The Journal of the Historical Breechloading Smallarms Association Volume 4, No. 8 ISSN: 0305-0440 © 2016 The Historical Breechloading Smallarms Association, BCM HBSA, London WC1N 3XX The cover picture A sketch of the action of the original type of Gehendra rifle made by John Walter during research for the book: “Guns of the Gurkhas”. Advice to authors he HBSA Journal is published annually and welcomes contributions on topics concerning Tbreechloading arms from the 18th century onwards, covering developments in smallarms technology, ammunition, sights and accoutrements. Short articles of a few hundred words can be published, and major works should not normally exceed 12,000 words. Manuscripts should be sent to the editor electronically, with text and illustrations separately. Permission should be obtained from any copyright holder of illustrations and such permission should be acknowledged in the article. References should be listed at the end of the article using the Havard referencing style: http://goo.gl/CBDmp. Articles are subject to peer-review and may be edited with the author’s agreement. Authors are requested to contact the editor ([email protected]) before submitting a manuscript. Layout and Artwork David Butterworth Tel 020 8816 8472, [email protected] www.davidbutterworth.co.uk Print Print Impressions Ltd. Unit 18, West Station Industrial Estate, Maldon, Essex CM9 6TW Tel 016 2192 8083 Historical Breechloading Smallarms Association Volume 4, Number 8 November 2016 Patron: Commander The Lord Cottesloe KStJ JP Royal Navy (Retd) President: C H Roads Council Vice-Presidents Emeritus G D Geear Chairman: D Stimpson F J Wilkinson J F Hallam Council: D Frohnwieser K J Hocking Vice-Presidents: D J Penn H Hood M Seed M Kanarek R Milner General Secretary: C Smith S Taylor Treasurer: A J Cattermole M Townsend Membership Registrar: C Reid Report Editor: J Lechner Journal Editor: S P Barrett Editorial Board: I W Patrick, D Thombs and D J Williams Contents The Martini Henry 2 Early military breechloading rifle precision by David Thombs 3 Nepalese arms manufacture and General Gehendra by Marcus Ray 8 William Tranter’s “Double Patent” Rifle Action by T. E. Bradstreet 15 Great War British & Empire Sniping Equipment (part 2) by Roger Payne 24 Beyond the Machine Gun Re-interpreting McMahon’s ‘Fire Fighting’ lecture of 1907 by Nicholas A. Harlow 30 Reproduction of McMahon’s lecture 36 The Von Oppen Letters, May 1869 - September 1870 46 1 The Martini Henry he Martini Henry rifle was adopted by the British By the time of the Martini Henry’s replacement, smaller army in 1874, the pattern for the Mark I being sealed calibre multi shot rifles, with drawn brass cartridge cases Ton 17th July of that year, it remained its standard and smokeless propellants were the norm. However the until it was replaced by the Lee Metford rifle in 1888. Martini Henry had an enduring popularity that long The Martini Henry rifle emerged from extensive trials outlasted its replacement in the British army, and its service conducted by the British army in the late 1860s which use continued in parts of the British Empire into the 20th compared, inter alia, examples of a wide variety of breech century. In the late 19th century foreign powers, notably designs including the tilting block action of Friedrich von Turkey and the Boer Republic as well as others, used the Martini and the dropping block coupled with the seven- basic design chambering the rifle for their ammunition, grooved rifling of Alexander Henry. These two elements and it was widely copied by native craftsmen, perhaps impressed the evaluating committee sufficiently to call for even until the 1940s. them to be incorporated into the single rifle that now bears Beyond its military use, the Martini Henry also had the composite name. a considerable civilian following, partly in respect of the When introduced, the Martini Henry was at the suitability of its large cartridge for big game hunting. forefront of developments during a period of rapid This, along with the strong innovative lock mechanism of progress in firearms technology. It combined a the rifle, resulted in the Martini design being chambered distinctive action with a large coiled brass cartridge for a wide range of calibres. The action was popular case, later changed to a bottle neck design, loaded with target rifles and the design was also used as a general 85 grains of black powder and driving a 480 grain .450 purpose shot gun. This G P gun, as it was referred to, was calibre bullet. All of these underwent change during its in production until the 1970s. The Martini Henry action seventeen years in official service, and beyond. Drawn has also been used for a number of exceptional purposes, brass cartridges were soon found simpler, as well as such as the powering of a life saving device for ships. It more reliable and equally effective. There were many also has a claim to fame in being mentioned in a poem substantial changes made during its front line life by Rudyard Kipling, and it played a star role in Stanley which resulted in Martini Henrys Marks I-IV being now Baker’s 1964 film “Zulu”, depicting the battle of Rorke’s recognised, plus a number of less significant changes Drift in 1879. along the way designated as the various patterns. The Journal’s current issue contains three articles Beyond its withdrawal as the British Army’s front line touching on different aspects of the Martini Henry. rifle, in 1890 models in .303 calibre, sometimes known In the first, Dave Thombs analyses the original trials as Marks 5 and 6, were approved, intended mainly for by the British Army which led to the eventual use in the colonies. The use of the smaller bullet and adoption of the rifle. In the second, Marcus Ray describes smokeless propellants were also implemented, which the copying of the rifle in less developed circumstances answered the complaints of excessive recoil which had where the lock’s coil spring could not readily be been common with .450 calibre rifles. Developments also reproduced. Finally, Ted Bradstreet describes one continued in its reserve status, and 1902 saw approval of commercial manufacturer’s modification of the mechanism a cordite load for the .450 cartridge using the same 480 and how it subsequently fared. grain bullet. Editor 2 Early military breechloading rifle precision by David Thombs Abstract Military Rifle Selection The results of four sets of national trials of early The selection of a rifle for military use is not a trivial breechloading military rifles are analysed from task. In many cases a specification is issued and bids are contemporary records. The precision obtained from all the invited from prospective arms manufacturers. The level competitors is expressed in terms of practical performance of detail in the specification can vary and sometimes the on a Figure 11 charging man target. Conclusions are attributes specified can be contradictory. The following drawn regarding absolute levels of precision and precision list of attributes is typical but not complete: relative to the preceding generation of small bore military muzzleloaders. • Maximum weight Introduction • Maximum length Thombs and Barrett1 writing in the HBSA Journal observed that the .43 Spanish Remington Rolling-Block • Maximum ammunition weight suffered from very poor precision and that changes in Infantry tactics after its adoption required modifications • Maximum recoil to be made to improve its performance. However, it is noted that contributors, in particular to Internet sites, • Rough usage e.g. resistance to sand and water often claim to obtain good “accuracy” from military rifles of the period. For example: ‘My .43 Spanish 1871 • Rate of fire Remington rolling block military musket is still one of the most accurate rifles in my collection. I just wish it • Accuracy wasn’t so damned expensive to shoot!!!’2. The purpose of this paper is to examine contemporary • Trajectory records, in particular acceptance trials results, to determine the level of precision obtained under • Penetration controlled conditions and compare the military rifles and ammunition available in the late 1860s and early • Fouling 1870s. This paper will not examine the data available for target rifles, although this would make a most In current procurement practice, the system is formalised interesting study. and each of the attributes is given a weighting. Trials take 3 place and performance is measured for each attribute. Spanish Remington rolling-block in .43 Spanish. (Will be Scores are then aggregated to produce the winner. This referred to as M1871 in the rest of the paper) approach is not foolproof and is sensitive to the weighting Memorial de Artilleria7 of 1888 records the results of given to each attribute. For example if accuracy is the Freyre and Brull modifications to the M1871 resulting weighted very highly, a delicate target rifle could be the in the M1871/89 Reformado rifle and cartridge. (Will be winner. referred to as M1871/89 in the rest of the paper). In the past the choice of rifle tended to be made Ordnance Memoranda No.15 8 reports the results of on a more informal view of performance against the United States trials of breechloading muskets and attributes. Temple and Skennerton3 note on p.6, the carbines from 1872-1873, resulting in the adoption of the following discussion regarding the setting up of the Springfield in .45 calibre. Like the earlier British trials, trials which resulted in the eventual adoption of the breech and barrels trials were conducted separately. Martini-Henry: Part 3 of this Memoranda gives a report on the “Proper calibre for small-arms”. (Will be referred to as Springfield “Several expressed the opinion, particularly in the rest of the paper).