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Wheellock

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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The Wheellock was the second major type of mechanical firearm action, after the matchlock. Wheellock firearms solved many of the issues of the matchlock, particularly the need to keep the match from burning out and the safety risks associated with handling black powder in the immediate proximity of a lit match, but were always too expensive and complicated to see widespread use. They were also the first type of firearm that could reasonably be concealed or holstered.

The mechanism functions like a cross between a toy spark gun and a cigarette lighter. Unlike most other types of lockwork, the pivoting arm which holds the piece of iron pyrite (called a dog but often incorrectly referred to as a cock in flintlock-era examples) is not connected to the trigger. Instead, the trigger operates a spring-loaded steel wheel inside the lock, which moves against the pyrite piece held by the dog to create sparks: the spring in the dog mechanism is only to hold it against the wheel when it is in the operating position, and what appears to be the cocked position (dog forward) is actually just the safe position. Iron pyrite was used in these weapons because it is softer than flint: while flint is better at generating sparks, using flint in a wheellock would compromise the lifespan of the wheel. Wheellock mechanisms were manually tensioned prior to use, using a projecting shaft that could be wound using a wrench or key in a similar manner to a clockwork mechanism.

(As a note, the arm on a wheellock is called a "dog" because it is a part that impedes ("dogs") the motion of another part. "Doglock" firearms (an early type of flintlock) are so called because they have an external "dog" safety catch that impedes the motion of the cock rather than internals that allow the weapon to maintain a half-cock position)

Note that nearly all firing Wheellocks in film or television are modern firing replicas due to original Wheellocks being unsafe to shoot and much more expensive.

Wheellock Musket

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Wheellock Musket (16th/17th centuries)
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Mayflower Wheellock Musket
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Wheellock Arquebus (17th Century)

Specifications

(15th Century - 17th Century)

Type: Musket

Caliber: Various

Capacity: Usually 1

Fire Modes: Single Shot

Please check the talk page for additional variants not shown on the main page.


The Wheellock Musket and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Minin and Pozharsky Russian soldiers 1939
Don César de Bazan Guards 1957
The Yellow One hanged on the walls 1964
The Snow Queen (Snezhnaya koroleva) 1967
Honor and Glory (Cest a sláva) Blanka Bohdanová Kateřina 1968
Uncredited Servant
Colonel Wolodyjowski Magdalena Zawadzka Basia 1969
Polish soldiers
The Last Valley Ian Hogg Graf 1971
Musketeers
The Deluge (Potop) Franciszek Pieczka Kiemlicz 1974
Swedish and Polish soldiers
The Dragon Flies On the wall 1975
Cuba 1979
d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers Mikhail Boyarskiy d'Artagnan 1979
Venyamin Smekhov Athos
Valentin Smirnitskiy Porthos
Igor Starygin Aramis
Musketers
The Last One Goes to Hell (Poslední propadne peklu) Petr Hanicinec Merchant Bartoš 1982
Bruno O'Ya Hoff
Mister Blot's Academy (Akademia pana Kleksa) Adam Probosz Prince Mateusz 1984
Boris Godunov seen in the Pyotr Basmanov's camp, with brooken dog 1986
The Black Fortuna (Cerná fortuna) Zdenek Junák Blacksmith 1991
Swedish mercenaries
Musketeers Twenty Years After 1992
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III Walker's men 1993
The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After Mikhail Boyarskiy d'Artagnan 1993
Venyamin Smekhov Athos
Valentin Smirnitskiy Porthos
Igor Starygin Aramis
Soldiers
The Three Musketeers Musketeers 1993
The Road to Sich (Doroha na sich) Vladimir Golubovich Pavlo Pokhylenko 1994
Cossacks
The Man in the Iron Mask John Malkovich Athos mounted above the fireplace 1998
With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i mieczem) Ukrainian cossacks 1999
The Musketeer mounted above the fireplace 2001
The Legend of Naresuan: Declaration in Independence Nopachai Chaiyanam Rachamanu 2007
soldiers
1612 Artur Smolyaninov Kostka 2007
Ramón Langa Alvaro Borja
Pyotr Kislov Andrei
Bathory: Countess of Blood Anna Friel Erzsébet Báthory 2008
Iron & Blood: The Legend of Taras Bulba Bogdan Stupka Taras Bulba 2009
The Three Musketeers 2011
September Eleven 1683 Austrian soldiers 2012
King Naresuan V Elephant Battle 2014

Television

Title Actor Character Note/Episode Date
The Adventures of Sir Michael (Przygody pana Michala) Wojciech Zagórski Brigand "Brat Jerzy" (ep.01) 1969
Magdalena Zawadzka Barbara Jeziorkowska "Zrękowiny pana Michała" (ep.03)
Marek Perepeczko Adam Nowowiejski "Komendant stanicy" (ep. 06)
Polish soldiers
The Christofel of Grimmelshausen Adventurous Simplizissimus (Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus) Forest Guards "Teil 4: Adieu Welt" 1975
Mail Call R. Lee Ermey Gunny 2002-2009
D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers Heino Ferch Athos Ep. 01 2005
Grégory Gadebois Parthos
Antoine Chain Guillaume
Richelieu's guards


Video Games

Title Appears as Note Release Date
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 2016

Anime

Title Character Note Date
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro hanged on wall 1979


Wheellock Pistol

Free of the matchlock's requirement of a lit flame to ignite the priming powder, wheellock pistols were the first practical handgun. This caused them to rapidly gain popularity for cavalry, personal defense, and assassination.

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Wheellock pistol
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Wheellock riding pistol
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Brunswick wheellock pistol


Specifications

(15th Century - 17th Century)

Type: Pistol

Caliber: Various

Capacity: 1

Fire Modes: Single Shot

The Wheellock Pistol and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Arsenal Ukrainian actor 1929
Minin and Pozharsky Lev Fenin Swedish mercenary Schmidt 1939
The Devil's Trap (Dáblova past) Ladislav Kazda Miller's grandfather 1962
Jirí Vrstála Reiter's commander
Vlastimil Hasek Filip
The Snow Queen (Snezhnaya koroleva) 1967
Honor and Glory (Cest a sláva) Rudolf Hrusínský Václav Rynda 1968
Karel Höger Jindřich Donovalský
Blanka Bohdanová Kateřina
Josef Kemr Captain
Jan Pohan Reiter
Iva Janzurová Dorota
Adolf Minský Maňas
Robbers
Colonel Wolodyjowski Polish soldiers 1969
The Last Valley Michael Caine The Captain 1971
Nigel Davenport Gruber
Ian Hogg Graf
George Innes Vornez
Michael Gothard Hansen
Mercenaries
The Lost Letter (Propala hramota) Fyodor Strigun Andriy 1972
Vladimir Glukhoy The Good Devil
The Three Musketeers Spike Milligan M. Bonacieux 1973
The Four Musketeers seen on a table 1974
The Deluge (Potop) Daniel Olbrychski Andrzej Kmicic 1974
Ryszard Filipski Soroka
Leszek Teleszynski Boguslaw Radziwill
Swedish and Polish soldiers
Mark Twain: Against (Mark Tven protiv...) On the wall 1976
Armed and Dangerous (Vooruzhyon i ochen opasen) On the wall 1977
d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers On the wall 1979
The Last One Goes to Hell (Poslední propadne peklu) Ivan Vyskocil Matouš 1982
Ludek Munzar Captain Vaněk
Bruno O'Ya Hoff
Boris Rösner Sepp
Petr Hanicinec Bartoš
Michaela Kudlácková Magdalena
Soldiers
The Dog's Skin (Psí kuze) Karel Hermánek Arnolf 1984
Vítezslav Jandák Eliáš
Lukás Vaculík Vilkis
Pavel Trávnícek Mamertus
Comedian (Komediant) Uncredited Musketeers's commander 1984
Boris Godunov Yuri Lazarev Gavrila Pushkin 1986
seen in the Pyotr Basmanov's camp
Jorinde and Joringel Uncredited Landsknecht's commander 1986
The Ashes and The Stars (Popel a hvezdy) Jirí Adamíra Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Waldstein Brunswick 1990
various actors Servants
hanged on the wall
The Black Fortuna (Cerná fortuna) Jan Grygar Zbyněk Bořita 1991
Rostislav Ctvrtlík Swedish Captain
Karel Barton Guardian commander
Frantisek Derfler Oldřich Bořita
Ivo Kubecka General Salvizon
Zdenek Dvorák Comedian
Igor Bares Swedish mercenary
Swedish mercenaries, fortress defenders, brigands
Cossacks Go (Kozaky Ydut) Mikhail Golubovich Maksym Trytuz 1991
The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After Mikhail Boyarskiy d'Artagnan 1993
The Three Musketeers Oliver Platt Porthos 1993
Charlie Sheen Aramis
Kiefer Sutherland Athos
The Hound of London Seen on the theatre scene 1993
The Man in the Iron Mask Gérard Depardieu Porthos 1998
Jeremy Irons Aramis
John Malkovich Athos
Gabriel Byrne D'Artagnan
Leonardo DiCaprio King Louis XIV
With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i mieczem) Michal Zebrowski Jan Skrzetuski 1999
Zbigniew Zamachowski Jerzy Michał Wołodyjowski
Wiktor Zborowski Longinus Podbipięta
Krzysztof Kowalewski Jan Onufry Zagłoba
Wojciech Malajkat Rzędzian
Izabella Scorupco Helena Kurcewiczówna
Aleksandr Domogarov Bohun
Dariusz Gnatowski Barabasz
The Musketeer Steve Spiers Porthos 2001
The Lady Musketeer John Rhys-Davies Porthos 2004
Christopher Cazenove Athos
Allan Corduner Aramis
Constantine Gregory Planchet
Nastassja Kinski Lady Bolton
Uncredited Henri
Snapphanar Malin Morgan Svart-Stina 2006
André Sjöberg Nils Geting
Anders Ekborg Gabriel Lejonhufvud
Kim Bodnia Mogens Laumann
Harald Leander Olof Geting
Peter Andersson Överste Dahlbergh
Niklas Engdahl Mannen med ärret
Soldiers, seen on the table
Alatriste Viggo Mortensen Diego Alatriste 2006
Eduard Fernández Sebastián Copons
French soldiers
Kingdom of War Soldiers 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Pirat 2007
1612 Swedish Mercenaries 2007
Polish Mercenaries
Wanted Thomas Kretschmann Cross mock-up 2008
James McAvoy Wesley Gibson
Bathory: Countess of Blood Anna Friel Erzsébet Báthory 2008
Karel Roden Juraj Thurzo
Soldiers
Iron & Blood: The Legend of Taras Bulba Bogdan Stupka Taras Bulba 2009
Vladimir Vdovichenkov Ostap Bulba
Igor Petrenko Andriy Bulba
Yury Belyayev Kirdaga
Mikhail Boyarskiy Moisei Shilo
Les Serdyuk Dmytro Tovkach
Polish soldiers
Cossacks
Solomon Kane James Purefoy Solomon Kane 2009
Max von Sydow Josiah Kane
Raiders
The Three Musketeers Matthew MacFayden Athos 2011
Ray Stevenson Porthos
Luke Evans Aramis
Milla Jovovich Milady de Winter
Mads Mikkelsen Captain Rochefort
Orlando Bloom Duke of Buckingham
John Carter James Purefoy Kantos Kan 2012
Ciarán Hinds Tardos Mors
Angélique Tomer Sisley Philippe de Plessis-Bellière 2013
Miguel Herz-Kestranek Plessis-Bellière
Forbidden Empire Hanged on the wall 2014
Journey to China: The Mystery of Iron Mask Sailor 2014
Infernal Guidon, or Cossack Christmas (Pekelna khoruhva, abo Rizdvo Kozatske) Cossacks 2019
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Seen in armory 2019

Television

Title Actor Character Note/Episode Date
The Adventures of Sir Michael (Przygody pana Michala) Andrzej Lapicki Hassling-Ketling of Elgin "Cztery serca" (ep. 04) 1969
Tadeusz Lomnicki Colonel Michał Wołodyjowski "Dymy nad twierdzą" (ep. 12)
Magdalena Zawadzka Barbara Jeziorkowska
Mieczyslaw Pawlikowski Jan Onufry Zagłoba
Polish officers
The Christofel of Grimmelshausen Adventurous Simplizissimus (Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus) Matthias Habich Simplex Simplizissimus 1975
Günter Strack Springinsfeld "Teil 2: Der Jäger von Soest"
Herbert Fux Leupold
Christian Quadflieg Herzbruder Ulrich
Alexander Golling Colonel Zwirnbeiss
Uncredited Commandant "Teil 3: Der Schatz"
Uncredited Governor
Reiters, soldiers
The Legend of Till Ullenspiegel Geuzen "Long Live the Beggars. Part 2" (S1E4) 1976
30 Cases of Major Zeman On the wall 1976-1980
Wallenstein Wolfgang Preiss Thurn "Teil 1: Ein Kaisertreuer" 1978
Rolf Boysen Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Waldstein "Teil 3: Im Labyrinth"
Ernst Fritz Fürbringer Tilly
Czech soldiers, reiters
Famous Brigands Stories: Jan Jirí Grasel Jan Preucil Brigand (S1E3) 1986
Antonín Molcík Kašpar Bek
Famous Brigands Stories: Schinderhannes brigand (S1E4) 1986
Famous Brigands Stories: Convict Salvador Ladislav Krivácek Pepe (S1E6) 1986
Lock 'n Load With R. Lee Ermey R. Lee Ermey Gunny 1989
Midsomer Murders Seen in the showcase of the antiques shop "The Sword of Guillaume" (S13E1) 1989
D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers Vincent Elbaz D'Artagnan Ep. 01 2005
Grégori Derangère Aramis
Richelieu's guards
Madame Nobel Perica Antov The Princess' servant Wheellock riding pistol 2014
The Wall (Stena) Nikolay Auzin Andrey Dedyushin (ep. 4) 2016
Anatoliy Belyy King Sigismund III Vasa
Maksim Belborodov Friedrich 'Fritz' Mayer
Aleksey Krasnotsvetov Adjutant
Russian soldier
Polish mercenary (ep. 1)

Video Game

Game Title Appears as Note Release Date
Yakuza Kenzan 2008
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag 2013
Assassin's Creed Rogue "Standard wheellock pistols", "German wheellock pistols" 2014

Wheellock Pocket Pistol

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A Wheellock pocket pistol

Specifications

(16th Century - 17th Century)

Type: Pistol

Caliber: Various

Capacity: 1

Fire Modes: Single Shot

The Wheellock Pocket Pistol and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
The Black Fortuna (Cerná fortuna) Jan Grygar Zbyněk Bořita 1991
Ladislav Marecek Armourer
Fortress defenders
The Three Musketeers Tim Curry Cardinal Richelieu 1993
The Three Musketeers Orlando Bloom Duke of Buckingham 2011

Television

Title Actor Character Note/Episode Date
The Christofel of Grimmelshausen Adventurous Simplizissimus (Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus) Matthias Habich Simplex Simplizissimus "Teil 3: Der Schatz" 1975
Uncredited French Colonel
Ambusher