AH Challenge: Buckle down for Puckle's Gun

MrP

Banned
Puckle's Gun

The Puckle Gun​

In 1718, James Puckle of London, England, demonstrated his new invention, the "Puckle Gun," a tripod-mounted, single-barreled flintlock gun fitted with a multishot revolving cylinder. This weapon fired nine shots per minute at a time when the standard soldier's musket could be loaded and fired but three times per minute. Puckle demonstrated two versions of the basic design. One weapon, intended for use against Christian enemies, fired conventional round bullets, while the second variant, designed to be used against the Muslim Turks, fired square bullets, which were believed to cause more severe and painful wounds than spherical projectiles.

The "Puckle Gun" failed to attract investors and never achieved mass production or sales to the British armed forces. One newspaper of the period observed following the business venture's failure that "those are only wounded who hold shares therein."

According to the Patent Office of the United Kingdom, "In the reign of Queen Anne of Great Britain, the law officers of the Crown established as a condition of patent that the inventor must in writing describe the invention and the manner in which it works." James Puckle's 1718 patent for a gun was one of the first to provide a description.

Get this or a successor design adopted by the British military of the era.

Come on! Buckle down for Puckle! :D
 

Thande

Donor
Love the different bullets :)
A history book I possess draws attention to that and points out "What, precisely, were you supposed to use against Turks who were Christian converts?" :D

In my experience, if it looks like a military-industrial establishment is being pigheaded about adopting a shiny new weapon, there's usually some issue that we haven't heard about. Maybe the Puckle gun was unreliable - I know that the early revolvers a few people used in the 1810s had a tendency to get stuck.
 
Maybe Puckle was just a bad entrepreneur, and was unable to market succesfully his idea. I'd have thought that the Navy should have snapped it up: looks great in boarding engagements, or to be installed on sloops and fast light vessels.
 
The Danish Guards regiment was issued with Kalthoffs magazine flintlockmusket during the 1670'ies.
The musket had a magazine of 20 rounds.

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And the earlier model Kalthoff flintlock musket with magazine issued 1650 and used by the Guards during the Swedish siege of Copenhagen 1658. The system was abandoned because of being too prone to malfunction and probably because of troop drill. The musket had to be turned sideways to get powder and ball loaded into the chamber while turning the handle under the lock.

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Maybe Puckle was just a bad entrepreneur, and was unable to market succesfully his idea. I'd have thought that the Navy should have snapped it up: looks great in boarding engagements, or to be installed on sloops and fast light vessels.
I would agree. After all you are enhancing an existing weapon and not replacing one (muskets).

No mention of fotherpowers has been mentioned, but had any been interested, would Mr Puckle had sold them a few of them to Johnny Foreigner?
 

Thande

Donor
And the earlier model Kalthoff flintlock musket with magazine issued 1650 and used by the Guards during the Swedish siege of Copenhagen 1658. The system was abandoned because of being too prone to malfunction and probably because of troop drill. The musket had to be turned sideways to get powder and ball loaded into the chamber while turning the handle under the lock.

A successor design was adopted - when the technology was mature.

Well, then, why hasn't Denmark conquered the universe? Because, as we know, a tiny advantage in weapons technology automatically leads to total domination, just look at nine-tenths of ISOT stories. :rolleyes:

Sarcasm, for the newbies.
 
Guys

One other factor may just be the timing. Just after a generation long conflict is probably not the best time to start suggesting fancy new weapons.

Otherwise it might be that the weapons were unreliable as Thande suggested. Or possibly that the weapon was seen as too complex or not tactically flexible enough. I.e. how long does it take to load and how easy is that under fire say. Is it too bulky to be moved around the battlefield easily? Other possible questions like that.

Steve
 
I play a PBM 18th century game which allows Puckle guns-the big problem in the game is they aren't very mobile and are best suited to static defence.
 
I can do this!

1722 - The Carribean islands of St. John and St. Vincent are granted to John, 2nd Duke of Montagu. He raises a flotilla to secure the islands. Among the equipment are two Puckle Defence Guns. Due to strong French resistance, Montagu's force leaves St. John.
1723 - Montagu's force lands on St. Vincent. (POD) The Puckle Guns serve well in securing a beachhead. Strong native resistance drives Montagu's troops from St. Vincent.
1724-1739 - Due to reports from Monatgu's failed West Indian expedition, several dozen Puckle Defence Guns are sold. Some serve admirably in an anti-boarding capacity during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
1740-1742/1742-1749 - John, 2nd Duke of Montagu, serves as Master-General of the Ordnance (as per OTL). He is successful in ordering several hundred Puckle Guns. Most are deployed in defensive positions.
1751 - Clive marches on Arcot. His forces is only equipped with six artillery pieces, half of which are Puckle Defence Guns mounted on newly designed wheeled carriages. The Puckles prove instrumental in Clive's campaign.
1754-1763 - French and Indian War/Seven Years War - due to overenthusastic purchasing following Clive's reports of Puckle Defence Guns, the weapons achieve a spotty service record.
1760s-1770s - Puckles fall into some disrepute but, due to large numbers purchased, are found in many armouries.
1775 - American Revolutionary War begins. Among the weapons seized at Fort Ticonderoga are several Puckle Guns. Due to a lack of artillery, many Puckles are deployed by the Continental Army.

And here's where my timeline breaks down. I don't know if there are any battles that would go differently because of the deployment of Puckle Guns. I don't think they would have been changed much over this time span due to a lack of high-level interest. After this, all bets are off. I'd think that metal casings will be developed sooner.

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/2900/2936.htm
http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/news/Quick-firingGun.htm
http://www.un.int/stlucia/consularservices/history.htm
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Master-General_of_the_Ordnance/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Clive,_1st_Baron_Clive
http://www.history1700s.com/page1006.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Fort_Ticonderoga
 

Thande

Donor
Widespread deployment of reliable Puckle-guns would probably make French Revolutionary human-wave column tactics untenable...
 
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