Forgotten Weapons

Historical firearms article on the gun.

Highlights:

The first untethered balloon flight took place on the 21st November 1783, with the first military use occurring during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Franco-Prussian War the French again used observation balloons and when Prussian troops besieged Paris they became a vital lifeline out of the encircled city.

[In response to balloons] Alfred Krupp developed a breech-loading 37mm canon mounted on a pedestal fixed to the bed of a carriage. Some sources describe the gun as a Ballonabwehrkanone or balloon defence gun. The canon had a stock and a folding sight fixed to the receiver. The canon could be rapidly deployed to open fire on the balloons as they crossed Prussian lines. Five French balloons were captured by the Prussians when they were forced to land, a further three were declared missing.

Experimental 3-pounder cannon of the Tula plant, 1722, Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps, St. Petersburg.

The page I pulled this from does not have a ton of detailed technical information, and information is, at a search glance, not coming up with much more, but here are some selections from the page:

The baptism of fire "secret" howitzers (as they began to be called) received in the battles of the Seven Years War, in battles with the army of Frederick II. In the battle of Gross-Jägersdorf, it is the secret howitzers that play the main role in the victory.

However, the "secret" howitzers did not last long in service with the field artillery of the Russian army. Still, the survivability of the barrel was lower than that of conventional guns, and firing cannonballs from them was almost impossible.

Source.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20187654

https://www.poulinauctions.com/2023/06/22/good-condition-quality-7-barrel-percussion-volley-gun-by-perin-lepage/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19780540

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/62/1323/rare-and-unique-30shot-revolver

... Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum on August 25 after three people wearing balaclavas allegedly stole 27 handguns worth an estimated $200,000.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19343315

https://www.christies.com/lot/a-fine-german-slurbow-dated-1657-5509843/

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5509842

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19320343

https://www.limaeasy.com/lima-guide/lima-culture-guide/museums-lima/gold-of-peru-weapons-of-the-world-museum

https://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-enouy-revolver.html

This 5 shot 7.62 caliber double action revolver is actually suppressed by its unique cartridge design.

When fired expanding gases from the gunpowder pushed a plug forward which inturn pushed the liquid solution (60% alcohol 40% glycerol). This incompressible solution pushed on the bullet to launch it out of the revolver's barrel. The gases were contained in the cartridge preventing the typical sound report of a gunshot. And the liquid would follow the subsonic bullet out of the barrel as well.

https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Gurevich_silent_revolver

This Chinese production C96 Broomhandle pistol is found in the collection of the UK's Royal Armouries. Curator Jonathan Ferguson showed it off recently in this video briefly.

It notably the word pistol engraved on the side where it should say Mauser. Just in case you couldn't tell I suppose.

https://armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/army-news-2024/benelli-introduce-new-rifle-as-solution-against-uav-during-battle

While it seems to lack any really novel new features it definitely is interesting seeing major manufacturers pivoting with FPV drones taking over the modern battlefield.

The first repeating rifle used in combat by a military force was a flintlock system developed by the Kalthoff brothers. It was adopted in the 1640s by the Danish Royal Guard, who purchased a bit more than 100 of the guns, and used them successfully in the Siege of Copenhagen in 1659. The Kalthoff is a .54 caliber flintlock rifle with a magazine of 30 balls under the barrel and a powder storage compartment in the buttstock. A lever under the action is rotated forward 180 degrees and then back to completely reload the rifle – this action loads a ball into the chamber, seats it fully in place, loads powder behind it, primes the pan, cocks the hammer, and closes the frizzen. This was an amazing amount of firepower in the mid-1600s, and the mechanism in the gun is brilliant.

The Kalthoff brothers (Peter, Mathias, Caspar, Henrik, and William) spread out across Europe working for many royal courts although it was in Denmark where their gun saw the most substantial military use. The system would lead to other repeating flintlock designs like the Lorenzoni, but these did not really meet the quality of the original Kalthoffs (in my opinion). However, the system was very expensive to make and rather fragile to use. By 1696 the Danes had taken them out of service in favor of simpler and more durable designs.

https://youtu.be/ghKrbNpqQoY

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18634443

https://gunsmagazine.com/guns/the-lemats-grapeshot-revolver/

Alternative Youtube Link

Source