hArquebus statistics
- The harquebus weighed 5 kilos
- The barrel of the gun was a meter long
- The ball it shot was 15grams
- The harquebus was a .66 calibre gun
Harquebus History
The harquebus is pronounced as arquebus and as a consequence it is generally spelled that way as well. The harquebus was the first weapon with a butt-stock allowing it to be shot from an individual's hands. The harquebus was first deployed in China in the fourteenth century. The harquebus arrived in Europe in the middle of the Fifteenth century and was considered inferior to other weapons. The harquebus couldn't shoot as many shots per minute, it was inaccurate, and it was very heavy. However, it was much more powerful, and it was easy to use, as well as make. Initially the Spanish took advantage of it's capabilities, but later the harquebus's reach spread through all of Europe. The harquebus was used from the Fourteenth century through the Seventeenth century. It was abandoned when the musket came into play, the obvious superior.
hArquebus usage
Men armed with the harquebus were used to combat against enemies in steel armor. The harquebus was more powerful than any other weapons known yet, making it ideal for such duties. The harquebus was very heavy and hard to load, thus they were usually accompanied by a helper called a varlet. The varlet's job consisted of carrying the harquebusier's equipment. In order to compensate for the harquebus's reloading time they would line up in rows with groups of three in each line. The first line would shoot and step back to reload. As the first line reloaded the second line would shoot and go into defense to reload as well. They would repeat this proccess and by the time they got to the last line, the first group would be done reloading and the cycle would repeat. This allowed for a non-stop rain of fire upon the enemy. Another huge disadvantage to the harquebus which strategists needed to compensate for was the inaccuracy. Generals made up for it by lining the harquebusiers up and having them fire simultaneously counting on at least one of the shots hitting their target.
Matchlock system
A - Flash pan cover Early inventors were tasked with the difficult problem
B - Flash pan (with touch hole) of how to fire off the gun. They developed a system
C - Serpentine (or cock) for the match It consisted of a solution dissolved in
D - Trigger in water. Lengths of tow were then dipped in the
E - Slow match solution and left to dry, this caused the tow to
F - Sear burn slowly allowing the user more movement during
G - Pivot the shot. However, then there was the problem of
H - Flat spring keeping the tow in the flash pan when fired. Inventors
I - Tumbler link created the serpentine, a "s" shaped piece of metal that
J - Barrel hold the tow away from the flash pan and could pivot the
K - Lock plate tow down to the flash pan through a trigger. This was the
first trigger ever created and a huge turning point for the
development of the gun.
B - Flash pan (with touch hole) of how to fire off the gun. They developed a system
C - Serpentine (or cock) for the match It consisted of a solution dissolved in
D - Trigger in water. Lengths of tow were then dipped in the
E - Slow match solution and left to dry, this caused the tow to
F - Sear burn slowly allowing the user more movement during
G - Pivot the shot. However, then there was the problem of
H - Flat spring keeping the tow in the flash pan when fired. Inventors
I - Tumbler link created the serpentine, a "s" shaped piece of metal that
J - Barrel hold the tow away from the flash pan and could pivot the
K - Lock plate tow down to the flash pan through a trigger. This was the
first trigger ever created and a huge turning point for the
development of the gun.