Firearms were invented in the 14th century in China, after the Chinese had invented gunpowder in the 9th century. These inventions were later transmitted to the Middle East and to Europe. Firearms in China The direct ancestor of the firearm is the fire lance, a black-powder--filled tube attached to the end of a spear and used as a flamethrower; shrapnel was sometimes placed in the barrel so that it would fly out together with the flames. The earliest depiction of a gunpowder weapon is the illustration of a fire-lance on a mid-12th century silk banner from Dunhuang. The De'an Shoucheng Lu, an account of the siege of De'an in 1132, records that Song forces used fire-lances against the Jurchens. In due course, the proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximise its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal. And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. With this, we have the three basic features of the gun: a barrel made of metal, high-nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect. The earliest depiction of a gun is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan dating to the 12th century of a figure carrying a vase-shaped bombard with flames and a cannonball coming out of it. The oldest surviving gun, made of bronze, has been dated to 1288 because it was discovered at a site in modern-day Acheng District where the Yuan Shi records that battles were fought at that time; Li Ting, a military commander of Jurchen descent, led foot-soldiers armed with guns—including a Korean brigade—in battle to suppress the rebellion of the Christian Mongol prince Nayan. Firearms in Southeast Asia The first record of firearms in Vietnam Đại Việt is the death of the Champa king Chế Bồng Nga in 1390 killed by a volley of firearms known in Chinese as Huochong Firearms in the Middle East The Arabs obtained firearms in the 14th century. Al-Hassan claims that the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 saw the Mamluks use against the Mongols "the first cannon in history" gunpowder formulae which were almost identical with the ideal composition for explosive gunpowder. However, Khan states that it was invading Mongols who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world and cites Mamluk antagonism towards early riflemen in their infantry as an example of how gunpowder weapons were not always met with open acceptance in the Middle East. Firearms in the West One and two theory of how gunpowder came to Europe is that it made its way along the Silk Road through the Middle East; another is that it was brought to Europe during the Mongol invasion in the first half of the 13th century. English Privy Wardrobe accounts list "ribaldis," a type of cannon, in the 1340s, and siege guns were used by the English at Calais in 1346. The first mention of firearms in Russia is found in the "Sofiiskii vremennik" chronicle, where it is stated that during the 1382 defense of Moscow from Tokhtamysh's Golden Horde, Muscovites used firearms called "tiufiaks" (Russian: "тюфяки", which were of Eastern origin; this word derives from Turkic "tüfeng", meaning "gun"). The earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found from Otepää, Estonia and it dates to at least 1396. Around the late 14th century in Europe, smaller and portable hand-held cannons were developed, creating in effect the first smooth-bore personal firearm. In the late 15th century the Ottoman empire used firearms as part of its regular infantry. Early modern age During the Early modern age, these hand-held cannons evolved into the flintlock rifle, then the breech loader and finally the automatic weapon. Early firearms had to be cocked and caught by the "sear", which holds the hammer back, before each shot. Pulling the trigger allows the hammer or striker to fly forward, striking the "firing pin," which then strikes the "primer," igniting an impact-sensitive chemical compound (historically, first fulminate of mercury, then potassium chlorate, now lead styphnate) which shoots a flame through the "flash hole" into the cartridge's propellant chamber, igniting the propellant. As ignition devices, matchlocks, wheellocks, snaplock, flintlocks and percussion caps were used in turn. The paper cartridge was introduced in 1586, and the bayonet came to use in 17th century France. Hand grenades, thrown by grenadiers, appeared around the same time. Attribution: Article text available under CC-BY-SA sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_firearmPublic domain image sourced from http://wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_Fire_Lance_with_Pellets.JPG

• published: 18 Sep 2013
• views: 0