Breechloader

A breechloader is a type of firearm or artillery piece defined by its loading method. In these weapons, the user loads the ammunition into the breech, which is the rear end of the barrel.

This design differs from the muzzleloaders used for most of history. Muzzleloaders are loaded through the muzzle, or the front end, of the barrel. While most modern firearms are breech-loaders, some specific tools like mortars and certain rocket launchers, such as the RPG-7, still use muzzleloading.

Loading from the rear provides several mechanical advantages. It is much faster to place a projectile and propellant into a chamber than to push them down a long tube. This speed is even more important when the barrel has rifling, which are spiral ridges inside the tube. In field artillery, crews no longer have to stand in front of the gun to use a ramrod. Because the shot can fit tightly in the bore, the weapon gains more power, range, and accuracy. It is also easier to load a gun if the barrel is fouled with residue from previous shots.

Developing successful breechloaders required solving the problem of sealing the breech. If the rear is not sealed, dangerous gases can leak out during firing. For small arms, inventors solved this with the self-contained metallic cartridge. For very large artillery, they developed mechanisms like the interrupted screw. In the 19th century, many different types of breech mechanisms emerged. These included the rotating bolt, the dropping block, and the lever-actuated bolt. Some designs, like the Chassepot rifle, used the de Bange sealing system to prevent gas leaks.

Breech-loading technology has a long history of experimentation. Early versions appeared in Burgundy and Europe as far back as the 14th century. In the 16th century, King Henry VIII of England owned a breech-loading hunting gun.

During this same era, the Ming dynasty in China used an early breech-loading musket called the Che Dian Chong. In 1772, British officer Patrick Ferguson developed the Ferguson rifle. This was a breech-loading flintlock used during the American Revolutionary War. However, it was eventually replaced by the standard Brown Bess musket.

The 19th century saw a rapid increase in cartridge technology. In 1808, Jean Samuel Pauly created the first fully self-contained cartridges in Paris. These used a copper base and a mercury fulminate primer.

Later, Casimir Lefaucheux improved this in 1828 with the pinfire cartridge. In 1846, Benjamin Houllier patented the first fully metallic cartridge containing powder in a metal shell. These inventions allowed for more reliable firing. They moved weaponry away from paper-based systems toward the modern metallic cartridges we recognize today.

Different nations adopted these technologies at different times. The United States Army used the Hall rifle in 1819. The Norwegian Armed Forces adopted the Kammerlader, a breech-loading caplock, in 1842. In the 1860s, the Prussian army used the Dreyse needle gun. This rifle used a rotating bolt and a needle-like firing pin to strike a percussion cap. Although it had gas leak issues, it was successful in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. This success caused much interest in breech-loaders across Europe. In New Zealand, the Calisher and Terry carbine was used by the Forest Rangers. These carbines used waterproofed cartridges to function well in the bush.

During the American Civil War, at least nineteen types of breech-loaders were used. These included the Sharps, which used a dropping block design, and the Spencer, which used a lever-actuated bolt. The Henry rifle used rimfire metallic cartridges fed from a tube magazine. These advancements eventually ended the era of the muzzleloader. Modern artillery also improved through these designs. Martin von Wahrendorff invented a modern breech-loading rifled gun in 1837. Later, Joseph Whitworth and William Armstrong created improved breech-loading artillery in the 1850s and 1860s. These developments led to the repeating and self-loading firearms used today.