Matchlocks

Matchlocks

History of the Design of Small Weapons

Published in Jose Martin Herrera Ramirez, Luis Adrian Zuñiga Aviles, Designing Small Weapons, 2022

Jose Martin Herrera Ramirez, Luis Adrian Zuñiga Aviles

The matchlock system was introduced by the Janissary corps of the Ottoman army in 1440 [14]. It consisted of a slow-burning cord (match) placed in a clamp at the end of a small serpentine-shaped lever, a kind of early trigger. Similar to the hand cannon, the matchlock was loaded through the muzzle, with the difference that the priming gunpowder was ignited by the cord, which was introduced into the touch hole to ignite the main charge. Despite these advances, firearms were still trouble to operate: accurately aiming was difficult and users had to go through the complicated reloading process after every shot.

Reverse engineering as history and method: The Portuguese espingarda in Chosŏn Korea

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Journal Information

Published in History and Technology, 2022

Hyeok Hweon Kang

The dissection revealed, first, that the makers of this object had mastered the techniques of producing the matchlock musket. The exterior appearance hinted at this, but examining its mechanisms under the stock confirmed the following. The operation of the Korean gun showed that it classifies as a ‘snap matchlock’, named after the characteristic spring-loaded action of its match hammer. The snap lock system is the most intricate and expensive type. It first emerged in Bohemia in the late fifteenth century, only to fall out of use in Europe. Yet in Japan, some areas of China, and Korea, it enjoyed centuries-long use. Remarkably, the Korean snap lock is identical to its Japanese counterpart, on which it was certainly based.46

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History of the Design of Small Weapons

Reverse engineering as history and method: The Portuguese espingarda in Chosŏn Korea