A dragon is a shortened version of

blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...

, a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

with a short, large

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore. Dragons were typically issued to

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, who needed a lightweight, easily handled firearm to use while mounted., page 324, from a letter dated March 7, 1778

Etymology

The term ''dragon'' is taken from the fact that early versions were decorated with a carving in the form of a mythical

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

's head around the muzzle; the

muzzle blast A muzzle blast is an explosive shockwave created at the muzzle of a firearm during shooting. Before a projectile leaves the gun barrel, it obturates the bore and "plugs up" the pressurized gaseous products of the propellant combustion behind ...

would then give the impression of a fire-breathing dragon.

History and description

Early dragons were short

wheellock A wheellock, wheel-lock, or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock, and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name ...

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 A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but the term was later used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the French (from " grass snake", follo ...

, serpentine, falcon, and falconet. The dragon was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long range. 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. They used a

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

mechanism, and might be derived from Dutch flintlocks which entered the area in the 17th century. 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. The manuscript mentioned that Bugis troops with

chain mail Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common milita ...

and armed with ''terakul pemburas'' (dragon-blunderbusses) defeated Raja Kechil's troops armed with cannons and swords in 1721 CE.

Etymology

History and description

See also

References

Further reading