Britain’s First Sniper Rifle? The Scoped Whitworth Rifle

A new weapon is launched in the pre-WWI naval arms race. This striking film illustrates the processes in the casting and manufacture of a 12-inch, 50-calibre naval gun – the kind of gun that would be used on battleships between 1914 and 1918. It was filmed in early 1908 at the factory of Armstrong Whitworth & Co., based in Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The finely engraved semi-military rifle C778 was sold by Rock Island Auction Co., 20 May 2023. There was a batch of these engraved rifles with spur trigger guard made around this time (c1862). This particular rifle was formerly in the George W. Wray Jr. collection, Atlanta History Center. It was subsequently sold by Poulin Auction Co, Fairfield, ME, USA, in October 2019.

From the ‘Hex Bore’ Whitworth library: ARMY (WHITWORTH GUNS). Correspondence respecting the Trial of the Whitworth Guns, between the War Office, the Admiralty, and the Whitworth Company, with the Report of the Ordnance Select Committee. 1867.