Dragon (firearm)

A dragon is a shortened form of the blunderbuss, a firearm with a short flared barrel of large caliber, issued to dragoon cavalry who needed a light, easily handled gun to carry while mounted. Early versions used wheellock mechanisms and later ones flintlocks, and the type saw use across Europe and in the Malay world during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was effective only at short range and lacked accuracy at distance, but a historical manuscript from the Nusantara archipelago records that in 1721 Bugis troops carrying dragon blunderbusses defeated an enemy force armed with cannons and swords.