TNE Only: English Civil War Small Arms for TL 2 worlds

[TheDark]

I recently acquired some books on the English Civil War that had enough information to piece together FF&S statistics for firearms. They were highly transitional, with matchlocks and snaphances serving together, so while there are six main categories of gun, the combination of lock and style mean there are fourteen sets of statistics. I'll start with the biggest and work down. All of the reload stats are for paper cartridges. Firing with a measured charge and patched ball will add 1 to reload, and firing with a charge from a powder horn will also add one. Ammo costs do not include the discount for bulk manufacture.

Matchlock Musket: Wt 7.08 kg, Mag 1i, Reload 7, Dam 3, Pen 1-Nil, Blk 12, SS 2, Rng 36, Cost 480cr, Ammo cost 3.12cr
Wheel Lock Musket: Change Wt to 7.38 kg, Reload to 6, Cost to 550cr
Snaphance Musket: Change Wt to 7.28 kg, Reload to 5, Cost to 650cr

Matchlock Caliver: Wt 6.16 kg, Mag 1i, Reload 5, Dam 3, Pen Nil, Blk 10, SS 2, Rng 33, Cost 390cr, Ammo cost 2.32cr
Wheel Lock Caliver: Change Wt to 6.46 kg, Reload to 4, Cost to 460cr
Snaphance Caliver: Change Wt to 6.36 kg, Reload to 3, Cost to 560cr

Wheel Lock Harquebus: Wt 4.42 kg, Mag 1i, Reload 3, Dam 2, Pen Nil, Blk 7, SS 2, Rng 21, Cost 353cr, Ammo cost 1.65cr
Snaphance Harquebus: Change Wt to 4.32 kg, Reload to 2, Cost to 453cr

Wheel Lock Petronell: Wt 4.41 kg, Mag 1i, Reload 3, Dam 2, Pen Nil, Blk 7, SS 1, Rng 20, Cost 353cr, Ammo cost 1.16cr
Snaphance Petronell: Change Wt to 4.31 kg, Reload to 2, Cost to 453cr

Wheel Lock Horse Pistol: Wt 2.41 kg, Mag 1i, Reload 3, Dam 2, Pen Nil, Blk 3, SS 2, Rng 4, Cost 248cr, Ammo cost 1.40cr
Snaphance Horse Pistol: Change Wt to 2.31 kg, Reload to 2, Cost to 348cr

Wheel Lock Cuirassier Pistol: Wt 3.01 kg, Mag 1i, Reload 3, Dam 2, Pen Nil, Blk 4, SS 1, Rng 4, Cost 308cr, Ammo cost 1.04cr
Snaphance Cuirassier Pistol: Change Wt to 2.91 kg, Reload to 2, Cost to 408cr

The harquebus and petronell are cavalry longarms built with carbine stocks. The harquebus was 17 bore (16.50mm) and the petronell 24 bore (14.70mm). The horse pistol is 20 bore (15.63mm) and the cuirassier pistol is a long-barreled 36 bore (12.85mm); in fact, the cuirassier pistol's barrel is only 10cm shorter than the harquebus or petronell. The musket and caliver are both 12 bore (18.53mm), but the caliver has a shorter barrel and lighter powder charge.

Most infantry will have twelve prepared charges (+1 reload) but will have to switch to loose powder after that (+2 reload). The powder charges for these are enormous by modern standards, ranging from 130 grains for the cuirassier pistols to 390 grains for the musket.

 

[jcrocker]

Great stuff.

Of the three types, Matchlock, Wheel lock, or Snaphance, was any one type more reliable?

Or did it depend upon the quality of pistol itself?

 

[TheDark]

Great stuff.

Of the three types, Matchlock, Wheel lock, or Snaphance, was any one type more reliable?

Or did it depend upon the quality of pistol itself?

In general, if all are in good condition the wheel lock is the most reliable out of the three, but it's the hardest to maintain.

Brent Nosworthy in The Anatomy of Victory: Battle Tactics 1689-1763 estimates that in battle conditions, matchlocks misfired roughly half the time, while early flintlocks were around one-third of the time. A good wheel lock could be as low as one-tenth of the time.

For comparison, an 1830 test of improved flintlocks had one misfire every six shots, while percussion caps misfired one time every one thousand shots - note that this was not a field test, so misfire rates for both would be higher when used by lesser trained soldiers.

The main advantage for the snaphanse is that it's much easier to maintain than a wheel lock. The latter has complicated spring work that requires a fairly skilled artisan to repair. The snaphanse uses flat springs and simpler mechanisms that are easier to maintain. The matchlock is simplest of all - some have flat springs, some have no springs at all.

 

[jcrocker]

Thanks!

 

[Timerover51]

Paul Elliot of Zozer Games has done something very similar to this in his Archaic Firearms book. He has expanded it to include artillery and percussion weapons.

 

[TheDark]

Paul Elliot of Zozer Games has done something very similar to this in his Archaic Firearms book. He has expanded it to include artillery and percussion weapons.

I have American Civil War field artillery at my blog. I haven't gotten to earlier artillery or to percussion small arms yet, since the main focus of my work has been on World War I (TL 4) with a secondary focus on the Spanish Civil War (TL 5). The only specifically Traveller thing I have on there is a post about stat modifiers for S:1889 and 2300AD species with some loose alternate history to incorporate them into Traveller.

 

[whulorigan]

Great stuff.

Of the three types, Matchlock, Wheel lock, or Snaphance, was any one type more reliable?

Or did it depend upon the quality of pistol itself?

In general, if all are in good condition the wheel lock is the most reliable out of the three, but it's the hardest to maintain.

Brent Nosworthy in The Anatomy of Victory: Battle Tactics 1689-1763 estimates that in battle conditions, matchlocks misfired roughly half the time, while early flintlocks were around one-third of the time. A good wheel lock could be as low as one-tenth of the time.

For comparison, an 1830 test of improved flintlocks had one misfire every six shots, while percussion caps misfired one time every one thousand shots - note that this was not a field test, so misfire rates for both would be higher when used by lesser trained soldiers.

The main advantage for the snaphance is that it's much easier to maintain than a wheel lock. The latter has complicated spring work that requires a fairly skilled artisan to repair. The snaphance uses flat springs and simpler mechanisms that are easier to maintain. The matchlock is simplest of all - some have flat springs, some have no springs at all.

As a 17th Century Military reenactor who has fired all three . . .

If the slowmatch is good quality (and presuming the powder is good), I have rarely had a misfire with my matchlock musket (while firelocks/snaphances firing alongside me were accompanied by the cursing of fellow reenactors as they re-cocked their hammers to try again about a quarter of the time). As long as you have good match, there is not a whole lot that can go wrong with a glowing coal twice as hot as a cigarette-butt going into a pan of fine priming powder (unless you rapidly squeeze the sear/trigger and actually smother the coal in the powder (creating a "hangfire") - you have to "touch it off" like a linstock w/ match being touched to a cannon, not squeeze the trigger). Even in a light rain I do not have problems with my matchlock (humidity, OTOH, can cause problems with the powder).

A firelock/snaphance, OTOH, can be more temperamental in many ways. The flint needs adjustment or knapping periodically (which you usually discover after a misfire) and any kind of condensation or light rain that makes the frizzen wet at all will immediately douse any spark from the flint striking it. I can fire my matchlock when firelocks can't. The disadvantage of a matchlock is that in order to be ready to fire, you need to constantly have a supply of burning slowmatch ready, meaning that you are constantly using up a manufactured resource whether you are firing the weapon or not. Wheel-locks and firelocks can be loaded and ready to fire for an indefinite period, without using up any resources. Matchlocks also constantly give away their presence by both odor and the glowing coal, which means that sentries at night can usually be easily spotted. And of course you do not want to use them to guard the powder store. Matchlocks also cannot be easily used from horseback; wheellocks and firelocks are much preferable for such uses.

Wheellocks have some of the problems of firelocks (using iron-pyrite instead of flint), but are good for about 5-7 shots before it is time to take the lock apart and clean out the unburnt grains of powder that are fouling the mechanism. That is why you can see examples from the 17th Century of "firelocks" that have a lockplate on the side that seems to be suspiciously shaped like it is covering a rounded opening where a wheel-lock wheel used to be before it was converted to a firelock. Wheellocks are expensive to buy and maintain, and are thus a choice for men of financial means. Wheellock muskets are thus very uncommon, usually found among elite units composed of or financed by gentlemen for special purposes.

Also, note that the term snaphance, while a period term, was often used interchangeably with several flint/hammer mechanisms current at the time, which modern military historians refer to as the snaphance (proper), English-lock, dog-lock, and miquelet. A snaphance by modern historians' terminology referred to those locks which had NO half-cock, and a separate mechanical pan-cover operated by the forward motion of the hammer; the frizzen being an entirely separate piece that was lowered into firing position only when one was ready to fire the weapon (the "safety" was to leave the frizzen forward and out of position). The dog-lock was much like a later "standard firelock" with an L-shaped frizzen that doubled as a pan-cover, but the half-cock was kept in position by an external catch that was manually rotated into position (and which fell away when the weapon was engaged to full-cock). An English lock was similar, but the half-cock was a mechanical external bar that extended out of the lockplate to hold the hammer at the loading position.

See also these links:

Snaphance
Dog-Lock
English-lock
Miquelet

 

[aramis]

Only having fired a dog-lock musket and a dog-lock pistol... Weather is the #1 cause of failure. Rain makes even good powder dubious. Cold weather can even cool the spark below the ignition point of the powder. (when we did firing in the winter, in Mat-Su Alaska, it was pretty unreliable.)

There's an apt quote in a BTRC product: "All skill at arms is in vain when an angel pees in the touch-hole of your musket."

The other thing to remember: consistency of powder was pretty low. Corns of various sizes, and lots of accidents when making the finer ones - like pistol and priming powders. Likewise, the corns were not always a good mixture of ingredients.

Oh, and misfires? on a dogleg, you may wind up losing the primer charge. Which leads to a second misfire if you didn't hold still enough.

 

[Condottiere]

Flintlock small arms were first used militarily during the early 17th century. Flintlocks, at the time, were more reliable and safer to use than matchlock muskets, which required a match to be lit near the breech before the weapon could be triggered. By contrast, flintlocks were fired using a piece of flint. By the time of the English Civil War (1642–1652), one flintlock musket, the snaphance, was in common use in Britain.
The term fusiliers was first used officially by the French Army in 1670, when four fusiliers were distributed among each company of infantry.[2] The following year the Fusiliers du Roi ("King's Fusiliers"), the first regiment composed primarily of soldiers with flintlocks, was formed[2] by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
Guarding and escorting artillery pieces was the first task assigned to the Fusiliers du Roi: flintlocks were especially useful around field artillery, as they were less likely than matchlocks to accidentally ignite open barrels of gunpowder, required at the time to load cannons.[2] At the time, artillery units also required guards to maintain discipline amongst civilian draymen.[3] Hence the term fusilier became strongly associated with the role of guarding artillery in Britain and the English-speaking world,[3] especially after the formation of the first official "Fusilier" units, during the 1680s.
During the 18th century, as flintlocks became the main weapon used by infantry, the term fusilier gradually ceased to have this meaning and was applied to various units.[2]

 

[Reban]

If the slowmatch is good quality (and presuming the powder is good), I have rarely had a misfire with my matchlock musket (while firelocks/snaphances firing alongside me were accompanied by the cursing of fellow reenactors as they re-cocked their hammers to try again about a quarter of the time). As long as you have good match, there is not a whole lot that can go wrong with a glowing coal twice as hot as a cigarette-butt going into a pan of fine priming powder (unless you rapidly squeeze the sear/trigger and actually smother the coal in the powder (creating a "hangfire") - you have to "touch it off" like a linstock w/ match being touched to a cannon, not squeeze the trigger). Even in a light rain I do not have problems with my matchlock (humidity, OTOH, can cause problems with the powder).

A firelock/snaphance, OTOH, can be more temperamental in many ways. The flint needs adjustment or knapping periodically (which you usually discover after a misfire) and any kind of condensation or light rain that makes the frizzen wet at all will immediately douse any spark from the flint striking it. I can fire my matchlock when firelocks can't. The disadvantage of a matchlock is that in order to be ready to fire, you need to constantly have a supply of burning slowmatch ready, meaning that you are constantly using up a manufactured resource whether you are firing the weapon or not. Wheel-locks and firelocks can be loaded and ready to fire for an indefinite period, without using up any resources. Matchlocks also constantly give away their presence by both odor and the glowing coal, which means that sentries at night can usually be easily spotted. And of course you do not want to use them to guard the powder store. Matchlocks also cannot be easily used from horseback; wheellocks and firelocks are much preferable for such uses.

Weather is the #1 cause of failure. Rain makes even good powder dubious. Cold weather can even cool the spark below the ignition point of the powder. (when we did firing in the winter, in Mat-Su Alaska, it was pretty unreliable.)

As a blackpowder re-enactor I'll echo both these experiences.

Good match is easy to keep lit, and if you can keep your match lit you should have little trouble in firing.

With a flintlock or firelock any moisture in the air will cause you problems. The saltpeter in gunpowder will absorb any dampness and either cause you a misfire or if you can fire it will build up a foul oily gunk which is harder to deal with than the hard carbon build-up from normal firing.

I will say if you can get firing in rainy and wet weather (as apposed to just damp weather) then its easier to keep firing.

ObTrav: Weather and atmosphere might be a DM to firing success.

Powder quality is extremely important. Fine powder burns faster than course powder. Hang-fires, mis-fires, fouling and burning the cheek of the man to your right all depend a lot on the quality of your powder.


One other thing: skill and training play a huge role in the effectiveness of firing. My main period is Napoleonic so firing drills are quite refined and fast, but it holds true for any body of men, the more practice and familiarity they have with their weapons the easier they can overcome adverse conditions and give regular effective fire.

 

[TheDark]

Thanks to all the comments from people with experience with these arms. I've seen demonstrations at Jamestown of matchlock shot working with sword-and-shield troops, but haven't handled them myself, so hearing from people with hands-on experience is helpful.

I took a shot at doing the common artillery listed in Haythornthwaite's The English Civil War. It required some rule-bending, since WTH says black powder artillery must be 5cm or larger, which excludes the robinet. I also use a 0.13 tech modifier for TL2-3 artillery, since that brings the ranges back down to something similar to the numbers from GDW sources.

I used actual barrel weight and ammunition weight rather than what FF&S calculated. The barrel lengths are extrapolated by taking the gun’s overall length and subtracting double the diameter of the ammunition, since I found sources stating that the 6”, 12 foot Demi-Cannon had an 11 foot barrel length.

Actual quantities of ammunition were extremely limited per Haythornthwaite. Every example he provides of what was taken on campaign is between 40 and 50 shot and 10 and 20 canister per gun.

3.2cm Robinet
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 3.2cm
Barrel Length: 26 calibers
Weapon Weight: 0.162 tonnes (Barrel: 0.054 tonnes, Carriage: 0.108 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr1,296 (Barrel: Cr1,080, Carriage: Cr216)
Crew: 8
Set Up Time: 13 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr1.5 (shot), Cr3 (canister), Cr0.38 (powder)
3.2cm shot: Rld 3, Dam 7, Pen 0-0-0-0, Rng 148
3.2cm canister: Rld 3, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 19x74

5.1cm Falconet
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 5.2cm
Barrel Length: 22 calibers
Weapon Weight: 0.285 tonnes (Barrel: 0.095 tonnes, Carriage: 0.190 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr2,280 (Barrel: Cr1,900, Carriage: Cr380)
Crew: 10
Set Up Time: 20 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr3 (shot), Cr6 (canister), Cr0.75 (powder)
5.1cm shot: Rld 3, Dam 11, Pen 0-0-0-0, Rng 141
5.1cm canister: Rld 3, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 18x71

7.0cm Falcon
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 7.0cm
Barrel Length: 24 calibers
Weapon Weight: 0.954 tonnes (Barrel: 0.318 tonnes, Carriage: 0.636 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr7,632 (Barrel: Cr6,360, Carriage: Cr1,272)
Crew: 12
Set Up Time: 28 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr5 (shot), Cr10 (canister), Cr1.25 (powder)
7.0cm shot: Rld 3, Dam 15, Pen 1-1-1-1, Rng 153
7.0cm canister: Rld 3, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 19x77

7.6cm Minion
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 7.6cm
Barrel Length: 30 calibers
Weapon Weight: 2.04 tonnes (Barrel: 0.68 tonnes, Carriage: 1.36 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr16,320 (Barrel: Cr13,600, Carriage: Cr2,720)
Crew: 12
Set Up Time: 30 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr9 (shot), Cr18 (canister), Cr2.25 (powder)
7.6cm shot: Rld 5, Dam 17, Pen 1-1-1-1, Rng 173
7.6cm canister: Rld 5, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 22x87

8.9cm Saker
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 8.9cm
Barrel Length: 31 calibers
Weapon Weight: 3.402 tonnes (Barrel: 1.134 tonnes, Carriage: 2.268 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr27,216 (Barrel: Cr22,680, Carriage: Cr4,536)
Crew: 13
Set Up Time: 36 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr12 (shot), Cr24 (canister), Cr3 (powder)
8.9cm shot: Rld 8, Dam 20, Pen 2-2-1-1, Rng 180
8.9cm canister: Rld 8, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 23x90

11.4cm Demi-Culverin
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 11.4cm
Barrel Length: 25 calibers
Weapon Weight: 4.899 tonnes (Barrel: 1.633 tonnes, Carriage: 3.266 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr39,192 (Barrel: Cr32,660, Carriage: Cr6,532)
Crew: 16
Set Up Time: 46 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr20.5 (shot), Cr41 (canister), Cr5.13 (powder)
11.4cm shot: Rld 11, Dam 25, Pen 3-3-3-2, Rng 170
11.4cm canister: Rld 11, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 21x85

12.7cm Culverin
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 12.7cm
Barrel Length: 24 calibers
Weapon Weight: 5.442 tonnes (Barrel: 1.814 tonnes, Carriage: 3.628 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr43,536 (Barrel: Cr36,280, Carriage: Cr7,256)
Crew: 17
Set Up Time: 51 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr34 (shot), Cr68 (canister), Cr8.5 (powder)
12.7cm shot: Rld 13, Dam 28, Pen 4-4-3-2, Rng 170
12.7cm canister: Rld 13, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 21x85

15.2cm Demi-Cannon
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 15.2cm
Barrel Length: 22 calibers
Weapon Weight: 8.166 tonnes (Barrel: 2.722 tonnes, Carriage: 5.444 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr65,328 (Barrel: Cr54,440, Carriage: Cr10,888)
Crew: 20
Set Up Time: 61 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr61.5 (shot), Cr123 (canister), Cr15.38 (powder)
15.2cm shot: Rld 19, Dam 33, Pen 6-5-4-3, Rng 172
15.2cm canister: Rld 19, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 22x86

17.8cm Cannon
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 17.8cm
Barrel Length: 15 calibers
Weapon Weight: 9.525 tonnes (Barrel: 3.175 tonnes, Carriage: 6.35 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr76,200 (Barrel: Cr63,500, Carriage: Cr12,700)
Crew: 22
Set Up Time: 71 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr106.5 (shot), Cr213 (canister), Cr26.63 (powder)
17.8cm shot: Rld 22, Dam 39, Pen 6-5-4-3, Rng 158
17.8cm canister: Rld 22, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space 20x79

23.0cm Cannon Royal
Type: Smoothbore
Bore Diameter: 23.0cm
Barrel Length: 9 calibers
Weapon Weight: 10.887 tonnes (Barrel: 3.629 tonnes, Carriage: 7.258 tonnes)
Weapon Price: Cr87,096 (Barrel: Cr72,580, Carriage: Cr14,516)
Crew: 28
Set Up Time: 112 turns
Ammunition Price: Cr143 (shot), Cr286 (canister), Cr35.75 (powder)
23.0cm shot: Rld 25, Dam 51, Pen 9-8-7-4, Rng 156
23.0cm canister: Rld 25, Dam 2d6/1d6, Pen 1-Nil, Danger Space: 20x78