Weapons and Vehicles
Martini-Henri Rifle
The Martini-Henry was a breech loading single shot lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British Army , combining the dropping-block action first developed by Henry O. Peabody (in his Peabody rifle ) and improved by the Swiss designer Friedrich von Martini , whose work in bringing the cocking and striker mechanism all within the receiver greatly improved the operation of the rifle, which new iteration was combined with the polygonal barrel rifling designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry . It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider-Enfield , a muzzle-loader conversion to the cartridge system. Martini-Henry variants were used throughout the British Army for 30 years. Though the Snider was the first breech-loader firing a metallic cartridge in regular British service, the Martini was designed from the outset as a breech-loader and was both faster firing and had a longer range.
The Martini-Henry was a breech loading single shot lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British Army , combining the dropping-block action first developed by Henry O. Peabody (in his Peabody rifle ) and improved by the Swiss designer Friedrich von Martini , whose work in bringing the cocking and striker mechanism all within the receiver greatly improved the operation of the rifle, which new iteration was combined with the polygonal barrel rifling designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry . It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider-Enfield , a muzzle-loader conversion to the cartridge system. Martini-Henry variants were used throughout the British Army for 30 years. Though the Snider was the first breech-loader firing a metallic cartridge in regular British service, the Martini was designed from the outset as a breech-loader and was both faster firing and had a longer range.