The Martini Henry Rifle,The Martini Henry Rifle is perhaps most noted as the rifle that built Queen
The Martini Henry Rifle,The Martini Henry Rifle is perhaps most noted as the rifle that built Queen Victoria’s Empire in the later half of the 1800’s. First produced in 1870, it was designed by Swiss gunmaker Friedrich Von Martini and Scotsman Alexander Henry. In 1871 it was adopted by the British Army, replacing their earlier Enfield muskets and later Snider Enfield conversions. They are most famous for their use in colonial wars in Africa, especially against the Zulu’s.The Martini Henry was a single shot breechloading rifle; pulling on the lever that served as the trigger guard caused the breechblock to drop downward to expose the chamber. The user would insert a cartridge, the close the breech and fire. The user would then remove the empty cartridge, load a new one, and repeat. Originally the Martini Henry fired a cartridge called the .577-450 Boxer Henry, but other calibers were produced later on, including the famous .303 British.While they were accurate, rugged, and powerful rifles, they were not without there faults. While faster than older muzzle loading muskets, there single shot system was not always fast enough with a rate of around 12 shots a minute. Often British soldiers were overwhelmed was fearless waves of African warriors who charged en mass with spears and shields. During the Zulu Wars the .577 cartridge used a type of brass foil rather than solid brass. The idea was that it would expand into the chamber creating a seal that would force all pressure out of the barrel. The result was that it caused terrible jams and malfunctions.Production of the Martini-Henry ended in 1891 when the British Army started to adopt bolt action repeating rifles such as the Lee Metford and Lee Enfield. Martini-Henry’s continued to be used by colonial troops up until World War I. During WWI some were used to bring down German Zeppelins, firing incendiary bullets that would ignite the balloon’s hydrogen gas. Other surplus rifles were used as hunting rifles or converted into shotguns. Copies were often produced in Nepal, the US, and in the Khyber Pass region of Afghanistan/Pakistan. In 2010 US Marines found a few Martini Henry’s in a Taliban weapons cache in Afghanistan. -- source link
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