Probably, every person who was at least a bit addicted to history and specifically to the history of the development of firearms in Europe had to hear about a wheeled castle. For its time, it was a real breakthrough, if it did not take guns and pistols to a new level, then at least it greatly simplified the process of working with them.
What is he like?
First, let’s tell you what a wheel lock for a pistol looked like.
The main working part of the structure was a wheel, on the edge of which there was a notch. It was fixed directly near the shelf. Near the wheel was a trigger equipped with a piece of silicon (although pyrite was used in earlier versions). Using a key, the spring was compressed, which exerted pressure on the trigger in the free position.
So how did the shot go? To begin with, the shooter had to prepare a wheel lock - to compress the spring with a key. After that, a pinch of gunpowder was poured onto the shelf - not ordinary, but special, fine grinding, which was ignited by the slightest spark.
When the shooter was aiming at the target (it was the “Direct” command that was used, and not the “Toggle” command - it was impossible to aim with the then-used weapon) and pulled the trigger, the trigger with silicon fell onto the wheel that carved a spark. She ignited the powder of fine grinding, and already from it flashed the main charge located in the barrel.
As you can see, the charging process was quite complicated. It took about a minute to reload the weapon. Of course, in the heat of battle, when hands shake from adrenaline, people die around, and you yourself need to look around so as not to become a victim of an approaching enemy, it was not possible to reload the weapon. Therefore, even with an advanced wheel lock, pistols and rifles were designed for just one shot - then they removed it and switched to the usual melee weapons.
Who invented it?
Today it is difficult to say exactly who is the author of this simple but ingenious solution. Some claim that he invented the wheel castle of Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, it’s stupid to argue with this - in his work Codex Atlanticus such a device is described in detail. However, it was distinguished by the complexity of manufacturing and, accordingly, not too high reliability. Therefore, it did not go to the masses. And yet, the idea itself, of course, belongs to a famous genius - for the first time he sketched a working castle around 1480-1485.
But the castle described above was created a little later, already at the beginning of the 16th century. His authorship is attributed to both the gunsmith Ettor of Flanders and Wolf Danner of Nuremberg. It is not known which of them first came up with the innovation. But it is possible that both of them came to this conclusion independently of each other - history knows a lot of such cases.
The new device of the wheeled lock was more simple and therefore they went to the masses - as cheaper and more reliable, and not the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Perhaps the authors relied on his works, but maybe they did not hear about them.
When was it distributed?
It was used from about the beginning of the XVI to the middle of the XVII centuries. But even at the peak of his popularity, he did not receive much expansion - many kings preferred to arm their soldiers with less reliable and convenient, but much cheaper counterparts.
However, it was the appearance of the wheel lock that made it possible to create such an amazing, hitherto unknown thing as a pistol. After all, previously gunpowder was set on fire exclusively with a wick. Accordingly, the shooter had to always be near the source of the fire or be able to get it - it took a whole few minutes.
But after several upgrades of the wheeled castle, a great opportunity appeared to carry it ready for battle for a considerable time. That is, going on a risky journey, a nobleman, officer, or just a wealthy man could timely charge a gun and carry it around his belt all day in order to grab a weapon and make a shot at the right time. Wick guns could not boast of such capabilities. Therefore, despite the smaller range, the pistols began to rapidly gain popularity - compact, reliable, easy to use, they could save the owner’s life at any time.
Key Benefits
Despite the comparative complexity of manufacturing (compared with wick counterparts), the new guns boasted high reliability. They could be used during strong winds and even in the rain - the main thing was only to keep flint and gunpowder on the shelf dry.
In addition, it was not necessary to constantly keep on hand the burning wick, which the gunner unmasked coolly - ambushes became even more effective. In addition, an ambush battle is usually fleeting, so a single shot is enough - you couldn’t count on more because of the long reload time.
Were there any flaws?
However, like any weapon, there were flaws.
The main one was the cost. For example, in France at the end of the 16th century, an arquebus with a wick lock could be bought for 350 francs - already a lot of money. An exact copy of an arquebus equipped with a wheeled lock cost several times more - the price could reach up to 1,500 francs. Of course, only the richest people could afford such a purchase - even very wealthy kings could not arm ordinary soldiers. What can we say about the improved pistol with a self-locking wheel lock of the 17th century - although it was the pinnacle of engineering, it could be made by a few craftsmen in all of Europe (and outside of it, such weapons were not produced anywhere), so the price was appropriate.
Also, the weapons had to be cleaned regularly. In principle, it could not withstand more than 20 shots without cleaning - carbon deposits polluted the castle.
Conclusion
Our article ends. From it, a reader interested in the development of weapons learned more about the structure of a wheeled castle. And at the same time about the history of his invention, possible authors, the main advantages and disadvantages.