Dragon (firearm)

Short description: Short version of a blunderbuss

A pair of early dragons from Poland fitted with the miquelet lock A dragon, found at a battlefield in Cerro Gordo, Veracruz, Mexico

A dragon is a shortened version of blunderbuss, a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore.[1][2] Dragons were typically issued to dragoon cavalry, who needed a lightweight, easily handled firearm to use while mounted.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 History and description
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 Further reading

## Etymology

The term dragon is taken from the fact that early versions were decorated with a carving in the form of a mythical dragon's head around the muzzle; the muzzle blast would then give the impression of a fire-breathing dragon.[2]

## History and description

Early dragons were short wheellock firearms. It is called a dragon because the muzzle is decorated with a dragon's head. The practice comes from a time when all gunpowder weapons had distinctive names, including the culverin, serpentine, falcon, and falconet.[4] The dragon was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long range.[1][2]

In the Nusantara archipelago, the weapon is called a tarkul, terakul, or terakol, and seems to have been preferred by cavalry due to its size. The term may refer to a blunderbuss in pistol form, but can also refer to the flintlock musket.[5]: 211 [6]: 5 They used a flintlock mechanism, and might be derived from Dutch flintlocks which entered the area in the 17th century.[7]: 64 However, it is possible that this weapon was only popular among local warriors in more recent times — the terakul was only recorded in Tuhfat al-Nafis from the 1860s.[8][5]: 211–212 The manuscript mentioned that Bugis troops with chain mail and armed with terakul pemburas (dragon-blunderbusses) defeated Raja Kechil's troops armed with cannons and swords in 1721 CE.[9]: 318

## See also

* Pistol
* Shotgun

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sibbald Mike Lier (1868). The British Army: Its Origin, Progress, and Equipment. Cassell, Petter, Galpin. pp. 33, 302–304.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 George Elliot Voyle, G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson (1876). A Military Dictionary. W. Clowes & Sons. pp. 43, 114. https://archive.org/details/militarydictiona00voyliala.
3. ↑ Charles Francis Hoban (1853). Pennsylvania Archives. , page 324, from a letter dated March 7, 1778
4. ↑ p. 333, Bismark
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ismail, Norain B.T. (2012). Peperangan dalam Historiografi Johor: Kajian Terhadap Tuhfat Al-Nafis. Kuala Lumpur: Akademi Pengajian Islam Universiti Malaya.
6. ↑ Wan Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki (4 April 2019). Istinggar dalam Manuskrip Melayu: Tradisi Ilmu dan Teknologi Minangkabau. Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur. A workshop paper in Wacana Manuskrip Melayu Siri 1 (2019).
7. ↑ Wan Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki (2014). "Manuskrip Ilmu Bedil Sebagai Sumber EtnosejarahTeknologi Senjata Api Melayu". Kemanusiaan 21 (1): 53–71.
8. ↑ See information about Tuhfat al-Nafis in Malay Concordance Project.
9. ↑ Winstedt, R. O. (1932). "A Malay History of Riau and Johore". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 10 (2).

## Further reading

* von Bismark, Graf Friedrich Wilhelm (1855). On the Uses and Application of Cavalry in War from the Text of Bismark: With Practical Examples Selected from Ancient and Modern History. North Ludlow Beamish (translator). London: T. & W. Boone. https://books.google.com/books?id=s28DAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2014-02-01.

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Early firearms and thermal weapons

* History of the firearm
* History of gunpowder
* Timeline of the Gunpowder Age

Firearms|

* Albanian muskets
* Arquebus
* Bajōzutsu
* Belton flintlock
* Blunderbuss (Dragon)
* Breechloader
* Cookson repeater
* Combination gun
* Doglock
* Dragon
* Fire lance
* Flintlock and flintlock mechanism
* Hand cannon
* Hand mortar
* Heilongjiang hand cannon
* Howdah pistol
* Huochong
* Huolongjing
* Istinggar
* Java arquebus
* Jingal
* Kalthoff repeater
* Matchlock
* Miniature meriam kecil
* Miquelet lock
* Muzzleloader
* Percussion rifle
* Petronel
* Nock gun
* Snap matchlock
* Snaphance
* Snaplock
* Tanegashima
* Toradar
* Tu Huo Qiang
* Wheellock

Muskets|

* Brown Bess
* Charleville musket
* Culverin
* Jazāyer
* Jezail
* Kabyle musket
* Model 1795 Musket
* Model 1816 Musket
* Model 1822 Musket
* Musket Model 1777
* Musketoon
* Rifled musket
* Potzdam Musket 1723
* Springfield Model 1812 Musket
* Springfield musket
* M1752 Musket
* Wall gun

Early artillery|

* Abus gun
* Artillery of France in the Middle Ages
* Basilisk
* Bâton à feu
* Bombard
* Breech-loading swivel gun
* Cetbang
* Chongtong
* Culverin
* Ekor lotong
* Falconet
* Fauconneau
* Gunpowder artillery in the Middle Ages
* Gunpowder artillery in the Song dynasty
* Hongyipo
* Hu dun pao
* Korean cannon
* Lantaka
* Lela
* Pierrier à boîte
* Pot-de-fer
* Ribauldequin
* Swivel gun
* Veuglaire

Medieval large-calibre guns|

* Dulle Griet
* Faule Grete
* Faule Mette
* Grose Bochse
* Mons Meg
* Pumhart von Steyr

Early rockets and incendiaries|

* Bo-hiya
* Congreve rocket
* Fire arrow
* Greek fire
* Huo Che
* Huolongjing
* Hwacha
* Mysorean rockets
* Singijeon

* Category:Early firearms
* Category:Early modern firearms

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