Post by Creative Consortium on Feb 9, 2010 23:35:59 GMT -6
Tried and True Weapons of Skye
Innovations
Skye’s earliest guns, or cannon, were cast from non-ferrous alloy named bell metal. Extensive building of churches in Europe during the period led to a steady demand for bells - and for Skye, bell-founders could switch to gun-founding without a difficult exercise.
When Adam Aberdeen was proclaimed Mo’r Triath of the Gaelic Nations the country had only one expert gun founder, a state of affairs he soon rectified by importing German, Italian and French gun founders not only to cast his ordnance but also to teach his founders how to do it.
In Skye’s early beginnings, the guns the English used against the Scots were called vaso from the Italian for a vase which it closely resembled. The Gunner fired the piece by inserting a red-hot iron into the vent. The projectile left the muzzle was a species of arrow known as a dart, carreau or quarrel. The gun has no carriage; it simply lies on a trestle table.
Later they developed guns cast from non-ferrous alloys that were small - and expensive - so gunmakers soon began to try iron. The technique of casting this metal was then very much in its infancy, so blacksmiths began forging guns from wrought iron.
As time passed and the threat to Skye by the English, Adam knew warfare frequently involved sieges of castles or other fortified works. To take the city, the invaders would choose to either surround it and starve the occupants into submission, or make a breech in a wall, send in a storming party, and settle the issue by combat. He knew the city would have enough provisions to prolong the first outcome; but the second choice was preferable to Maubrey. Adam knew he would employ 'engines of war', such as the ponderous and complicated contraptions as the ballista and the trebuchet, which were slow to set up and slower still to make an impression on heavy masonry. But Maubrey also had cannon and would use those if at all possible. Though the ballista and the trebuchet could be manufactured on site, the cannon had to be transported.
The threat of war looming, Adam sought to improve his chances of victory. Under orders, his WeaponsMaster procured English weapons for the Lord of the Isles and Adam’s Chief Engineer worked diligently to enhance the walls of the city against bombardment by the new English cannon. In the meantime, his WeaponMaster would arrange the protection of the city by strategically placing the cannon around the city walled perimeter.
In the end, Maubrey sought to use his cannon in his winter campaign, but Skye’s weather prevented the heavy weapon on crude carriages from being transported. The Lord of the Isle now had the advantage. The walls could withstand just about anything the English could throw at him.
Another advantage Adam had was the cannon he used on his main battle ships. No longer were they armed with small trebuchets, they had carriage mounted cannon. Skye had entered a new age.
Some of the designs the Mo’r Triath considered were:
The 15 cm mortar on carriage; the style used by Maubrey and abandoned at the Battle of Turas Lan Pass.
His early naval gun, firing a 2 inch iron ball
The Perrier, weighed 2 tons and fired round stones in excess of 12 inches in diameter
A 4 inch wall cannon. Made of cast iron, it tended to blow up, killing gunners.
Culverin 3 inch; Skye’s first fully deployed wall cannon. Later moved to the new artillery sections of the infantry.
Skye’s current wall cannons.
Adam’s first ship cannon, 12 pounder installed on the Highland Duchess.
Cannon that all Griffin fleet ships have...
During Skye'sWar of Freedom, Skye’s Admiral of the Fleet had a small weapon that made a large difference. Admiral Flynn had acquired, which history does not tell us how, a weapon called a hand gonne... or pistols as he called them. Using those when boarding a ship gave him the advantage an Admiral required.
Adam was so impressed with the “pistols” he made them part of his call for Gaelic Renaissance, and issued a decree to refine the weapon. No longer were the wicks used to spark the gunpowder in the small pan... Adam’s experts found two styles that would prove useful. One was a Wheellock and the other was a Snaphance...
The first prototype of the wheellock was given by the Mo’r Triath to Adam’s WeaponMaster as a gift. The metal parts of the pistol were fire-blued to add extra beauty and to protect against corrosion. Also, metallurgy had improved to the point that gun barrels were no longer bursting very often. The strongest barrels were of damascene manufacture. In this process, strips of metal about the thickness of a man's finger are wound together. Then, another strip is wound around them for the full length of the piece, then the whole thing is heated and welded. It is hammered and forged into the final shape, then bored out. The damascene barrel was the only one that could survive being packed for its full length with gunpowder then fired. Other gun barrels were at risk with only a quarter of their length packed. Dmitrii’s Wheellock has an octagonal burn chamber that extends into a round smooth bore barrel in 12 mm caliber. The iron wheel lock with safety has light floral engraving. It was 49 cm (12 inches) long with Walnut full stock is inlaid with stripes and plates of engraved bone with inlays of ivory and horn.
The second prototype of the pistol was a snaphance was given by the Mo’r Triath to Adam’s Fleet Admiral as a gift. The extremely distinctive pistols were the first made in Scotland and were characterized by their all-metal construction, lack of trigger-guards, and often elaborate 'Highland' decoration.
This very rare pair were made entirely of brass. They feature a Scottish version of the 'snaphance' lock, (which was the precursor to the true flintlock, which would be designed later).
The snaphance mechanism involved the steel and pan cover being made as separate pieces. When pulled back, the coke is held by a catch (or 'sear') that protrudes through the lock-plate and engages with a little tail that projects from the lower edge of the coke. The barrels are elaborately shaped at the muzzles, which were a large caliber, possibly 45. The ornate engraved decoration that covers most surfaces of these pistols is also striking. This 'lock, stock, and barrel' ornamentation features rosettes, foliate scrollwork, and key-pattern borders reminiscent of late Celtic design. The lock-plate is marked 'JF' which are the initials of the new owner.
The Mo’r Triath was more than pleased with the new firing mechanism. The Snaphance or Snaphaunce is a particular type of mechanism (Like the earlier snaplock and later flintlock), that drives a flint onto a steel straiker to create a shower of sparks to ignite the main charge.
The flint is held in a clamp at the end of a bent lever called the coke. Upon pulling the trigger, this moves forward under the pressure of a strong spring and strikes a curved plate of hardened steel (called simply the steel, or the frizzen) to produce a shower of sparks (actually white-hot steel shavings). These fall into a flash pan holding priming powder. The flash from the pan travels through the touch hole to cause the main charge of gunpowder to burn with great heat and intense light.
The origin of the name snaphance is thought to come from the Dutch language "Snap Haan" or German language "Schnapphahn"—both of which roughly mean "coke peck" or "snapping lever" , and could relate to the shape of the mechanism and its downward-darting action (and would also explain the name "coke" for the beak-shaped mechanism which holds the flint).
Other developments soon followed:
From Top to bottom:
Wheellock garnet rifle
Make: Bronze and oak
Caliber: 46 mm
Wheellock garnet rifle (Cat Head)
Make: Bronze and oak
Caliber: 61 mm
Stone lock garnet rifle
Make: Bronze and walnut
Kaliber: 13 mm
Schloß: J. J. Behr
Stone lock garnet rifle
Make: Bronze and walnut
Hakenbüchsenrohr
Caliber: 61 mm
Other varieties of rifles produced in Skye.
This wheellock rifle exemplifies the diverse influences shaping firearms design in Skye. Its slender proportions and medium-caliber barrel are modeled after the German shoulder gun; the prominent cheek stock uses inset brass decoration. The lock mechanism, is the snaphaunce lock is replaced by the wheellock. A gunstocker by trade, Jonas Schertiger the Younger was a member of the Stockholm cabinetmaker's guild. His name and the date of manufacture are prominently engraved on the brass inlay on the cheek stock. A blank escutcheon surmounted by a gryphon on the sideplate indicates this rifle was for the Mo’r Triath.
The Future of Combat
Soon, units such as these shall be appearing in battle formations upon the field. Currently, designing, prototyping, testing, and producing high grade weapons is extremely expensive.... and fielding units as these is a monetary drain. Maybe someday sooner than we expect...
Another innovation designed and developed by gunmakers of Skye was the miquelet lock, with its combined battery and pan cover was the final innovative link that made the true flintlock mechanism possible. It proved to be both the precursor and companion to the true flintlock. This would be the inhibitor of the Trade Wars and could revolutionize firearms.
Two major variants of the miquelet were produced. The Spanish lock where the mainspring pushed up on the heel of the coke foot and the two sears engaged the toe of the coke foot.
The other variant was the Italian type where the mainspring pushed down on the toe of the coke foot and the sears engaged the coke on the heel of the foot.
The miquelet lock was known by various names, depending on region or variation of design. In Spain, it was known as the llave española; a la Catalan, or simply the patilla. In Portugal, it was known as the fecho de patilha de invenção. Indigenous variations to the patilla had names such as the a la de invenciõn, later known as the alla romana or romanlock or just plain Italian. The Italian version of the Spanish patilla is termed alla micheletta.
The horizontal sears, acting through the lockplate, coupled with the external mainspring and the top jaw screw ring are the features most associated with the miquelet (actually, the horizontal acting sears are the one true defining feature as some variations of the miquelet do not have the external mainspring and/or the large top jaw screw ring).
The miquelet is often termed the Mediterranean lock due to its distribution to areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the Ottoman sphere of influence. The miquelet may have come to the attention of arms makers in Istanbul from long established trade routes from Italian city-states through the port of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to provinces on the Balkan Peninsula. Other avenues probably were a result of booty from corsair raids and/or from the many Ottoman-Euro conflicts of the period.
Additionally, the agujeta lock, a contemporary of the patilla was produced in Ripoll, primarily on a long barreled pistol called a pedrenyal. Ripoll was a gun-making center in Catalonia. The agujeta lock, is sometimes referred to as the Arab toe-lock.
A percussion lock or caplock mechanism styled on the patilla pattern miquelet was used on pistols and sporting guns right up to the advent of the cartridge firearm; indeed, many percussion locks were modified or adapted for use with cartridge firearms. Sculpturing of the hammer in the form of dogs or fish was a common practice on these percussion miquelet locks. Miquelets fashioned in this way were particularly well represented by the gunmakers of Eibar.[/size]
