When did the hooked/standing breech first appear?

[Millsman]

The hooked/standing breech I would guess was specifically designed to aid in the cleaning process?manufacturing process?does anyone know? There has been quite a bit of discussion where folks wish to make a fixed breech from a hooked/standing breech to improve accuracy.I presume that the fit to the stock over time if the tang is removed from the stock would be a problem but if it was not for X number of years prior to the invention of the standing/hook combination I guess it is no big deal.There also seems to be clear evidence that the fixed breech with the supporting tang was used for many years after the hooked/standing breech was first in use.So back to the main query when and where was the hooked/standing breech first invented?
Thanks in advance.

 

[tg]

An excerpt from Diderot's encyclopedia shows a hooked breech with the date 1751-1777 at the bottom of the page

 

[Stophel]

I have a German bird gun from about 1760 with a hooked breech. They go back a ways further than that. VERY common on European fowling guns (the hook breech just kinda goes along with a half stock). Not really gonna see American guns with hooked breeches until maybe the 1790's for the most part. There will always be the odd exception, though.

I believe the hook breech was mainly utilized as a take-down so that the gun could be more compactly stored and transported. Of course, cleaning is a bit easier when you can simply dunk the breech end of the barrel in a bucket of water and pump the fowling away.