Lewis & Clark 22-round Repeating Air Rifle Revealed!

[John Kettler]

Those of you with an interest in history and/or exotic weapons will probably find this of consuming interest. I had no idea any such research was underway, never mind ultimately successful in identifying both it and the Lewis & Clark Short Rifle. Groggy beyond words, and the Air Rifle was revolutionary. You'll see why when you read the article!

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0b8_1296099360

Regards,

John Kettler

[dieseltaylor]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_Air_Rifle

The advantages of a high rate of fire, no smoke from propellants, and low muzzle report granted it initial acceptance, but it was eventually removed from service for several reasons. While the detachable air reservoir was capable of around 30 shots it took nearly 1500 strokes of a hand pump to fill those reservoirs. Later, a wagon-mounted pump was provided. The reservoirs themselves, made from hammered sheet iron held together with rivets and sealed by brazing, proved very difficult to manufacture using the techniques of the period and were always in short supply. In addition, the weapon was very delicate and a small break could make it inoperable. Finally, it was very different from any other weapon of the time and any soldier using it needed to be highly trained.

I am a bit disheartened thta none of my Napoleonic reference books is kind enough to give a indexed item either to the inventor or to air-rifle. With a reported air pressure of 800psi [!!!!!] one can only assume that thye may have been a bit delicate for normal warfare though as a seige defense weapon they would be a force multiplier.

Anyway here is the nub of the long article IMO

It certainly can be said that the airgun shooting demonstrations on the expedition were an enormous success. The airgun created great respect for these travelers. For one example: Private Whitehouse noted in his expedition journal entry of August 30, 1804, when Captain Lewis demonstrated his airgun to the Yankton Sioux in the Calumet Bluff area along the Missouri River, apparently on the Nebraska side:

"Captain Lewis took his Air Gun and shot her off, and by the Interpreter told them there was medicine in her, and that she could do very great execution. They all stood amazed at the curiosity; Captain Lewis discharged the Air Gun several times, and the Indians ran hastily to see the holes that the Balls had made which was discharged from it. at finding the balls had entered the Tree, they shouted a loud at the sight and the Execution that was done suprized them exceedingly." The Indians would not have been able to comprehend the gun shooting again and again and again without reloading - and without flash or smoke.. This would have been terrifying considering the "execution" that such a flashless, quiet gun had demonstrated as its potential!.

Air Power Diplomacy -Captain Lewis' "Assault Rifle"- The Key to the American West. Evidently Captains Lewis and Clark realized rather early in the expedition what a great impression could be made by dramatic demonstrations of the amazing properties and astonishing firepower of their "magic" airgun . Appearing in formal formation, flags and banners flying, dressed in their colorful full dress military uniforms with towering tasseled chapeaus, fancy coat tails, brilliant sashes, bright braid, and shining medals, the Corps built a tone of high theatre around the previously loaded and charged repeating air rifle. This painting illustrates one of these shows, as described by Private Whitehouse in his expedition journal entry of August 30, 1804, in which Captain Lewis demonstrated his airgun to a large group of high ranking Yankton Sioux in the Calumet Bluff area along the Missouri River. Some of the honor guard braves have run to the distant target tree and are incredulously reporting that numerous lead balls are buried in the wood even though the gun had not presented any smoke or fire and relatively little sound. Captain Clark, in later journal entries, made it clear that they implied that the Corps had a large number of these guns. (See notes about this painting and how to obtain copies at the end of this paper.)

............................

The above passages may be some of the most least appreciated, but most important, notes in all of the expedition journals. Captain Clark, and undoubtedly Captain Lewis as well, clearly realized the potential of the airgun, backed up by an assumed further inventory of them, as a tool of "firepower diplomacy". The presentation of the airgun by Captains Lewis and Clark certainly was not a casual matter, but rather a calculated, considered strategy that apparently paid enormous dividends.

This is the first presentation of the idea that the expedition's airgun, as an "assault weapon", backed up by an inferred stock of more of them (or even perhaps the implication that all of their long arms could fire indefinitely without reloading), may well have been basic to the success of this important expedition. Lest we think that this idea might not have been inherent in the thinking of the expedition's leaders, we need only consider Captain Clark's remarks above and the previously unappreciated insight to Clark's thinking revealed during a frightening and complex confrontation with Chief Black Buffalo, commanding hundreds of aggressive Teton Sioux, on Sept.25, 1804, near the very start of the trip. Angered by threats, Clark recalled that "I felt My Self warm& Spoke in verry positive terms". Sergeant Gass recorded that Clark's "verry positive terms" included that "he had more medicine on board his boat than would kill twenty such nations in one day". For the very first time, we finally have an understanding as to what "secret weapon(s)" Clark was alluding. The implication apparently was that they had a large supply of these wonder guns right there on his boat. And, as noted, Captain Lewis, only three weeks earlier, had warned other Sioux viewing an airgun demonstration that "there was medicine in her, and that she could do very great execution". "Medicine", of course, was an Indian term referring to great, generally inexplicable, force - the kind of force which could be presented by many smokeless, fireless guns which could fire lethal, highly accurate balls with incredible rapidity, apparently an infinite number of times, without loading - yes, with enough "medicine" to kill, execute, twenty nations of Indians in one day!

[John Kettler]

dieseltaylor,

Are you implying that the grogs here wouldn't be willing to devote a week to reading the article? What kind of grogs are they, then? On a more serious note, it is a long piece, but a superbly written and argued one. I was blown away by how that story unfolded and the hypermeticulous research and analysis done. A lot of stuff I saw in military aerospace wasn't even in the same league as that, and it wasn't for a currently critical weapon system! Kind of you to post the key parts.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Stalins Organ]

The Girandoni military model repeating air rifle mentioned is an obscure but wonderful weapon - Lewis and Clarke using them is mentioned in that article with a YT link to a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqFyKh-rUIon one of them it holds.

[dieseltaylor]

At the weekend I bought this Cyclopedia in the David & Charles reprint which covers only the "Manufacturing Industry" and I was surprsed to find a lengthy piece on air-guns.

http://archive.org/stream/cyclopaediaorun01rees#page/470/mode/2up

"Manufacturing Industry" is a misnomer as the five volumes also covers incidentally production processes, history, and such as the gazometers and aerostations, some towns and people. One thing of great surprise was the deadweight of livestock increasing dramatically between 1700 and 1800 - this in a section London!.

[John Kettler]

Stalin's Organist,

You really need to read the linked material I provided. Mind blowing!

dieseltaylor,

Good stuff! A friend of mine helped move the British patent files from the old Los Angeles Public Library shelves to the new one.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Here's the fully (and I do mean fully) illustrated version of the Lewis & Clark Repeating Rifle story above. The pictures will blow your mind. They sure did a number on mine. Reading is all well and good, but when it comes to technology, photos and illos are incredibly useful adjuncts.

http://www.beemans.net/lewis-assault-rifle.htm

Regards,

John Kettler