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.
| Martini–Henry | |
|---|---|
A Martini–Henry in the collections of the Swedish Army Museum | |
| Type | Service rifle Shotgun (Greener Prison Variant) |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1871–1918 |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875–1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) The Troubles War in Afghanistan (1978–present) (limited) |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Friedrich von Martini |
| Designed | 1870 |
| Manufacturer | Various |
| Unit cost | ~£2/2/–=£2.10 (late 1880s) |
| Produced | 1871–1889 |
| No. built | approx. 500,000–1,000,000 |
| Variants | Martini–Henry Carbine Greener Prison Shotgun Gahendra rifle |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 8 pounds 7 ounces (3.83 kg) (unloaded), 9 pounds 4.75 ounces (4.22 kg) (with sword bayonet) |
| Length | 49 inches (1,245 mm) |
| Barrel length | 33.22 inches (844 mm) |
| Cartridge | .577/450 Boxer-Henry .577/450 Martini–Henry .303 British 11.43×55R (Ottoman) 11.43×59R (Romanian) 7.65×53 (Ottoman) |
| Action | Martini Falling Block |
| Rate of fire | 12 rounds/minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,300 ft/s (400 m/s) |
| Effective firing range | 400 yd (370 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 1,900 yd (1,700 m) |
| Feed system | Single-shot |
| Sights | Sliding ramp rear sights, fixed-post front sights |
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.
The Martini–Henry was copied on a large scale by North-West Frontier Province gunsmiths. Their weapons were of a poorer quality than those made by Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, but accurately copied down to the proof markings. The chief manufacturers were the Adam Khel Afridi, who lived around the Khyber Pass. The British called such weapons "Pass-made rifles".