The Greener - Martini Light Harpoon Gun,During the later half of the 19th century, the Martini-Henry

The Greener - Martini Light Harpoon Gun,During the later half of the 19th century, the Martini-Henry rifle was the primary military arm of the British Empire.  With it the British were able to conquer a large colonial empire that stretched across the world.  By the 20th century, however, the old single shot breechloading Martini rifles were obsolete as the British adopted a new ten shot bolt action rifle called the Lee Enfield.  As a result, the British were left with a thousands of obsolete rifles which were essentially worth nothing.To dispose of these surplus firearms, many Martini’s were converted to hunting and target rifles as well as smoothbore shotguns.  A company called W. W. Greener converted many Martini rifles into shotguns used by prison guards and colonial police.  In addition, W. W. Greener Ltd. converted a number of Martini’s into harpoon guns.  At the time, the whaling industry was still in full force as petrochemicals had not yet completely replaced the market for whale oil.  To convert the rifle to harpoon guns, a new barrel was placed on the firearm to accommodate a harpoon.  A new stock was also added to make the gun lighter and easier to wield.  To fire the gun, the user inserted a blank cartridge into the chamber.  When fired, the force of the discharge propelled the harpoon through the air.The Greener harpoon gun became the most popular light harpoon gun in the whaling industry.  It also became popular with other fisherman, such as tuna and other big fish. Due to its popularity, a number were produced new rather than using older Martini-Henry rifles.  The fall of the whaling industry, most caused by the replacement of whale oil with petrochemicals, and the passing of internationals agreements limiting and banning whaling, also brought the fall of the Greener Harpoon gun.  However, regardless of its legacy in whaling, the Greener Harpoon gun will always be remembered as the weapon of choice for the crusty shark hunter named Quint in the hit film Jaws.  -- source link

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