Throughout its history, mankind has created a lot of diverse weapons that can defeat a dangerous, numerous and well-armed enemy. The main bias in recent centuries has been made on firearms - reliable, powerful and relatively simple to manufacture. Against this background, the Girardoni rifle looks simply amazing. Not all people, even those who consider themselves experts on small arms, have heard about it, much less know enough to judge its effectiveness.
What makes this rifle interesting
Many will be surprised, but this weapon, which at one time was in the arsenal of the army, is … pneumatic. Yes, the mechanism here is exactly the same as in the “air”, from which you can shoot in any dash and which are completely not perceived by adults as something serious.
In fact, attempts (not always unsuccessful) to create an effective pneumatic weapon were not abandoned by mankind for more than two thousand years. The first active samples were discovered in ancient Greece. However, for the most part, for some reason (manufacturing complexity, moodiness in use, low efficiency), they were all rejected.
The exception is the Girardoni gun, which is practically devoid of all the above disadvantages.
History of creation
Surprisingly, it was the creation and widespread use of firearms that was the impetus that made gunsmiths look for alternative solutions. Given all the flaws that the squeakers and muskets possessed, they tried, if not to improve them, then at least find workarounds.
It is worth saying that the Girardoni fitting is far from the first pneumatic combat weapon. Quite effective solutions were found at the beginning of the seventeenth century. A variety of pistols, rifles and even shooting canes were made by craftsmen to order at the request of wealthy clients. Some used such a silent weapon for self-defense, while others even used for poaching, so as not to attract a forester with a shot. However, all of them were not so good as to become widespread - most did not go beyond the discussion in a narrow environment of masters.
Everything changed when in 1779 Bartolomeo Girardoni demonstrated his brainchild. It was he who presented the Austrian Archduke Joseph II with multi-shot airguns. By the way, the Austrians stubbornly consider Girardoni a Tyrolean, that is, almost their fellow countryman. In fact, he was Italian, which is clearly confirmed by his last name.
The test results were so impressed with the Archduke that he decided to launch the rifle in mass production and equip special units of the border guard with new weapons. Of course, the creator began to oversee the entire project, Girardoni preferred not to show the drawings of the air rifle to anyone.
Main unit
The device of the rifle was quite simple, although it required maximum accuracy when creating - the slightest gaps or inconsistencies with the standard led to a sharp decrease in efficiency or even made use impossible.
The barrel of the weapon was octagonal, rifled. Moreover, the caliber was very serious - 13 millimeters. The role of the butt was played by a cylinder of compressed air. It was connected to the barrel through an impact metering valve and breech. The compound was tightly sealed with a leather cuff soaked in water. The fixed tubular magazine, fastened to the right, right along the trunk, contained as many as 20 round bullets.
It is worth noting that the cylinder was carefully designed and, as they would say today, had a very ergonomic shape - it was very convenient to work with it.
The air was pumped in a timely manner, before the battle. Nevertheless, in order to create the necessary pressure in it (about 33 atmospheres), it was required to swing the hand pump about 1, 500 times. This required special accuracy - if you create too little pressure, then the firing power decreased sharply. With increased pressure, the thin walls of the cylinder (this is what allowed to reduce the weight of the weapon) could not withstand, which would lead to an explosion.
Equipment
Of course, nobody would have thought of blowing air into a tank directly on the battlefield. Therefore, the developers took care of the possibility of quick reloading. The Girardoni air rifle included a replacement balloon. It is quite reasonable to pump up two cylinders in a timely manner, so that during the battle they can quickly replace and continue to fire.
In addition, the kit necessarily included four tin canisters, each holding 20 round bullets. Using them, it was possible quite quickly, right during the battle, to charge an empty store, instead of inserting bullets one by one.
At the same time, the developers decided that it was not too reasonable to supply each rifle with a pump. Therefore, they went to the army with the expectation of one pump for two rifles. Needless to say, under normal conditions this was quite enough.
However, each soldier had to have maximum autonomy and not depend on supplies from warehouses. Therefore, he made bullets on his own - complete with a rifle was a bullet. Moreover, the accuracy of the manufacture of shells should have been maximum - even a slight error could lead to the fact that the bullet gets stuck in the barrel. Therefore, there was always a reference bullet, on which the shooter was equal.
Effective combat range
A good shooter could confidently put a bullet at a distance of up to 150 meters. To modern gunsmiths this seems frankly ridiculous. However, for its time, this range was more than impressive - ordinary firearms could only dream of such effectiveness.
Yes, the powerful pressure created by the compressed air from the cylinder accelerated the bullet to 200 meters per second. This was enough for a heavy bullet to hit an enemy located 150 meters away. True, there was a nuance: this speed was provided only with the first ten shots. Further, the pressure in the cylinder was noticeably reduced. Therefore, the battle range was sharply reduced, and the corrections when firing at a great distance had to be taken completely different.
However, it is worth considering that in one minute a good shooter could confidently empty the store, that is, make 20 shots. Compare this with the muskets of that time, which beat well if half that distance and had a rate of fire no more than 5-7 rounds per minute. In addition, hiding from enemy fire, the shooter could quickly load new bullets into the store, change the cylinder and fire another 20 shots. Of course, such a practically hurricane fire inflicted enormous damage to the enemy, and at the same time a psychological blow - this weapon was painfully unusual.
Using
Handling weapons was very easy and simple. After making a shot, the shooter simply pushed back the bolt and tilted the rifle slightly with the butt down. Under gravity, the bullet shifted to the bolt slot. After that, the shooter released the shutter, which immediately returned to the place where it was held by the spring from displacement.
Compare this with other rifles of the time when it was required to charge the charge of gunpowder through the barrel, to zapryzhevat it with a ramrod. Then insert the same bullet there, install a capsule or even a piston and only after that make a shot. But you didn’t have to do all this at a dry and safe training ground, but during a hurricane battle - even experienced soldiers shook their hands because of an adrenaline rush, and the whole operation was not easy!
Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the pneumatic multiply charged nozzle of Girardoni was a considerable success, experts predicted a great future for him.
Key Benefits
One of the important advantages was the range and rate of fire, they have already been discussed in detail above. But the pros of the rifle do not end there.
Also, silent shooting can be attributed here - it is very convenient if you have to shoot from an ambush, for example, from dense bushes. In addition, there is no unmasking smoke, as when using gunpowder. Accordingly, an experienced and cold-blooded shooter, choosing a convenient position, could destroy an entire detachment of the enemy before they were discovered.
There was practically no recoil, which further facilitated the shooting. Even firing 40 bullets in a row, the shooter did not feel fatigue and pain in his shoulder.
At a distance of up to 100 meters, the Girardoni rifle pneumatically provided excellent accuracy.
Finally, the battle could be fought in conditions of strong wind, snow and rain - there was no gunpowder that could damp, or a capsule that sometimes blew away with gusts of wind.
Shortcomings
Alas, any weapon that has advantages is not without its certain drawbacks. However, as such the weapon itself at that time had no minuses. However, the shooters had to be retrained or trained from scratch, because getting used to pneumatics after firearms was quite difficult.
In addition, Girardoni’s airguns were noticeably more difficult to manufacture than conventional rifles. Maximum accuracy was required - the smallest errors made the weapon completely unsuitable for firing marks.
Sunset genius pneumatics
Alas, Girardoni, reveling in his exclusivity, did not want to share with anyone the secrets of the manufacture and maintenance of weapons. Girardoni also showed no drawings of the rifle to anyone. As a result - soon after his death, most of the rifles simply fell into disrepair. There was no one to repair them, to carry out appropriate maintenance, which would increase the service life.
Therefore, by 1815, the last active and failed rifles were handed over to the arsenal. Some from there migrated to museums, while others dispersed around the world both as souvenirs or gifts, and for conducting further hostilities.
Followers of girardoni
But the idea has not died out. In different countries of Europe there are new air rifles. So, N. Y. Lebnitz developed a multi-barrel weapon resembling a card case. The Viennese gunsmith Kontriner created on the basis of the Girardoni rifle a new hunting rifle with 13 mm bullets. In London, the name Staudenmeier briefly became known, and in Austria, Schember. All of them created a more or less successful weapon using compressed air. Alas, they failed to repeat the success of Girardoni.
Army use
The most massive use of the pneumatic fitting Girardoni was observed in Austria, from 1790 to 1815. Local border guards made excellent use of them - the war with France arrived in time.
Accurate shooters knocked out French gunners and gunners at a distance beyond the limits of firearms. Without rumble and smoke, Napoleon’s soldiers fell as if mowed down, creating an almost superstitious fear among the survivors.
The angry Napoleon even gave the order to execute every enemy soldier captured with a Girardoni rifle on the spot, and not to be taken prisoner, as military laws required.
Rifle in US history
This weapon played a certain role in US history. The Girardoni rifle, a photo of which can be seen in the archives, was in the arsenal of Lewis and Clark - travelers who paved the way through the entire US from east to west and back.
The expedition was very dangerous. It passed through the lands inhabited by both hostile Indians and tribes that did not even know about the existence of white people. Perhaps it was the Girardoni rifles that allowed the small detachment (33 people total) to go the whole route without fighting. Even the most warlike and armed with modern guns rifles Indians preferred not to attack travelers with armed weapons that kill completely silently, and even at such a great distance. The lack of familiar manipulations with loading weapons also played a role, creating around the rifle areoles of something supernatural.
In addition, although there were only a few rifles in the detachment, Clark and Lewis were in no hurry to tell the Indians about this. As a result, they were sure that everyone in the detachment was armed with miracle weapons.
Having demonstrated their weapons several times, killing deer at an extraordinary distance, travelers proved to warlike Indians that it is better not to mess with them.
