![A 17th-century cavalry- man charging into battle atop a white charger opens fire with his wheel lock pistol in this painting by Dutch artist Pieter Meulener.](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/M-Weapons-LEAD-4CJun06-e1684512016132-760x427.jpg)
King Henry VIII
The Wheel Lock: Birth of the Combat Pistol
By William J. McPeakBy the late 15th Century, early firearm designers were already looking at ideas for semi-automatic weapons. The matchlock had been the first mechanism to make a shoulder-aimed firearm, the arquebus, possible. Read more