The blunderbuss is a short, muzzle-loading firearm with a large-caliber, often flared or bell-shaped barrel, developed in the seventeenth century and remaining in common use through the early nineteenth century as a close-range defensive weapon for travelers, coach guards, sailors and household protection. Loaded with loose shot, nails or other scrap projectiles, the wide muzzle was long believed to spread its charge in a shotgun-like pattern, though its actual dispersal was closer to that of a conventional shotgun of the era, and the flared mouth mainly aided quick reloading, especially aboard a moving ship or carriage. Blunderbusses were issued to naval boarding parties and mail coach guards well into the 1800s, valued less for range or accuracy than for the intimidating bore and the reliability of hitting a close target such as a boarder coming over a ship's rail.
Facts
Weapon Class Introduced Year Classification
Service Status Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Connections
Associated With
The short barreled blunderbuss, effective for close quarters boarding actions, was carried by forces of the Dutch East India Company Army
Operated By
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Blunderbuss
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Blunderbuss
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Blunderbuss
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Blunderbuss
Used In
Source Wikipedia: Blunderbuss
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Blunderbuss
WikipediaLead section, first two sentences
The blunderbuss is a seventeenth- to mid-nineteenth-century muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large-caliber, smoothbore barrel. It features a flared muzzle to facilitate loading shot, which usually consisted of a dozen or so projectiles ranging from .25 in (6.4 mm) to .35 in (8.9 mm) in diameter.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
Lead
The blunderbuss is a seventeenth- to mid-nineteenth-century muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large-caliber, smoothbore barrel.
Article text
While the flintlock blunderbuss wasn't developed until the 17th century, the concept of the blunderbuss dates back to at least Germany in the mid-16th century, early examples of blunderbuss were either matchlock or wheellock firearms.
Used In: War of 1812, Wikipedia article text
The American Navy issued their first standardized blunderbuss during the War of 1812.
In Group: Early Modern Pistols and Short Firearms, Lead sentence
The blunderbuss is a seventeenth- to mid-nineteenth-century muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large-caliber, smoothbore barrel.
View the Source MilitaryFactory.com: Blunderbuss
MilitaryFactory.comOperated By: French Armed Forces, Operators
[ Austria; Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany; India; Italy; Mexico; Netherlands; Ottoman Empire; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Sardinia; Spain; United Kingdom; United States ]
Operated By: Mexican Armed Forces, Operators
[ Austria; Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany; India; Italy; Mexico; Netherlands; Ottoman Empire; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Sardinia; Spain; United Kingdom; United States ]
Operated By: Spanish Armed Forces, Operators
[ Austria; Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany; India; Italy; Mexico; Netherlands; Ottoman Empire; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Sardinia; Spain; United Kingdom; United States ]
Operated By: United States Armed Forces, Operators
[ Austria; Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany; India; Italy; Mexico; Netherlands; Ottoman Empire; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Sardinia; Spain; United Kingdom; United States ]
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