The advent of black powder marked the beginning of the combat use of firearms. Along with bows and crossbows, the first samples of handguns began to be supplied to equip European armies, but the first battles in which small arms, didn't show off his highs combat characteristics. The first arquebuses did not shoot well. There was no need to talk about the accuracy of the shot. In addition, preparing the weapon for a shot required quite a lot of time, not to mention the time required for the next reload. At first, arquebuses became the main weapon of shooters in European armies; a little later, a musket appeared - a much more powerful and heavier weapon.

Birth of the musket

European armies had difficulty switching to the new kind weapons. The main combat load in the infantry units was carried out by archers and crossbowmen. Proportion of shooters armed with firearms hand weapons did not exceed 5-10%. In Spain, which in the 15th-16th centuries was a leading world power and center European politics, the royal power sought to increase the number of fire fighting regiments. The empire required a more advanced and powerful army and a powerful navy. It was impossible to cope with such a task without the massive use of firearms. The decisive factor in countering the enemy was artillery and musket fire.

It was no coincidence that heavy matchlock guns appeared on the equipment of European armies. The arquebus, which became the predecessor of the musket, was successfully used against infantry. However, during military clashes where heavily armed cavalry, protected by armor, participated, the arquebus became powerless. A more powerful and heavier weapon was required, with greater penetrating power and a greater direct shot range. To do this, it was decided to go the most in a simple way, increase the size of the matchlock gun. The caliber increased accordingly. The first matchlock musket weighed 7-9 kg. The caliber of the new weapon was no longer 15-17 mm, like the arquebus, but 22-23 mm. It was possible to shoot from such a weapon only from a semi-stationary position. Unlike arquebuses, which could be used by infantry units on the battlefield, the musket was more designed for firing from a prepared position. This was facilitated not only by the weight of the weapon, but also by the length of the barrel. In some specimens, the trunk length reached 1.5 m.

Spain, France and Germany at that time were the most technically developed countries, therefore it was in these countries that the production of heavy, large-caliber matchlock guns became possible. Gunsmiths now have soft steel at their disposal, which allows them to make long and strong gun barrels.

The presence of a long barrel increased the range of a direct shot by an order of magnitude and increased accuracy. Now fire combat could be carried out over long distances. When fired in salvos, the muskets ensured defeat of the enemy at a distance of 200-300 meters. The destructive power of firearms has also increased. A volley of musketeers could easily stop the rushing lava of armored horsemen. The bullet, weighing 50-60 g, flew out of the barrel at a speed of 500 m/s and could easily pierce metal armor.

The enormous power of the new weapon was accompanied by great recoil force. First rifle regiments were equipped with metal helmets and had a special pad placed on the shoulder as a shock absorber. Shooting could only be done from a point-blank range, so the first muskets were considered more of a serf weapon. They armed the garrisons of fortresses and military crews of sea vessels. Heavy weight, the presence of a stop and the difficulty in preparing the weapon for a shot, required the efforts of two people, so in the first years of the appearance of muskets, the combat crew of a musket consisted of two people.

The availability of skills in handling firearms and the advent of granular grained gunpowder soon made muskets and arquebuses a serious force in military affairs. The shooters learned to wield heavy weapons quite deftly, and shooting became more meaningful and accurate. The only thing in which the musket was inferior to the bow and crossbows was the time allotted for preparing for the next shot.

In the middle of the 16th century, the time between the first and second salvo rarely exceeded 1.5-2 minutes. The advantage on the battlefield was given to the side behind which the first salvo was fired. Often the battles ended, but I would fight after the first massive salvo. The enemy was either swept away by accurate shots, or he managed to go on the attack and mix up the ranks of the musketeers. During the contact battle there was no time left for the second shot.

In order to increase the rate of fire of matchlock guns, multi-barreled weapons began to be manufactured. The double-barreled musket became the result of a tactical necessity, when the ability to immediately strike again became very important. But if such modernization did not take root in the line troops, the sailors were able to appreciate all the advantages of such weapons.

Musket used by pirates

During the era of colonial wars, when the Spanish fleet dominated the sea, muskets, along with pistols and arquebuses, became mandatory weapons on a ship. Manual firearms The navy greeted it with great enthusiasm. Unlike the army, where the main emphasis was on the actions of infantry and cavalry, in naval battle everything was resolved much faster. The contact battle was preceded by preliminary shelling of the enemy from all types of weapons. Firearms played a leading role in this situation, coping with their task perfectly. Artillery and rifle salvoes could cause serious damage to the ship, rigging and manpower.

The muskets did their job perfectly. A heavy bullet easily destroyed the wooden structures of the ship. And close-range shooting, which usually preceded a boarding battle, turned out to be more accurate and crushing. The double-barreled musket came in handy, by the way, doubling its size firepower naval teams. It is this type of weapon that has practically survived to this day, representing a hunting rifle with two barrels. The only difference is that modern shotguns are loaded by breaking the frame, while muskets were loaded only from the barrel. On muskets, the barrels were located in a vertical plane, while in hunting rifles a horizontal arrangement of barrels was adopted.

It is not for nothing that this type of weapon eventually took root in the pirate environment, where boarding combat was carried out over short distances and there was physically not enough time to reload the weapon.

It should be noted that it was the French corsairs and filibusters who were the fastest to modernize the musket, turning it into an effective melee weapon. First, the barrel of the weapon was shortened. A little later, even double-barreled samples appeared, allowing you to make a quick double shot. For two long centuries, the pirate musket, along with curved knives and sabers, became a symbol of pirate valor and courage. The main difference between the weapons used in the navy and the muskets of line regiments was their weight. Starting from the 17th century, lightweight models of muskets appeared. The caliber and length of the barrel have decreased slightly.

Now a strong and strong man could handle a weapon strong man by oneself. Basically, all the significant changes to the design were made by the Dutch. Thanks to the efforts of Dutch military leaders, the rebel armies received new types of firearms. For the first time, muskets became lighter, which provided troops with better mobility. The French, during the War of the Spanish Succession, also managed to contribute to the design of the musket. It is their merit that the butt of the weapon has become flat and long. The French were the first to install bayonets on muskets, giving soldiers additional offensive and defensive capabilities. The new regiments began to be called Fusiliers. The need for the services of pikemen disappeared. The armies received a more orderly battle order.

The merit of the French is that they equipped the musket with a battery lock, making the French musket the most modern and effective firearm at that time. In this form, the musket essentially lasted for almost a century and a half, giving impetus to the appearance of smoothbore guns.

Features of the combat use of muskets

The main operation of weapon mechanisms is associated with the use of a firing mechanism. The appearance of the lock gave impetus to the emergence of all subsequent types and methods of igniting the charge in hand-held firearms. Despite the relative simplicity of the design, matchlock guns remained in service with European armies for a long time. This method of activation was far from perfect. All matchlock guns have the same disadvantages:

• the wick must always be kept in a smoldering state during the battle;
• with the musketeer ranks there was a special person responsible for the source of open fire;
• the wick is highly susceptible to high humidity;
• no camouflage effect dark time days.

The shooter equipped his gun with a charge of gunpowder, pouring it through the barrel. After which the gunpowder was compacted in the breech of the barrel. Only after this a metal bullet was inserted into the barrel. This principle has not changed for almost two centuries. Only the advent of paper cartridges simplified the situation on the battlefield a little.

Individual parts of the musket, such as the stock, called the fourchette, the butt and the firing mechanism, have remained unchanged. The caliber has changed over time and has been slightly reduced. The design of the trigger mechanism has also changed. Since the mid-17th century, battery locks of the Le Bourgeois system have been installed on all firearms. In this form, the musket survived until the era of the Napoleonic wars, becoming the main weapon of the infantry. The fastest to switch to new types of weapons were private armies, filibusters, corsairs and robber gangs. Muskets with a battery lock were much more convenient to use and in battle.

Pirates are credited with using shot charges to fire muskets. Thus, it was possible to significantly increase the destructive effect of the shot. A double-barreled musket with shortened barrels that fired shot became deadly weapon close combat. During a boarding battle, it was not necessary to hit the target at a great distance. A distance of 35-70 m was sufficient for effective fire. Armed with pistols and blunderbuss (a shortened version of the musket), pirate crews could successfully resist even military vessels, as evidenced by numerous historical factors. The ship's rigging was disabled by shotgun blasts from muskets, after which it was boarded by assault teams.

Blunderbuss could be easily recognized by their flared barrel. Some models used in naval battles did not have a stock and were adapted for shooting from the knee. Shooting shot charges from a distance of 20-30 meters, the blunderbuss was very effective in battle. Another advantage of this type of firearm is the loud effect of the shot. Short-barreled muskets made a thunderous sound when fired, producing a stunning psychological effect on the enemy. In addition to pirate ships, such guns were required to be on board each ship in case of suppression of a mutiny by the crew.

Finally

The story of the musket is illustrative example how weapons, before reaching their perfection, went through a long and thorny battle path. Starting from the very first models, the appearance of which was greeted with distrust and skepticism, muskets and arquebuses managed to prove their effectiveness on the battlefield. It was this type of firearm that became the main one for all subsequent armies and laid the technological foundation for the subsequent appearance of guns. First, musketeers, a little later fusiliers and grenadiers, armed with smooth-bore flint guns, became the main active force of any army.

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"A new name, musket, appeared around 1530 in Italy. The origin of this term is quite vague. Since many large artillery pieces bore the names of various living creatures, then the use of the word “moschetto” - musket, as a young male sparrowhawk is called - does not seem at all strange. The Italians themselves, however, were among the first to associate this word with the name of the inventor, whose name was Moschetta from Feltro. There was also an assumption about the Spanish origin of the term - precisely from the word “mascas” or “masquas”, which means “sparks from fire”. Another version points to Russia, which was called Muscovy at that time, as the birthplace of this weapon.

In Dresden there are muskets dating from 1570 and 1573, and the first versions of these weapons, which appeared in France, were so heavy that they could only be fired with their elbows resting on a support. The musket was initially unpopular in England, but by 1570 military theorists who had seen it in action during the continental wars began to insist on its use. Thus, the list of equipment issued in 1577 to the troops sent to help the Dutch included “muskets with powder flasks and shooting supports.”

In the case of the musket, the Germans had to be content with a military term of foreign origin, and in the inventory of the military supplies of the city of Würzburg in 1584, “muscaten”, “halbe-musketen” and “dop-pel-musketen” are indicated. As for the prices of these weapons, in 1588 the citizens of the city of Norwich paid 27 shillings for each of the muskets made in England with bipods, powder flasks and “matchboxes”. By 1620 the price had dropped to 1 pound 8 pence, and in 1632 a musket cost 15 shillings 6 pence, a bipod 10 pence and a charge bag a further 2 shillings 6 pence.

By the early 17th century the musket was still a cumbersome weapon, as Sir Thomas Kelly in 1623 reports its barrel to be 4 feet long and to have a caliber of 12 balls per pound2.

However, the musket underwent improvements and became lighter, so that by the time of the English Civil War There was no need to use a bipod. The old name continued to be used to designate the most common type of firearm, which is fired from the shoulder. This continued until rifled muskets became so popular that they were simply called "rifles."

(With) William Carman. "History of firearms from ancient times to the 20th century"

“Musket, assassin of the Middle Ages.

How was a musket different from an arquebus? Size! Weighing 7-9 kilograms, the musket had a caliber of 22-23 millimeters and a barrel about one and a half meters long. Only in Spain - the most technical developed country Europe of that time could produce a durable and relatively light barrel of such length and caliber.

Naturally, such a bulky and massive gun could only be fired from a support, and two people had to operate it. But a bullet weighing 50-60 grams flew out of the musket at a speed of over 500 meters per second. She not only killed the armored horse, but also stopped it. The musket hit with such force that the shooter had to wear a cuirass or a leather pad on his shoulder to prevent the recoil from splitting his collarbone.

The long barrel provided the musket with relatively good accuracy for a smooth gun. The musketeer hit a person not from 20-25, but from 30-35 meters. But much higher value had an increase in the effective salvo firing range to 200-240 meters. At this entire distance, the bullets retained the ability to hit knightly horses and pierce the iron armor of pikemen. The musket combined the capabilities of an arquebus and a pike, and became the first weapon in history that gave the shooter the opportunity to repel the onslaught of cavalry on open area. Musketeers did not have to run away from cavalry during a battle, therefore, unlike arquebusiers, they made extensive use of armor. Throughout the 16th century, there remained few musketeers in European armies. Musketeer companies (detachments of 100-200 people) were considered the elite of the infantry and were formed from nobles. This was partly due to the high cost of weapons (as a rule, a musketeer’s equipment also included a riding horse). But even more important were the high requirements for durability. When the cavalry rushed to attack, the musketeers had to repel it or die.”

A classic example of a 16th-17th century matchlock musket

17th century Dutch musketeer

There is probably no person who has not at least once heard the word musket, and even more so the word “musketeers” derived from this weapon. By the way, this word has brought historical confusion to humanity. Thanks to the writer Dumas and his musketeers, humanity has taken root in the misconception that France is considered the birthplace of muskets, but these firearms were not invented by the French, although later they had a hand in the musket in terms of its improvement.

How did the first muskets appear?

In the mid-16th century, a firearm called the arquebus arose, which can be considered the ancestor of the classic musket. For some time, arquebuses were considered a formidable weapon, but it soon became clear that the arquebus was an unreliable weapon. The bullets fired from the arquebus, due to their low weight (no more than 20 grams), as well as their modest caliber, were powerless against enemy chain mail and armor, and loading the arquebus was a long process. It was necessary to invent new, more effective firearms.

And such a weapon was invented. History assures us that the first long-barreled gun with a wick-lock, later called a musket, appeared in Spain. History has preserved the name of the gunsmith who invented the musket. This is a certain Mocheto, who lived in the Spanish city of Veletra.

The first musket had a long barrel - up to 150 cm. Thanks to the long barrel, the caliber of the musket also increased. The new gun was able to fire new charges with a larger amount of gunpowder, which allowed the bullet to fly further and at greater speed, resulting in a greater stopping power for the bullet. Such a bullet could no longer be stopped by chain mail and armor.

The first samples of muskets were quite heavy (up to 9 kg), and therefore it was difficult to carry them - the muskets were fired from previously prepared positions. And still, shooting from them was not an easy task: when firing, the musket had a strong recoil, and loading it required time and skill. Soldiers of European armies armed with muskets (primarily Spain, Germany and France - as the most powerful powers of the Middle Ages) represented a formidable force.

How to load a musket

Each of us has probably seen in films exactly how muskets were loaded. It was a long, complicated and tedious procedure:

1. They loaded the musket through the muzzle;
2. Gunpowder was poured into the barrel in the amount necessary for the shot (according to the shooter). However, in order not to make a mistake in the dose of gunpowder during the battle, the powder doses were measured in advance and packaged in special bags called chargers. These same charges were attached to the shooter’s belt during shooting;
3. First, coarse powder was poured into the barrel;
4. Then finer gunpowder, which ignited more quickly;
5. The shooter pushed the bullet into the table with the help of a ramrod;
6. The charge was pressed against a constantly smoldering wick;
7. The ignited gunpowder threw a bullet out of the barrel.

It was believed that if the entire charging procedure takes no more than two minutes, then this is wonderful. In this case, it became possible to fire a salvo first, which often guaranteed victory in the battle.

Features of fighting with muskets

A warrior armed with a musket was called a musketeer. A bullet fired from a musket could win a battle, which, in general, was what happened. When firing from muskets in one gulp, it was possible to lay down a whole line of the enemy at a distance of up to 200 meters. The weight of musket bullets could be 60 grams. Armored knights were knocked out of their saddles with musket bullets.

Still, firing a musket was not an easy task. It took a long time to load the musket. The recoil when firing was such that it could knock the shooter off his feet. To protect themselves, the shooters wore special helmets and also tied a special pad to their shoulder. Due to the difficulty of shooting, there were two people with the musket: one loaded the weapon, the other fired, and the loader supported him so that the shooter did not fall.

In order to make it possible to fire muskets faster, the armies of many countries came up with various tricks. One of these tricks that history has preserved was the following. The musketeers lined up in a square consisting of several ranks. While the first rank was firing, the rest were loading their muskets. Having fired, the first line gave way to another, with loaded guns, and that one to the third, fourth, and so on. Thus, musket fire could be carried out constantly.

In the 16th century, during a battle, musket shooting was the decisive condition for victory. Often the side that was the first to fire a volley at the enemy won. If the first salvo did not give a decisive result, then there was no time to fire the musket again - everything was decided in close combat.

Double-barreled musket: the history of its appearance

In order to get out of the situation, it was necessary to somehow increase the rate of fire of the musket. However, rapid firing of muskets with a matchlock was impossible. The matchlock musket, due to its design, simply could not fire quickly. It was necessary to invent some new musket that could be fired faster.

The double-barreled musket was invented. The advantage of a double-barreled musket over a single-barreled one was obvious: instead of one shot, it could fire two, that is, shoot twice as fast. It was a kind of weapons revolution, but for unknown reasons the double-barreled musket could not take root in the infantry units of European powers. By the way, it is the double-barreled musket that is the progenitor of our hunting rifle - continuity through the centuries.

Pirate musket - the prototype of a modern pistol

But the double-barreled musket, like the single-barreled one, aroused interest among pirates of the 16th century. In subsequent centuries, until the 19th century, when muskets were replaced by more advanced weapons, and the pirates themselves for the most part sank into historical oblivion, pirate enthusiasm for this did not diminish at all. It was the pirates who, first of all, had a hand in improving muskets and contributing to the appearance of the first pistols.

Unlike the army, the “knights of fortune” were the first to fully appreciate what firearms are, and what advantage they give to those who own them and know how to handle them. Heavy musket bullets could easily disable a merchant ship, making it easy prey for filibusters. In addition, in hand-to-hand combat, a pirate armed with a musket was a very formidable combat unit.

To make it more convenient to shoot from a musket and carry it with them, the pirates thought about improving it. The French sea robbers were the most successful in this. They were the first to think of making the musket barrel shorter, reducing its size and caliber, and equipping the weapon with a handle resembling a pistol grip. The result was an easy-to-handle musket, which became the forerunner of modern pistols and revolvers.

The pirates nicknamed certain versions of the shortened musket blunderbusses. They differed from ordinary muskets in their shortened appearance, as well as the expansion at the end of the barrel. Blunderbuss could fire shotguns and hit several enemies at once. In addition, blunderbusses had a very loud sound when fired, which had a frightening psychological effect on the enemy. By the way, not only pirates, but also civilian ships of that time were equipped with muskets and blunderbuss to suppress mutinies on ships.

Further improvement of the musket

Meanwhile, the authorities of the leading European powers were not asleep. Their gunsmiths also began to think about improving the musket. Several European powers have achieved impressive results in this matter.

The Dutch were the first to succeed. Their craftsmen designed lighter muskets. Troops armed with such muskets were more mobile, and the muskets themselves became easier to fire. In addition, the Dutch improved the musket barrel by producing musket barrels from soft steel. As a result, musket barrels no longer exploded when fired.

German craftsmen also made a significant contribution to the improvement of the musket. They improved the firing mechanism of the musket. Instead of the matchlock method of shooting, the flint method appeared. The flintlock gun, which replaced the matchlock gun, was a revolution in the development of weapons in medieval Europe. The lever in the wick mechanism was replaced by a trigger, which, when pressed, released the spring with the flint, the flint hit the arm, resulting in a spark being struck and igniting the gunpowder, which, in turn, ejected the bullet from the barrel. It was much easier to shoot from a flintlock than from a matchlock.

The French were not far behind. First, they changed the butt of the musket: it became longer and flatter. Secondly, they were the first to equip muskets with bayonets, as a result of which muskets could be used as edged weapons. Thirdly, they installed a battery lock on the gun. Thus, the French musket turned into the most advanced firearm at that time. As a result, the flintlock gun replaced the matchlock. In fact, it was Napoleon’s army that was armed with French flint muskets, as well as the Russian army that opposed it.

The main parts of the musket remained unchanged until the very end of its existence. Some individual details in different time was modified, but the principle of operation itself did not change. This applies to such parts as the butt, stock, working mechanism.

Musket as part of history and culture

By and large, it was with the musket that the development and improvement of small arms throughout the world began. On the one hand, the musket gave rise to shotguns, rifles, carbines, machine guns and machine guns, and on the other hand, short-barreled weapons like pistols and revolvers. That is why these ancient weapons exhibits are part of history.

On the other hand, muskets are a cultural and collectible value. Having an antique weapon can be the pride of a true amateur collector. In addition, some examples are decorated with precious metals and stones, which further increases their cultural significance.

If we say that the musket is the progenitor and the main archetype of muzzle-loading weapons, it will sound very plausible. The appearance of the musket on the battlefields of the Middle Ages turned the rules of warfare upside down and sent the most famous warriors of that time - the knights - into oblivion. If we ignore the fact that this was by no means the very first weapon– the shotguns and rifles of our time owe their existence to him alone.

Principle of operation

The operating principle of the musket mechanisms is based on the use of a lock-type trigger mechanism, which was the founder of all subsequent methods of igniting a powder charge. Due to its low cost, the matchlock mounted on a musket dominated in Europe until the invention of the first flintlock guns.

The ignition of the gunpowder occurred due to the interaction of the trigger coupled with the smoldering wick and, in fact, the gunpowder charge. It is not difficult to imagine that such weapons had a number of significant disadvantages:

• the wick had to be kept smoldering;
• the need for constant access to fire;
• problems of combat in conditions of high humidity;
• problems with camouflage in the dark - the light from the wick gave away the shooter’s position.

A musket is a single-shot weapon. As a result, after each shot it was necessary to charge it again. Thus, having fired a shot, the shooter poured a pre-measured portion of gunpowder into the barrel of the weapon, pressed it with a wad and a cleaning rod, added another bullet (a ball of lead) to this mixture and fixed it with another wad. This kind of manipulation made it possible to fire about one shot per minute.

The musket's aiming system included only a barrel and a front sight - there was no rear sight at that time.

In order to avoid inaccuracies in terminology, it is worth noting that the concept of a musket and a gun takes into account only the length of the barrel of a firearm, while their design and everything else is of a secondary nature. For example, the famous "Winchester 1873", released in conjunction with a specially designed unitary cartridge, had a rifled barrel and was produced as a carbine, shotgun and musket, which had different barrel lengths.

Basic performance characteristics of the musket (XVII century)

The musket of the late 17th century had the following characteristics(TTX):

• caliber – 17-20 mm;
• barrel length – 900-1000 mm;
• total length – 1300-1450 mm;
• weight – 4-6 kg.

Most people know very roughly. First of all, this word is associated with the heroes of the novels of A. Dumas - the famous French musketeers. Many will be surprised to learn that the first musket did not appear in France at all, and the French had nothing to do with its invention. And they first learned about what a musket was in completely unpleasant circumstances.

The history of the musket

By the beginning of the 16th century, the equipment of soldiers had reached such a level that the “light” firearms available at that time simply lost their effectiveness. Bullets fired from an arquebus (the predecessor of a musket), due to their low weight (18-20 grams) and small caliber, could not penetrate the armor and chain mail of enemy soldiers. A new weapon was required, with increased destructive properties. And the invention of granular gunpowder became a fundamental factor for the modernization of weapons and the creation of a musket.

The first musket (a gun with a long barrel and a matchlock) appeared in Spain, and, according to some historians, it was invented by the Spanish gunsmith Mocqueto from the city of Veletra. His invention had a barrel whose length reached 140 cm. It was the increase in the length of the barrel that made it possible to increase the caliber of the gun and the mass of the gunpowder charge, and, accordingly, its firing range and penetration capabilities.

But grainy gunpowder made it possible to increase the length of the barrel. It did not need to be pushed to the breech of the gun with a ramrod, as was required to do with the powder pulp sticking to the walls of the bore. Now the powder granules poured towards the breech without outside help, and a wad was clogged with a ramrod on top. In addition, such gunpowder burned tightly and evenly, which also increased the initial speed and range of the bullet.

Characteristics of the first musket

The total length of the musket was 180 cm, and it weighed about 8 kg, so support was needed when firing. A buffet table (stand) was placed, one end of which was stuck into the ground, and a support trunk was placed on the other.

With the increase in caliber to 23 mm (for the arquebus it was 15-17 mm), the weight of the bullet also increased. For a musket it began to weigh 50-60 grams. The firing range was 200-240 meters, and at this distance the bullet easily pierced the strongest armor. However, to hit the enemy with a musket, you had to try very hard. The probability that a target measuring two by two meters, placed at a distance of 70 meters, would be hit was only 60%.

In addition, only a person with good physical training could withstand the powerful recoil of a shot. In order to somehow soften the blow, a stuffed pad was put on the shoulder, playing the role of a shock absorber.

In order to load the musket, a whole ritual was required.

The musket was loaded through the muzzle hole. The gunpowder needed to fire one shot was poured into it from a special wooden case (charger). The gunpowder in the charges, which were hung on the shooter's belt, was measured out in advance. Fine gunpowder was poured onto the seed flange of the musket from a natruska (small powder flask). The bullet was pushed into the barrel using a ramrod. The charge was ignited with the help of a smoldering wick, which was pressed by a lever to the seed shelf. The gunpowder ignited and pushed the bullet out.

Thus, it took about 2 minutes to prepare for a shot, which was considered a good rate of fire at that time.

Initially, only infantry were armed with muskets, and the crew for servicing the musket consisted of two people: the second number monitored the burning fuse, and also carried the ammunition and the buffet table.

for the musketeers

Due to the low rate of fire, special tactics were used to use muskets. Soldiers armed with muskets lined up in a rectangular square, the depth of which could reach 12 ranks. After the first line fired a volley, it gave way to the next one, while itself retreating to the end of the line to reload its muskets. Thus, the shooting was carried out almost continuously. The musketeers performed all actions on command, including the loading process.

Armament with muskets of Europe

In 1515, the French first learned what a musket was in a battle with Spanish soldiers. Musket balls easily penetrated the strongest armor. The Spaniards, with the help of their long-barreled innovations, won an unconditional victory over the French.

In 1521, muskets were already adopted en masse by the Spanish army. And in 1525, again in a battle with the French, which received the historical name “Battle of Pavia,” the Spaniards showed in all its glory the superiority of muskets over other weapons. The musketeers turned out to be an insurmountable wall for the French cavalry.

It was after this battle that they decided to learn more about what a musket was in Europe. They began to equip infantry units in France and Germany, and subsequently in other European countries.

Subsequently, the musket began to undergo improvements. Gunsmiths from Germany replaced the matchlock. The trigger, which replaced the lever, released a spring with flint, which, when hit on the arm, struck sparks that ignited the gunpowder. The need for a wick has disappeared.

The Dutch improved the barrel. They replaced the metal from which it was made with a softer one. This eliminated cases of its rupture when fired.

The Spaniards, having borrowed the experience of the Dutch and lightened the musket to 4.5 kg, created a weapon for cavalry. Such a musket became universal; it could be used in any branch of the military, which was done in all European armies.