The first firearms, still improvised, probably appeared in China shortly after the invention of gunpowder, in the 9th century. In bamboo tubes, this mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal that explodes in contact with fire was used to throw stones .
The Arabs perfected the invention in the 13th century, when cannons were made of wood and reinforced with iron bands. But the decisive contribution came in the 14th century, when the first safer bronze cannons appeared. “The cannon paves the way for the evolution of both heavy and individual weapons”, says historian João Fábio Bertonha, from the State University of Maringá, in Paraná.
The first portable firearms appear in the 15th century. “It’s a real revolution: soldiers gain another importance and war tactics change completely”, says João Fábio. The first individual weapon widely used in battle is the musket, created in the 16th century. But the invention is slow and has poor aim.
In the following century, with the flintlock rifle, the aim improved, but many shots failed and the soldier still had to manually supply the gun with gunpowder and projectile. In the 19th century, the creation of cartridges and breech-loading mechanisms made weapons more reliable and boosted war technology once and for all.
The culmination was automation, with the invention of the machine gun in 1884. To top it off, models of submachine guns, assault rifles and automatic pistols of the late 20th century made the weapons’ destructive power infinitely more precise – and dangerous.
Bang! Bang!
Evolution of armaments begins in the Middle Ages and takes off in the Modern Era.
13TH CENTURY
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The first cannons were rudimentary devices, made of wood and reinforced with iron bands. A century later, safer cast-metal models appeared, which changed the history of warfare.
16th CENTURY
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The first portable firearm, the musket, was very heavy (10 kilos) and difficult to reload: the soldier had to introduce the fuse and the bullet through the muzzle of the barrel. As the operation took a few minutes, after the first shot it was much easier to use the sword. But the pistol did not take long to be invented, from a reduced musket. It then began to be used in wars, as a reserve weapon, the last defense resource in emergency situations.
17TH CENTURY
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The flintlock rifle definitely retired the musket, as it had much greater range and much more accurate aim. With it, a well-trained soldier could fire two or three rounds a minute – but still had to carry powder and bullets in a baggie.
18TH CENTURY
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The retroload rifle made reloading much faster and safer: through the breech (the rear of the weapon), a cartridge was placed that already united bullet and gunpowder in a single device. Thus, it became possible to fire up to seven rounds per minute.
19TH CENTURY
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The revolver, patented in 1835 by the American Samuel Colt, introduced the revolving drum, capable of firing several shots just by pressing the trigger repeatedly. The .38 and .45 calibers were adopted by armies at the beginning of the 20th century – but, a decade later, they were already replaced by automatic pistols.
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The machine gun, invented by the Englishman Hiram Maxim in 1884, brought another great advantage: the quick and automatic volley as long as the trigger remains pressed. From World War I onwards it was adopted by all armies.
20TH CENTURY
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The Assault Rifle can either function automatically or fire three-round bursts with each pull of the trigger. It is the infantry weapon most used by armies. The most common are the Colt M 16 (American) and the Kalashnikov AK 47 (Russian).
– (Photoillustration Adriano Sambugaro/)
The submachine gun, or hand gun, became popular in World War II, as it was much more efficient for point-blank shots up to 150 meters away. The most modern ones, like the famous Israeli Uzi, fire up to 600 shots per minute. The first automatic pistols had already appeared at the end of the 19th century, but they only featured in much more modern models, such as the Beretta M9. Created in the 1980s, these weapons are capable of firing 15 rounds.