Firearms Evolution Teaching Military History 101 First Division

Firearms Evolution Teaching Military History 101 First Division Museum at Cantigny

The “Hand Cannon” n The original matchlocks of the early 14 th Century required the soldier to be near a fire in order to heat an iron wire and poke it into the “touch hole” of the gun in order to fire. Like the cannons of that time, the matchlock had a bright flash, loud bang, and created a lot of smoke, but it did little damage. 1300’s – 1400’s

Matchlock 1400’s-1600’s Columbus through Pilgrims Matchlock n Like artillery, the matchlock gun evolved greatly over time. As matchlocks developed, the match could be attached to the gun and a trigger used to fire. Eventually, sights were added and the gun could be aimed.

M 1763 Charleville American Revolution SPECIFICATION Manufacturer French National Armories: Charleville, Maubeuge, and St. Etienne Calibre. 69 Smoothbore Muzzle Loading Total Length 1, 511. 3 mm/59. 5 in Barrel Length 1, 130. 3 mm/44. 5 in Weight Unloaded 8. 8 lbs Maximum Range 200 meters, but only fairly accurate up to 50 meters. Flintlock Musket

M 1812 Whitney n Eli Whitney “laid the foundation and created techniques that became known as the American System of Manufacture. ” Whitney’s system of manufacture created interchangeable parts that could be made with unskilled labor. American Civil War Flintlock Musket

Springfield M 1842 First Percussion First Interchangeable Musket SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Springfield Calibre. 69 round ball, or. 69 cal round ball and 3 buckshot (known as a “buck and ball” cartridge) Smoothbore Muzzle loading Total Length 1, 460. 5 mm/57. 5 in Weight Unloaded 10 lb American Civil War Parts Last Smoothbore Musket Percussion Mus

Smooth Bore versus Rifling and the advent of the Minnie ball

Springfield M 1864 Hammer Percussion cap goes here SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Springfield Calibre. 58 Rifled Muzzle Loading Accurate Range 400 yards Sights n Indian Wars The hammer strikes the percussion cap and ignites the gunpowder, which propels the bullet out the barrel of the gun. Percussion Rifle

Trapdoor Springfield SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Springfield, Calibre. 45 Rifled Breech Loading Barrel Length 829 mm/ 32. 6 in Indian Wars Rifle Breech Loading

M 1898 Krag-Jorgensen SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Springfield Calibre. 30 -40 Magazine Capacity 5 (no stripper clip) Action Bolt Action Total Length 1, 248 mm/49. 15 in Barrel Length 762 mm/30 in Weight Unloaded 9 lb Effective Range 900 m/3, 000 ft Spanish American War - Philippine Insurrection Bolt-Action Rifle

M 1898 Mauser Rifle SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Mauser and various others Calibre 7. 92 mm Magazine Capacity 5 Action Bolt Action Total Length 1, 249 mm/49. 2 in Barrel Length 740 mm/29. 15 in Weight Unloaded 9. 02 lb Spanish American – WWI Rifle Bolt-Action

M 1903 Springfield SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Springfield, Remington, Winchester Calibre. 30 -06 Magazine Capacity 5 round stripper clip Action Bolt Action Total Length 1, 102 mm/43. 4 in Barrel Length 615 mm/24. 2 in Weight Unloaded 8. 5 lbs Effective Range 2, 500 yards WWI Bolt Action Rifle

M 1 Garand SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Various US Calibre 7. 62 x 63 mm Magazine Capacity 8 en bloc clip Action Gas Operated/ rotating bolt Total Length 1, 105 mm/43. 5 in Barrel Length 609 mm/24 in Weight Unloaded 9. 5 lbs Effective Range 500 vd (457 m) M 1 Garand en bloc clip with eight. 30 Caliber rounds WWII – Korea Semi Automatic Rifle

M 14 Rifle SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Springfield, H&R, TRW Calibre 7. 62 mm NATO Magazine Capacity 20 round box Action Gas Operated Total Length 1, 117 mm/44 in Barrel Length 558 mm/22 in Weight Unloaded 8. 56 lbs Effective Range 460 meters / 500 yards Left to Right: M 1 Garand 8 -round en-bloc clip, M 14 20 -round magazine, M 16 20 - and 30 -round capacities. 1957 – Vietnam, Iraq Marksman Rifle

M 16 Rifle SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Calibre 5. 56 x 45 mm Cartridge Magazine Capacity 20 and 30 round box Action Gas Operated Rotating Bolt Weight Unloaded 8. 5 lbs Rate of Fire 800 -900 rounds per minute Effective Range 550 m (600 yards) Scope attached to M 16 M 203 grenade launcher attached to M 16 Vietnam – Present Assault Rifle

Gatling Gun n Dr. Richard Gatling invented the Gatling gun in 1862. The Gatling gun was a mechanical machine gun powered by a person turning a crank (Weir, 127). Heavy Machine Gun

Maxim Gun n The Maxim is reputed to have killed more human beings than any other gun in history (Weir, 128). SPECIFICATION Manufacturer DMW, Spandau, others Calibre 7. 62 mm Magazine Capacity 250 Round Belt Rate of Fire cyclic rpm: 550 Muzzle Velocity 2, 800 ft/second Watercooled Action Recoil Operated Weight Unloaded 52. 8 lbs with no water or tripod World War I Gun Heavy Machine

Hotchkiss Gun SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Hotchkiss et Cie Calibre 8 mm Lebel Magazine Capacity 24 - & 30 -round trays Action Gas Operated Total Length 1, 270 mm/50 in Barrel Length 775 mm/30. 5 in Weight Unloaded 42 lbs w/out tripod, which added 60 lbs World War I Gun Heavy Machine

M 1917 Browning Machine Gun SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Colt Calibre. 30 -06 Magazine Capacity Belt Fed Action Recoil Operated Total Length 978 mm/38. 5 in Barrel Length 610 mm/24 in Weight Unloaded 32. 6 lbs without mount Water jacket for cooling Piece to mount gun to tripod WWI and WWII Gun Trigger and pistol grip Heavy Machine

M 1918 BAR: Browning Automatic Rifle SPECIFICATION Manufacturer Colt Calibre. 30 -06 Magazine Capacity 20 Action Gas Operated Total Length 1, 214 mm/47. 8 in Barrel Length 610 mm/24 in Weight Unloaded 19. 4 lbs Flash Suppressor Gas Cylinder Tube Gas Cylinder World War II Gun Magazine Release Box Magazine attached here Light Machine

Parts of a Gun

Parts of a Gun

Bayonets: Plug, Ring, Socket, Knife Plug Socket Ring Knife

Sources n n n Fowler, Will and Patrick Sweeney. The World Encyclopedia of Rifles and Machine Guns. Anness Publishing Ltd, London, England. 2007. q Hand Cannon Photo Hogg, Ivan V. Weapons of the Civil War. The Military Press, New York, 1987. q Gatling Gun Photo Hogg, Ivan. V. The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II. The Military Press, New York, 1977. The Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop at www. eliwhitney. com Springfield Armory Museum Online at http: //www. rediscov. com/spring. htm Picture of M 1842 http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/File: M 1842. jpg Additional Research Sites Center for military history: http: //www. history. army. mil/index. html Combined Arms Research library: http: //www. cgsc. edu/carl/ A website with military history documentaries: http: //www. factualtv. com/videos/military-history