produced by combining Henry’s system of rifling with Martini’s mechanism
for breech-loading. The parts constituting the lock and the mechanism
for working the breech, shown in Fig. 86, are contained in a metal case,
to which is attached the woodwork of the stock, now constructed in two
parts. To this case is attached the butt of the rifle by a strong metal
bolt 6 in. in length, A, which is inserted through a hole in the
heel-plate. The part that closes the breech—termed the “block”—is marked
B. It turns loosely on a pin, C, passing through its rear end and fixed
into the case at a level somewhat higher than the axis of the barrel.
The end of the block is rounded off so as to form with the rear end of
the case, D, which is hollowed out to receive it in a perfect knuckle
joint. Let it be observed that this rounded surface, which is the width
of the block, receives the whole force of the recoil, no strain being
put on the pin, C, on which the block turns. In the experiments a leaden
pin was substituted, and the action of the mechanism was not in the
least impaired. This arrangement serves greatly to diminish the wear and
the possibility of damage from the recoil. As the pin on which the block
turns is slightly above the axis at the barrel, it follows that the
block, when not supported, immediately drops down below the barrel.
Behind the trigger-guard is a lever, E, working on a pin, F, fitted into
the lower part of the case. To this lever is attached a much shorter
piece called the “tumbler,” which projects into the case, G. It is this
tumbler which acts as a support for the block, and raises it into its
firing position or lowers it according as the lever, E, is drawn toward
a firer or pushed forward. How this is accomplished will be readily
understood by observing the form of the notch, H, in which the upper end
of the tumbler moves. It will be noticed that the piece being in the
position for firing, if the lever be pushed back, G slides away from the
shallower part of the notch into the deeper, and the block accordingly
falls into the position shown in the figure; and if again the lever is
drawn backward, G acting on H will raise the block to its former
position. The block or breech-piece is hollowed out on its upper
surface, I, so as to permit the cartridge to be readily inserted into
the exploding chamber, J. The centre of the block is bored out, and
contains within the vital mechanism for exploding the cartridge, namely,
a spiral spring, of which the little marks at K are the coils in
section. These coils pass round apiece of metal called the “striker,”
which is armed with a point, capable of passing through a hole in the
front face of the block exactly behind the percussion-cap of the
cartridge when the block is in the firing position. When the lever
handle is moved _forward_, it causes the tumbler, which works on the
same pin, to revolve, and one of its arms draws back the striker,
compressing the spring in so doing, so that as the block drops down the
point of the striker is drawn inwards. In this position the piece
receives the cartridge into the chamber. The lever, E, being now drawn
backward, the piece is forced into the notch, H, and the block is kept
firmly in its place; besides this, there is a further compression of the
spring by the tumbler, and in this position the spring is retained by
the rest-piece, L, which is pushed into a bend in the tumbler. By
pulling the trigger this piece is released, so that the tumbler can
revolve freely, and relieve the pent-up spring, whose elasticity impels
the striker forward, so that this enters the carriage directly. A very
important and ingenious part of this arrangement is the contrivance for
extracting the case of the exploded cartridge. The extractor turns on
the pin, M, and has two arms pointing upwards, N, which are pressed by
the rim of the cartridge pushed home into two grooves cut in the sides
of the barrel. It has another arm, O, bent only slightly upwards and
pointing towards the centre of the case, and forming an angle of about
80° with the above-mentioned upright arm; when, by pushing forward the
lever, its short arm drops into the recess, the block, no longer
supported, falls, and hits the point of the bent arm of extractor, so
causing the two upright arms to extract the cartridge-case a little way.
[Illustration:
FIG. 87.—_The Martini-Henry Rifle._
A, ready for loading; B, loaded and ready for firing.
]
The barrel is of steel; the calibre is 0·451 in. It is rifled on Mr.
Henry’s patent system. The section of the bore may be generally
described as a heptagon with re-entering angles at the junctions of the
planes, so that there are fourteen points of contact for the bullet,
viz., one in the middle of each plane, and one at each of the
re-entering angles. The twist of rifling is one turn in 22 in. The
charge consists of 85 grains of powder, and a bullet weighing 480
grains, of a form designed by Mr. Henry. The cartridge is of the same
general construction as the “Boxer” cartridge, used in the Snider rifle,
but it is bottle-shaped, the diameter being enlarged from a short
distance in rear of the bullet, in order to admit of its being made
shorter, and consequently stronger, than would be otherwise possible. A
wad of bees’-wax is placed between the bullet and powder, by which the
barrel is lubricated at each discharge. The sword-bayonet to be used
with this rifle is of a pattern proposed by Lord Elcho. It is a short
sword, broad towards the point, and furnished on a portion of the back
with a double row of teeth, so as to form a stout saw. It is so balanced
as to form a powerful chopping implement, so that, in addition to its
primary use as a bayonet, it will be useful for cutting and sawing
brushwood, small trees, &c.
The following are the principal particulars of weight, dimensions, &c.,
of the Martini-Henry rifle:
│Without bayonet 4 ft. 1 in.
Length of rifle │With bayonet fixed 5 ft. 8 in.
│Of barrel 2 ft. 9·22 in.
Calibre │ 0·451 in.
Rifling │Grooves 7
│Twist 1 turn in 22 in.
Weight │Without bayonet 8 lbs. 7 oz.
│With bayonet 10 lbs. 4 oz.
Bayonet │Length 2 ft. 1½ in.
│Weight without scabbard 1 lb. 8 oz.
Charge of powder │ 85 grains.
Weight of bullet │ 480 grains.
The rifle is sighted to 1,400 yards.
As an evidence of the accuracy of fire in this rifle, it may be stated
that of twenty shots fired at 1,200 yards, the mean absolute deflection
of the hits from the centre of the group was 2·28 ft. The highest point
in the trajectory at 500 yards is rather over 8 ft. so that the bullet
would not pass over a cavalry soldier’s head within that distance. The
trajectory of the Snider at the same range rises to nearly 12 ft. The
bullet will pass through from thirteen to seventeen ½ in. elm planks
placed 1 in. apart at 20 yards distance; the number pierced by the
Snider under similar circumstances being from seven to nine. As regards
rapidity of fire, twenty rounds have been fired in 53 seconds; and one
arm which had been exposed to rain and water artificially applied for
seven days and nights, and had during that time fired 400 rounds, was
then fired, without cleaning, twenty rounds in 1 minute 3 seconds.
Rifles of the Martini-Henry and Chassepot type were soon superseded, for
as early as 1876 Switzerland had armed her troops with a magazine rifle
of a smaller calibre than any then in use, and this weapon was found so
effective that in a few years after every European nation had followed
suit, as also had the United States and Japan, each country adopting
some particular pattern of a weapon with certain modifications. Of these
the Mannlicher and the Mauser are much used. A magazine rifle is one
that can be fired several times successively without reloading. Like
revolvers, the magazine arms repeat their fire, but instead of having
several distinct firing chambers, they have but one, from which the
empty cartridge cases are automatically extracted by the breech
mechanism, for the magazine rifle is necessarily a breech-loader. The
magazine rifle carries a supply of cartridges, which one after another
are brought into the firing chamber by the simple action of the breech
mechanism, so that the soldier is enabled to discharge several rounds in
any position without reloading. The several varieties of the magazine
rifle may be classed according to the position of the magazine. This may
be: First, in the stock; second, under the barrel; third, in a box under
the breech; or fourth, in a box above the breech. In the first and
second variety the cartridges are in line in a tube, out of which they
are moved on by a spiral spring, and this was the earlier form of the
weapon. The box above or below the breech is the later development, and
has the advantage of holding the cartridges lying side by side, and thus
in a position in which they are not so liable to injure each other as in
the tubular arrangements. Then, again, the movement of the cartridge in
the breechbox in arriving at the firing chamber is much less than in the
linear magazines, and the centre of gravity of the whole changes but
little when the supply is exhausted. With any of the varieties of
magazine a suitable modification of the mechanism may be adopted, so
that the weapon can at will be used as a single firing rifle, but
changeable in an instant to the magazine form. Again, the box magazine
may be made as a fixture on the rifle, or it may be detachable.
Commissions of military authorities had for several years been
deliberating upon the best models for their respective nations, while
Professor Hebler was working out his researches as to the best calibre
for military rifles. Hebler published a work showing the great
advantages of a bore one-third less in diameter than that commonly in
use, which was about 0·45 inch, as in our Martini-Henry. The
small-calibre rifle shoots straighter and hits harder than the large
bore one, and the recoil is less, and so is the weight of the weapon.
Lead is found to be too soft a material for the bullet of the small-bore
rifles, as it does not keep in the rifling, which has a sharper turn
than that in the older weapon; hence the bullets are now cased in steel
or nickel. These bullets have remarkable power of penetration. Some will
go through a steel plate 1¼ inch thick, making a clean hole in it, and
the Lebel bullet penetrates 15 inches of solid oak, at a distance of 220
yards. Such a missile would, therefore, be capable of going completely
through the bodies of several men or horses.
[Illustration:
FIG. 88.—_The Mannlicher Magazine Rifle._
]
The Germans, about 1888, adopted a magazine rifle known as the Mauser.
It had a fixed tubular magazine for eight rounds below the barrel, and a
breech mechanism of the Remington-Keene type. The French followed suit
with their famous Lebel gun, the construction of which was long kept
secret. It also has a fixed under barrel tubular magazine, and the
cartridges used with it contain smokeless powder. It is said that a new
gun of practically the same pattern has been adopted by Russia, but with
a detachable magazine to contain five rounds. The Russian gun will also
use smokeless powder. In England, a small-bore rifle of 0·303 inches
calibre is now issued to all troops. It has an under breechbox magazine,
modified from the Lee rifle. The box is detachable, so that the weapon
could normally be used as a single loader, and the magazine attached
only when required. But the British authorities have decided that the
magazine box is to be attached to the weapon by a chain. The first issue
of this pattern of rifle to British soldiers took place early in 1890.
The Austrians are adopting the Mannlicher pattern, in which the magazine
idea is embodied in a complete and practical form. This rifle has a
fixed box magazine below the breech. From this box, in which the
cartridges—five in number—lie side by side, they are fed up by springs
as they are disposed of by the movement of the breech mechanism. The
magazine is recharged by placing in it a tin case containing five
cartridges, and the case drops out when all the cartridges have been
fired. In this form there is of course no necessity for providing any
mechanism for holding the magazine in reserve while the rifle is used as
a single loader. As to calibre, the Austrian authorities follow other
countries in adopting a small bore, namely, 0·315 inch. Italy has
converted her single-fire Vetterli rifle into a magazine arm, with a box
something like the Mannlicher, and Belgium has adopted a gun of the same
type. The rate of fire from charged magazines of such guns as the “Lee,”
“Mannlicher” and “Vetterli,” worked with the right hand without bringing
the piece down from the shoulder is, for all of them, about one shot per
second; but the time that is required to recharge the magazines varies
much according to the contrivance used. The number of rounds the
magazine of a rifle is capable of containing when fully charged is from
5 to 12, or more, according to the difference of system. It is
considered that in the detachable Lee or the quick recharging Mannlicher
five rounds are ample for use at a critical moment.
[Illustration:
FIG. 89.—_The Magazine and Breech of the Mannlicher Rifle._
]
The calibre of the military rifle has been decreased with almost every
new pattern adopted. Thus, while the _old_ “Brown Bess” had a calibre of
0·75 inch, in the last issue of it the bore was reduced to 0·693 inch;
the Enfield (1852) had a bore of 0·577 inch; the Martini-Henry, 0·451
inch, which, in a newer pattern adopted in 1887, was reduced to 0·400
inch; and, finally, in the Lee-Metford, the calibre is only 0·303 inch.
A similar consecutive reduction of bores has taken place in the rifles
adopted by other countries, and one of the latest type, issued for the
use of the United States Navy, has a bore of only 0·236 inch, and it is
even expected that a still smaller one will become general. The
advantage of the narrow and lighter projectile is that while it has a
higher initial velocity with a given charge, its flight is less checked
by the resistance of the atmosphere, the section it presents being so
much less. Thus the bullet of 0·236 inch diameter has a section little
more than one-fourth that of the 0·45 inch bullet. The difference is
well shown in the comparative heights of the _trajectory_ (or path of
the bullet) of the Martini-Henry 0·450 inch bullet, and that of the
0·303 inch Lee-Metford (the latter with _cordite_ ammunition); for at a
range of 1,000 yards the former reaches to 48 feet above the line of
sight, while the latter rises to only 25 feet.
Some form of repeating or magazine rifle has now been adopted by all the
most important nations of the world. The number of shots contained in
the magazines varies from 5 to 12. In the British detachable box
magazine there are ten charges. The calibres of the barrels range in the
infantry patterns of different nations from 0·256 inch to 0·315 inch;
the explosive used in every case is some kind of smokeless powder, and
this, in the cartridge for the Lee-Metford, is _cordite_. The bullets
are not made simply of lead, but of lead coated with a harder metal or
alloy such as steel, cupro-nickel, nickel steel, or they consist
entirely of some of these alloys.
Although the magazine rifle is now the regulation weapon of the infantry
of all great armies, it is not improbable that at no distant future it
maybe superseded by one in which, as in certain machine guns, the force
of the recoil will be used for actuating the breech and lock movements.
Many patents have already been taken out for rifles on this principle,
and several patterns have actually been constructed, in which a merely
momentary contact of the breech-piece with the end of the barrel is
sufficient; the recoil of the barrel with the reaction of a spring
performs all the requisite movements with such rapidity that an amazing
speed of firing has been obtained. It is said that such an automatic gun
can send forth bullets at a perfectly amazing rate. Of course the
mechanism of such a gun is somewhat intricate, and it is impossible to
explain its construction and action without a great number of diagrams
and much description.
_RIFLED CANNON._
Having briefly sketched in the foregoing section the development of the
military rifle from such weapons as our own “Brown Bess,” down to the
repeating or magazine rifle, we now purpose to adopt a similar course
with regard to ordnance, giving also some particulars of the methods of
manufacture, etc., and following in general the order of history.
Naturally there is nothing that accelerates progress in warlike
inventions so much as the exigences of war itself. This is well
exemplified in circumstances attending the Crimean War, which was waged
in 1854 by England and France in alliance against Russia. The desire of
having ships that could run the gauntlet of the heavy guns mounted on
Russian forts led to the construction of _La Gloire_ and other
armour-plated vessels, as we have already seen, and a suggestion of the
French Emperor, as to improving metal for guns, made to Mr. Bessemer,
led incidentally but ultimately to the great revolution in the
manufacture of steel, although it is true that Krupp of Essen had begun
to produce small cast-steel ordnance as early as 1847. But what
determined the necessity for rifled ordnance was more particularly the
greater comparative effects obtained by the muzzle-loading rifles over
the field artillery then in use in the several engagements that took
place in the Crimea, especially in the battle of Inkerman (1854). The
rifles so much surpassed in accuracy at long ranges the smooth-bore
field-pieces firing spherical projectiles, that field artillery was on
the point of losing its relative importance, and even in the matter of
range the latter lost so much by windage that the men serving the
artillery could sometimes be leisurely picked off by the rifle
sharp-shooters. Inventors were soon at work on devising methods of
increasing the accuracy of ordnance fire with both light and heavy
pieces, and before the end of the war some cast-iron guns rifled on
Lancaster’s plan had been mounted on forts and in ships, without proving
very successful except in regard to increase of range when elongated
pointed projectiles were used with them.
[Illustration:
FIG. 90.—_32–pounder, 1807._
]
Now let us see of what kind was the ordnance used for some years after
the middle of the century, in order that we may be the better able to
appreciate the progress that has since been made. Ordnance is, as
already noticed, of several species, as guns mounted on fortresses,
naval guns, siege guns, field-guns, etc., and the size of the pieces
under each of those heads is distinguished sometimes in one, sometimes
in another of three different ways. We may name it by the weight of the
gun itself in tons or hundredweights, as “a 35–ton gun,” etc.; or by the
weight of its projectile, as “a 68–pounder,” etc.; or by its calibre,
that is the diameter of its bore, as “a 4–inch gun,” etc. We may take
the naval guns with which Nelson won his battles (Trafalgar, 1807) as
representative of all except field ordnance up to about 1856. They were
all made of cast iron, threw spherical projectiles, and were very rudely
mounted. The gun most commonly mounted on board our ships of war was the
32–pounder, weighing 32 cwt., shown with its carriage in Fig. 90. The
carriage was of wood, and consisted of two side pieces joined back and
front by two transverse pieces and carried by four low wooden wheels.
The trunnions of the gun fitted into bearings at the top of the
side-pieces, and were secured by iron plates that passed over them in a
semi-cylindrical form and were bolted down to the wood. The position of
the trunnions on the gun was always such that the breech end of the gun
preponderated, being supported on an adjustable wooden wedge; and when
the muzzle of the gun had to be lowered, this was done by raising the
breech end with handspikes and pushing in the wedge so far as to prevent
the breech from dropping down again. There was a vent or narrow passage
to contain a train of powder from the touch-hole at the upper part of
the breech to the rear of the charge. When the gun was fired, with its
muzzle protruding a little way out of the port-hole, the recoil would
trundle it inwards about its own length, when its course would be stayed
by a thick rope attached to the sides of the vessel; and by other tackle
it would be kept in position until loaded, when it would be allowed to
roll back, or would be drawn by ropes and pulleys out to the port-hole,
and by the same means such lateral inclination as might be required
could be given. This last adjustment was called _training_ the gun. A
32–pounder required the services altogether of a dozen or fourteen men,
but these by virtue of constant drill would learn to handle the clumsy
machine with a certain amount of expedition. If we except a notch on the
highest point of the muzzle, the pieces were devoid of anything of the
nature of sights, though sometimes marks were made on the adjustable
wedge under the breech to correspond with certain elevations. Nor were
sights required; for the mode of fighting then was to get quite close to
the adversary’s ship and pour in a _broadside_ by firing simultaneously
all guns on the enemy’s side when they had been _trained_ (by rough
methods), so as to concentrate their effect as much as possible on one
point of the antagonist. Nelson’s famous ship the _Victory_ carried a
few larger guns than the 32–pounders, namely, two 68–pounders, called
_carronades_ (from having first been cast at Carron in Scotland), and
some 42–pounders. The 32– and 42–pounders numbered together thirty, and
there were also as many 24–pounders, with forty 12–pounders. These were
all simply cast of the required dimensions, and were not made with the
one single improvement which after two centuries’ use of cast-iron guns
had been introduced into France about fifty years before, namely, the
_boring_ of the chase out of a solid casting.
On the outbreak of the Crimean War (1854) the minds of many inventors
were occupied by the problem of ordnance construction, and this also
engaged the attention among others of two of the most eminent British
mechanical engineers of the day. These were Sir W. Armstrong and Sir J.
Whitworth, who, with others, were invited by our War Department to
submit the best models of field and heavy guns their skill was severally
able to produce. Two years afterward, Sir W. Armstrong had, after many
experiments, completed a gun of 1·88 in. calibre. This had a forged
steel barrel 6 feet in length; but it was only after eight such forgings
had been bored and rejected on account of flaws revealed only by the
boring that a sound barrel was at length obtained. This barrel was
strengthened on the outside by _jackets_ made from coils of wrought iron
bars welded into a piece and shrunk on while hot (of which process we
shall have something more to say presently); the barrel was rifled with
many shallow grooves, and the pointed projectile, 3 calibres long, was
made of lead, for which afterwards iron coated with lead was
substituted. This gun was a breech-loader, the breech being closed by a
block let into a slot after loading, and then pressed against the barrel
by some turns of a screw which advanced parallel to the axis of the
piece, and was made hollow for loading through, before the closing block
was put in. In a trial of the various pieces ready in 1857, it was found
that the Armstrong gun made as just described had an accuracy and range
immensely greater than any weapon that had ever been tested, and the
Government authorities approved of the system of construction, except
that they preferred muzzle-loading pieces to breech-loading, as being
simpler in action, more easily kept in repair, and cheaper in original
cost and ammunition.
When Sir Joseph Whitworth’s gun was, in 1863, submitted to a competitive
trial against the Armstrong, as to their endurance and mode of ultimate
failure when fired with ever-increasing charges of powder and shot, at
the forty-second round the Armstrong breech-loader split, and at the
sixtieth the Armstrong muzzle-loader had one of its coils cracked; while
it was not until the ninety-second round that the Whitworth gun burst
violently into eleven pieces. These competing guns were 12–pounder
field-guns weighing 8 cwts., and from each 2,800 regulation rounds had
been fired before they were subjected to the bursting proofs. The result
of these trials being that the authorities considered that steel was not
then sufficiently reliable, and they decided to adopt the system of
building up rifled guns with iron jackets over an inner tube of steel.
Sir Joseph Whitworth made his guns entirely of steel, and they were
striking examples of beautiful and accurate workmanship. His system of
rifling consisted in forming the bore of the gun so that its section is
a regular hexagon, and the projectile is an elongated bolt with sides
exactly fitting the barrel of the gun: the projectile is, in fact, a
twisted hexagonal prism. Fig. 91 shows at the left-hand side the section
of the barrel, and on the right we see the form of the projectile on a
smaller scale, this last representing, in fact, the exact size and shape
of the bullet of the Whitworth _rifle_ mentioned on another page. Sir
Joseph’s guns were muzzle-loaders, and they were remarkable for their
long range and accuracy of fire. One of these guns, with a charge of 50
lbs. of gunpowder, threw a 250–lb. shot a distance of nearly six miles,
and on another occasion a 310–lb. shell was hurled through the air, and
first touched the ground at a distance of more than six and a quarter
miles from the gun. These distances are greater than any to which shot
or shell had previously been thrown.
[Illustration:
FIG. 91.—_Whitworth Rifling and Projectile._
]