Wheellock
Llave de rueda
- Date
- c. 1500-1510 · confidence medium
- Place
- Nuremberg, Germany
- Credited to
- Nuremberg gunsmiths; drawing in Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus
- Field
- Conflict
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An ignition mechanism in which a spring-driven steel wheel rubs against pyrite to produce sparks, doing away with the burning match. It allowed weapons to be loaded and concealed, such as the pistol.
It is disputed whether Leonardo (c. 1500) designed the mechanism or merely drew it; the first dated example is from 1507 (Nuremberg).
What it led to
- The cavalry pistol and the caracole tactic
- The regulation of concealed weapons (Maximilian I's ban, 1517)
- Clockwork and precision mechanics applied to firearms
Built on
- Matchlock arquebusc. 1420
- Mainspring and fuseec. 1430-1450
- Serpentine lock
- Steel spring
- Clockwork mechanisms
Made possible
- Flintlockc. 1610
- Pistol
- Hunting rifle