‘Miscellaneous Papers on Mechanical Subjects | Guns and Steel’ by Sir Joseph Whitworth, Bart., was published in London by Longmans, Green Reader, & Dyer in 1873. The text reproduced here is from Chapter II and concerns Whitworth’s involvement in rifle design. The remainder of the work concerns artillery and Whitworth’s ‘fluid-compressed steel.’
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Rifled Small Arms
A letter to The Times by Joseph Whitworth; “Sir, Permit me to make an appeal through your columns against the arming of our troops and Volunteers with short-range rifles, whether of the Snider-Enfield or any other pattern. Other nations are rapidly abandoning their use, and are arming their troops with long-range rifles. The supply of the more powerful weapon to our own troops has already been too long delayed…”
Whitworth: Rifle No. B143
Whitworth military target rifle no. B143. Excellent bore with hexagonal rifling, strong blue finish and marked Whitworth patent with British proofs (52 bore).
Whitworth Rifle Warnings
This information is the result of Bill Curtis and De Witt Bailey research concerning original Whitworth rifles. Warning! – The Whitworth Research Project has identified problems with several rifles that have appeared on the open market from time to time. See notes below regarding the following original Whitworth rifles; numbers 449, B376, B678, C575.
Hex Bore – The Whitworth Research Project
INDEX. ‘Hex Bore’ is the Whitworth Research Project for the study of Whitworth rifles and artillery. Whitworth’s experiments revolutionised rifle design.
Whitworth Database Updates – 2021
Whitworth Research Project – database management summary 2021.
Replacing Whitworth Barrels in the 19thC
The Whitworth rifle with its hexagonal bore set new standards in accuracy and in the early 1860s was used by keen long range riflemen in target shooting competition. By the late 1860s it was however being supplanted by other gunmakers using shallow groove rifling and hardened cylindrical bullets – notably Metford and Rigby. It is not uncommon to find Whitworth stock/lock fitted with such barrels as 19thC riflemen ‘upgraded’ their rifles, and over the years the original Whitworth barrel becomes separated.
Original Whitworth Cannon at Grayling, 2017
Video highlights of the first time out with a newly restored Whitworth Cannon.
Whitworth Rearsights
A few pictures of original Whitworth rearsights illustrating that there was no single pattern; there are also further variants. All those shown are from full stocked Whitworth military style rifles. Whitworth rifles display in their construction many minor variations and finishing differences.
Whitworth rifle of 1858
Lock plate on early Whitworth military rifle, dated 1858. This pre-dates the establishment of the Rifle Volunteer Movement and of the National Rifle Association by a year. The later use of the Whitworth rifle by Rifle Volunteers and others in competition organised by the NRA(UK) kept the rifle in the public gaze.
Curtis’s & Harvey No. 6
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.
The Whitworth Guns: British Artillery at Gettysburg
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.