Editing Breechloader (section)

{{short description|Class of gun which is loaded from the  breech}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Springfield_Trapdoor_breech_open.JPG|right|thumb|A [[Springfield Model 1888]] rifle with its breech open.]]

A '''breechloader'''<ref>{{cite book|author=Greener, W. |title=Modern Breech-Loaders 1871|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6l8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT170|year=2013|publisher=Read Books Limited|isbn=978-1-4474-8414-1|page=170}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gallwey, Ralph P. |title=Swivel-Guns - Breechloaders And Muzzleloaders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dO19CgAAQBAJ&pg=PP4|year=2013|publisher=Read Books Limited|isbn=978-1-4733-8374-6|page=4}}</ref> is a [[firearm]] in which the user loads the ammunition from the [[Chamber (firearms)|breech]] end of the [[gun barrel|barrel]] (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a [[muzzleloader]], in which the user loads the ammunition from the ([[muzzle (firearms)|muzzle]]) end of the [[gun barrel|barrel]].

The vast majority of modern firearms are generally breech-loaders, while firearms made before the mid-19th century were mostly smoothbore muzzle-loaders. Only a few muzzleloading weapons, such as [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]]s, [[rifle grenade]]s, some [[rocket launcher]]s, such as the [[Panzerfaust 3]] and [[RPG-7]], and the [[GP-25|GP series]] grenade launchers, have remained in common usage in modern military conflicts. However, referring to a weapon explicitly as breech-loading is mostly limited to weapons where the operator loads ammunition by hand (and not by operating a mechanism such as a [[bolt-action]]), such as [[artillery]] pieces or [[break-action]] small arms.

Breech-loading provides the advantage of reduced reloading time because it is far quicker to load the [[projectile]] and [[propellant]] into the [[chamber (firearms)|chamber]] of a [[gun]] or [[cannon]] than to reach all the way over to the front end to load ammunition and then push them back down a long tube &ndash; especially when the projectile fits tightly and the tube has spiral ridges from [[rifling]]. In [[field artillery]], the advantages were similar &ndash; crews no longer had to get in front of the gun and pack ammunition in the barrel with a [[ramrod]], and the shot could now tightly fit the bore, greatly increasing its power, range, and accuracy. It also made it easier to load a previously fired weapon with a [[fouling|fouled]] barrel. [[Gun turret]]s and emplacements for breechloaders can be smaller since crews don't need to retract the gun for loading into the muzzle end. Unloading a breechloader is much easier as well, as the ammunition can be unloaded from the breech end and is often doable by hand; unloading muzzle loaders requires drilling into the projectile to drag it out through the whole length of the barrel, and in some cases the guns are simply fired to facilitate unloading process.

The advent of breech-loading gave a significant increase to effective firepower by its own right, and also enabled further revolutions in firearm designs such as [[Repeating firearm|repeating]] and [[self-loading]] firearms.