Category: Hex Bore blog

Curtis’s & Harvey No. 6 gunpowder was a popular choice in the 19th century for use with the Whitworth rifle. Contemporary loading instruction for the rifle refer to its use.

On Oak Hill at Gettysburg with two British imported Whitworth cannons to discuss the development of the Whitworth and British imports in the American Civil War.

‘Miscellaneous Papers on Mechanical Subjects”, by Sir Joseph Whitworth (privately published in Manchester 1870). This leather bound and gilt edged collection of Whitworth papers arrived in the post a little while ago. Much of the content relates to Whitworth cannon.

Joseph Whitworth was born at Stockport in 1803 and was to become the foremost manufacturer of machine tools of his time. He was approached in 1854 by Lord Hardinge to investigate ‘the mechanical principles applicable in the construction of an efficient weapon.’ Unwilling to commit to the design of a complete set of machinery for manufacturing rifle muskets, Whitworth was asked to undertake the construction of the machinery for the rifle barrel only. His experiments revolutionised rifle design.