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When were guns made.Who Invented the First Gun?

 

They've been in existence for more than 1, years and have affected warfare — and society in general — in ways perhaps no other invention can match. We're talking about guns. Once just the weapon of the world's military forces, now guns are considered a "right" of the average citizen by some people, especially in the United States where it's written into the Constitution.

It all started in China around C. The resulting powder called huo yao , was a blend of charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur. They quickly learned the powder could be used in warfare. The then-reigning Song Dynasty is the first to have used gunpowder against the Mongols, whose constant invasions into the country plagued the Chinese throughout the period.

The Chinese attacked the Mongols with fire lances or " flying fire " — arrows fixed with tubes of gunpowder that, when ignited, would propel across enemy lines. More gunpowder-based weapons followed as the Chinese perfected a variety of weapons against the Mongols over the next centuries, including the first cannons and grenades. Gunpowder made its way to Europe in the 13th century, likely over the Silk Road trade routes through Central Asia.

Rival nations refined gunpowder recipes in the ensuing centuries before arriving at the optimum mixture : approximately 75 percent saltpeter, 15 percent charcoal and 10 percent sulfur.

By , rudimentary gunpowder cannons were commonplace in the English and French militaries, who used the explosive technology against each other during the Hundred Years' War. As the centuries continued, new and improved cannons were designed, many of which were small and portable. Eventually the hand cannon was developed in the early 15th century; it was the first real personal firearm. The Ottoman Turks used these and other cannons during the successful siege of Constantinople in The powerful new weapons essentially rendered traditional walled fortifications of Europe defenseless.

Historians generally consider the Chinese fire lance as the first gun. But before the 15th century, guns were tricky to fire — they required both hands and a burning wick to ignite the powder. Enter the invention of the lock, an internal firing mechanism that made shooting a hand-held firearm more efficient, easier and safer. The first was a matchlock , followed by a series of enhancements until we get something more akin to the guns we know today.

The first known gun to use a matchlock was the French arquebus , a short-barreled long gun rifle held at the shoulder yet small enough to be handled by one person. A gunpowder-soaked cord burned at both ends until it touched a pan of flash powder, which sent a small ball soaring toward its enemy. Still, they were cumbersome weapons that could only be fired once every two minutes. Guns slowly replaced old-guard weapons, because they were more economical, rather than more lethal.

Lifelong devotion was required to become a highly skilled and highly paid swordsman or archer, but a few weeks or months of training could turn a lower-class soldier into a skilled gunner. Besides increasing the field of soldiers, guns have had far-reaching influence on the nature of armed combat, from the distances at which dueling armies engage one another to the types of wounds soldiers incur.

Only the horse — which dominated battlefields for millennia — has proven more important than the gun. com article:. Sign up for our Newsletter!

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Share Content on Twitter Share Content on Facebook Share Content on LinkedIn Share Content on Flipboard Share Content on Reddit Share Content via Email. First Gun FAQ What was the first gun ever made? The Chinese fire lance, a bamboo tube that used gunpowder to fire a spear, invented in the 10th century, is regarded by historians as the first gun ever made.

Gunpowder was previously invented in China in the 9th century. What did the first gun look like? The earliest gun, the Chinese fire lance, had a gunpowder-filled tube normally bamboo attached to a spear.

When ignited, the tube projected flames and added shrapnel such as pottery shards at the target. When did the British army start using guns? It was in the late 19th century when rifles fully replaced the musket as military weapons.

The first order to build 1, rifles for the British Army was made in January, A pattern by a gunsmith, William Grice, was approved for official issue. Who brought gunpowder to Europe? The information about how to make gunpowder spread quickly throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe as a result of the Mongol conquests. But gunpowder was first brought to Europe in the 13th century, possibly by traders, over the Silk Road trade routes through central Asia.

What was the first fully automatic gun? The Maxim machine gun was the first fully automatic machine gun. It was developed by an engineer and inventor, Hiram Maxim, in in England. This automatic gun was also known as the Vickers-Maxim or just Vickers. Lots More Information Related Articles Top 10 Game-changing Military Technologies What Are Ghost Guns and Why Are They So Dangerous? From Military to Mainstream: The Evolution of the AR Sources Ammunitiondepot.

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