BBC - Sword, Musket and Machine Gun Britain's Armed History (2017) Part 2 The Big Bang

Sword, Musket and Machine Gun Britain's Armed History From the Saxon shield-wall to the discovery of gunpowder and the invention of the machine gun, Dr Sam Willis traces the history of the weapons that have shaped Britain.

Part 2 The Big Bang

Dr Sam Willis charts the impact of gunpowder on the battlefield, from cannons to the first handheld weapons. His journey starts in the 13th century with Oxford scientist and monk Roger Bacon, believed to be the first Englishman to write down a recipe for gunpowder. Sam sees one of the largest surviving medieval cannons still in existence - Mons Meg in Edinburgh Castle. He examines a primitive 1400s 'handgun' in the Tower of London Armouries that seems more like a mini cannon, with no trigger.

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