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Artillery, 1862: Projectiles and Rifling

  • 2020-03-21

In small arms the projectile of lead is so soft, small, and mouldable, that no serious difficulties are found in causing it to adapt itself to the spirals of the barrel, so as perfectly to take the spin without injury to the spirals; but the case is widely different in great guns. The mass of the projectile must be of rigid material, of iron or steel; either, then, some tertium quid of soft and mouldalde material, like lead, must be adapted to its exterior, that shall at the moment of projection adapt itself to the spirals also, or workmanship the most exquisite and precise must be employed to produce in each shot a rigid piston, perfectly fitting the spirals.

Artillery, 1862

  • 2020-03-20

The text and illustrations published here have been extracted from ‘RECORD OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862’, published by William Mackenzie, Glasgow Edinburgh and London. The author gives brief historical introduction and proceeds to discussion of the then current state of development of artillery.

Ordnance

  • 2020-03-20

INDEX: ordnance
noun
1. mounted guns; artillery.
“the gun was a brand new piece of ordnance”
synonyms: guns, cannon, artillery, weapons, arms, munitions, military
2. a branch of government service dealing especially with military stores and materials.
“the ordnance corps”

Pattern 1841 Carbine

  • 2019-09-16

Introducing a quite rare British longarm: The Pattern 1841 Royal Sappers & Miners, &/or Royal Artillery Carbine. This comes from the design of George Lovell and is the ultimate smoothbore. The 30 inch barrel is in the new Reduced Bore of .733, a reduction of .020 from the Regulation .753 of the Infantry Musket but intended to still use the same cartridge loaded with a ball of .685.

Rival Rifles

  • 2019-09-10

Trials were held at Hythe in May 1860 to select a suitable rifle for use in the Queen’s Prize at long range. Mr. Whitworth and a deputation of Birmingham gun makers contested the trials, with the Whitworth rifle being the clear winner. With one exception, the Whitworth rifle continued to be issued to Queen’s Prize finalists until 1871, when for the first time the match was shot throughout with breech-loaders. The notable exception was in 1865, when the Rigby rifle was issued to Queen’s Prize finalists.

George Charles Gibbs (1859–1918)

  • 2019-04-20

George C. Gibbs was a gifted shot and G.T Teasdale-Bucknell in his “Experts on Guns & Shooting” (1900) observed that he “would by rifle shots be conceded the first place in the British Islands as a long range rifle shot. This position G.C. Gibbs has gained by no single feat but by constant good shooting, varied only by occasional phenomenal feats.”

Pattern 1838 Musket

  • 2019-03-21

The days of the flintlock action were numbered when Alexander Forsyth began experiments, in 1805 in the Tower of London, aimed at harnessing the power of exploding fulminates as a means of ignition. His work was expanded upon by others which eventually led to the “Musket, Rank and File for Foot Guards”, the first percussion musket to be issued in quantity to British soldiers. Today we usually simply call it the Pattern 1838.