In the Armoury of the Doge's Palace in Venice there is a firearm, datable to the early 17th century, which can well be defined as "ancestor" of the miter: a matchlock 10-barreled gun for rampart (inv. 1454).
How did it work? Each of the 10 barrels, with 2 internal touch holes, formed an organic whole with a short side tube and a pan. The pan was put in battery with the barrel or tube by means of a system of bolts and levers. Whenever possible, the barrel was loaded with a number of 6 charges and the tube filled with powder.
The uppermost charge had its powder at the level of the touch hole closest to the muzzle. The lever of the pan was moved so that the powder contained in it was in direct contact with the tube and the serpentine with the match was brought towards the pan. The fire went up the tube and, passing through the touch hole closest to the muzzle, ignited the powder, causing the first shot and, subsequently, the others (fig. bottom right).
And then what? The rotatory block was unlocked and a loaded barrel was then put on the line to fire another 'burst'. Fully loaded, this weapon could fire up to 60-shots in few minutes, 10 per barrel.
Superposed - A superposed load or stacked charge or superimposed load is a method used by various muzzle-loading firearms, from matchlocks to caplocks, including a few modern weapons, such as Metal Storm, to fire multiple shots from a single barrel without reloading. In a sense, superposed load guns were the first automatic firearms, as they fired multiple shots per pull of the trigger.
History - An early mention of superposed loads is made by Giambattista della Porta in his book Magia Naturalis (published in 1558), wherein he describes a brass gun that could discharge ten or more bullets "without intermission."
Porta's description is very similar to a Roman candle, in that it uses a propellant charge topped with an undersized ball, followed by a slower-burning charge to add a delay, repeating until the muzzle is reached. The chain of charges is fired by igniting the last layer of slow-burning powder, whereupon the gun fires each charge in succession.
How did it work? Each of the 10 barrels, with 2 internal touch holes, formed an organic whole with a short side tube and a pan. The pan was put in battery with the barrel or tube by means of a system of bolts and levers. Whenever possible, the barrel was loaded with a number of 6 charges and the tube filled with powder.
The uppermost charge had its powder at the level of the touch hole closest to the muzzle. The lever of the pan was moved so that the powder contained in it was in direct contact with the tube and the serpentine with the match was brought towards the pan. The fire went up the tube and, passing through the touch hole closest to the muzzle, ignited the powder, causing the first shot and, subsequently, the others (fig. bottom right).
And then what? The rotatory block was unlocked and a loaded barrel was then put on the line to fire another 'burst'. Fully loaded, this weapon could fire up to 60-shots in few minutes, 10 per barrel.
Superposed - A superposed load or stacked charge or superimposed load is a method used by various muzzle-loading firearms, from matchlocks to caplocks, including a few modern weapons, such as Metal Storm, to fire multiple shots from a single barrel without reloading. In a sense, superposed load guns were the first automatic firearms, as they fired multiple shots per pull of the trigger.
History - An early mention of superposed loads is made by Giambattista della Porta in his book Magia Naturalis (published in 1558), wherein he describes a brass gun that could discharge ten or more bullets "without intermission."
Porta's description is very similar to a Roman candle, in that it uses a propellant charge topped with an undersized ball, followed by a slower-burning charge to add a delay, repeating until the muzzle is reached. The chain of charges is fired by igniting the last layer of slow-burning powder, whereupon the gun fires each charge in succession.
