America’s Martini Rifle, the Peabody MartiniWhen the British Martini Henry rifle was adopted b
America’s Martini Rifle, the Peabody MartiniWhen the British Martini Henry rifle was adopted by the British Army in 1871 it became so popular that countries all over the world wanted it. Unfortunately for them, all British made Martini Henry’s were issued to the British Army. This was very fortunate for Providence Tool Company of Rhode Island, who were in a position after the American Civil War to produce a large number of armaments. After securing patent rights to the breechloading action from inventor Henry Peabody, the Providence Tool Company began to produce a Martini rifle called the Peabody Martini. They were sold to countries in Europe, the Far East, and South America. As a result they were manufactured in a number of different calibers. The biggest customer of Providence Tool Company were the Ottoman Turks, who in the 1870’s ordered over 600,000 to fight against the Russians who were constantly creeping up on their borders. Throughout the 1870’s there were several lawsuits and countersuits between Providence Tool Company and British manufacturers over patent infringements, however most came to nothing. The fall of Providence Tool Company’s armaments lines came in 1877 when the Turks, heavily in debt due to the Russo-Turkish War, defaulted on their contracts because they were unable to pay. This combined with several financial panics in the US caused the company to fall into bankruptcy. By 1882 production of the Peabody Martini ended as Providence Tool Company sold off most of its armaments industry. -- source link
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