Wheel lock: history of creation, pros and cons

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

Probably, every person who is at least a little interested in history and, specifically, the history of the development of firearms in Europe has heard about the wheel lock. For its time, it was a real breakthrough, if not bringing guns and pistols to a new level, then at least greatly simplifying the process of working with them.

What is it?

First, let's tell you what the wheel lock for the pistol looked like.

The main working part of the design was a wheel, on the edge of which there was a notch. It was fixed right next to the shelf. Near the wheel was a trigger equipped with a piece of silicon (although pyrite was used in early versions). With the help of a key, a spring was compressed, exerting pressure on the trigger in a free position.

So, how did the shot itself happen? To begin with, the shooter had to prepare the wheel lock - compress the spring with a key. After that, a pinch of gunpowder was poured onto the shelf - not ordinary, but special, finely ground, which ignited at the slightestsparks.

When the shooter aimed at the target (it was the command "Point" and not "To aim" that was used - it was impossible to aim when using the weapons of that time) and pulled the trigger, the trigger with silicon fell on the wheel, which struck a spark. She ignited finely ground gunpowder, and the main charge located in the barrel flared up from it.

As you can see, the charging process was rather complicated. It took about a minute to reload the weapon. Of course, in the heat of battle, when the hands are shaking from adrenaline, people are dying around, and you yourself need to look around so as not to become a victim of an approaching enemy, it was not possible to reload the weapon. Therefore, even with an advanced wheel lock, pistols and rifles were intended for only one shot - then it was removed and switched to the usual melee weapons.

Who invented it?

Today it is difficult to say who exactly is the author of this simple but ingenious solution. Some claim that Leonardo da Vinci invented the wheel lock. Yes, it is foolish to argue with this - in his work Codex Atlanticus, such a device is described in detail. However, it was distinguished by the complexity of manufacturing and, accordingly, not too high reliability. Therefore, it did not go to the masses. And yet, the idea itself, of course, belongs to a famous genius - he first sketched a functioning castle around 1480-1485.

But the castle described above was created a little later, already at the beginning of the 16th century. Hisauthorship is attributed to both the gunsmith Ettora from Flanders and Wolf Danner from Nuremberg. It is not known which of them first came up with the innovation. But it is possible that both of them came to this conclusion independently of each other - history knows a lot of similar cases.

The new wheel lock device was more simple and therefore it was they who went to the masses - as cheaper and more reliable, and not the creation of Leonardo da Vinci. Perhaps the authors relied on his works, but perhaps they did not hear about them.

When did it become widespread?

It was used approximately from the beginning of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. But even at the peak of its popularity, it did not receive much expansion - many kings preferred to equip their soldiers with less reliable and convenient, but much cheaper analogues.

However, it was the appearance of the wheel lock that made it possible to create such an amazing, hitherto unknown thing as a pistol. After all, earlier gunpowder was set on fire exclusively with the help of a wick. Accordingly, the shooter had to always be near the source of the fire or be able to get it - it took a whole few minutes.

But after a few upgrades to the wheel lock, there was a great opportunity to wear it ready for battle for a significant amount of time. That is, going on a risky journey, a nobleman, officer or just a we althy person could load a pistol in a timely manner and wear it in his belt all day long in order to grab a weapon and fire a shot at the right time. Matchlock guns couldn'tbrag about these opportunities. Therefore, despite the shorter range, pistols began to rapidly gain popularity - compact, reliable, easy to use, they could save the owner's life at any moment.

Main Benefits

Despite the relative complexity of manufacturing (compared to wick counterparts), the new guns could boast of high reliability. They could be used during strong winds and even in the rain - the main thing was only to keep the flint and gunpowder dry on the shelf.

In addition, it was not necessary to constantly keep a burning fuse at the ready, which perfectly unmasked the shooter - ambushes became even more effective. In addition, ambush combat is usually fleeting, so one shot is enough - you could not count on more due to the long reload.

Were there any disadvantages?

However, like any weapon, there were flaws.

The main one was the cost. For example, in France at the end of the 16th century, an arquebus with a matchlock could be bought for 350 francs - already a lot of money. An exact copy of the arquebus, equipped with a wheel lock, cost several times more - the price could reach up to 1,500 francs. Of course, only the richest people could afford such a purchase - even very we althy kings could not equip ordinary soldiers with them. What can we say about an improved pistol with a self-cocking wheel lock of the 17th century - although it was the pinnacle of engineering, only a few could make itmasters throughout Europe (and outside of it, such weapons were not produced anywhere), so the price was appropriate.

Also, the weapons had to be cleaned regularly. In principle, it could not withstand more than 20 shots without cleaning - carbon deposits polluted the lock.

Conclusion

Our article ends. From it, the reader, who is interested in the development of weapons, learned more about the structure of the wheeled castle. And at the same time about the history of its invention, possible authors, main advantages and disadvantages.