the
Here
it
was
wearer and everybody
blade was forever whanging
and tripping people.
rapier hilts. As the blade grew thinner the hilt
grew fancier
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY HEADPIECES
Morion-cabasset
Burganet
NOBLEMAN WITH RAPIER
IN
BALDRIC
Morion
Cabasset
87
EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Cannons (1500— 1600) No gun shoots better than its powder. The first bombards were fired with finely ground "meal" powder made of saltpeter, charcoal and sulphur mixed
in
equal parts, which resulted in a very
weak, smoky explosive.
When
was rammed
when they
a short distance
recoiled. This relieved
the strain on the ship's timbers.
The backward
motion was checked by heavy ropes secured
to
the ship's bulwarks. In any case, the guns were so
pack into some-
enormously heavy that the Mary Rose of Henry VHI's time sank under the weight of hers. Some
thing like a solid cake so that, instead of going off
of them were recovered from her hulk three hun-
into a gun,
in
its
fineness caused
an instantaneous
merely caught
flash
it
it
was
ignited,
it
one end and burned through
fire at
its
to
when
to the other, finally generating
sure to push
this
enough gas
pres-
projectile out of the bore.
In the early days of the sixteenth century the
bombards were
still
throwing stones
at walled
towns. For longer shots breechloaders fired cast
metal
balls,
but instead of loading powder and
dred years later and are preserved
About 1520 a trick was discovered which added to gunpowder without making any change
at all in the proportions of the stuff. Instead of the
"meal" consistency, powder was "corned" into coarse grains so that even when it was rammed, little air spaces remained in it. Fire could travel through these and
now
and uniformly.
and somewhat better methods of keeping the block in place were in-
vented.
One
itself
of these was a kind of locking pin and
another was a crude form of the interrupted screw
which
is
the principal
means
of breech-locking in
Tower
punch
shot into a recess in the breechblock, these were
put into the gun
in the
of London.
It
ignite the
was from
whole charge quickly
this point
nons ceased being substitutes
became
The
on that can-
for siege engines
and
artillery.
art of casting
and boring large guns im-
proved. Breech-loading began to disappear be-
modern guns. Cannons used on ships were not different from land guns and like them were rigidly mounted in strong wooden frames. There is some indication that while the frame of a land gun was staked
cause no
known way
was
enough
part of the nineteenth century
when
down
forged and machined
were developed.
to be
immovable, those on shipboard may
have been allowed
88
to slide
back across the deck
tight
to
of locking a breechblock
hold the more violent expan-
sion of corned powder.
Cannon continued
loaded from their muzzle ends until the
Most of the early
steel barrels
cast
to
be
latter
properly
cannon were bronze
be-
THE
cause
it
brittle
to
was an easy metal
to
work and, being
than iron, was correspondingly
break when overcharged.
less
less likely
Some bronze
ones
did burst, however, because proportioning the
metals in the alloy was largely guesswork
be
it
right
was
right,
you didn't
peating
— may-
maybe it wasn't — and if it was know why and had no way of re-
it.
Cannon were made
in all sorts of lengths
and
diameters of bore according to the fancy of the king or the founder, as well as to special purpose. rel the
By and
fit
them
for
some
large, the longer the bar-
longer the range, because the ball stayed
in the bore until the
and put the
full
powder burned completely
expansion of its gases behind the
shot.
By mid-century there were so many sizes of guns that it became necessary to bring order out of the confusion by assigning them to named classes. Henry II of France cut his down to six sizes
but few went that far with simplification.
Spanish used twelve
sizes,
ranging from the cannon tons
and
fired a
The
the English sixteen,
royal
which weighed four
seventy-four-pound shot, down
to the little rabinet which,
though
it
weighed
SIX
CANNON
SIZES
OF HENRY
hundred pounds, had a bore
three
than a musket and
little
II
larger
fired a five-ounce ball.
We use the word cannon for all
large artillery,
but in the sixteenth century a "cannon" was a gun of a definite size
and
type, blood brother to the
bombard and used mainly as a siege weapon to walls. The long-range guns borrowed the name of a small-size ancestor and were called break down
culverins.
A
sixteenth-century culverin might
have a barrel eleven about
five
more than two powder,
it
more than
feet long; its
inches in diameter;
bore would be
it
would weigh
tons and, using twelve pounds of
could throw an eighteen-pound shot five
thousand yards.
You'll see from this that corned
powder
plus
better casting had advanced the gentle art of bombardment by a great leap. After this there
was no ing
really radical
gun
for three
change
hundred
system of standardizing sizes
in the
muzzle-load-
years. In time a better
sizes
was found and fewer
were used. Here are the names of the
artil-
lery pieces used by the English in the latter half
of the sixteenth century, arranged in order ac-
cording to
size of
bore and beginning with the
largest: the cannon royal, cannon, cannon serpent uu.
89
MOVING A CULVERIN
bastard cannon, demicannon, pedrero (this
inch stones),
culverin,
culverin, saker (a
threw
six-
demiculverin, bastard
basilisk,
handy six-pounder),
minion, falcon,
later
the horses were hitched to trail
it,
the
gun being
of later guns was sup-
ported for moving by a cart called a
limber,
but in
the sixteenth century the gun was so mounted
falconet, serpentine, rabinet.
The
move
towed backwards. The
bombards had been moved around
that
it
balanced on
wheels.
its
on four-wheeled trucks and some of the smaller
The Germans invented mortars which were
may have been mounted permanently on
very thick-walled short guns built to drop shot on
ones
wheels.
gan
About the middle of this century guns be-
to be given
seem
to
two-wheeled carriages. These
have been used even as
move them. Guns mounted on them
cast
raised
for the largest can-
many
non which required
with
as forty horses to
trunnions
were
so that the barrel could be
and lowered, those with no trunnions were in frames. A heavy wooden trail
simply cradled
projected from the carriage behind the gun.
end of it rested on the ground
for firing.
an enemy by throwing
it upwards at a very steep Most mortars were chambered, that is, their powder was put into a recess at the back of the bore which was smaller than the bore itself.
angle.
Some
the
made
the explosion took place;
that
way
too,
with the
it
made
long guns hard
to load.
One
On
long guns were
idea of gaining a thick wall at the point where
It
was the Dutch who learned
A bomb
from mortars. filled
to shoot
bombs
was a hollow metal
with powder and having a small hole
for a fuse. First
ball in
it
they tried "single firing" which
was putting the bomb into the mortar with the down, in contact with the propelling charge.
fuse
That didn't work. Firing the mortar the fuse right into the
Then they
in front of the gun.
ing" with the
bomb
gunner lighted the
bomb and
it
often drove
blew up
tried
right
"double
fir-
turned over, fuse up, and the
fuse
by hand
at the
same time
he lighted the touchhole of the piece. This
re-
quired a nice sense of timing and a state of mind
prepared missed
for all eventualities, since
fire
and
a lighted
with nothing to push It
wasn't until
it
bomb
in a
necessary.
The
DOUBLE FIRING FROM A MORTAR
90
ing charge.
it
mortar barrel
out, could lead to trouble.
1650 that someone discovered,
probably by accident, that double even though
guns often
firing
was un-
heat of firing would light the fuse
was turned away from the explod-
DUTCH PIKEMAN OF 1607
Cavaliers and Snaphances
(1600— 1700) War began what
less
to get tougher.
of glory, chivalry
of defeating the
enemy by any
Armor, having reached weight,
still
Men
thought some-
and heraldry and more
why wear
Complete armor was able for parades
still
part in the Revolution, was described as being "in
bullets. If
it
the stuff at all?
at sieges. It
was
re-
placed in ordinary fighting by three-quarter
armor and
half-armor.
Three-quarter
armor
stopped at the knees and was worn by heavy cavalry.
Half-armor was nothing more than a breast-
plate
and
iron hat.
armor it
less
a backplate worn with some kind of The Spanish and Portuguese clung to
longest; they
seemed
to
mind
the heat of
than the northern soldiers did. Vestiges of
armor clun^
The Count de
shining armor dressed"; and the earliest portrait
considered indispens-
and was worn
useless.
arrived in America to take
bearable
wouldn't stop musket
gave no protection,
was
it
Rochambeau, when he
possible means.
greatest
its
tinware long after
to military uniforms as
ornamental
of George little
Washington shows him wearing
a
silly
iron collar.
English and French pikemen wore some armor until they
were abolished about 1675. By then
other soldiers had followed the example of the
Swedes and cut
their metal
cuirass (breastplate). to this
forms,
more and
it
or
less
may
Guards on duty
in
Some
down
permanently
still
to a single
classes of soldiers clung for dress uni-
be seen encasing the Horse
London.
Dragoons were invented they wore cuirasses.
at
about
this
time and
They were mounted gunners
but they dismounted to shoot.
Ten men would go 91
an eleventh held their horses. this was the extreme difficulty of
into action while
One
reason for
handling a matchlock gun on horseback. Because it
was a nuisance even
in the saddie,
to carry a
burning match
most dragoons soon changed over to
the short wheel locks called "dragons" which gave
them
name. Later they carried
their
flintlock
musketoons, which were short muskets.
The
cavalier
teenth century
mounted
who appeared owed much
pistolier, a
early in the seven-
to the reiter.
gentleman
He was
a
soldier serving as
now useless knight. A very much given to colored sashes,
a replacement for the
dashing character,
leather "buff coats"
and wide, plumed
cavalier nevertheless usually
armor
in battle, with boots
hats, the
wore three-quarter
on
his
lower legs and
PURITAN ROUNDHEAD WEARING A
spurs at his heels.
The
cavalier's
sword was a
rapier, a
"bodkin"
in his words; his four eighteen-inch pistols
wheel
locks,
more
in."'
Since a
man
can't very well
shoot more than two pistols at once, the cavalier
was attended by a boy on a nag
to carry the spare
arms and a sack of oats; obviously a squire
who
vestige of the
followed his knight.
'
LOBSTER-
HELMET
were
often called firelocks in their
own day. These were no popguns. A pound of lead made them twenty bullets for a tight fit. twentyfour "roweling
TAIL "
During the Puritan Revolution Royalists were
all
in
England the
called "Cavaliers" because
most of the gentry were on the Kings cavalier as a type was by no
means
side,
but the
exclusively
By the way. Cromwell's Puritan soldiers were known as "Roundheads" because of the dome-shaped salades they wore. By 1630 arquebuses and calivers were gone English.
completely as military weapons because they couldn't compete with muskets in hitting power.
Muskets had been made gradually could rest to
fired
now
lighter
and
be fired from the shoulder without a
hold up the barrel. They continued
to
be
by matchlocks through most of this century,
not because the matchlocks were very good, nor
because there was nothing better
for the purpose,
but simply because they were cheap. Wheel locks
were now made everywhere and they had reached a high degree of mechanical excellence, but they cost fancy
money. The
first
crude flintlock had
been invented
in the later years of the sixteenth
century, but
wasn't too dependable and
it
cost considerably
more
to
make than
it,
too,
a simple
trigger-and-serpentine.
This
first
flintlock
inally spelled
was called a snaphance
"snaphaunce"). The word and the
lock were both originally Dutch,
described a pecking hen
CAVALIER AND ATTENDANT
92
(orig-
and the word
as well as the pecking
action of the lock. There's an old story that says
the device was invented by poultry snatchers
who
who dared
couldn't afford wheel locks and
INSIDE OF A
not
SNAPHANCE LOCK
carry matchlocks because the glowing matches
made them targets in the dark. This is an unlikely yarn. More probably the snaphance was named by the wheel-lock makers whose
in derision
ness
was threatened by
it,
busi-
or simply in a burst of
descriptive originality by the people
who
used
it.
mam- sjrriny
INSIDE OF A FLINTLOCK
the frizzen in
and
its
der; the cock
Sparks struck from flint-and-steel had been
used to start household
fires
method went out of style.
its
notch and held
was then moved down
until
its
it;
until the
the frizzen
lower edge was im-
mediately above the flash pan. Pulling the trigger
gun and that had been
partly solved by
From
with a scraping motion against the face
features
of an open
a link connected to the trigger mechanism, so the
which would throw the cock smartly
powder was exposed and ready to be ignited. The improvements which converted the snap-
flint
forward and
its
it
was taken
cover and the "cock" into
was clamped. The new
down when
it
was released; a catch
which, in the earliest ones, held the cock back unthe trigger was pressed by projecting through
the lock plate to engage a notch in the cock
sparks.
The
"down"
in
an "up" position
position for firing.
It
is
called a flintlock weren't long
England and France have had some
difference of opinion as to which
first
introduced
One minor one was
flint
them around
had
cock safety, a catch which held the cock halfway
and catch on the outside of the it
hance into what in coming.
which the
steel frizzen against
make
to
itself;
plate of the frizzen
frizzen also
and a movable could strike
which held
its flint
and showering sparks downward into the priming pan. By the time the flint met the steel the pan cover had been slid open by
pan and
main spring roughly the shape
safety pin,
in a
was drawn back by hand
catch clicked into
released the cock which snapped forward, striking
which the
a spring
pan was primed
back over the priming pow-
All that
the design of the wheel lock.
til
position, the
slid
adapt the prin-
the priming
were: a
up
to
wood-friction
was needed was a mechanism ciple to a
from the time the
its
cover was
for
had
lock plate
back
in
1625.
the half-
such a way that the trigger couldn't ac-
priming and
cidentally be pulled; but the major one was the
moved
combination of the frizzen with the pan cover.*
to
be
by hand.
The gun having been loaded from firing
procedure went something
the muzzle,
like this: with
* This combination of cover and frizzen was often called the "hammer" but since the hammer on laiei guni was quite a different thing, it
seems best
to
avoid confusion b\ ikipping the
tei
m
here.
93
the
its
same time showered
rapid loading, the lead ball used in her was small
rear edge.
flint
the cover open
its
forward
When
and
the trigger was pulled,
at the
enough
sparks on the priming powder.
Though
and workmanship imwas the way all flintlocks
details varied
proved with
time, this
worked and the way they one
still
work, for
many
a
in active use in the hinterlands of the world,
is
town of Brandon in England does a considerable business in "knapping" flints for and the
little
The fusil,
as the flintlock
gun came
to
be called,
wasn't adopted immediately by armies
too frequently. failing
The
fire
Good gunsmithing improved
this
it
but was never able to eliminate first
troduced
—
partly
missed
because of cost, but mostly because
=0
to
drop into the barrel,
enough to rattle. When went whim- whamming off on an loosely
almost
fitting
was
this
fired
it
erratic course in
Even
the general direction of the target.
in the
hands of a good marksman Brown Bess wouldn't "hit the broad side of a barn." This
was not con-
sidered important because the military theory of the time valued not marksmanship but volume of
them.
o=
barrel was artificially
striking the curve of the frizzen, nipped
horizontally at
edge and the curved "steel" projected upwards
from
brown but her
browned by rusting with acid and rubbing down. She had no rifling, the inside of her barrel was a smooth tube and she was known as a smoothbore musket. For
The cover was hinged
it.
English military flintlock gun was
in 1682.
The famous "Brown
followed and was sixty years later.
still
in-
There must have been something to
fire.
it
because
Brown Bess did all right. Even the earliest of these muskets was equipped with a bayonet which slipped on to the muzzle end of the barrel so that the fusileer could be his own pikeman. That came about like this: Back in
Bess" soon
the second quarter of the seventeenth century a
shooting a hundred and
posse of French peasants, out hunting bandits, ran
Brown
Bess got her
name from
her color; not only was her walnut stock naturally
out of powder. In desperation they jammed their knife hilts into their
gun muzzles
arquebuses into spears of a on,
and
in
to convert the
The
sort.
idea caught
1649 someone in Bayonne started man-
ufacturing blades which were hafted with tapered
PLUG BAYONET
plugs intended to be stuck into gun muzzles. In a surprisingly short time the advantages of this were
impressed on European generals and the plug bayonette
in
put the pike entirely out of business.
William
Ill's time,
pletely flabbergasted
them with
when
fixed bayonets
guns without removing
The
Then
some Englishmen were comthe French charged
and paused
the blades
to fire their
from the
barrels!
plug had been replaced by a couple of rings
which slipped over the
barrel.
These rings were
soon superseded by a tubular socket.
There was another
flintlock
weapon which was
introduced into England from Holland about the
middle of the seventeenth century and which be-
came
the Chief Defense of the English
was the blunderbuss.
It
had
Home. This
a short, thick barrel
with a trumpet-shaped muzzle for easy loading.
The
barrel
was usually brass and
fired a couple of
ounces of slugs chopped out of sheet lead. This was the period when coaches were coming
SOLDIER WITH A FLINTLOCK MUSKET, LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
94
into use in England,
and with them came
dubiously romantic highwayman.
A
the
blunderbuss
BRASS-BARRELED BLUNDERBUSS
COACHMAN WITH A BLUNDERBUSS
was murderous
at close
range and one of them,
ly-
ing across the knees of the guard or on the dickeyseat beside the
coachman, made
against Dick Turpin.
a good
weapon
to
A
a
handy
defense
blunderbuss also made
keep over a cottage mantel
cope with those "things which go bump night."
tury
There came a time
when such
a
to
in the
eighteenth cen-
in the
gun was nearly
as
much
England. This was the "spring gun." swiveled, but
it
was
set
up
in a
four long wires strung from just
above the ground.
too,
It,
wood with
was
three or
it
in several directions,
When
an unlucky poacher
tripped on one of the wires the strain would stantly swing the
gun around and
fire it along
in-
that
wire.
a part
of an English household as the teakettle.
Larger guns of the same type, mounted on swivels
and throwing
as
much
as a
were used by the Navy and came "boat guns." Pot hunters,
who
pound of slugs known as
to be
slaughtered wild
ducks and geese for the market, also swivelmounted huge "punt guns" on their boats, but these
had long
later in
barrels. Similar
guns were used
America; some of them had ten-foot gas
pipe barrels with a three-inch bore and were
loaded with a couple of pounds of small
They were
nails.
illegal of course.
There was another
terrible
gun of the blunder-
buss type which was used against poachers in
SPRING-GUN FOR DISCOURAGING POACHF.RS
95
Before his time an
non
Field
Guns and Bastioned
for
six of his
Forts
army dragged along one can-
every thousand men. Gustavus provided
nine-pounder, demiculverins
thousand and,
in addition,
two of the four-pounders.
(1600— 1700)
each
for
gave every regiment
was he who standard-
It
ized the sizes of cannon by their shot weights and
The one
great difference between the
in the
and those
He
also used case shot or canister
of the sixteenth
against infantry. Originally this idea was carried
out by firing a basket of small stones from a bom-
improved. Not only was tions of the
bore diameters.
matter of weight. Powder was much
the seventeenth century
was
cannon of
mixture
itself
it
corned but the propor-
were
better,
and
a
pound
powder would now do what once had needed three pounds. Metal working improved too. Take the thirty-pounder culverin for instance: In Queen Elizabeth's army it weighed more than two tons, in Charles lis. though still firing the same size of
bard or a big mortar. From fired tin
cans
was replaced into
its
own
with musket balls or scrap
filled
metal to scatter
among enemy
later
guns Gustavus
his field
troops. Canister
by shrapnel but
it
now come
has
again and shrapnel has been put on
the shelf.
and throwing it just as far, it weighed only 1400 pounds and it was a stronger gun. In the field, lightness meant mobility and that has always been an advantage to any army. The
shot
—
made
great Swede. Gustavus Adolphus, of light
cannon and
mobility.
He
real use
invented a
field
gun which a couple of horses or a few men could easily put where it was needed. And he used his field
guns directly against soldiers
— to outshoot
muskets.
His
first
try
was the so-called "leathern gun,"
which actually had a copper barrel hooped with iron
and covered with varnished
light
and very handy but
enough charge
it
to shoot far. so
cast iron, but he kept his
pounder weighed
five
leather. It
was
CANISTER
wouldn't stand a big
Gustavus
guns
shifted to
light; his four-
hundred pounds. He trained Siege weapons were progressing.
three-man gun crews and invented a cartridge
which contained both powder and shot
up loading.
to speed
came
From Holland
the coehoorn mortar which everybody
adopted. The coehorn, as the English called
it,
was usually small. The barrel was about twice
as
long as the bore diameter. About
covery was
made
that a
bomb
this
wards the muzzle of a mortar would
by the all
time the
be ignited
still
blast of the discharge, to the vast relief of
bombardiers. Once
the idea of shooting a
this fact
was established,
bomb from something
greater range than a mortar presented
short cannon, angle,
mounted
which was the
a howitzer.
Guns
SWEDISH CAST-IRON FOUR-POUNDER
itself.
with
The
to shoot at a fairly high
result of this idea,
called howitzers are
the distinction between
96
dis-
fuse turned to-
was called
still
used, but
them and other
artillerv
SMALL COEHORN MORTAR
Today almost any gun can
pieces has faded. fired at a fire
high angle
if
necessary and
all
explosive shells.
Another radical idea then presented not
itself:
Why
aim the gun with the deliberate idea of hitting
a target?
Gunners began
of their pieces
The long
to try to control the range
by measuring the angle of elevation.
quadrant" was put
leg of a "gunner's
into the bore
of a
be
of them
plumb
and the angle read from the
line
on a protractor
scale.
was that a gun would shoot ten times angle of forty-five degrees as
it
theory
s4k
an
as far at
would horizontally,
Cannon had no
or "pointblank."
position
The
sights at this
time nor for a long time afterwards, but a good
gunner would use the muzzle
his "level" to
mark
a point on
would connect the two with a chalk
gun by
is
a reconstruction)
that.
No explanation
is
line
Then he and
One
sight
given of why
nobody thought of scratching a permanent the barrel.
(the carriage
and one on the breech, both (he hoped)
exactly over the center line of the bore.
the
howitzer
difficulty of sighting a
on
line
cannon
in
those days was due to the fact that the barrel was
smaller outside at the muzzle than at the breech.
Allowance-by-guess had
to
be
made
for the fact
that a line sighted across the two points
would
ele-
vate the bore considerably above the target and
cause the gun to overshoot. Usually the
was deliberately
fired short as a
first
shot
kind of measuring
stick for the range.
There was plenty of shooting done; one war
seemed
to lead to another.
Men
fought over
re-
GUNNER
S
QUADRANT AND LEVEL
IN POSITION
97
FOR USE
ligion, they fought over the
shaky claims of one
king to another's throne, they fought to escape
from bondage and bondage,
much
What were
as
to subject other nations to
men do
today.
when
the guns shooting at?
the shooting was at sea; cities
and
masonry and stood like those the
West
as
Gus-
to do; ships,
where they
Some
principles he developed are in-
A
body of the a tower
non
to
the bastion system of constructing
bastion was a projection from the main fort
which served the same purpose
on a medieval
castle wall:
be so mounted that their
it
fire
as
allowed can-
would protect
were
the straight curtain walls between the bastions.
The
proud towers above the sea
whole theory of fortification was that each should protect and be protected by another
part
Spanish built
Indies, but these
in a
forts
chain through the
were put there
teenth century and they were
when
Men,
forts,
frontiers.
as
Vauban used forts.
tavus Adolphus had taught them
defended
and some of the
corporated in modern defenses.
all
in the six-
but obsolete
they were built. Unless they were banked
of the structure. forts
The ground plan
of
part
V auban's
was usually a regular polygon, and with the and other features was known as the
bastions
gunner could just keep on
As time went on the trace became more and more elaborate, other projections were added un-
pecking away at the base and presently the whole
der the names of horn-works, ravelins, demi-lunes
outside with earth, stone walls were no good
against
cannon
wall would
The low
fire.
A
and simple and double
come down.
Italians
were the
forts specially
trace.
first
planned
to
to
experiment with
absorb cannon
balls.
of little forts around the
main
These were given earth-banked
mans attacked Belgium
took hold of the idea and ran
such ring
late
walls. The French away with it. In the
tenailk.
bastions were detached entirely
Ultimately the
and formed
one.
in 191 4
When
a ring
the Ger-
they faced just
forts.
seventeenth century they produced a genius
Aside from the self-protecting trace, the other
name was Vauban,
feature of a fortification was the system of vertical
at the art of fortification,
His
&fr«S
TWO
98
BASTIONS OF A SIMPLE VAUBAN FORT
PROFILE OF A VAUBAN FORT barapeir
Jblaf/orm.
\
exterior slope
— — —covered way Gla arp court bar -sc*rp\
hazards placed around
and
to stop
done
to
his
enemy Normans had Vauban sur-
discourage the
balls. Just as
hundred years
five
rounded
cannon
it
the
before,
Kort
"bailey" with a wide ditch about
twelve feet deep and corresponding in outline to the trace of the
fort.
The
sides of the ditch were
The
stone or brick walls, not quite vertical.
inner
wall was called the scarp, the outer one the counterscarp.
Inside the ditch the fort rampart,
was surrounded by the
which included the raised earth platform
on which the guns stood, and the eight-foot-high stone parapet which was raised in front of the guns
them to shoot through. The parapet stood well back from the edge of the ditch, and earth was banked between it and the top of the scarp to contain any metal and
slotted with embrasures for
which was thrown
in that direction.
At the top of the counter-scarp on the the ditch a fairly wide, level path was
far side of
made where
troops could be assembled for sorties against the
enemy. This path was called the
covered way. It
was
covered by another bank of earth high enough to
keep the enemy from seeing what was going on behind
sides.
From
it.
approach
the top of this
bank the glacis, or away on all
DIAGRAM OF VAUBAN
The angle
of the glacis slope was such that
the fort's guns could rake
any part of it with
direct
tions,
he
them.
Some
set
SIEGE SYSTEM
about finding a way
forts as these
eighteenth and
were built
all
nineteenth centuries.
during the
There are
plenty of them to be seen right here in the United States. Fort
fame
is
built
on these
McHenry
of Star Spangled Banner
an almost perfect example of a simple
As soon
as
fort
days. if
The
invented his
fortifica-
first
The
overcome
time his system of siege
tried at Maestricht the place fact
is
that forts always
fell
in thirteen
fell
eventually
the attack was a determined one, but sometimes
they
fell
at
such cost to the attacker that he beat
himself taking them.
Vauban's system
principles.
Vauban had
was
to
say he was even better at this than at
building them.
fire.
Such
S
to the fort, sloped gradually
for
capturing was to dig
trenches into the glacis in concentric rings around
99
r/
«
POWDER MAGAZINE
the
working
fort,
and moving up from
at night
under the
floor
ring to ring through zigzag approach trenches.
low
The
guard against
and zags were
zigs
down
straight shot
so the fort couldn't get a
a trench.
The same
used for the same purpose in World
Yauban
down
laid
ring of trenches,
a
War
idea was I.
bombardment from each
and from the inner ring he
started
mining operations which eventually passed under the whole ditch
and breached the fort itself. Troops
were brought
in
there was
fighting to
as a fort,
so,
do on the
fort
easily
had
its
also
first
it is
damp, and
built to store the stuff,
They and strong enough to
consideration was that they be dry.
had
to be fire resistant
discourage invasion. So they were usually of brick or stone at least
and were built with wooden floors raised two feet above ground level. The space
100
filled
with stone chips, to
and yet to anyone getting in
fill
the space
al-
and
that way.
Containers of charcoal and of chloride of lime
were scattered about among the powder kegs absorb moisture from the portant of course, so walls but the
to pierce the
vent holes were carefully
enemy from
sending in a small animal with
To avoid
to
Ventilation was im-
was necessary
it
little
screened to keep an
air.
tossing in
fire
or
fire tied to its tail.
the possibility of sparks,
powder
kegs
were hooped with copper and held together with
magazine. Black powder
and won't shoot when
when magazines were
the
inside, the fort,
no longer counted.
Every
damps
still
through the tunnel, and though
was
air to circulate
copper
nails.
The
kegs in storage were turned over
frequently to keep the heavy saltpeter from tling to the
bottom and spoiling the mix.
The capture by muskets ginia,
set-
in the
the Colonists of the
magazine
at
powder and
Williamsburg, Vir-
was an important early step
in the
Amer-
ican Revolution. This magazine has been carefully rebuilt exactly as
it
was.
THE GERMAN RIFLE, FORERUNNER OF THE KENTUCKY RIFLE
obvious merits and criticized for their weight,
The Kentucky Flintlock Rifle
the difficulty of loading
(1727— 1820) Little
of scarce
has been said thus far about American
weapons, since other than those used by the dians, all the earliest
weapons
in
In-
America were
brought from Europe. The Spanish colonists and the
first
English colonists used matchlock arque-
powder and
them and
ball
it
for
amount
for the
took to shoot them.
There was something in the air of Colonial America which stimulated ingenuity. Inevitably
some Leatherstocking had one of gunsmiths
him
a
rifle
at
Hickory
Town
according to his
German make
the
(Lancaster)
own
ideas.
have been about 1720. By 1727 that
That could and
first rifle
and muskets. At Jamestown they mounted a few cannon which duly scared the simple fishing
others
Indians of the locality out of their moccasins.
veloped which had everything that anybody then
buses
from Continental
As time went on Europe began to arrive in the Colonies and they brought their own weapons with them, wheel locks, snaphances, and finally flintlocks. Most of settlers
these guns were smoothbore muskets, but not
all.
The Germans had been using rifles for more than a hundred years, and when they came to Pennsylvania their rifles came with them. Also, some of these settlers were trained gunsmiths.
The heavy German
rifles
had
into the insides of their barrels. ball
which
loaded,
it
fitted the
had
ramrod and
to
hoped
it
had been
tested,
This was the "Kentucky"
for.
no use complaining that sylvania" stick. It
and each
rifle; it's
it
was
rifle.
There's
really the
"Penn-
been named and the name
was carried
into
moved west, and many good guns of the made there, but to the end, most of them and the best of them were made in Pennsyltype were
vania. is
the
rifle
that settled
America and had no
small part in winning for Americans their cher-
fired a lead
bore so tightly that, to be
be driven
down
the barrel with a
a mallet! But once in, the ball was
threaded to the grooves.
It
had
to follow the spiral
when the explosion drove it through the bore, so it came out spinning. That spin kept it on the track to its target, and it didn't bounce around in the air as a
Life
musket
ball did.
on the Pennsylvania frontier wasn't
There was game
in plenty
but
be eaten. In order to sustain
it
had
life it
easy.
to be shot to
was
also neces-
sary to outshoot an occasional Indian. Every
man
and boy was familiar with guns and could use them. Naturally the tried
and
discussed.
German rifles were examined, They were approved for their
will
"Kaintuck" when the
frontier
This
spiral grooves cut
They
which followed
succeeding model improved until a gun had de-
FRONTIERSMAN WITH HIS RIFLE IOI
KENTUCKY RIFLE
ished freedom.
ways
it
worth a close look. Almost
It's
was long,
five feet or
too unusual, but
compared
was very
It
light.
The
hand.
more,
German
to the
al-
six feet wasn't rifle it
balanced beautifully on the
outside of the barrel
was usually
"browned." The stock was maple, cherry or wal-
and the wood ran out almost to the muzzle. The stock was made very dark by rubbing it with soot and oil. The butt where the rifle rests against nut,
and
the shoulder
is
likely to
be
was protected with a metal butt was brass
as
enough on the a
rifle
to roll
rifling
down
the barrel.
and hence the
To
give
better than a musket, the ball
Usually
on the
left
ried in the patch
box
in the stock.
this
where the marksman's
cheek rested against the stock and on the same side a screw plate
which was part of the
lock.
Directly opposite this, on the right side, was the lock plate on which the visible lock was butt,
box.
mounted;
also
on the
mechanism
rifle,
was the ornamental brass cover of the patch
The box
itself
was hollowed out of the wood.
the
Kentucky had a much smaller
erally .44 or .45 caliber against as
the
of the
right side, near the
In addition to being longer than the
German
needed
and powder was
difference was the
When
it
way
saved. Another
the bullet fitted the bore.
was necessary to load fast, to deal with who was potting at you, there was no
time to swedge a ball
all
the
way down the barrel made three hun-
with a mallet. So the bullet was
I02
as .75 for
guns. Less hard-to-come-by lead was
for bullets
a savage
German
bore, gen-
much
made
was loaded it;
a
round patch about the size of a fifty-cent piece. The patch supply and a lump of grease were car-
There was some form of star
side just
a grip
with a greased leather patch wrapped around
on the ground
plate.
it
vital spin that
were the other metal "mountings" or
inlays in the wood. set in
set
dredths of an inch smaller than the bore, small
LOADING A PATCHED BULLET
The patch was placed on the gun muzzle, a bullet placed on the patch and the two of them were shoved home with a ramrod in about a fourth of the time it took to load a German rifle. The loose patched ball proved to give more accuracy than the tight, naked one. In fact, in the hands of an expert and within its distance a good Kentucky is as accurate as the best of modern rifles. Its best distance is about a hundred yards, though fine shots have been made at more than twice that. No other gun of its time could hope to hit anything
much
smaller than an elephant from a hundred
Until after 1820
all
There was no
their locks
Kentucky
rifles
were
flint-
special difference between
and the ordinary
flintlock of the kind
They were excellent locks, but shown on page what is remarkable about them is that they were 93.
made
in the wilderness: forged,
filed into
lengths
the transmission gear for the water
steady enough. Even out a
little
hammered and
shape, often from iron mined on the spot
power wasn't
came
the bore usually
crooked and was checked with a taut
bowstring and tapped gently at the high spots straighten
The
it.
flats
was ready
to
have the
to
on the outside were ground
smooth against a revolving stone and the rifling
barrel
grooves cut into
it.
Repeated cuts were made on each groove, one after
another, until
the cutter
would
no
bite
by slipping successive pieces of paper under the tool. The saw-toothed cutter was set in a hickory stick to
avoid scratching the bore.
turn in four tation
feet as
slid
When
each groove.
until
around a rod it
into a tough tube, octagonal outside
cylindrical inside. In order to get
rotated one ro-
cutter
through a fixed block on which were lugs
side of the bore
strip of hot iron spirally
It
was pulled through. The
was accomplished by attaching the
The whole gun was made by hand, sometimes, but by no means always, with the help of power from a water wheel. The barrel was forged by and heating and hammering
it
rod to a spirally grooved wooden cylinder which
and smelted with charcoal.
wrapping a
so,
deeper; then the depth of the cut was increased
yards away.
locks.
to be made in two short and welded together afterwards. The rough inside was bored by hand because
mandrel, barrels had
all
to
fit
the rifling was cut, the in-
was polished with emery powder
on a lead plug.
The wooden
stock was roughed out with a
broadax and finished with drawknife and
plane.
was welded
Just below the barrel the stock was drilled to carry
and roughly
the hickory ramrod. Every gun was provided with
them
off the
a
mold
for
making
bullets to
fit it.
In addition to
RIFLING BENCH
103
were recruited from the plow and many of them had never handled a gun in their lives.
The
British could never
shooting. In the
Orleans,
War of
1
match
the
American
8 1 2 at the battle of New ,
than four thousand riflemen under
less
Andrew Jackson
took cover behind cotton bales
and stood off ten thousand Englishmen. The Americans suffered 21 casualties, the English 3,336! But
American marksmanship began to decline from then on because it was no longer needed in daily life, except in the far West. In World War I, American infantrymen fired seven thousand rounds of ammunition
came up powder horn, the hunter carried
priming pick crude
a
pouch
swabbing the bore) and a
flax (for
in
his stock of bullets, his
(to clear the touchhole), a
wad
of
twist of
"she,"
against trained British regulars in open
country.
Enthusiasts
shot these
and out of great
names. Those
spoke of them as
rifles
affection gave
men could
them female
really shoot.
corded that there wasn't one
man
It is re-
of the hundred
Michael Cresap's Rifle Company
and
thirty in
who
couldn't put nineteen bullets out of twenty
sories
tain life
was obtained
have remained
and was
was
at the
beginning of the Revo-
and these same men, when they joined
Washington
at Boston,
threw panic into the red-
camp by puncturing Tory
officers
from
dis-
lately
willing to
abandon
Not
all
rifles.
in the
to seize
many
others elsewhere.
was good enough
done." Officers were supposed to be
To combat
the
British hired Hessians
equipped with stuck, however.
money and IO4
this in
sort of thing that
Eng-
"wasn't
immune from
American riflemen
the
who, being Germans, were
rifles. King George was badly The Landgrave of Hesse took his
sent
him men with
rifles,
but they
now
it
all his
only be-
to
French Charleville
for instance,
After the its
of France
flintlock muskets, to the total
Con-
war when the Army began manuown guns at Springfield Arsenal, it at
produced exact copies of the Charleville.
This was
in
1
795, in preparation for a
France that happily didn't come first
and
send over two shiploads of
of 23,000. This addition gave the
facturing first
soldiers car-
The "neutral" King
tinentals all they needed.
was the
it
shot
British muskets: all those
Williamsburg Magazine,
number
it
acces-
At the outbreak of the war the Colonists
tances which were supposed to be beyond gun-
There was great hue and cry over
it,
American Revolutionary
shot.
land because
its
from an elderly moun-
of the spoils of war.
were able
shooting). This
in
cause his son had brought him a Mauser as part
ried
sniping.
rifles
gentleman who had inherited
at sixty yards, the usual distance for show-off
coat
shoot at targets with Kentucky
practical hunting use at least until very recently.
within an inch of a nail-head target, (presumably
lution
still
and some of these
rifles,
A fine rifle in beautiful condition with all
tobacco.
The men who
in-
to the kind of dug-in war it was. What the Yankees of 1776 lacked was discipline and concentrated firepower, and they couldn't win their war until they learned these things from the Baron von Steuben. In the early part of the struggle they were soundly trounced every time they
POUCH AND POWDER HORN
which he kept the mold,
every casualty they
due
BULLET MOLD
his
for
on the Germans. This, of course, was partly
flicted
war with
off.
In 1800 the
army flintlock" rifles were made at
the Harpers
Ferry Arsenal. Instead of copying the fine native product, the generals hit upon a hybrid, based on
THE HALL RIFLE WITH FOR LOADING
a
German
rifle.
Being a hybrid
like a
mule. Also,
made
it
its
naturally kicked
it
barrel was too short, which
Yarmouth, Maine, invented a
of
which was adopted by
breechloading flintlock rifle
army
in
— this in spite of the fact that
1819
than the gun
it
result,
breechblock arranged so that
its
front
end could
be raised above the level of the top of the
A chamber
barrel.
was thus exposed which could be
quickly loaded and the block snapped
up with the
was issued
bore.
Powder
down again
for these
guns
paper cartridges which could be
in thin
emptied into the chamber. The paper was
dis-
carded. Cigarettes are supposed to have been
vented by a Turkish soldier in
it
had less punch replaced. The Hall had a hinged
leaked gas badly and, as a
to line
BREECHBLOCK OPEN
inaccurate.
John Hall the
ITS
one of these papers when
who wrapped his
in-
tobacco
pipe was "shot out
from under him." In the eighteenth century everyone
who was or
pretended to be a gentleman wore a sword. Sometimes they fought duels with them, but mostly they just
wore them;
pistols
The day
able for dueling.
was over; even
had become more
in the
fashion-
of the great swordsmen
armies swords were used
mostly for waving, though sailors put their cutlasses to practical use
on frequent occasions.
The eighteenth-century
dress or court sword
was straight but considerably shorter than a rapier,
and
it
was worn
at a less
dashing but also a
less
CAVALRY SABER AND SCABBARD
hazardous angle. Instead of the sweeping, fancy hilt
of the rapier, the court sword retained only a
simple ring.
The
quillons were
still
to be found,
but one was reduced to a short spur and the other
was elongated and bent upward over the swordsman's hand and joined with the grip
at the
pommel.
The seagoing
COURT OR DRESS SWORD
cutlass,
which was every
sailor's
NAVAL CUTLASS 105
weapon
for a
boarding party, was a rather short
slashing sword with a wide, curved blade, sharp
had sights for use in practice. In an actual duel the combatants were not supposed to aim but to raise the gun and fire on some Dueling
pistols
on one edge. Its guard was a wide metal shell protecting the whole sword hand. Naval officers as a
kind of signal. In addition to Alexander Hamilton
rule didn't use cutlasses, but carried the regular
who was
dress
sword and
One
pistols.
other sword saw considerable use in
century
— the cavalry saber.
was carried by the rank and by
officers too.
this
Like the cutlass,
it
but in this case
file,
Also like the cutlass,
it
slashing blade which was sharp, but
had a curved its
Aaron Burr, many a good and valuable American was snuffed out in these ridiculous potting matches. Even men who fully realshot by
ized the absurdity of the code hadn't the courage to refuse a challenge
and
face the accusation of
cowardice.
blade was
longer than the cutlass and not so wide. The was shaped much like that of a dress sword but heavier. Cavalry was given to wild charges, usually against infantry. During these they waved
much hilt
their sabers
and slashed
to right
and
left
as they
Eighteenth-Century Artillery
(1700— 1800)
rode through and over the ranks. Mounted soldiers also carried short flintlock
musketoons
boot and eighteen-inch horse
pistols
in a saddle
which
fitted
The
barrel
new and
into saddle holsters.
Flintlock pistols
came
Frederick the Great took up
Gustavus Adolphus had
in
many
sizes.
develop
field artillery
left it
successful tactics for using artillery
because he'd
it.
lost so
He had to much in-
of an ordinary pistol was usually from seven to ten
fantry that there wasn't any
army and navy pistols, beautiful dueling pistols which came as matched pairs in handsome cases, and common pistols for
Frederick's
everything
casual social use.
oughly understood the value of mobility.
inches long. There were
century
army
way,
— on
more
to lose.
Though
drilled in the rigid eighteenth-
doing
everything
command, he
HORSE ARTILLERY
I06
where
and worked out
— well,
nearly
nevertheless thor-
In most armies of his time, cannon were hauled to the battlefield
with horses owned by civilian
who
took their nags out of harm's
contractors,
way
before the
where they were
show left
started.
erick operated differently.
He
army horses in charge move almost as fast as
were
light
was
stayed
over. Fred-
up horse artillery
set
of soldiers and trained
using to
The guns
until the fight
cavalry. All his guns
three-pounders and six-pounders. For
moving, the
trails
of these guns were set on
carts called limbers to
GRAPE SHOT Bagged
Uncovered
little
which the horses were
hitched.
At that time
battles
were fought by ranking two
armies in wide, shallow formation, face to face on
an open erick
up
and
field,
had
letting
them shoot
his artillery attack first
it
out. Fred-
and then brought
the infantry to charge past the cannon after
had been softened up. The horse would dash ahead until they were about hundred feet from the enemy. Then they'd
way. When the gun fired, the bag burned away and the balls were sprayed out from the muzzle. A Frenchman named de Gribeauval fought against Frederick's
some new
the opposition
artillery
artillery
went on
thirteen
dismount and opposing
start
lines.
shoulders to little.
lobbing cannon Between shots the men put their the guns and moved them forward a they were close enough to make it efballs at the
When
fective, they'd
change from
Grapeshot scattered
more authority and grape consisted of
about an inch
it
carried further.
fifty
it
had
A charge of
or sixty iron balls, each
in diameter.
They were bunched
around a wooden rod which had fixed into the center of a
but
wooden
first
trained the French
with field
along the lines of Frederick's and then to set
up
specialists
with special guns
for
and
for
siege work, for garrison (fortress) defense
coast defense. For the last two purposes he inbarbette
carriage which allowed a can-
to shoot over a
parapet instead of through an
vented the
non
embrasure; the back of it had wheels running on a
from
side to side.
All
these
eighteenth-century
cannon were
smoothbore muzzle-loaders made of cast iron
its
lower end
predicted that cannon would someday be
disk.
The whole
but lead cannon balls of large
and
tical
with twine, and
ones, so that
was loaded into the gun that
or
bronze. Early in the century Benjamin Robins
thing was held together by a cotton bag netted it
army and came home
semicircular track to allow the gun to be traversed
solid shot to grape.
like canister
He
ideas.
rifling
size
rifled;
weren't prac-
grooves could get no grip on iron
had
to wait.
By
the way, Robins was
BARBETTE CARRIAGE
107
W
N
the
At
TRICK
GUN-
prove that
to
first
flight of
\I
air currents affected the
guns were mounted on
sea,
truck carriages.
These were heavy timber frames riding on four little wheels (they were the trucks). The gun was
LADLE
trundled up by tackle to
and was
side, fired
until
it
second half of the century powder was frequently
packaged
a cannon ball.
its
rolled
porthole in the ship's
back by
its
own
recoil
was stopped by heavy breeching ropes
attached to the back of the gun
itself
and
to the
ship's side.
wool bags called cartridges and was
in
put into the gun, bag and
course the bag
Even
The men
needed a variety of tools and equipment, some of which was used every time a shot was dinary gun crew
fired.
An
or-
would be gun captain.
for a light fieldpiece
seven men, one of
whom
was the
Sometimes he was simply called "the gunner." He
A similar system is
is
now loaded
into the breech.
after cartridges were introduced, the
when
ladle
became necessary to unload a gun without firing it. The metal of which the ladle was made was exactly as thick as the was
still
useful
windage, that
handling a muzzle-loading cannon
all.
used for firing very large guns, though of
still
is,
it
the space between the shot and
the bore, so the ladle could be slipped under a
loaded cannon ball to bring
There was
it
out.
also the priming. This
was
finer
grained and was brought to the gun loose
The gunner put some
passing box.
in
a
into the vent
was the expert and was likely to do the aiming and the actual firing, as well as acting as com-
and the powder monkey who had charge of the box took it back out of the way. Both he and the gunner were careful not to spill
mander
any because
First
of the crew.
powder had
to
be put into the gun. In the
early part of the eighteenth century
and
times before that, this was done with a
was
ladle
Level
a cylindrical scoop
full,
it
powder and to
it
A
on a long handle.
held exactly the right charge of
was of exactly the right diameter
into the bore of the gun.
fit
at all
ladle.
The
ladle
was
(touchhole),
it
could be annoying
as soon as possible after the
sparks.
He
fire
gun
fired,
to kill
also carried a pick or priming wire to
clear the vent. After cartridges
came
in,
he used
the pick to push down through the vent and
punch
a hole in the woolen bag, so
sure of reaching the charge.
pushed carefully into the bore as far back as it would go; then it was turned upside down and pulled out, leaving the powder in the gun. In the
push
08
caught
spot.
charged with powder from a box or sack and
1
if it
The gunner wore a leather thumbstall which he pressed down on the vent wrong
in the
If a cartridge
der
it
it
down
fire
could be
was used, the rammer served to and even with loose pow-
the bore,
was used
for
shoving the stuff well back,
and for pushing in the wad and the shot. The wad was put between powder and shot and was usually rags, cotton waste, or even straw. The was carefully inspected and cleaned before was put into the muzzle because a little dirt could ruin the bore or might even cause the gun shot
chewed up from handspikes. In the hands of a husky sailor a handspike was no mean weapon in itself.
These were the main
it
others: a scraper
made
and hardened
rust
as
tools.
two
There were
still
half-disks for getting
soot out of the bore; a cat of
to blow up. The rammer was simply a short wooden plug which fitted the bore and was fixed
springy wires for hunting defects in the bore; and
on the end of a long handle. The handle was ordinarily scored with marks to show when each part
defect to determine
of the load was properly seated. The actual firing was done by applying the old
contracting the "feeler" wires to free them
slow-match
ways on a
in
The match was algun captain who carried it
to the vent hole.
charge of the
stick called a linstock, so that
he could stand
when he touched off the priming. The linhad a ring or a clamp at one end to hold the match and a metal spike at the other for standing
clear stock
it
up.
After the
gun had
fired, the
bore was swabbed not
a sponge.
was another long-handled wooden plug but
how bad
wax impression it
was.
of a
A cat had two
handles, one of which operated a sliding ring for if
they
stuck in the bore. At the end of firing, a lead plug
went
into the vent hole
and a kind of pot
lid
called
a tompion was fitted into the muzzle, both of them to
keep out dampness.
Even before the American Colonists were
or-
ganized to fight the Revolution, they began to the cannon they could lay hands on powder and shot they could find. As a and result Washington's army used guns of thirteen different sizes. Not enough guns were "liberated"
round up all
out with a sponge which of course was It
a searcher which could take a
all
the
for fighting a
war, so
little
RAMMER
iron foundries, located
slightly thinner and considerably longer than the rammer, and it was covered with sheepskin, woolly-side out. Sometimes on the end of the
f
sponge handle, sometimes on a handle of its own, the wormer was an iron double screw, used as
needed, to remove scraps of wool
A
bits of old
bucket of water stood near the gun, and the
sponge was dipped into it
wad and unburned
powder bag.
would be sure
it
to kill
be alive in the bore after
powder rammed
in
nuisance to the
man
made
before swabbing so that
any sparks which might firing.
A new charge of
on a hot spark could be a
real
with the rammer. Firing
enough
the barrel hot
to evaporate the
moisture from the sponge before the next charge
was put that
it
in,
the barrel actually heated so
wasn't safe to load at
The gun then had Even
all after forty
rounds a day; thirty was good
There was another handspike.
trail
fired a
for a
heavy
hundred piece.
article in constant use
— the Kg
This was a crowbar or pinch bar of
wood, shod with the
rounds.
be cooled off for an hour.
to
guns sometimes
so, light
much
around
iron.
for
Ashore
it
was used
aiming from
to
heave
side to side.
At
to gain the same end but gun carriage had to be deck around a gunport was always
sea a handspike
was used
the whole back of the lifted.
A ship's
HANDSPIKE WORMER
SPONGE
LINSTOCK
109 "cat"
SCRAPER
near falling water where power could be had, be-
gan
to cast
come upon East,
You may still there in the here and Road" "Gun
cannon a
and always
for the
Congress.
leads uphill from
it
some rushing
failed to shoot six times
pulled; Bess missed
The
fire
percussion idea was hit
imported during the Revolu-
No cannon were The
tionary War.
from three-
fieldpieces ran
pounders to twenty-four-pounders, the smaller
They were moved
ones being bronze.
bv horses or oxen
to the field
charge of civilian drivers and
in
then hauled around the pulling on drag-ropes.
We
by the gun crews
field
hadn't quite caught up
guns.
When
upon by
times.
a Scottish
blow than
way
apply the
to
to the
who
priming of
he found that these substances would
explode more readily if
if
they were struck a sharp
they were ignited by flame, he got his
idea, and in 1807 he patented the first gunlock which made use of the principle. Though his lock
has long since been discarded, practically
modern guns
to Frederick at that time.
to find a
newly discovered fulminates
was
trigger
its
clergyman, the Reverend Alexander Forsyth,
was experimenting
stream.
when
nearly one thousand
big
and
little,
all
are fired by the per-
cussion principle.
Dominie Forsyth's lock was simple and clever. A set into the side of a gun barrel. In the upper side of the plug there was a small recess which served as a flash pan. A hole was drilled round plug was
straight
down
in the center of the
pan
to connect
with the end of a horizontal hole which led to the
gunpowder in the bore. The plug projected about an inch from
the side
of the barrel, passing clear through a metal gadget
which came
to be called a "scent bottle"
and
which could be rotated by hand on the plug. The
AN IRON BALL BANDED TO A WOODEN SHOE SEMI-FIXED AMMUNITION
lower end of the scent bottle was a storage container for fulminate,
ing twenty shots or
simply turned upside
By
1790, though
it
was
still
loaded into the
muzzle, ammunition began to be prepared
vance fixed;
for the guns.
it
Some was what
was simply a round shot strapped
lowed wooden disk which served
in ad-
called semi-
is
as a
to a hol-
wad. Fixed
ammunition also appeared. This had not only and sabot as the disk was called, but also
and held enough
so.
To
down
for
prim-
prime, the bottle was for a
moment and
minate was dropped from the storage
ful-
recess into
the pan. Turning the gadget right side
up again
put the stock of priming out of reach of sparks (there were
some accidents however) and brought
the firing pin into position directly over the flash
pan.
shot
bagged powder,
The wheel
put together as a unit.
(1800— 1850)
Percussion
and the
all
lock was better than the matchlock,
flintlock
was simpler and cheaper than the
wheel lock, but even the perfect. It often failed to
army
got
against a
around
new
rounds were
I
IO
go
flintlock off.
was
far
from
In 1834 the British
to testing their old
Brown
Bess
percussion musket. Six thousand
fired
from each gun. The new gun
FORSYTH "SCENT BOTTLE PERCUSSION LOCK
Shaw
originally
made
the thing for his
His gun had no flash pan at
small steel nipple stuck upwards from
A little
its
use.
had a
it
barrel.
hole passed clear through the nipple and
powder chamber.
into the steel
own
instead,
all;
cap which
fitted
Shaw had
First
a
little
over the nipple and which he
primed with a fulminate pellet
for
every shot. Later
he tried pewter caps, loaded ahead of time and
thrown away
copper and perfected the cap lock which others out of business
all
tic. It
INSIDE OF
was easy
licked,
A coil
spring held the pin up a fraction of an
fire
was a
light
that was needed to
all
blow on the projecting upper end
hammer, which pin when the trigger was
of the pin. This was delivered by a
landed on the pulled.
firing
A true hammer this time, the first one.
Forsyth
set
up in
Watt, of steam engine fame, as a partner.
Of
course once they saw the idea, every gunsmith
wanted
to get into the act
and poor Forsyth spent
and the rest of his infringed upon his patents. his profits
Many
life
nate,
who
some
a pellet
little
tube of fulmi-
it
was
loader than lock. In
1
yet
make a percussion breechhad been to make one with a flint-
easier to
it
83 1 the
first
breechloading shotguns ap-
peared. Speaking very
strictly,
a shotgun
smoothbore musket. Shot was often muskets and a shotgun can
fired
is
a
from
a solid ball, but a
fire
charged with a thimbleful of
is
lead pellets loaded in a paper "shell."
The
pellets
may
be as fine as sand or as big as peas. Early
shells
were
by
fired
letting the
pin which was incorporated in
hammer
hit a little
them and was con-
nected with a fulminate cap on the inside. The walls of the bore
and formed the
seal for a breechloader. Gilbert
first
effective gas
Smith, an Ameri-
which could be placed in a to the chamber and
just
hammer
locked shut after loading by a bar controlled by
pan above a hole leading
simply struck by the
sides of the Atlan-
explosion forced the paper shell tight against the
legitimate variations of percussion locks
were invented. Some used a
flash
suing people
and was used un-
on both
to convert a flintlock to percussion
shotgun usually
London with James
business in
for fifty years
and thousands of them were changed over. Though the gas-leaking problem wasn't
THE SCENT BOTTLE
inch off the priming, and
1816 he sub-
put
changed
THE
after firing. Finally, in
stituted
The best one named Joshua
itself.
can, invented a carbine in 1835 which "broke"
behind the chamber on a hinge and was
was invented by an English artist Shaw who was living in Philadelphia. Wouldn't
an extra
you think
it would be gunsmiths, sportsmen or and not preachers and artists, who made improvements in guns?
be a natural
soldiers,
since.
trigger. It
leaked gas badly and wasn't
too successful as a carbine but the idea proved to
The
for
shotguns and has been used ever
Prussian needle gun was invented in 1838
shaw cap
lock.
the air above
its
A copper cap is hovering in nipple
I
II
I
and was a breechloading a paper cartridge it
rifle. It
its
ARMY MODEL OF 84 I
1
RIFLE
was loaded with
peculiarity,
which gave
name, was that the hammer actually drove
its
a long needle
and
and
S.
.
the
all
way through
into a fulminate
tween powder and
gunpowder
the
cap which was placed be-
bullet.
This was supposed
to
cause a faster and more complete burning of the charge.
The
U.S.
Army, when
it
adopted percussion
1842, stuck to muzzle-loading
and
to
cap lock; they paid him $18,000
for the use of
The
many
rifle
they produced was for
and
of pine at
Many made
in
arm
it.
years the
was very accuwould penetrate eight inches a hundred yards. of these "Model of 1841" rifles were
best military
rate
in
Mr. Shaw's
its
in the world. It
bullet
DIAGRAMS OF MINIE BALL UNEXPANDED AND EXPANDED
army arsenals, but many more were made
by civilian gunsmiths under contracts.
One
of the
who invented the cotthought up the much more impor-
contractors was Eli Whitney, ton gin but also
making gun parts so accurate that any would fit perfectly on any gun of the same
fly true. Then too, a molded ball usually cooled with a dimple in one side which tended to make it lope through the air.
a spherical ball didn't always
tant idea of
Lots of ideas were tried: balls with raised belts cast
piece
on them
commonplace now of course with everything that is made on an assembly line, but when Eli scrambled the parts of two weapons and
model. This
is
reassembled two good working
rifles
Patching every
rifle
and even with the spin
them
to
fit
bullet it
was at
best a nuisance
acquired from the
rifling,
The French made was a "bullet-shaped"
fitted a twist-
the
real
improvement
first
IT
FITTED
bullet,
all. It
with a pointed nose
and a flat base. Not the first of that shape, but the first which did what it was supposed to do. It was efficiency, not
its
shape, that put the Minie ball
A fairly deep hollow
was cast into its and when the bullet was loaded, a little iron thimble was put into the mouth of the hollow. The thimble didn't reach the bottom of the dent, so when the powder expanded the thimble started forward a fraction of an instant before the bullet moved. This jammed the thimble all the way to the bottom of the depression and forced the lead walls outward into the rifling grooves. The entire base,
A BELTED BALL AND THE BORE
into
which
with the Minie ball which wasn't a ball at
on the map.
12
oval bullets
ing oval bore.
its
I
a barrel which had only two grooves;
fit
four grooves; even
from the mix,
he startled the world.
to
conical bullets with four lugs on
expanded base was exposed to the pressure of the gases and no part of them could leak past the bullet; it got all the push there was. A Minie ball of the same weight would carry further than the old ball, with much greater accuracy. The Minie had faults of course. Now and then an iron thimble would be driven clear through a bullet, leaving a nasty lead ring stuck tight in the barrel.
Many
experimental breechloaders appeared.
There was an English one
moved forward
barrel
They
all
in
which the whole
to allow
it
to
be loaded.
leaked gas at the breech, including a
famous American one, the Sharps carbine. Its moved up and down by the ac-
breech block was tion of a
hinged trigger guard. The edge of the
breechblock cut the end off a paper cartridge as it
closed and, in doing
so,
always spilled a
little
powder. There were fireworks when the Sharps leaked gas! Nevertheless
quick to load and
minate for a
pellets
cap
made up
pistol.
ington dentist
you
notice).
fire.
it
was accurate and very
Priming was done by in a
paper tape,
like
ful-
caps
This was the invention of a Wash-
named Maynard
(not a gunsmith
When John Brown tried to capture the
Harpers Ferry Arsenal,
his
PEPPERBOX
men were armed with
Sharps guns. The British army adopted them and they were in use by Union snipers in the Civil
"shootin'
War.
barrel were favored by the card-playing fraternity
It is
from them that the word "sharpshooter"
am." Derringers with an inch
or so of
because they were easily concealed in a pocket.
comes.
They
delivered one shot half an inch in diameter;
of limited range but, well placed,
caught with
five aces a
chance
it
man
gave a
to get out of the
room.
There were longer-barreled
pistols
which could
be carried on horseback or on the seat of a gig,
and
there were single-shot military pistols in profusion.
The need
in
an emergency
for
more than just one and also
shot produced double-barreled pistols
"pepperbox" rels.
zles.
THE MAYNARD TAPE PRIMER
pistols
which had four,
The
locks
made
pistols
United
frontier but
barrels were usually bored into a solid
be rotated by hand,
in the use of them
ing the trigger which also raised and dropped the
States, not only
throughout the East.
on the Western There was noth-
hammer. This General
is
called "double-action."
Sam Houston had
with a gun in his pocket, and those in dangerous
block of steel which
gambling invariably toted a
fired half a
the barrel, lining
a percussion
rifle
dozen shots from a chambered
which
like
to
but most of them were turned by the action of pull-
ing unusual then in an ordinary citizen going about
professions
muz-
much handier weapons,
and there was a notable increase in the
their
cylinder of metal which rotated on a long steel pin.
Sometimes the barrels had
Cap
five or six bar-
These were loaded separately from
moved harmonica-wise across up one chamber after another.
"3
"TEXAS MODEL" COLT'S PATENT REVOLVER Shown cocked
Rifles with revolving
chambers were
also
made
but none of them were anything more than genious
The
in-
repeating
arm
to
come
into general
use was the famous Colt's Patent Revolver, in-
vented in 1836 by Samuel Colt of Hartford, Connecticut. This five
On the famous night when
was a single-barreled
chambers bored
into a revolving
pistol with
drum. Each
chamber was separately muzzle-loaded and had its own nipple for use with a copper cap; each in turn was moved into alignment with the barrel by the action of cocking the hammer. The first Colts had no trigger guard and the trigger itself was concealed in the stock until the piece was cocked. They were "single-action" and the hammer had to be pulled back to cock them. Revolvers had been made before Colt's time. His accomplishment was to make good ones on a production basis. They came to be made in many sizes and models and the mechanism itself was altered for special purposes and for Service weapons. Dragoons and cavalry used Colts in the Mexican War and the Texas Rangers performed prodigious feats with them against the Comanche Indians. In one case fifteen Rangers defeated eighty Comanches, killing forty-two of them. This
The Star Spangled
Banner was written, the British ships shelled Fort
Mc Henry from
tries. first
range.
two miles down the harbor. "The
rockets' red glare, the
bombs bursting in air" which
showed Key the flag were all fired at the fort. The knowing that the British fleet was hope-
defenders, lessly
out of range of their guns, very sensibly holed
up underground and saved
their
one attempt by the British
to
place from the rear was driven
ammunition. The
land and take the off.
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BOMB WITH RINGS
The "bums,"
as
"bombs" was pronounced
were the same kind of hollow, iron
gunpowder
that
was considered miraculous; no one had ever heard of such firepower.
the older
Though Mr. Key
name, these things had come by
his
made with two
little
rings
the
(1 800-1 850)
Most of the cannon on the American side in the of 181 2 were of small caliber and limited
War
114
time
on either
side of the fuse hole for easy carrying; these
"Soda Bottle"
in
used
be called "shells." In the eighteenth century
they had been
The Rockets' Red Glare and
with
had given bombardiers trouble
the seventeenth century.
to
then,
shell filled
now
were
replaced by two recesses which could be
gripped by the points of carrying tongs, very
much
Only the fuse had really improved. It was now a rather long, tapered, wooden plug drilled all the way through and filled with caked powder. The bombardier padded the top of the fuse with like ice tongs.
small war boats
known
as bomb ketches.
liarity as sailing vessels
was that
Their pecu-
their forward
decks were clear and their forestays, which braced
made
the masts, were
of chain to reduce
fire
haz-
ard.
The
British picked
up
the idea for their military
rocket in India late in the eighteenth century and
produced iron-headed rockets that would carry an
powder charge more than two
explosive black miles.
A
half-foot
thirty-two-pounder had a three-and-a-
head fastened
to a fifteen-foot-long guid-
ing stick which traveled with
it.
The
rocket was
launched from an inclined trough and was ploded on landing by a crude time rockets
seem
to
fuse.
ex-
These
have been more spectacular than
dangerous. Iron rockets were not dropped by the
World War I, but by then they had lost their sticks and were held on course by the rotation given them by three little vanes in the jet stream. Now the rocket is back and has among British until
HANDLING A BOMB WITH TONGS
other things, increased the firepower of the foot soldier for short ranges
tow, put a fuse setter above
down
into a hole in the
by the
Paper
fuses
and drove the
bomb with
then "single-fired," that ignited
it
is,
a mallet.
fired fuse
It
fuse
was
outward and
They contained an
in-
its
mixture and indicated by the
Thus
a shell for a short-range
shot could have a faster fuse than one for a long fuses of this kind
were used
in this
The bombs which landed on
to the
firing a
Fort
McHenry
from mortars emplaced on the deck of
field
cannon appeared
hundreds which put a
final
old slow-match, except for shoot-
The new gimmick was called a and it worked like an ordinary kitchen match. The body of the primer was a powderfilled copper tube which could be stuck into the
friction primer
vent hole of a gun. Later, because they tended to
enlarge the vents, they were
made
to
screw
in.
A
roughened, twisted wire passed through a hole drilled across the tube near
country until after 1900.
fired
smoky
ing off fireworks.
determined by
were
method of
end
color of the paper.
Some
better
were soon invented which could be
flammable composition whose rate of burning was
shot.
A
in the early eighteen
blast of the gun.
inserted into a similar plug.
above that of the old
artillery.
hole was
filled
its
upper end. This
around the wire with a sulphurous
substance, like that of a matchhead, which would
CONGREVE MILITARY ROCKET
FRICTION PRIMER
ENGLISH MILITARY ROCKET ABOUT igOO
115
THE FOREDECK OF A BOMB KETCH
ignite
from
friction.
The gunner hitched
end of
line called a lanyard to a loop in the
twisted wire,
and
to fire,
a short
simply gave
the
it
a sharp
for
cannon.
CAVELLI SHOT
yank.
There was It
also a percussion
had a fulminate cap
primer
in the top of a
Pulling the lanyard caused a
powder
hammer
tube.
to hit the
cap.
Robins's old prediction of a rifled cannon was
made an
actuality in 1846 by
Cavelli. His its
gun had only two
cylindrical shot
on each
side,
spiral grooves
had four projecting
staggered just enough to
ride the grooves. built a
an Italian named studs,
and two
make them
Joseph Whitworth of England
gun with a twisting hexagonal bore and a
Il6
WHITWORTH SHOT
made
long shot
with
angled to
six flats
Both
fit.
of these guns were breechloaders.
However, the day of the muzzle-loading cannon
John Dahlgren unveiled
wasn't yet gone. "soda-bottle" shell
gun
in 1850.
bore muzzle-loader; Dahlgren also invented a
The
howitzer.
and
achieved
it
made
soda-bottle was its
his
was a smooth-
It
rifled
of cast iron
outside shape as the result of
a study of the varying pressures inside the bore. It
was thick where
it
needed
be thick and thin
to
where thickness didn't matter. The
result looked
soda-water bottle of the time. Dahlgren
like the
wouldn't have cared
he was after
results.
if it
had looked
The soda
bottle
like
a turnip;
was mounted
on a Marsilly truck carriage designed
for use with
a special roller-tipped handspike. Instead of the old wedge-shaped quoin for controlling elevation, there
was an elevating screw threaded through the
back of the gun. Otherwise the gun was handled
and
fired just as
guns had been
fifty
DAHLGREN SODA BOTTLE ON MARSILLY
years before.
CARRIAGE
tightly against the sides of the
prevented their
Gastight Cartridges and Smokeless
own
chamber
that they
escape. All guns except very
cannon are now sealed by this principle. In addition to Maynard's carbine, other breechloaders were used in small numbers in the War Between the States. One of them was the Sharps large
Powder (1850— 1900) When
the United States decided to adopt a
bullet-shaped bullet for
its
Army
rifles in
1855, a
smart American mechanic licked the fault of the
Minie
ball with
rifle
mentioned
earlier.
There were even
repeaters,
but militarily these special guns counted
for little
nothing more complicated than
leaving out the iron thimble entirely.
The
gases
expanded the rim of a hollow-based bullet just as well without the thimble and they never blew a hole through the lead.
Dr.
Maynard, the same man who designed
the
tape primer, built a breechloading carbine which
saw
service in the Civil
tridge pierced at
its
War.
It
back end
used a metal car-
to
admit
an outside priming cap. So there was
fire
still
leak through the hole.
An American
named Berdan borrowed
a French idea
ceeded
in
from a gas
colonel
and
making a metal cartridge with
suc-
a built-
Maynard adopted it for its simplicity and then discovered that with the cap plugging the hole, he had achieved the obturating or gas-sealing cartridge. The expanding gases of in primer.
and
safety
the explosion pressed the thin walls of the shell so
THE MAYNARD CARBINE AND
ITS
PIERCED CARTRIDGE
117
PISTOL-CARBINE
in
comparison
to the
thousands of muzzle-loaders
in the
hands of the half-trained troops, many of
whom
had never
fired a shot before.
thousand guns were
left
on the
They had been jammed
Some twenty
field at
Gettysburg.
with one load on top of
another by nervous soldiers and then abandoned.
Of
course there was no immediate
way
to tell
The advantages
of the expanding metal car-
tridge were so obvious that the
Army
designed a
breech converter to change old muzzle-loading rifles
into breechloaders. Colt revolvers were also
changed over by thousands, both
in
and out of the
service.
The
first
breechloading revolver which was de-
whether a muzzle-loader was charged or not, since
signed and built to use metal cartridges was the
you couldn't see into the barrel. So after the war the Army changed over to breechloading for all
Model One, Smith and Wesson.
rifles
and carbines.
One some
Civil
interest
barrel. It
War gun
of small importance but of
was the pistol-carbine authorized by
Jefferson Davis when he was United States Secre-
tary of War. This was a muzzle-loading
gun with
a twelve-inch rifled barrel fired by a tape primer
or by copper caps. In addition to
curved stock.
pistol grip,
it
ordinary
had a detachable shoulder to dragoons and to
The dragoons
carried
it
on horseback
two parts but, dismounted, they used tirely as a
shoulder gun and liked
tried to use
the
its
This piece was issued
cavalry.
hang of
inch .22 caliber with seven
it.
it
in
almost en-
The
cavalry
was a sevenchambers and a rifled It
was manufactured from 1857
Caliber, by the way,
is
to i860.
the diameter of the bore in
hundredths of an inch. In 1869 Smith and Wesson
made wards
a longer .44-caliber gun for the Army. After-
Army
pistols
were usually
Philippine Insurrection of 1900 this size didn't hit
hard enough
.38's,
it
but
in the
was found
that
to stop a berserk
native in his tracks, so 45's were adopted and have
been used ever
since.
For some reason the
armed
forces
that's
still
hard
to
understand now,
found a use
for single-shot
pistols after the invention of the revolver.
Reming-
and gun, never got way and cordially detested
it
as both pistol
it
either
the thing.
NAVY SINGLE-SHOT
ton
made two models
War and
one
for the
for the
Army
here on revolvers and
MODEL ONE, SMITH AND WESSON REVOLVER
Navy
after the Civil
as late as
cartridge
PISTOL
rifles
1
87
1
.
From
were made
by every gunsmith; some were better than others and they differed in minor points of design.
Il8
.
THE KRAG-JORGENSON MODEL 1892
more than a hundred designs for breech mechanisms submitted by inventors in 1872, the Army vetoed all of them and settled on After examining
ates called
obtained by converting the old muzzle-loaders
to breechloading. This design was
were not adopted
At
its
it
all
week."
that can be
Still,
repeaters
officially.
In 1882 the Ordnance Department invited ventors to submit designs for repeating
rifles.
in-
Of
enough to try out under service conditions, but though one of them was a Winchester, none of them was thought to perform satisfactorily. There is more to picking a service arm than merely finding one that will work. It must be tough and it must be simple enough for the average soldier to handle and keep in working order. In 1892 the government bought some Krag rifles from Norway and started making modified copies of them.
was a good gun.
it
of the guns submitted to the Board of 1872 rifles,
or repeaters. As soon as ex-
panding metallic cartridges were invented, the them mechanically into a barrel became obvious. The earliest design was
possibility of feeding
in
1849
was applied
Du1:
hadn't
'*
Henry
to the
much
rifle
in
success until
it
i860. This gun
carried fifteen cartridges in a tube under the bar-
These would deliver with
less
range and
From
there they were fed into the breech one
Springfield's one.
at a time,
by a mechanism operated by swinging
the
rel.
damn' Yankee gun
RIFLE,
the forty submitted three were thought good
rifle,
were magazine
made
MAGAZINE
and with occasional improveremained the standard arm until 1892.
best
Ten
S.
as the
Springfield
ments
known
"that
loaded Sunday and fired
a design which, in the main, was a copy of the result
it
U.
Model
of 1896
five shots in a less
hurry but each
accuracy than the old
Improvements were made and was a somewhat better gun.
and back. This system, became the basis of the famous
the trigger guard forward in fact this rifle,
Winchester repeater.
The Henry
rifle
and one other
Spence which carried bored into
its
butt,
were
repeater, the
eight shots in a tube
its
tried out in the Civil
by volunteer troops who bought
their
own
War guns.
In spite of a tendency of the magazines to explode, the
Army was
impressed.
soldier shooting
worth eight muskets.
It
estimated that one
from cover with a Henry was
soldiers in the
open with regular
rifled
The Henry was acknowledged the most arm in the world. The Confeder-
.45 CALIBER METALLIC
CARTRIDGE USED
IN
MODEL 1873 SPRINGFIELD RIFLE AND CALIBER CARTRIDGE FOR KRAG RIFLE U.
S.
THE
.30
effective militarv
henry repeating rifle shown with the trigger guard swung forward to move a shell into the breech lI 9
An
For a repeater, black powder wasn't much good. It made so much smoke that after a few
had his head in a cloud and was likely to be unable to see his target. Its tendency to foul a barrel was bad in any case but worse for rapid fire. The invention of "smokeless powder" solved these difficulties as well as the bugaboo of shots the rifleman
to
make
it
of guns.
fouls a barrel far less
and
is
really a self-loading
Various near-successful
ones were tried in the eighties and nineties, but a
man named
Borchardt from Connecticut
really
invented the type in 1893. Various features of his
gun are retained
in all
stance, the metal
automatics today: for
magazine which
in-
slid into the
tracting
and some variation of it has now It
pistol
fire itself.
butt,
replaced black powder as a propelling charge for all sizes
doesn't
and the use of the energy of the recoil for exand loading. To accomplish this the barallowed to slide back a limited distance rel was after firing. This gun was manufactured in Germany, and though the original model was very heavy and badly balanced, it was by modifications of it that the wonderful Luger was developed.
powder that wouldn't shoot because of dampness; under some conditions smokeless powder could be fired even soaking wet. It was originally given the name of "gun cotton" because it was made by dissolving cotton in nitric acid. Other ways have been found
automatic
pistol. It
it's
four or five times as powerful as the old charcoalIt opened the way for and permitted the development of automatic pistols and machine guns.
sulphur-saltpeter mixture. really rapid fire
Rifled
Cannon and Recoil Mechanisms
(1850— 1900) In the 1850's everybody experimented with
cannon. Most of the iron projectiles were
rounded with lead jackets rifling grooves. In this
practically
all
country these guns were
to their
The
guns" on muzzle-load-
long time; and the British, after nearly
LIGHT PARROTT RIFLED CANNON
120
sur-
seize the
breechloaders were tried.
Americans "stuck ers for a
make them
muzzle-loaders, but in England and
Germany some BORCHARDT AUTOMATIC PISTOL
to
rifled
ten years of
trial,
returned to muzzle-loaders and
stayed with them until a gun crew accidentally
put two charges into one gun and blew away themselves
and a
large
chunk of one of Her Majesty's
You can't double-load a breechloading rifle. One of the experimental British rifles was built
ships.
up by an adaptation of the old barrel-stave-andhoop system of the bombards. Pressures in a rifled barrel where there was no windage were too great for a simple casting to take. In our own day they run above twenty-five
cannon have
to
tons
per square inch, and
all
have some kind of very special
construction to stand the gaff.
THIRTEEN-INCH CIVIL
WAR MORTAR
Robert Parrott of the United States designed a cast-iron
around
rifle
its
which had heavy wrought-iron bands
breech to hold
maximum
strain.
it
together at the point of
General (then Captain) Rod-
had a
brass ring near
flat
of this
band hugged the
man, also an American, devised big smoothbores something like the Dahlgrens, which were cast around a chilled core so that the inside surface was hardened first and then squeezed by the contraction of the outside metal. Wrapping with steel tape has been used successfully, though it makes a
was undercut a
gun "whip" when
it's
"run out"
"droop" of a long
barrel.
fired
and tends
either shrunk over a steel liner
by heat and then allowed their bores
expanded
to
add
to the
Large modern guns are by being expanded
to cool in place, or
to size
by
terrific
have
hydraulic
Parrott
rifles
selves in the Civil
and
behind
Having
to
it
be
and
gave good accounts of them-
War
as naval guns.
as field guns, as siege
They were made
from ten-pounders
to
guns
in seven sizes,
three-hundred-pounders.
It
if
the
shot, but the lower half
force
outward into the
it
rifling.
the barrel from the muzzle,
slid into
was expanded that they could slide forward gun was stopped suddenly when it was being
shot.
The
happened
to fire. If this air
space
it
spoiled the
created would cushion the
it
it wouldn't expand the flange. was even possible, if the barrel was depressed below the horizontal, for the shot to slide clear
gas pressure so that It
it
was
fired!
The Rodman smoothbores were used mostly work and for coast defense. Some of the
for siege
can
fifteen-inch size
still
be seen in some of the
old forts which have been preserved as
mered Fort Sumter
and
from two miles away.
half
flange
was a group of the larger Parrotts which hamto pieces
The upper
these projectiles fitted the bore so loosely before the
ments.
Instead of a lead jacket, the Parrott projectile
base.
so that the gas pressure could
little
out of the bore before
pressure.
The
get
its
The
largest
fired a shot
Rodman had
monu-
a twenty-inch bore
weighing more than a thousand
pounds. Along with these big fellows in the coast forts
and
at sieges
were some mortars with thirteen-
inch bores which could toss a ball two and a half miles.
General
Rodman improved the burning of black it into "mammoth" grains
powder by molding
three quarters of an inch thick. These burned steadily than corned tile
brass ring
more
projec-
something of a steady shove rather than a sud-
den boot. Before the
SHELL FOR A PARROTT RIFLE, CUt away tO show
powder and gave the Civil
War was over smokeless
powder appeared, and soon afterwards it eliminated black powder except as fuse material. Frederick the Great and Napoleon were able to get their field guns close enough to blast the enemy 121
infantry with case shot
and grape. These
didn't
carry very far even from the best of guns. In the Civil
War
fantrv
it
rifles
was discovered by both
sides that in-
were so good that they kept the anything but solid
lery too far off to use
artil-
shot.
This
development of explosive shells and
led to the later
shrapnel, both of which could be fired to the
range of a
rifled piece,
and
it
fostered the
full
machine
This breechblock in the illustration
of the
is
slotted-screw or interrupted-thread kind.
Gun
breech and block have matching threads which are cut by six spaces so staggered that the block
may
be
crank
from
the breech.
slid directly into
will
its
swing the block on
Turning the
hinge, slide
its
"tray" into the breech and rotate
one-twelfth turn needed to lock
it.
it
it
the
Later breech
blocks of this class have stepped threads on three
gun.
The Germans had for rifled
loading
pioneered in the use of
cannon. At Sedan
chewed up the
rifles
steel
1870 their breech-
in
third Napoleon's
whole army. After that the use of
steel
became
levels so that the
way around
meshing
the breech.
is
continuous
The
all
the
inner end of the
breechblock has a springy metal "pad" which seals in gas pressure.
and the smoothbore ended its career. Muzzle-loading went out for good when the in-
this time.
terrupted-screw breech block was perfected. Shells
case attached to the projectile; the case expanded
general,
could then be
made
large
enough
ameter of the bore. You could
to
fit
the
full di-
also shoot downhill
without embarrassment. Shells were inserted the back of the
made just brass ring
in
gun and the powder chamber was
little larger than the bore. Parrott's was replaced with a copper rotating
a
band which was actually larger than the bore, but which would pass through the chamber. When the
gun
fired, this soft
band was forced
into the rifling
Modern
like
fixed
ammunition came along about
This had
an ordinary
breech.
its
propellant
rifle
Ways were now
the shock of recoil
(powder)
cartridge
in
a brass
and sealed
thought up
for
the
absorbing
and returning the gun
to firing
moving the carriage. In other words, the gun was able to move backwards on its carriage instead of moving the whole business position without
back with
One
it.
of the earliest recoil guns was the "disap-
pearing gun" for coast defense.
Many
of
them
grooves by the explosion and the grooves cut chan-
were emplaced along our coasts. They were big
nels into the copper.
rifles
BREECHBLOCK FOR A BIG GUN 122
mounted on counter-balanced
carriages.
FIXED AMMUNITION. 75 MM. ROUND READY FOR FIRING. CASING, HIGH EXPLOSIVE SHELL AND POINT-DETONATING FUSE
GUN ON A DISAPPEARING CARRIAGE
They could be serviced and loaded behind a parapet and then raised by the counterweight to fire over its crest. The recoil energy which brought them back to loading position was absorbed and cushioned by the resistance of
The
oil in
big cylinders.
flowed through holes in pistons, and as
oil
was means of gradually reducing the
there
size of
wheels and trail
easy."
course.
as naval fault
It
guns but
was that
enough
wasn't quite as simple as
At one time
to take
was planned
this,
of
to use these
was never done. Their great
it
their
Modern pinpoint
it
muzzles couldn't be elevated
advantage of their air
full
range.
bombing put an end
to their
split trails
in
The gun
itself
which
was
it
there were two
moved
it
in a cylinder
rollers
it
compressed nitrogen
was complete,
the whole cycle, brought the
bore, just a fraction under
and to
the
this gas
position. All this
gun was ready
was
gas.
When
the recoil
expanded and, reversing gun back into firing
modified form, was including the United
II.
rollers
bored into the cradle. As the
in
for the seventy-five milli-
on four
steel cradle
under the muzzle
when
allies
World War
them.
gun moved the piston back, oil behind the piston was forced into a second cylinder
on the shelf and which,
its
free to recoil
more
in the cradle
where
meter diameter of
to lock
was supported by a
gun was all the way back. There were no trunnions on the gun itself. The barrel was connected to a piston which
support
In 1897 the French came up with their great "75" which immediately put all older field guns
The "75" was named
trail
by two connected brake shoes which could be dropped under the wheels
recoil of the
States, until
balloon-tired
and wooden wheels. At the back of the
usefulness.
used by them and their
steel,
but the original had a solid
was a spade which could be dug into the ground to keep the gun in position. It was aided in the job
the holes, the resistance was increased to "set her
down
had
three inches. Later ones
fast.
Bang!
— Bump! And the
to load again.
The breechblock on
a "75"
was opened by
123
FRENCH
simply rotating
when
this
Part of
it.
it
break was turned
was cut away and
to the top
it
lined
up
with the bore, like the top of a tooth-powder can.
At just the right point
in turning,
it
75
proved German tanks
AFTER FIRING
IN RECOIL
World War
in
modern descendants with gun never dreamed of. has
but
II,
it
tricks the old field
cam
struck a
which extracted and ejected the empty cartridge.
The
moved with the breechblock, and was a spring hammer operated by a lanThe hammer struck the firing pin and drove
firing pin
there yard. it
forward against a percussion cap, just as a
is
fired.
rifle
The gun was provided with an accurate telescopic sight. Turning a hand wheel would move gun from
the
hand wheels
of other to the
side to side
on
its
axle,
and a couple
raised or lowered the barrel
needed angle of
fire.
At nineteen degrees
above the horizontal, which was
as high as the
mechanism would take it, the gun could more than a mile and a half; but if you put trail down in a ditch and thus elevated it to
elevating
(1850— 1900) The advantage which
forty-four degrees,
a-half
and
would carry
pound he (high
a half miles.
later fired
In
it
from
was
shells
it
appeared
and shrapnel were
tires for
split into
Army
the "75" was
high-speed travel, and
two halves which could be
joined for moving but which were separated the
gun was set up to
the gun to reach finallv
its
fire.
it
when
Separating them allowed
top range.
faded because
124
in this country.
cally ordered his
about
it.
Amid
Napoleon
man Montigny
great hush-hush
invincible secret weapons,
The standard "75"
couldn't knock out im-
III practi-
do something
to
and broad
hints of
Montigny brought
forth
the mitrailleuse. It
was mounted on
gun carriage and was
a
pulled by four horses. At a glance a field
it
gun but what looked like
really thirty-seven barrels in a
seemed
to
be
barrel was
its
bunch.
A
maga-
zine containing a positioned load for each barrel
slipped into a space at the breech end. the U.S.
in
put on pneumatic the trail
explosive) shell nearly two
75's.
maturity
its
Gas
a thirteen-and-
had attained
infantry
over artillery gave trouble in Europe even before
shoot its
Guns
Quick-Firing and Machine
rel
had
its
own
firing pin
percussion cap only through
metal disk.
A
Each bar-
which could reach its
its
allotted hole in a
crank turned the disk so that one
pin after another lined
up with
its
proper hole
and the barrels were fired in succession. With a good crew the mitrailleuse could deliver the contents often magazines in a minute.
MONTIGNY MITRAILLEUSE
That was
real quick-firing
EARLY GATLING GUN
and the gun
itself
a success, but circumstances were against
it.
was
First,
much secrecy about its production was kept under wraps too long and gun
leuse worked. rels
The Gatling crank
rotated the bar-
themselves around a central shaft and pro-
ammu-
there was so
vided the energy for them to handle the
that
them by gravity from a hopper above the gun. Each barrel received a cartridge when it reached the top position; then, as it moved around from station to station the shell was pushed into the chamber, the breech was closed, the gun was cocked, the shell was fired, then the breech was opened again and the case was extracted and ejected. By then that barrel was ready for another cartridge.
it
crews were not properly trained to use
Second,
field gun and since the crews men, they used it like a field gun. flopped; it was designed for much
looked like a
since
it
were
artillery
Of course
it
closer range.
When
at close range,
was too
it.
late.
mitrailleuse
up caused
it
almost by accident
was fearsomely
it
was used
effective;
but that
Another thing that embarrassed the was that
all
the secret-weapon build-
the Prussians to greet
est possible artillery fire as
it
soon as
with the heaviit
appeared.
This French gun didn't use metallic cartridges
and neither did Dr. Richard Gatling use them in his, which was the first practical American quickfiring
gun.
The
doctor was a go-getter!
War was on and when of trying out his civilian tions
gun
the
The
Civil
Army showed no signs
in the field,
Gatling hired
crews and gave convincing demonstra-
under
real battle conditions. After the
War
gun was adapted tometallic cartridges and manufactured by Colt. The Army used it in the Spanish War. An automatic pistol is still a "gat" in American slang. The Gatling gun was made with ten barrels, each with its own lock, and it was operated by a hand crank but not at all in the way the mitrailthe Gatling
nition
which was fed
This
to
a simplified version of the performance
is
which went on simultaneously and continuously, attaining the excellent rate of eight hundred shots
a minute with no trouble from overheating be-
cause each barrel fired only one shot in ten. didn't often,
hundred at that
if ever,
deliver
shots in one
rate.
This
is
an actual
minute but
true of later
it
It
total of eight
could be
machine guns
fired
too:
they are fired in short bursts rather than continuously. In tests,
can be
fired
about a thousand successive shots
without pause before the barrel
is
ruined.
There were other crank-operated quick-firing guns: the Lowell, pretty
much
like the Gatling;
the Hotchkiss, which was a small five-barreled
cannon; and the Gardner which was very handy because
it
weighed only two hundred pounds and
125
could be packed on one horse. All of these were
in-
vented by Americans but were used by European armies.
Hiram Maxim put an end to crank-turning in 1885 when he produced a gun which used its own recoil energy to load and fire itself and eject its own empty shells. This was the first fully automatic gun, the true machine gun. The operator had only to hold the trigger and the gun could continue firing until
ammunition was gone.
its
Maxim abandoned
the gravity-loading idea in
favor of a mechanically fed canvas belt in which
two hundred and
rounds could be packed
fifty
in
advance and the whole thing conveniently boxed.
GARDNER PORTABLE QUICK-FIRING GUN
The boxes could be changed
rapidly.
The Maxim
gun had only one barrel which was kept
cool by
being surrounded with a water jacket. Perhaps the
most remarkable feature of this gun, one that must in high-powered
modern machine
is
a
guns, was
that the breechblock was locked tightly to the barrel at the instant of firing. Immediately after
moved both
firing the recoil
block back together, and
barrel
as they
was unlocked and continued back rel
stopped. As
it
and breech-
moved
the block
after the bar-
separated from the barrel, the
breechblock took the fired cartridge case along
MAXIM AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN
and discarded
it.
The Maxim used one of operating a
of the two principal ways
machine gun
Browning which appeared
way
— gas pressure.
under
A
— recoil;
in 1895
little
the Colt-
used the other
hole drilled into the
side of the barrel near the
muzzle
let
a mi-
nute quantity of gas escape, just as the bullet was leaving the bore. Small as the escaping volume
COLT-BROWNING MACHINE GUN
126
was, little
it
had enormous kick behind it and it hit a head hard enough to furnish power
shotgun barrel and one
rifle
barrel; these are usu-
in-
ally the
M. Browning who was one
of
Brownings were air-cooled and were
rated at four hundred rounds a minute.
were bored tridges, rifle
They
to use the regular infantry issue car-
such as were used in the Krag-Jorgenson
of the time. Later, a heavier water-cooled
Browning was
built
Guns
re-
America's great men. first
over the other.
are)
whole complex operation of ejecting, loading and firing again. This gun was the
The
set
still
for the
vention of John
few with one barrel
side, a
have been made (and
piston
but the air-cooled type was
which have one
over-and-under type. The
gun now carried by American
little
survival
fliers to kill
small
game for food is an over-and-under rifle-shotgun. Ammunition for both barrels is carried in the stock.
The
sizes or gauges of
shotgun bores are based
on the ancient system of
musket barrel
sizing a
by the number of bullets a pound of lead would
make
for
The
it.
shotgun
largest
is
a four-gauge
used through World
War I, and was one of the which special controls were applied to make them shoot between the blades of an air-
"elephant gun" which throws a quarter-pound
guns
chunk
plane propeller without hitting
a lead pencil.
to
it.
of lead; the smallest shotgun
twenty-gauge, with a bore not
much
is
a lady's
bigger than
In spite of being measured by the size of the solid ball that will
Shoulder
firing
Arms and Hand Arms
for
pattern or killing circle for
small game. This pattern should be about thirty inches in diameter
Shotguns using paper-jacketed
shells
became
very popular around the turn of the century and fine
them, shotguns are used
and form a
the muzzle
(1900-1925)
some very
fit
charges of small shot which spread out from
ones were
built.
Many
double-barreled, most with the barrels
were
set side
by
twelve-gauge gun the bore
the
same
is
the shot
size all the
be evenly distributed
will rel
is
when
is
fired
from a
at a distance of ninety feet. If
"choked," that
is,
way
out, the shot
in the circle; if the bar-
constricted a
near
little
the muzzle, there will be a concentration of shot
near the center of the
Up to the
was made by molding ting
up
circle.
middle of the eighteenth century shot for the larger sizes
sheet lead for the small sizes.
and
Then
it
found that molten lead poured through a U.
S.
AIR FORCE SURVIVAL
GUN
and allowed itself into
The
to fall
neat,
cut-
was
sieve
from a high tower would form
round
balls
and harden
shot were caught in a tub of water
as
it fell.
and
sorted
DOUBLE-BARRELED EIGHT-GAUGE ELEPHANT GUN
127
One
for size later.
are
many sizes, from large buckshot. make an ounce, down to Number Ten, of which it takes 1600 to make an ounce. Once each size had a name; there were swan drops, goose drops, duck drops and dust shot. The last was half the size of Number Ten. Small sizes are still made by dropping, but buckshot and which
will
larger sizes are cast in molds.
Repeating shotguns had proved practical most as soon as the
it
wasn't long before a fully automatic shotgun ap-
peared. Sporting
progressed early
rifles, too,
in
the twentieth century from repeaters to automatics.
was not
It
make an automatic
difficult to
long as the charge wasn't too powerful. This
than nine pounds, military automatic
The
first
what
is
shot magazine which slipped
The
and
in 191
as the official U.S.
Army
to .45 in 1905.
the most dependable of
caliber
all
gun.
It will
will
flip
gun
a light
man it
intended for per-
and
or miss
stop a running
mighty wallop and like
jam
to
man
close range
fire. It's
in the
It
and
it
and designed the .30which was based on
Mi 903
German Mauser.
but by and large the same great
later,
made
Slight changes were rifle
served
World War and well into the second. The Marines took their Springfields onto Guadalcanal and they still use them as sniper rifles!
our armed forces through the
The
Springfield has
first
won matches
against the
and
yet on other
fanciest target rifles in the world,
mud
occasions, with her works half-choked with
and grit, she has seen what was needed and gone on shooting. Like the Krag. this is a bolt-action gun.
The
bolt
a steel cylinder containing most
is
mechanism needed to make the gun shoot. knobbed handle projects from the right side of
of the
A
the bolt, by which
it
a dan-
it
is
bolt forward will carry the top cartridge into the
chamber. Rotating the
bolt by bringing
down
it.
to the right locks
After firing, the bolt
is
its
handle
opened by being rotated
and drawn back by hand. This action ejects the fired shell and at the same time cocks the gun for the next shot, the cartridge for which comes into position just when the bolt
to the left
extracts
is
and
clear back.
With standard ammunition
delivers a
shooting hand
a fresh-caught salmon. This makes
gerous weapon for bystanders.
is
quite a
in his tracks
clear over.
jumps
the
is
automatics, an im-
it is
sonal protection at close range for a
was increased
arm. The Colt
side
portant characteristic since
no time
America was
had an
gun was adopted
the
1
quit fooling with
put into the magazine from the top. Pushing the
in It
automatics do. The work was done by
the recoil of the barrel.
were such that no
eight-
made
pistol
rifle
into the butt just as
delayed the
rifle.
automatic
Krag
moved forward and back in its guide and with which it is locked upon a cartridge in the chamber. With the bolt all the way back, the contents of a five-shell clip can be
so long
the Colt .38 introduced in 1900.
later Colt
as
fact,
gun may weigh more
plus the fact that no infantry
Army
caliber Springfield
al-
revolver had, and
first
faults of the
modifications could ever remedy them. So the
Shot comes in
five of
The
or two of the old shot towers
standing in Atlantic seaboard towns.
still
the
Mi 903
has an
extreme range of 3300 yards; 2200 yards more can be made by using a more powerful shell and a boat-tailed bullet. This
yond the
is
considered to be be-
practical needs of
an infantry weapon.
The same
idea stands against the experts,
have argued that
and that with
this
gun
is
better than
better sighting devices
its
its
who
sights
effective
combat range could be increased beyond the thousand yards which
is
now
given for
it.
There's room
doubt that in any of our wars John Citizen Doughfoot will ever have time to train for the
to
use of such a sight, or if
THE
FIRST
COLT AUTOMATIC PISTOL
much opportunity
to use
it
he knew how.
The Mi 903
is
a full-stocked
gun
like the old
Kentucky rifle; the wood is carried nearly to the muzzle and clear over the top of the barrel. But
128
THE MI 903 SPRINGFIELD RIFLE
the
gun
a good
is
two
feet shorter
than a Ken-
tucky, just over forty-three inches long,
weighs
less
and
than nine pounds. Originally
it
this
war
to
keep them out of the hands of the
This seems to have been a
Tommy
gun, which was the real answer to the
Springfield carried a sixteen-inch knife bayonet,
gangster's prayer, appeared shortly
but in late years this has been shortened to ten
was available
first
suggestion of a submachine gun, which
would
fall
between a machine gun and an auto-
matic
pistol,
secretly
came with the "Pederson devise" developed in World War I. Replacing
the bolt of a Springfield
make
the
rifle, this
gadget would
gun capable of delivering an
a hundred yards and very
ing. 1
The
there
to the beginning of World War I was a rash of new machine guns in all na-
tions.
Some were
added
little
One
worth
that
excellent
was new
weapons but they
in the
way
at least passing attention
of principle. is
the Lewis,
invented by an American but adopted by the
astonish-
ing spray of .32-caliber pistol bullets effective to
and evidently
in quantity.
From 1900
inches.
The
lawless.
futile gesture, since the
up
useful for close fight-
thing was due to be tried in France in
9 1 9 but the Armistice was signed before
it
was
combat-tested or even revealed. All the units
which had been made were destroyed
after the
the lewis light machine gun. The aluminum cooling
fins
are covered by the steel jacket
129
British as their light
machine gun
in 191 6. It
was
an air-cooled gun. the barrel being covered with a tinned
aluminum sheath
to carry off heat.
The
magazine was a rotating drum mounted on top of the gun The Lewis was simple in design and
down
when
was broadly divided
Artillery
into
two
fixed
and mobile. The more powerful
more
fixed
it
became. Mobile
anything from the
little
37
artillery
mm.
which two men could carry, up
it
included
infantry to the
classes,
was the cannon
enormous
jammed,
railway guns, some of which were nearly sixty feet
which was frequently For air use this gun was swivel-mounted with
long and which actually belonged to the class of
easy to tear
in the field
it
.
the barrel bare,
on
it.
and a "ring"
sight
was mounted
This trick helped an aerial gunner to
some estimate of how
far
target he should point the
some hope that
bullet
and
ahead of
gun
in
target
his
make
moving
order to have
would reach a
given point at the same time.
The development of tracer bullets which showed their path as a streak of light
was a great help
the success of plane-to-plane gunnery.
It
to
made
shooting more like spraying a hose. Incendiary bullets
were mixed into the magazine
the planes of 191 8 were nothing
if
too. Since
not inflam-
fixed guns except for the bare fact that they could
be moved
—a
little.
Fixed guns no longer have any
military use.
World War I weapon mounted on a tripod like a machine gun and served by a two- man crew. These two, when there was need to move, simply divided the gun and the mount between them and carried. The whole object of the gun's design was to make it as light and movStarting with the
37
little
mm. gun was an
able as possible for
its
fellows:
infantry
caliber. It
was used against
"points of resistance" which were chiefly machine-
gun
nests.
An explosive shell
an inch and a half
mable, these bullets often did the trick when plain
thick
bullets failed.
a comfortable thing to have with you in your
and weighing
machine-gun
a
pound and
a quarter
is
nest.
Great Guns and Little Guns
(1900— 1925) is about the artillery of World War I, or at some of it; this war was the proving ground for all that had been thought up since 1904. Of all the changes, the greatest one was from horses to tractors for moving guns. There are some bow-
This
least
legged gentlemen
who
haven't vet recovered from
that blow!
1.
gun ON a tripod mount. The cone
the muzzle
130
is
a flash-hider
not
little
at
TRUCK-MOUNTED ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN 1918
THE "SKYSWEEPER" 75 MM. RADAR-CONTROLLED ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN
When it
"aeroplanes" began to be a factor in war,
was necessary
artillery in the field.
the old "75" with
its
of a truck, so that
it
When the plane comes within four miles, the Sky-
them with One of the ways was to mount
sweeper aims
breech hung over the tailgate
will
to find
ways
could
to shoot at
fire at
a very high angle.
its
gun continuously, not at the plane
but at the swiftly changing spot where the plane
meet gun does
a shell fired at
any given
instant. This the
in darkness or fog as readily as in clear
days, but they were too fast to allow time for intri-
computing speed, course, drift and range, and firing and reloading automatically like a machine gun, though slower because of the size of
cate calculations of range
and so on. You aimed a ahead of a plane, much as you aim at
its shells.
"75" a
explode them as they approach the target, instead
Shooting at moving aircraft was a new experience Planes weren't very
for the artillery.
little
a flying fired.
fast in those
duck with a shotgun, you "led" him and surprising thing is that some airplanes
The
were brought down Recently
the
in this
way.
Army announced
radar, able to control the aiming
the gun.
It will
aircraft, find
miles
scan the sky
it
tirelessly for
from
its
own
and the firing of
one flying better than
an hour and track
"Sky-
the
sweeper," an antiaircraft "75" which has
five
enemy
hundred
fifteen miles
away.
daylight,
These
shells
have proximity
of when they actually hit
fuses
which
it.
The "75" on its regular carriage was surely the most-fired cannon of World War I. Along with the 75 mm. howitzer and the 105 mm. howitzer, it was the light
artillery,
operating just behind the
front line trenches. Howitzers fired at a higher
angle than guns but not so high as mortars. They still
all
do, but the distinction
is
fading
guns except trench mortars have
now
because
to fire at any
131
HOWITZER PULLED BY A FIVE-TON ARTILLERY TRACTOR 55 MM.
I
The Skysweeper can be turned
angle.
tanks on the ground
Medium
if
were used
All of these heavies
against
down"
to "lay
the barrage which the French invented to cover
the need arises.
artillery consisted of the three-inch
an infantry advance.
A
heavy concentration of
gun and the 155 mm. howitzer. This howitzer we adapted from the French Schneider. It was pulled
At the "zero hour'' infantry moved against
on the move by a
trenches and the range of the big guns was
gun
it
had a
five-ton tractor. Like
any
field
which rested on a two-wheeled
trail
gun carriage and the limber had solid rubber tires. Along with the howitzer went its own light repair truck, its ammunition cart or limber. Both the
carts
and a big
reel
on wheels,
for
telephone wire.
The howitzer cannoneers were never their target; they
had
able to see
to take firing information
mm.
155
heave a
howitzer could lean back and
shell 12,530
yards and
twice a minute, even faster
As with
on.
when
it
could do that
the pressure was
guns except the smallest, three
all
was thrown on the enemy
types of shells were used; high explosive, shrapnel
World War
was a railway gun war:
I
put long enough
for the things to
In
World War
II the
Germans
American railway gun
Though
it
shoved
in
behind
For the really heavy work there was the 155
mm. gun and two big howitzers, an eight-inch and a 240 mm. (nearly nine and a half inches). The 155 mm. gun was probably the most mobile heavy. With
A
its
it
carriage
was it
usually
still
unquestionably
weighed 25,960 pounds.
gun along a decent eight miles an hour. World War II guns moved at fifty or sixty.
big tractor could roll the
road at
132
They
solid bases fired.
two railway
fired a shot.
is
as
propaganda,
interesting because
it
holds the record for plain long-distance shoot-
— seventy-five miles, no
less!
Actually
it
was
not one gun but several, because the pressures
it.
of the heavies but
fired
was important only
ing
the shell
into the
stayed
guns known together as "Anzio Annie," but no
still
is,
was put
it
set up.
were laid under the guns before they were
and the packaged powder and a primer were
larger sizes, that
separate loaded in the 155
be
on tracks even though they didn't actually fire from them. The special flat cars on which the guns
gun
These were
in-
could shoot twenty miles but they had to be run
the German's Paris Gun
gas.
these
of the advance.
and
and
trenches.
creased just enough to keep the shells falling ahead
were mounted were jacked up and
by phone from a central control point.
The
artillery fire
needed
for
what they were doing ruined them
ter fifty or sixty
rounds.
A
lot
af-
of people call this
gun "Big Bertha," but they have the wrong girl; Big Bertha was a sixteen-inch howitzer the Ger-
mans used
The naval
in
Paris
rifle
Belgium
in 19 14.
Gun was made from
a fifteen-inch
by inserting a tube which reduced the
bore to eight and a quarter inches and nearly
doubled the original
fifty-six-foot length.
The
fin-
FOURTEEN-INCH RAILWAY GUN
IN FIRING POSITION
THE PARIS GUN
ished barrel was so long that
an inch and had
The 250-pound
to
shell
it
drooped almost
be held straight by a
zers
took three minutes to get to
first
Paris from the Forest of Saint-Gobain, east of Soissons.
The gunners had
to
do some dizzy math-
ematics to allow for the forty miles the earth tated while the shell
In
1
The long sixteen-inch
truss.
was
ro-
firing (a shell
every
twenty minutes when things were going good), 256 Parisians were killed while several hundred
thousand others lived
in a state of frantic jitters.
Those who are old enough
to
have seen
half of the century are for the most part
in place,
it
will
Naval armament and
accurate bombing from carrier planes have
siles
still
but they are not so impressive and com-
forting as they once were.
the "ramparts" look pretty
in flight.
40 days of intermittent
rifles and the big howitand mortars which defended our coasts for the
aren't going to
made
and guided
silly,
add a thing
to their
mis-
impor-
tance. Let's take a
little
tury "cannon balls." plosive shell
closer look at twentieth-cen-
The standard
is
the high ex-
which may be thin-walled
never forget the shock of the headline, Germans
maximum
SHELLING PARIS.
or thick-walled so that
to hold a
bursting charge for blowing things up,
when
it
bursts,
many 133
lc-
fragments
thai
kind of fuse; shell after a
mav
it
be scattered. There
will
may
is
some
be a time fuse to burst the
predetermined number
of seconds;
it
be a point-detonating fuse which explodes
the shell instantly
which gives the before
it
goes
TNT which
when
The
off.
it
is
usually
brown sugar but is
be almost solid
acts
intended to pierce steel
narrow band formed on the just a very
of the shell. This
is
the
bourrelet; its
machined very exactly
enough
Its sides
to
fit
matches the one
the
soft
are not parallel with
steel itself,
function
is
to
when
the shell
When
play, five thousandths of an inch in small
ready
is
be
to
the shell passes through the bore the only it
Sometimes more than one band
The
too heavy for
men
shown
tackle as
by that
let
to
lift.
They
even
A
if
rifling so
band and
the
gun
is
tually a
There
gun
towards
hold the shell where
it
embedded
its
The
it is
in rosin.
target like
shell doesn't
a mortar,
bourrelet
it
a blunt-nosed steel can. ac-
though
fired
from a gun.
crammed with The shell is shot
is
any other
projectile. Just
arrives, a pre-set time fuse fires the black
it
der.
hits the
a charge of black powder in the base of
is
lead balls
hardened Steel cap
band
hard that the grooves
the shell; the rest of the space
as
five
Impelled only
in.
elevated.
is
in itself,
will
railway gun.
depressed about
the projectile slide
shrapnel shell
.ailed windshield
is
slight incline, the rotating
cut into the
streamlining
are handled with
in the sketch of the
beginning of the
is.
used.
is
by very large guns are much
shells fired
degrees to
thin sttel
lies
fired.
which touch the gun are the bourrelet and the rotating band. Thus the band "locates" the shell, supports its base and seals off the forward leakage of gas by filling the rifling grooves.
and
the bore with just
which the rotating band
For loading, the gun barrel
Steel
is
diameter than
bore at the beginning of
in the
the rifling, against
parts of
from the body
little bit
guide the front end of the shell in the bore it's
the bore of the gun.
with a hard,
Just back of the head of a shell (any shell)
which projects
little greater in
wards the nose. The angle of the taper exactly
bursting charge
blunt head hidden under thin streamlining.
there's a
rotating band, just a
the body of the shell but are tapered slightly to-
looks a lot like
will
it
and shrunk
by being put on hot
to penetrate
quite differently. If the shell
armor
the bottom of the shell
to a secure seat
touches anything, or
second or so
shell a
Around
guns.
break up. Instead
and the lead
it
pow-
acts as
balls are discharged
from
exactly as shot are fired from a shotgun. Shrap-
in World War I but none was World War II. What were often called "'shrapnel wounds" were actually caused by frag-
nel
hody
was much used
used
of shell
in
ments of shells or grenades.
The
bursting charge
latest "scatter
shot" just coming into use
is
a revival of the old canister invented by Gustavus
Adolphus and important in the American Civil War. The modern canister is intended for use at
copper rotabna-bartd
very close range against infantry. rifled
}> lu3-
It is fired
from
guns and so comes out spinning. Leaving the
gun muzzle the case opens
out,
and the
spin
(Uxe.
spreads twelve hundred or so pellets like buckshot. It
ARMOR-PIERCING SHELL WITH A PIECE CUT OUT TO SHOW THE INSIDE
134
is
very effective
when
a mass of infantry
is
too close to be handled by machine-gun
is
also used to clear invisible or merely suspected
fire;
it
make
with enough push to
a reality of
even
it,
against the disgusted resistance of the top British brass.
To keep tried, the
the secret of what was really being
"armored machine-gun destroyers" were
The
referred to as "tanks," so tanks they remain.
behemoth they named "Mother" and the second was "Little Willie." Though at
CANISTER, 1953
away
snipers out of trees, or even for tearing
foli-
shells,
and incendiary
shells,
are built like high explosive shells except that they
have only enough bursting charge up, the rest of the space cal material.
only purpose night
and
shells
may
is
There are is
open them
given over to the chemialso ''star shells"
to burst high
cast a brilliant light
be sent
to
whose
above a target on
it,
slow, clumsy
first
nobody understood how
to use
them properly,
these monsters which crawled across trenches
and
through
and
shell craters,
spitting bullets as they
knocking over
trees
came, nearly wrecked the
morale of the German army. In time Fritz learned
age so that gunners can see where to shoot.
Chemical or gas
first
that a grenade in the caterpiller track
tank out of action, and that a
and too steep
to feel really
comfortable about
tanks.
Late in the war the Allies sent their tanks over in big
or
to the right address.
to bridge
climb would trap the brute; but
he never learned
at
so that other
to
would put a
wide
pit too
bunches behind heavy barrages.
more of the things together were was such massed tank
irresistible. It
began
to turn the tide in 1918.
A hundred
at that time
attacks that
The Germans
built
tanks too, but only halfheartedly; they had just
Special
Weapons (1900— 1925)
fifty at
the end of the war.
By then the
British
had
heavies that would cross a ten-foot ditch, and also
Leonardo da Vinci planned a "secure and covered chariot with guns" but
have been
built.
An
"land cruiser" in 191 off,
it is
not
known
English plumber suggested a 1.
He was promptly
brushed
but his idea was dug up a few years later
something had
to
to
when
be found to break the deadlock
light, fast
"whippets."
Military fully
men have been accused
of being always
prepared to win the war that has ended but
never ready for the next one, which quite differently. Yet safe
if
will
tanks win a war,
be fought
we
aren't
without more and better tanks for the next
between the armies dug into the French mud.
war and we should
Winston Churchill got behind the plumber's idea
sible defense against tanks;
BRITISH
certainly develop every pos-
HEAVY TANK
even though we make
IN
WORLD WAR 1
I
35
and the will
trigger
must be held down, or the grenade
go off in the thrower's hand.
Of course grenade
short fuse
onds
the trigger springs out as soon as the
thrown, and
business end sets off a which explodes the pineapple five sec-
is
its
later. Its just as well to
heave a grenade from
behind a bank or a tree because forty
metal slugs in
far as a
all
directions
will scatter
its
and just about
as
it
man can throw it: you could find yourself on
the receiving end of your
own weapon. Grenades
thrown at close range have been grabbed and thrown back to the sender before they could explode. Anyone who plays this kind of ping-pong should work fast and think about something else
PINEAPPLE HAND GRENADE
afterwards.
Not
same time, to go a step further with some other weapon which will itself dictate what kind of war the next is to be. In the war against the Kaiser the new power an
effort, at
the
of the machine gun pinned both sides to the for it
mud
months on end. Since nobody who could help
ever put his head above ground, weapons had
to
be found which could be lobbed high and
all
World War
apple variety.
I
grenades were of the pine-
Some were long-handled
mashers" which were supposed range.
Some were
two kinds of its it.
rifle
fired
from
grenades.
"potato
to
have added
rifles.
There were started on
One was
way by firing a regular rifle bullet right through The other kind carried a steel rod ten inches
long which was inserted in the cial
blank cartridge pushed
it
rifle
bore.
The "pine-
and threw
it
apple" hand grenade was just the article for the infantry in such a case. It was made with a cast-
kind did a
rifle
body deeply cut by grooves crossing each other at right angles, and it hasn't noticeably changed. The grooves are to make sure the body
vived and an improved grenade launcher
dropped into trenches almost
vertically.
iron
breaks up well because in a fragmentation gre-
nade the pieces of the body are the
—
A
grenade
it
hefts well, like the savage's
Along one
is
just a nice size to
body of the grenade but which
Once
in the
throwing
the pin
is
hand stone.
is
away from
the
held safe by a
pulled, the grenade
is
issued as a
armed
any good and both were aban-
rifle
been is
re-
now
attachment.
Trench mortars accomplished the same purpose achieved by grenades, but they carried more
A
trench mortar
is
usually consid-
ered a gun. but the original ones seem more closely related to a gas pipe.
They weren't aimed.
Like
the earliest medieval cannon they were merely
pointed in the general direction of the target and cut loose.
To
fire
jectile into the
one you simply dropped the pro-
muzzle and snatched your hand
RIFLE GRENADE AND LAUNCHER
I36
spe-
about two hundred yards. Neither
after the war, but the idea has
stuff further.
'"shot."
side of the pineapple lies a long trig-
ger which a spring tries to force
pin.
fit
doned
A
out of the barrel
mortar, though
muzzle-loading, has a
it is
and a range above 4000 yards. Some special weapons were developed
rifled
barrel
The torpedo
at sea.
is
associated in our
for use
minds with
submarines, in fact the pigboats were originally called
"submarine torpedo boats." Actually the
idea of sneaking an explosive charge
and
of a ship
setting
off
it
is
was tried
a
lot
to the hull
older than the
Something of the
successful submarine.
first
up
Decatur accomplished
it
when he blew up
Navy had
torpedoes attached to long spars,
which were floated up
by a
to
an enemy ship
at night
even by a swimmer.
skiff or
The the
the
War
Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor. In the Civil
the
sort
American Revolution and Stephen
in the
torpedoes which were launched by and at
German U-boats were
all
Whitehead
of the
type which were self-propelled and automatically
The
steered.
nose or "war head" held five hun-
dred pounds or so of TNT behind a delayed-action fuse
which allowed the "fish" time enough
etrate a hull before
it
A
exploded.
to
pen-
torpedo was
hard enough to make more than a Even in early days their little steam engines drove them along at twenty-five knots. The steam was generated by burning alcohol with likely to hit
dent, too.
CURRENT MODEL OF 60 MM. TRENCH MORTAR
compressed
air.
A torpedo is launched by being pushed out of a out of the way. There was a fixed firing pin at the
big tube by compressed
bottom of the pipe, and when
nism
it
met the primer of
the twelve-gauge shotgun shell
which served
the "propellant," the projectile
came back
as
out
shell three ballistite
cartridge by itself
hundred
yards.
maximum
a
would throw a
By boosting with added
range of 750 yards could be
reached. Ordinarily a three-inch trench mortar could
ten times a minute but the speed could
fire
will actually
which
is
The
change
its
target.
trying to evade them.
shells
were high explosive
weighing from seven
trench mortar steel fins to
shells,
to ten pounds.
except the largest,
keep them on course, but
German U-boats
The first problem was finding the pesky Radar is helpful but listening devices have
measures.
long
for this
way from
the
— they have been brought a
first
crude instruments
present highly sensitive sonar.
Once
was how
with a detonating fuse which would go off even
no good, nor was anything which had
sizes of
wrong end up.
trench mortar are
the
Army. The two smaller
too
much from
sizes
rately
now
used by
haven't changed
the old ones, but the
M2
4.2-inch
some
fathoms below the keel of an attacking surface ship, the next poser
Three
to the
located,
the 191 7 variety were simple "cans" equipped
the shell landed
in both
wars has demanded the invention of counter-
proved better
if
and
The
their course to follow a ship
success of the
things.
have four
steering mecha-
most recent torpedoes have been provided with a
Most trench mortar
Modern
The
pre-set to guide the torpedo to
be stepped up to twenty-five a minute in a pinch.
projectiles
air.
gyroscopically controlled
is
device which makes them seek the target. They
again and quick!
The shotgun
is
in the tin fish
aimed
was found
at
an
in the
invisible target.
if it
Guns were to
be accu-
The answer
"ash can," more properly but
not often called a depth bomb.
even
to attack.
It will
damage
a sub
goes off twenty-five or thirty yards away,
137
DIAGRAM OF TORPEDO
because the shock ter.
The system
is
is
to try to
surround the sub with
a "pattern" of depth-bomb explosions, set to occur at the estimated
depth of the
target.
Dropping ash
cans from aircraft proved very effective against the submarine wolf packs of
World War
I,
they
as torpedoes. fell
self-acting.
into
in
to the
two simple
end of World
classes; controlled
War and
Both kinds floated at the end of an
anchored cable fifteen feet.
Up
to
any desired depth, usually about
Mines are still
laid in
groups or "fields"
harbor entrances. The controlled kind are con-
nected to the shore by electrical wires and explode
only
when I
38
a switch
is
thrown.
self-acting or contact
mines have largely
replaced the controlled kind but they have the
disadvantage of not being choosy. are fitted with a
one of which
by a
II.
Stationary submarine mines were originally
known
The
transmitted through the wa-
ship;
will
and
Some
number of projecting it
explode the mine doesn't care
more recent mines the
if it is
what
of them
touched
ship.
hundred and
fifty
On
the
triggers are thin glass
bulbs which have only to be broken to a
any
triggers
set off
pounds of tnt. Other mod-
ern refinements are the magnetic mine which is
exploded by the magnetic
passing near "listens"
it;
field
of a
ship
and the acoustic mine which
and goes
off
when
it
"hears" a ship's
propeller nearby. Neither of these requires actual contact.
The Navy has what may be the
lately
admitted the existence of
strangest
"weapon"
of them
all:
the "frogmen." These fellows are good at swim-
ming. They wear special waterproof suits and fan-
rubber
tastic
flippers.
With an hour and
oxygen supply tanked on leave a
their backs, they can
submerged submarine and return
without ever going to the surface.
main jobs is clearing mine moving the mines.
fields
One
It's
The weight
required
may
be
may
the land
lighter
than a truck or a tank.
which looks
set to
like a
to detonate
it.
be only that of a man's
it
An
instrument
pancake-on-a-stick will detect
the presence of a metal
method
re-
be affected by nothing
foot or
its
is
it
usually buried by retreating troops and
depends on pressure from above
signal
to
of their
by personally
In addition to the sea mine there mine.
a halfs
mine underground and
operator. Before this
was invented, the
of finding shallow mines
was
to drive a
herd of pigs ahead of advancing troops.
Land mines make good tank
traps.
does no more than blow off a tread, tank.
The Maginot
line
Even it
if
one
stops the
along the border of France
was equipped with short concrete
posts for tipping
tanks over, but these never got a chance to tip any tanks because the
Germans decided
to
back door which no one had bothered
had come that way they'd do
surround
it
again!
fields in
before, but
come
in the
to bolt; they
no one thought
The banked hedgerows which
Normandy turned
out to be
completely effective tank traps until an American soldier
made
a plow attachment for our tanks,
with which they could cut right through the banks.
NAVY FROGMAN CLEARING A MINE FIELD
MINE DETECTOR
^
ably uncomfortable, protection could be had from a
mask which
filtered air
through charcoal and
chemicals. Later, tear gas, mustard gas and other skin irritants were introduced. All gas
nable and very tough to control.
is
abomi-
A change of wind
and you're attacking yourself with vour own weapon!
It
was
this,
were ready with
War
it,
plus the fact that both sides
that kept gas out of
Self-Loading and Automatic
WORLD WAR GAS MASK
after
I
The
Of all
the special
weapons of World War
most spectacular was poison gas; but
accomplishments be desired.
It
as a
it
to drift
into shells
left
it
the
I,
actual
something
was sprung by the Germans. At
they merely released
lowed
weapon
its
from containers and
on the breeze;
later
it
to
first
al-
was loaded
and grenades. The first gases used afand a reasonable, if miser-
fected the lungs only
Guns
1925 Springfield was a repeater; a fired round
it and a new one thrown chamber by opening the bolt by hand and closing it again. The Garand is a self-loader
could be removed from into the
or semiautomatic;
it
removes
its
own
fired shell
and puts a new one into the chamber, getting power to do it from a little gas spurting from a hole in the barrel near the muzzle and moving a piston in a cylinder under the barrel.
THE "T-47" AUTOMATIC RIFLE 140
World
II.
When
its
THE MI CARBINE
cycle
is
complete, the gun
again but
fire
it
doesn't
is
cocked and ready
The
fire itself.
must be pulled by hand and released
to
trigger
after every
shot.
a trained soldier can in twenty seconds. five
seconds to
with reasonable accuracy
fire
The same man will take twenty-
fire
the Jive rounds of a Springfield
The Garand was officially adopted as the United States infantry weapon in 1940 and amply proved itself in Europe and in the
with the same accuracy.
General Patton called
Pacific.
battle
"the greatest
it
A fully automatic rifle is now being tested. a machine gun, let
it
Like
continue to follow one bul-
will
with another as long as the trigger
is
held. It
about a pound lighter than the Garand and accurate in semiautomatic
The
ways).
has always been that
tion
and that an excited
defenseless; then too,
when
muzzle
it's
it
would waste ammunimight fire himself
soldier
it's
popping
hard
rifle fires
hold a gun on
its
bullets at a high rate: the
a bullet of the its
cartridge
which has made
it
Colt
.4
the
startling to realize that
in
little
to
make
riding
is
modern armies and any shoulder weapon
shoots straighter than a one-handed one, particularly in the
hands of American
have seldom managed
whispered that the great to
have
killed
citizen-soldiers
to master a
an enemy
.45
in
pistol. It's
been
combat.
special, short caliber .30 cartridge has
built for the carbine's shorter lot less
who
has never been proved
zing than the regular
chamber. rifle
It
been has a
cartridge but
considerably more than the .45 automatic
ammu-
The carbine can hit things three hundred away but its ideal range is anything up to half of that. The gun weighs only five and a quarter pounds. It is semiautomatic like the Garand or fully automatic, by the firer's choice. The maganition.
yards
zine holds fifteen rounds.
This weapon
is
many special men whose nordo with guns but who
being used by the
army now
needs,
mal duties have nothing
to
it
bad.
In the past engineers and such have shown a
possible to build the "T-
marked tendency to "lose" rifles when carrying them became a nuisance. The carbine is light enough to encourage such men to keep it with them and easier than a .45 for them to handle successfully. It makes a good officers' weapon too, and it seems to be a comfort to paratroopers who can jump with it and land shooting, instead of waiting for a gun to come down on the next ele-
It is this
5 automatic pistol
American has become
is
obsolete
so it's
and
has already been extensively replaced by a very
weapon, the
one-handed gun
sometimes need a "shootin' arn" and need
forces that
it
as a
easy to shoot on horseback. Very
done
Mi
for paratroopers. Originally a
was planned
shorter than
up well in trials but it hasn't yet been adopted by the Army. If and when it is adopted, it will be some years before it replaces the Garand.
different
way
of the
same weight
is
47" lighter than the older gun. The magazine of the test model holds twenty rounds. This gun shows
all
it
that
One model
rifles,
and de-
pistol grips
shorter car-
the one used in the Garand.
The beloved much a part of
made
pistol
troops which an
striking force but
tridge
to
will climb.
The new and
as
can work both
objection to a fully automatic infantry
rifle
target
fire (it
is
carbines were short
tachable shoulder stocks.
A
implement ever devised."
Once
carbine.
though some were made with
is
The Garand magazine holds eight rounds which
Mi
the
pistol-that-looks-like-a-rifle,
vator.
The automatic carbine with
a "sniperscope"
added becomes a formidable weapon
for night
141
fact that
it's
easier to
When
heavy one.
move
a light object than a
a cartridge
is
fired, its gases
push forward against the bullet and back against the
breechblock.
breechblock
isn't
In
bullet, so the bullet
breechblock
moves
arms; heavier weapons
what
is is
By
will
resistance.
to the
bore
has
work only on
like the
light
Tommy gun, use
called retarded blowback:
added
the time the
the
in
breech to be safely
for the
opened. Straight blowback
heavier than the
it's
first.
pressure
starts,
dropped enough
drag
blowback system the
the
locked but
some kind
breechblock to give
Blowback absorbs quite a
of
extra
it
large part of
the kick of a gun.
The remarkable Finnish Suomi submachine gun which has only one moving part, the bolt, is hinted to have been built upon an American gangster invention which crept into Europe by
way the
in cold
Many
fighting.
A
soldier using
dark without being seen. a special 'scope
Through which
own the
is
it
it
can
literally see in the
He sights his gun through
mounted on top of the
barrel.
he sees by "black light" (infrared)
unaided eye.
invisible to the
He
has his
mounted on Of course if the enemy
battery-operated "searchlight"
gun under the
barrel.
light
"machine
make has
pistol"
uses in a
taken
works well
which
of the uses are the same as for the
submachine gun
firepower within
more
its
came up with
gun which, garage."
it
was
is
tough
modern army.
bine, except that a
ish
it
weather.
but cheap to
"sniperscope"
because
to their hearts
A simple,
the automatic m2 carbine with
The Russians have
of South America.
Suomi
M
1
car-
gives greater
limited range.
The
Brit-
the various forms of the Sten said,
could be
The Americans
"made
in
Sten and the Suomi and then issued the M3.
The
M3
handsome.
is
Its
a cheap
submachine gun. It isn't is nothing more than
shoulder stock
has the right glasses, the sniper becomes a singularly
conspicuous target.
Submachine guns handle 45-caliber
are bullet sprayers which
pistol bullets.
They
don't shoot
any farther or harder than an automatic but they shoot faster and they can stay at
it
pistol
longer
without reloading.
The Thompson submachine
gun has been found
to
work better and waste
with a twenty-shot magazine but
with a fifty-shot drum. excellent in
The
Tommy
and honorable record
jungle fighting;
it
also at
for
one time
less
can be used
it
gun has an
performance fell
into
bad
company and was used by competing "businessmen" to drill neat rows of holes in one another. Submachine guns operate by a system known as blowback. The principle of this is based on the 142
any
took long looks at the
TOMMY GUN
a piece of heavy wire with a crook in
way
pots
and
tic Its
and pans are made,
it's
narrow magazine holds range of the
effective
a hundred yards but let
yet
will spit slugs at the rate of
long,
The
it.
Most
of
stamped out of sheet metal the
the gun's parts are
it
M3
fully
automa-
450 a minute. thirty rounds.
considered to be
is
can actually throw a bul-
farther than that.
The need
for light,
handy machine guns which
could travel with the infantry was discovered
in
World War I and resulted in the Lewis, the light Browning and the French Chauchat. Such guns are still needed and they have been made even lighter and more handy, so that they approach the automatic shoulder rifle and may eventually be eliminated by
it.
The heavy machine gun has been made much heavier. The old .30-caliber has been replaced entirely in the air
and
the .50-caliber guns.
largely
on the ground by
The Germans invented
those
big fellows in an effort to stop British tanks in
World War
I.
In
World War
gone beyond the gun but trucks
and
as
an
The standard is
II
the tanks had
did well against
it still
American
.50 caliber in the
it is
very
forces
like its
older .30-caliber brother which spat lead thirty years before Pearl Harbor.
BROWNING CALIBER GUN
.50
Some
of the
fifties
are
as the "grease
water-cooled but mostly they are cooled by
air
and the barrels are changed when one gets too hot. Ammunition is fed from hundred-round metal link belts. These are held together by the cartridges themselves and fall apart as the rounds are fed into the gun. There are differences between Brownings for ground use and those for the air,
but they are only the minor differences neces-
sary to adapt each to the conditions of its service.
Above
all
the
Browning
.50 has
done well
as
an
aircraft-mounted weapon. By the war's end no
American or than a
antiaircraft gun.
the Browning. Mechanically
the M3 submachine gun, known gun"
were
set
fifty.
British plane carried
Some were
anything lighter
set inside
wings, some
on movable mounts, some were synchro-
nized to shoot between the blades of propellers
and some actually
fired
through the hollow crank-
shafts of engines.
AIR-COOLED MACHINE
143
Some
quite big guns have been tried on planes,
cannon of .37 mm. and even 75*s. These have great stopping power if a hit can be scored with them, but their action
is
too slow for
much
success in the
air except for dive-shooting. Several Japanese ships
were actually sunk by cause of
its
75*s
used in this way. Be-
faster action a 20
mm. cannon
will
throw more metal per minute than the larger guns. This is the size which has proved most ef fective for air-to-air use for really rapid fire
and
because yet large
it is
small enough
enough
to use
an
explosive bullet.
When
vou shoot
at a very fast
sav one going above three
moving
vou have a better chance of scoring bullets
come
close together.
A
20
you nine or ten shots a second, a 50
vou
fifteen a
second:
if
hits if
your
mm. will give mm. will give
you have eight
ing together, you can throw a eight rounds a second,
target,
hundred miles an hour,
50's shoot-
hundred and twenty-
which takes a
little
dodging.
COMPARATIVE ROUNDS of places
1954 The second World War moved with
speed,
swinging across great stretches of land and
Guns had
to
sea.
go anywhere a road went and a
lot
it
SIZES OF .30
didn't.
AND
The tendency
.50 CALIBER
of the time be-
tween the wars was to make all artillery, even quite big stuff, more rapidly movable. The 155 mm. gun is an example. On its original solid-tired carriage it could be towed at eight miles an hour by a caterpillar tractor. Just before World War II a new, balloon-tired carriage was designed which
could be towed at twenty-five miles an hour. During the war the
same gun was given a selfpropelled mount which could go as fast, turn on a dime and was ready to shoot on very short notice.
These self-propelled mounts are a rational out-
growth of the
%( w
155 MM.
GUN ON PNEUMATIC-TIRED CARRIAGE 1
44
effort to increase the mobility of
MM GUN ON SELF-PROPELLED CARRIAGE
155
-
added to experience in tank design. Most of them have caterpillar treads and John Q. Citizen may well glance at one and say, "Tank," but they they're self-moving gun emplacearen't tanks
rough-up the Russian thirty-five-tonner which gave our lighter equipment trouble early in the
ments, not intended to give such close support to
a plan for standardizing parts of motor-driven ve-
infantry as tanks do.
hicles.
guns,
—
The "General Sherman"
thirty-five-ton-tank
Korean fracas. During World War
II
Army Ordnance
started
The same "components" can be used
several tanks
and
in
also in a troop carrier, a cargo
which the United States built in World War II was able to defeat heavier and more powerfully armed German tanks, not only because it outnumbered them but because it was easier to handle and was mechanically sturdier. General Patton,
who knew that
if
German down by
tanks, all
his
the time he reached the Moselle River.
Speaking of rivers, to cross
two about the breed, said dash across France with of them would have broken
a thing or
he had tried
any
all
U.
river four feet
S.
tanks are
now
built
deep or shallower, and
with special gimmicks can cross rivers up to nine feet
deep.
Late in the war we brought out the "General Pershing" tank which mounts a 90
mm.
gun. After
war the Pershing was improved into the faster and more easily handled "Patton" or M46. This one and the Sherman have proved easily able to
the
GENERAL PERSHING 45-TON TANK INTRODUCED IN
WORLD WAR
II
145
THE NEW "PATTON" 48-TON MEDIUM TANK WITH 90 MM. HIGH-VELOCITY GUN
as the
amphibious "Otter" which can carry troops
at thirty miles
an hour on land and without pause
can ferry them across any to get in the
way;
happens
river that
must include the "'Eager
it
Beaver," a two-and-a-half-ton truck which can
same
cross the
rivers
by traveling on their
bot-
toms, both driver and engine breathing through tubes;
it
must include even the means of protect-
ing metal from rust. Soldiers rifles will
who have cleaned
recognize the
grease from stored
YCI bag
as
great military advances of our time.
THE WALKER BULLDOG 26-TON LIGHT TANK
treated paper, cloth
and aluminum
other equipment heat-sealed into carrier, a riage.
supply truck and a motorized gun car-
For instance, a single kind of engine serves
eleven types of tracked vehicles. This not only saves
money
for the taxpayer.it also eases the
of keeping these vehicles operating in the
For ordinary
now
folks the
146
it
once did.
It
field.
term "weapons" must
be stretched to cover a
items than
job
much wider
range of
must include such things
be clean,
rustless
and ready
it
one of the
It is
foil.
made
Rifles
of
and
for storage will
for immediate use years
later.
Perhaps the most astonishing thing
to
be
in-
modern weapons is personal armor.' As "tin hats." helmets came back into use in World War I. The idea of protective body armor has long attracted moderns who never wore an iron
cluded
suit.
in
Frightened Civil
War
conscripts bought
THE NEW 280 MM. MOBILE ATOMIC GUN, RANGE
TWENTY MILES
/n..
-
*>•
.-aft.
-^ic.
"bullet-proof" vests which weren't an adequate
charge and has successfully done
protection from a
shoot ordinary shells and
stiff
breeze. Considerably better
are the two types of really light, strong
now
in use.
One
kind
is
an ancient archer's jacket; the other dine" with Neither
is
many
body armor
thickly quilted nylon, like is
a "brigan-
plastic disks in little pockets.
proof against a direct
hit.
but they add
to the sense of security, they will stop flying frag-
ments and spent
bullets
and they are credited with
is
so,
but
it
'^
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