The Greener Police Shotgun,After World War I the Martini Henry rifle had certainly became an old and

The Greener Police Shotgun,After World War I the Martini Henry rifle had certainly became an old and obsolete design.  In an era where bolt action rifles, machine guns, and modern artillery dominated warfare, the Martini Henry no longer had any use with the British Army.  Some were converted into sporting and hunting rifles, most were converted into sporting shotguns.  One company headed by W.W. Greener of Birmingham took the martini and converted it into a unique police shotgun.  The Greener Police shotgun used the martini action and was converted to fire a 14 gauge shell. A new stock was also produced for the shotgun. For the most part they were issued native colonial police forces within Britain’s African and Indian colonial empire.  The choice of fourteen gauge was a very purposeful decision, as 14 gauge is a relatively rare shotgun caliber.  Furthermore the Greener was outfitted with a trident shaped firing pin.  The primer of the 14 Gauge Greener shell sat in a grooved recess in which only a trident firing pin would fit.  Thus, only the special 14 Gauge Greener shell would fire in the Greener shotgun.  The purpose of this was to prevent illegal or unintended use of the shotgun, say if it was captured by outlaws or rebels.  In addition, the decision to arm colonial police forces with single shot breechloading shotguns, put rebels or outlaws at an extreme disadvantage when they were met with British military forces armed with bolt action rifles and machine guns. -- source link

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