Flintlock
| The flintlock presented a dramatic improvement in firearms
offering several important advantages over the matchlock. Firstly and perhaps
most importantly, the new lock design included a pan cover that made the
firing mechanism both water and wind proof. Prior to this innovation, weapons
did not fire reliably in damp or rainy weather, and a gust of wind could
displace the priming charge from the pan rendering the weapon an expensive
club. The pan covered was automatically opened by the striking of the hammer.
Secondly, eliminating the slow-burning match provided numerous advantages.
For examples, a supply of lit matches was no longer necessary (soldiers
usually had a number of slow-burning matches, several already burning,
hung about them during combat to ensure a ready available ignition supply),
the position of soldiers using the weapon was not compromised at night
by the glow of the slow-burning matches, and the weapon was far less prone
to accidental discharge or to inadvertently igniting adjacent powder stores.
Indeed, the first available flintlocks were often assigned to guard the
powder train where weapons with a slow-burning match posed a particular
danger. |
| The gun shown below is a British .60 calibre pagent carbine
(c. 1812), similar to the carbines carried by some British calvary units
at the Battle of Waterloo. The weapon fired a round ball at close range
(e.g., 5 to 15 yards). This specific design incorporated several improvements
suggested by Lt. Pagent -- most notably, a thumb safety located on the
side of the lock and a swivel mounted ram rod minimized loss while reloading
from horseback. |
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| The lock is shown here in the half cocked, ready to load position. |
The lock is shown here in the fully cocked, ready to fire position. |