Martini-Henry
The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Martini–Henry variants were used throughout the British Empire for 47 years. It combined the dropping-block action first developed by Henry O. Peabody (in his Peabody rifle) and improved by the Swiss designer Friedrich von Martini, combined with the polygonal rifling designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry.
Key facts
- Weapon.wars
- British colonial warsPerak WarSecond Anglo-Afghan WarArgentine Civil WarsHerzegovina Uprising (1875–1878)Russo-Turkish WarWar of the PacificAnglo-Zulu WarFirst Italo-Ethiopian WarNorth-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897)First Boer War Second Boer WarBalkan WarsWorld War IGreco-Turkish War (1919–22)The TroublesWar in Afghanistan (1978–present)(limited)Nepalese Civil War
- Weapon.designer
- Friedrich von Martini
- Weapon.design_date
- 1870
- Weapon.manufacturer
- Various
- Weapon.unit_cost
- ~£2/2/–=£ (late 1880s)
- Weapon.production_date
- 1871–1889
- Weapon.number
- approx. 500,000–1,000,000
- Weapon.variants
- Martini–Henry CarbineGreener Prison ShotgunGahendra rifle
- Weapon.weight
- (unloaded), (with sword bayonet)
- Weapon.cartridge
- .577/450 Boxer-Henry .577/450 Martini–Henry.303 British11.43×55R (Ottoman)11.43×59R (Romanian)7.65×53 (Ottoman)
Article
24 sectionsContents
- Overview
- Ammunition
- Rifle design and dimensions
- Sights, accuracy, and performance
- Ammunition development and replacements
- Service use
- Later ammunition and civilian use
- Competitive shooting
- Ballistics and battlefield effectiveness
- Foreign production and variants
- Later service
- Greener shotgun
- Greener harpoon gun
- Ottoman, Romanian, and Boer Republics Peabody–Martini–Henry rifles
- Mechanical issues
- Operation of the Martini action
- Comparison with contemporary rifles
- Users
- See also
- References
- Citations
- General sources
- Further reading
- External links
The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Martini–Henry variants were used throughout the British Empire for 47 years. It combined the dropping-block action first developed by Henry O. Peabody (in his Peabody rifle) and improved by the Swiss designer Friedrich von Martini, combined with the polygonal rifling designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry.
Though the Snider was the first breechloader firing a metallic cartridge in regular British service, the Martini was designed from the outset as a breechloader and was both faster firing and had a longer range.