Small Arms

I

Introduction

Small Arms, firearms that may be both carried and discharged by one person, as opposed to artillery weapons. By extension, the automatic weapons that developed from such firearms are also called small arms: Machine guns using the same ammunition as military rifles, as well as the larger caliber machine guns, are so classified. Because the dividing line between small arms and artillery weapons is so vague, the various national military services have set arbitrary maximums on the caliber of the weapons regarded as small arms. These limits have been changed from time to time. Small arms are not subject to precise definition, but the term usually includes rifles, handguns (pistols and revolvers), shotguns, submachine guns, and machine guns.

II

History

The first small arms were developed as miniature models of early artillery weapons and were at first called hand cannons.

A

Firelocks

In the first quarter of the 14th century, the firelock was developed, a simple, smooth-bore tube of iron, closed at the breech end except for an opening called a touchhole, and set into a rounded piece of wood for holding under the arm. The tube was loaded with shot and powder and then fired by inserting a heated wire into the touchhole. Later models had a saucerlike depression, called a flashpan, in the barrel at the outer end of the touchhole; a small charge of powder was placed in the flashpan and fired by applying a so-called slow match. The slow match, consisting of a piece of cord soaked in a solution of potassium nitrate and then dried, smoldered without flaming or becoming extinguished. The charge of powder in the flashpan was difficult to ignite, was frequently affected by moisture in the atmosphere, and required repriming just before use to ensure against misfires.

B

Matchlocks

About the middle of the 15th century a type of musket called the matchlock was introduced. This weapon was essentially the same as the firelock, except that the slow match was clamped in the top of a device called a serpentine, an S-shaped piece of metal pivoted in the center. Pulling with one finger on the bottom of the serpentine, as on a trigger, moved the top with the attached slow match into the priming pan, which contained the firing charge of gunpowder. Because only one finger was needed to fire the weapon, the matchlock left both hands free to hold and aim the firearm. A refinement in the shape of its stock to permit firing from the shoulder produced the harquebus.

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