During its history, mankind has created a lot of various weapons that allow you to defeat a dangerous, numerous and well-armed enemy. The main bias in recent centuries has been on firearms - reliable, powerful and relatively easy to manufacture. Against this background, the Girardoni rifle looks simply amazing. Not all people, even those who consider themselves experts in small arms, have heard of it, let alone know enough to judge its effectiveness.
What is interesting about this rifle
It will surprise many, but this weapon, which was once in service with the army, is … pneumatic. Yes, the mechanism here is exactly the same as in the "air guns" from which you can shoot at any shooting range and which are not at all perceived by adults as something serious.
In fact, attempts (not always unsuccessful) to create effective pneumatic weapons have not been abandoned by mankind for over two thousand years. The first working samples were discovered in the territory of Ancient Greece. However, for the most part, for some reason (difficulty in manufacturing, capriciousness in use, low efficiency), they were all rejected.
The only exception is the Girardoni gun, which is practically devoid of all the above disadvantages.
History of Creation
Surprisingly, it was the creation and wide distribution of firearms that became the impetus that forced gunsmiths to look for alternative solutions. Given all the shortcomings that squeaks and muskets had, they tried, if not to improve them, then at least find workarounds.
It is worth saying that the Girardoni fitting is far from the first pneumatic combat weapon. Quite effective solutions were found as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century. A variety of pistols, rifles and even shooting canes were made by craftsmen to order at the request of we althy clients. Some used such a silent weapon for self-defense, while others did it for poaching, so as not to attract the forester with a shot. However, all of them were not good enough to be widely used - most did not go beyond the discussion in a narrow circle of masters.
Everything changed when, in 1779, Bartolomeo Girardoni demonstrated his offspring. It was he who presented the Austrian Archduke Joseph II with a multiply charged pneumatic weapon. By the way, the Austrians stubbornly consider Girardoni a Tyrolean, that is, almost their countryman. In fact, he was Italian, which is clearly confirmed by his last name.
The test results are so impressiveArchduke that he decided to put the rifle into mass production and equip special units of the border guard with new weapons. Of course, the creator began to oversee the entire project, Girardoni chose not to show the drawings of the air rifle to anyone.
Main unit
The device of the rifle was quite simple, although it required maximum precision when creating - the slightest gaps or inconsistencies with the standard led to a sharp decrease in efficiency or even made it impossible to use.
The barrel of the weapon was octagonal, rifled. Moreover, the caliber turned out to be very serious - 13 millimeters. The role of the butt was played by a cylinder of compressed air. It was connected to the barrel through a percussion metering valve and a breech. The connection was securely sealed with a leather cuff soaked in water. A non-removable tubular magazine, attached to the right, right along the barrel, contained as many as 20 round bullets.
It is worth noting that the balloon was carefully designed and, as they would say today, had a very ergonomic shape - it was very convenient to work with it.
The air was pumped up in a timely manner, before the battle. Still, in order to create the necessary pressure in it (about 33 atmospheres), it was necessary to swing the hand pump about 1500 times. Here, special accuracy was required - if too little pressure was created, then the firing power was sharply reduced. With increased pressure, the thin walls of the cylinder (this is what made it possible to reduce the weight of the weapon) could not withstand, which would lead to an explosion.
Package
Of course, pumping air into a tank right on the battlefield would never have occurred to anyone. Therefore, the developers took care of the possibility of fast reloading. Included air rifle Girardoni had a replaceable cylinder. It is quite reasonable to fill up two cylinders in a timely manner so that during the battle you can quickly make a replacement and continue firing.
In addition, the kit necessarily included four tin canisters, each containing 20 round bullets. Using them, it was possible to quickly, right during the battle, load an empty magazine, instead of inserting bullets one by one.
At the same time, the developers decided that it was not very reasonable to supply each rifle with a pump. Therefore, they went to the army with the expectation of one pump for two rifles. Needless to say, under normal conditions, this was quite enough.
However, each soldier had to have maximum autonomy and not depend on supplies from warehouses. Therefore, he made bullets on his own - a bullet gun was also included with the rifle. Moreover, the accuracy of the manufacture of shells had to be maximum - even a slight error could lead to the fact that the bullet would get stuck in the barrel. Therefore, there was also a reference bullet, which the shooter was equal to.
Effective combat range
A good shooter could confidently put a bullet at a distance of up to 150 meters. To modern gunsmiths, this seems frankly ridiculous. However, for its time, this range was more than impressive - conventional firearms aboutcould only dream of such efficiency.
Yes, the powerful pressure created by the compressed air from the cylinder accelerated the bullet to 200 meters per second. This was quite enough for a heavy bullet to hit an enemy located 150 meters away. True, there was a nuance here: such a speed was provided only with the first ten shots. Further, the pressure in the balloon decreased markedly. Therefore, the combat range was sharply reduced, and the corrections when firing at a long distance had to be taken completely different.
However, it should be borne in mind that in one minute a good shooter could confidently empty the magazine, that is, make 20 shots. Compare this with the muskets of that time, which hit well if at half that distance and had a rate of fire of no more than 5-7 rounds per minute. In addition, hiding from enemy fire, the shooter could quickly load new bullets into the store, change the cylinder and fire another 20 shots. Of course, such an almost hurricane-like fire inflicted huge damage on the enemy, and at the same time a psychological blow - this weapon was painfully unusual.
Use
Handling weapons was very easy and simple. Having made a shot, the shooter simply moved the bolt and slightly tilted the rifle with the butt down. Under the force of gravity, the bullet was shifted into the bolt nest. After that, the shooter released the shutter, which immediately returned to the place where it was held by the spring from displacement.
Compare this with other rifles of the time, when it was necessary to load a charge of gunpowder through the muzzle, ram it with a ramrod. Theninsert a bullet there, install a primer or even a piston, and only after that make a shot. But all this had to be done not on a dry and safe training ground, but during a hurricane battle - due to the rush of adrenaline, the hands of even experienced soldiers were shaking, and it was very difficult to complete the entire operation!
Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that Girardoni's pneumatic multi-charge choke was a considerable success, experts predicted a great future for him.
Main Benefits
One of the important advantages was the range and rate of fire, they have already been discussed in detail above. But the advantages of the rifle do not end there.
This also includes silent shooting - very convenient if you have to shoot from an ambush, for example, from dense bushes. In addition, there is no unmasking smoke, as when using gunpowder. Accordingly, an experienced and cold-blooded shooter, choosing a convenient position, could destroy an entire enemy detachment before it was discovered.
Recoil was practically absent, which further facilitated the shooting. Even after firing 40 bullets in a row, the shooter did not feel tired and pain in his shoulder.
At a distance of up to 100 meters, the Girardoni air rifle provided excellent accuracy.
Finally, the battle could be fought in conditions of strong wind, snow and rain - there was no gunpowder that could get damp, or a primer that could sometimes be blown away by gusts of wind.
Current shortcomings
Alas, any weapon that has advantages is not without certain disadvantages. However, as such, the weapon itself did not have any cons at that timehad. However, the shooters had to be retrained or trained from scratch, because getting used to pneumatics after firearms turned out to be quite difficult.
In addition, Girardoni blowguns were noticeably more difficult to manufacture than conventional rifles. Maximum accuracy was required - the slightest errors made the weapon completely unsuitable for marksmanship.
The decline of the genius of pneumatics
Alas, Girardoni, reveling in his exclusivity, did not want to share with anyone the secrets of making and maintaining weapons. The drawings of the rifle Girardoni also did not show anyone. As a result, soon after his death, most of the rifles simply fell into disrepair. There was no one to repair them, carry out appropriate maintenance to increase the service life.
Therefore, by 1815, the last active and failed rifles were handed over to the storehouse. Some of them migrated from there to museums, while others dispersed around the world both as souvenirs or gifts, and for further military operations.
Followers of Girardoni
But the idea didn't die out. In different countries of Europe, new air rifles appeared. So, N. Y. Lebnits developed a multi-barreled weapon resembling a shotgun. The Viennese gunsmith Kontriner created a new hunting rifle with 13-mm bullets based on the Girardoni rifle. In London, the name of Staudenmeier briefly became known, and in Austria, Schember's. All of them created more or less successful weapons using compressed air. Alas, repeat the successGirardoni failed.
Military use
The most widespread use of the Girardoni pneumatic fitting was observed in Austria, from 1790 to 1815. The local border guards made great use of them - the war with France arrived just in time.
Sharp shooters kicked out the French gunners and gunners at a distance prohibitive for firearms. With no rumble or smoke, Napoleon's soldiers fell as if they had been cut down, creating an almost superstitious fear among the survivors.
Angry, Napoleon even gave the order to execute every enemy soldier captured with a Girardoni rifle on the spot, rather than being taken prisoner as required by military law.
Rifle in US history
This weapon played a certain role in the history of the United States. The Girardoni rifle, photo of which can be seen in the archives, was in service with Lewis and Clark, travelers who paved the way across the United States from east to west and back.
The expedition was very dangerous. She passed through the lands inhabited by both hostile Indians and tribes who did not know at all about the existence of white people. Perhaps it was the Girardoni rifles that allowed a small detachment (only 33 people) to go through the entire route without fighting. Even the most militant and armed with modern firearms, the Indians preferred not to attack travelers with armed weapons that kill completely silently, and even at such a great distance. Lack of familiar charging manipulationsthe weapons also played their part, creating a supernatural areola around the rifle.
Besides, although there were only a few rifles in the detachment, Clark and Lewis were in no hurry to tell the Indians about it. As a result, they were sure that everyone in the squad was armed with a miracle weapon.
Demonstrating weapons several times, killing deer at an incredible distance, the travelers proved to the warlike Indians that it is better not to mess with them.
Conclusion
This article comes to an end. In it, we tried to tell not only about the device of the unusual Girardoni rifle, but also about its merits, the history of creation. Surely the article has expanded your horizons, allowed you to look at the usual "air" in a completely different way, because, as it turns out, they are distant relatives of such a formidable weapon that instilled fear in the Indians and even experienced French soldiers.
