Musket evolutionThis section describes how today's firearms are connected to the musket and longrifle of the 18th century. Time and space don't permit covering every detail and development, so this section is a brief overview of small arms development from approximately 1785 — 2005. Battlefield tactics are determined almost exclusively by the technology level of the weapons, technology influences ammunition design and ammunition characteristics determine the weapon design. The significance of four ingredients (lead, sulfur, charcoal, potassium nitrate) can't be understated. No other ingredients have made significant impact on world history, with the possible exception of gold and silver. These four ingredients formed early ammunition, which was the beginning point of firearm design. As long as this combination remained in use, firearm design would remain limited to a simple tube of metal. The residue from this simple chemical compound makes a heavy residue which quickly renders the firearm unuseable until it's cleaned. It wasn't until the French invented smokeless powder in the 1880s that rapid firing guns became a possibility. As any arms designer will tell you, the starting point is the ammunition. It is the keystone from which everything else is designed around. Ammunition changed very little between 1600 — 1800, and by 1850 the biggest change was the ignition. The basic propellant remained nearly unchanged since Francis Bacon was credited with discovering it in the 14th century. After the discovery of smokeless powder in the late 19th century, it caused a complete redesign of small arms. It also mandated much higher grade steel, and had dazzling performance compared to the older, slower and dirtier black powder arms. As warfare moved away from linear tactics, the ammunition requirement per soldier meant carrying more ammunition and a rifle that could hold a little ammunition itelf. From this, the magazine was invented. Smoothbore flintlock muskets disappeared from production around 1840, but some armies continued using them long afterwards. The US-Mexican war in 1846 was the last recorded war where flintlock muskets saw widespread use. A few flintlock muskets saw service in the US Civil War (1861-65) in the early days.
In 1807 Alexander Forsyth patented the percussion ignition system, which is very similar to the classic children's cap gun. The percussion system was a major improvement in two respects: it reduced the lock time to almost nothing, and it was more moisture - resistant than the flintlock design. From the 1820s onward, the percussion system was in general use. Owners of older flintlocks eagerly sought to have their flintlock guns converted to percussion, and many surviving examples of these conversions exist today. Aside from the ignition system, these early percussion guns were little different than the earlier flintlock firearms.
By the 1850's, specialty firearms began to emerge from the musket and longrifle. A separate and distinct derivative of the musket appeared-the shotgun. While it was common to fire muskets with multiple projectiles (typically many smaller balls rather than a single larger ball), this was regarded as an alternate mode rather than a need for a new gun. By the mid 19th century, rifling was mainstay on long arms. Rifling in a barrel caused shot clusters to spin inside the barrel, making shot patterns open up wildly and making the rifle unsuitable for firing shot. From this, the shot-gun was born, a more ornate musket without a bayonet lug or other military features. During the pre-Civil War years, numerous designs were under consideration. One constant remained, and that was the strong influence of French firearm design. The first US martial arm, the 1795 musket, was a copy of the 1763/1766 French musket. The subsequent designs still held strongly to French designs, notable the use of barrel bands and lock design well into the 19th century.
US Civil War (1861-1865)The US Civil War caused rapid development of the rifled musket, and by the end of the Civil War the rifle was standard issue. It was called the "rifled musket", since the rifle wasn't thought of as a separate, distinct arm at that time. The term "musket" was apparently applied to any standard length long arm that was issued to troops. The biggest changes made to Civil War era muskets was the use of fast-loading hollow base bullets that allowed fast, easy loading. This made rifling practical in all military small arms, greatly extending their range and accuracy. The basic layout remained much the same as revolutionary war muskets -- side lock, french influences in the form of barrel bands and pillared trigger guards.
|
During the Civil War (1861-65) both the Union and Confederacy were unprepared for large scale arms manufacture. Contractors and manufacturers swept in to fill the void, many without arms making experience, or any manufacturing experience at all. Notable Pennsylvania arms makers and contractors were Jenks, Rice, Nippes, Wickham, Evans and more.
During the US Civil War, sharpshooting (sniping) was rediscovered as a separate effort to neutralize specific targets. During the Boer War, the British were once again subjected to sniping without a counterpart. By World War I, sniping was rediscovered by most of the world's armies and by World War II, snipers were a part of every major army.
Smokeless PowderFrom the US Civil War to the first half of World War II, the trend among small arms designers was emphasizing accuracy while maintaining a modest rate of fire. Further, switching from black powder to the newer high pressure smokeless powder meant reducing bore diameter. The bore sizes common in the 19th century were somewhere between 50 to 69 caliber. After the introduction of smokeless powder, the rifle bore diameters shrank to about 30 caliber or 0.308 inches. The pinnacle of this design was the German Mauser 98 platform, and the US Springfield M1903 rifles. Both were bolt action, and both were capable of astounding accuracy in the hands of a competent rifleman. Millions of Mauser 98s and Springfields are in civilian hands as sporter arms. From our experiences in W.W.I and W.W.II, the US Government distributes Springfield rifles in the Civilian Marksmanship Program to promote and preserve civilian marksmanship skills.
U.S. DevelopmentsThe US started the twentieth century with a foreign-designed Krag rifle, and from our experiences fighting in the Spanish - American War, the shortcomings of the Krag rifle could no longer be ignored. By 1906 the US switched over to a US-designed bolt action rifle, the Springfield model 1906. It was basically a Mauser 98 action,.and to avoid infringing the Mauser patent, the Springfield designers made minor changes sufficient to declare it a unique design. As well-designed as the Springfield 1906 was, it had a troubled beginning. The early models weren't properly heat-treated, and this process deficiency wasn't discovered until after a few accidents and unexpected receiver failures. Coupled with low production, the US didn't have enough Springfield 1906 rifles for general issue by the time the US entered World War I. Commercial arms makers had been making rifles for the British for some time, and there were large quantities of Enfield Pattern 14 and Pattern 17 (P-14 & P-17) rifles on hand. Some quantities of P-17 rifles were issued to US troops, few received the M1906 Springfield. The basic difference between the P-14 and P-17 was ammuntion: the P-14 used British .303 caliber ammuntion, the P-17 used US 30 caliber ammunition, the same type as the M1906 Springfield. Some Enfield P-17's were made locally in the Eddystone, PA plant. |
||||||||||||||||
