Welcome to Litsy!

This book is about how guns work. Leaving aside, for the moment, the moral and psychological aspects, whatever else you may think of firearms, you have to admit that they are remarkable mechanical achievements. We have, in this book, tried to bring out some of the mechanics of firearms and show how the various technical problems were overcome, whilst not losing sight of the broad spectrum of historical development. Highlighted in the book are twenty-four of those guns worthy of the title "famous" because of their performance, their historical significance, or sheer charisma. For those unfamiliar with some of the terms and verbal shorthand associated with firearms, we have appended a section at the end of the book which will explain the mysteries of calibre notation and conversion. - Introduction.