Among the wide variety of small arms models, a special place is occupied by the American army rifle Peabody Martini. It was produced from 1869 to 1871 specifically for the needs of the US Army and some European countries. In addition, the Peabody Martini rifle was in great demand among private individuals. With this model of small arms, hunters replaced a large-caliber fitting. The description, device and technical characteristics of the Peabody Martini rifle (model 1869) are presented in the article.
History
In the process of operating army rifles, difficulties with their loading through the barrel did not arise only among the infantry. For this, an arrow was enough to put the weapon in an upright position, put a certain amount of gunpowder into the barrel, drive the wad, bullet. Then chew again so that the ammunition does not roll out of the barrel back. Riders, as well as infantrymen forced to charge their rifles in a prone position, had problems. Weapons designer Christian Sharps managed to rectify the situation, who in 1851 developed a vertical wedge sliding in grooves for a rifle. After opening, the breech of the weapon was supplied with a paper cartridge, and was locked with a shutter, which was raised using a special lever. Their connection was provided by the drive. These systems are characterized by high reliability and accuracy.
In 1862, American arms designer Henry Peabody patented his lever and trigger for a rifle.
System device
A movable shutter was mounted higher above the centerline of the barrel channel. In order to lower the front of the shutter, the arrow needed to move the bracket down and forward. At the same time, the breech section was opened to extract the shot sleeve from the barrel. After these actions, a new ammunition was inserted into the breech, and the weapon was again ready for firing.
Due to the conveniently located fuse lever and the complete absence of other protruding parts on the receiver, this system has been approved in the United States and Europe.
Swiss revisions
The Henry Peabody rifle system was improved by Swiss engineer Frederic von Martini. In his opinion, a serious drawback of the rifle was the presence of an external trigger, which cocked separately. The Swiss engineer included it in a single mechanism, in which control was still carried out using the lever located behind the trigger guard. The trigger as a spring-loaded striker was placed inside the shutter. The British military command liked the modified system, and in 1871 the Peabody Martini rifle was adopted.
Description
The Peabody Martini rifle is a single-shot small arms army with a round barrel screwed into the receiver. It was attached to the forearm with the help of two sliding barrel rings. In order to prevent their displacement, the rifle was equipped with transverse steel pins with a circular cross section. Trihedral bayonets with dales were mounted on the muzzle of the Peabody Martini rifle arr. 1869 (Photo of bayonets is presented below). Similar products were used in the Russian imperial army.
In the manufacture of the box, American walnut was used as the material. The forend was equipped through a longitudinal groove with a steel ramrod. To connect the receiver with the butt, a long and very strong clamping screw was used. Its head was covered with a cast steel butt plate with diamond-shaped incisions. The butt plate was mounted on the butt with two screws. Wanting to increase the sensitivity of the index finger, gunsmiths applied special notches to the triggers. Swivels with a width of 45 mm were screwed into the butt of a rifle. The front steel attachment ring became the place for the front swivel, and the front part on the trigger guard for an additional one.
In order to prevent the thumb from sliding on the receiver, a special oval-shaped medallion was developed for it. A photo of the Peabody Martini rifle is presented in the article.
Gate
We continue to study weapons. The Peabody Martini rifle (model 1869) was equipped with a swing bolt. It opened and closed with the help of the lower lever. The shutter cocked the drummer. The ejector was responsible for the extraction of the shot cartridges from the rifle. The device was not provided rifle free play. The weapon was distinguished by a soft descent.
How was the rifle charged?
In order to perform charging, the shooter had to:
- Open the breech of the rifle. This was carried out by means of a lever connected by a drive with a shutter.
- Put the ammunition in the barrel.
- Close the shutter while holding the trigger.
- Perform an instant platoon. To do this, it was only necessary to distort the cocking lever.
After the shot was fired, the lever was lowered, and the shot sleeve was extracted.
Sights
For rifles, step-frame sights of the open type and front sight with a triangular section were developed. Shooting at short distances was carried out using wide saddle-shaped pillars. The infantryman could carry out targeted shooting at long distances using a mobile clamp containing a small slot of a triangular section.
Ammunition
For rifles, various types of cartridges were used in brass seamless-drawn cartridges of E. Boxer's design. For rifles intended ammunition using smoke powder. The liners were bottled. The length of the cartridge did not exceed 79.25 mm. The powder charge weighed 5.18 g. Peabody-Martini rifles were fired with shellless round-headed bullets. Since their diameter was less than the diameter of the barrel channel, in order to improve their obturation, the bullets were wrapped in oiled white paper.
In order to reduce friction and protect barrel rifling from lead, prosalniks were used when wrapping. Thus, during the shot, an increase in the volume of the bullet and indentation of paper in the barrel rifling were observed. The best ammunition for these rifles was considered Peabody-Martini-45 cartridges produced at that time in the USA. Compared to European ones, their range and accuracy were much higher.
TTX rifle Peabody Martini
- Type of weapon - rifle.
- Country of origin - USA.
- The rifle was adopted in 1871.
- Caliber - 11.43 mm.
- Total length - 125 cm.
- Barrel length - 84 cm.
- Ramrod length - 806 mm.
- Without a bayonet, the rifle weighs 3800 grams.
- The number of barrel rifling - 7.
- Rate of fire - 10 rounds per minute.
- The rifle was used for effective shooting at distances up to 1183 meters.
Application
These small arms were used during the Bosnian-Herzegovinian uprising, in the Balkan war, in two Greco-Turkish wars, in Russian-Turkish and World War I. Rifles for a long time were in service with England, the United States and Romania. Also used in 1870, Peabody Martini Turkey rifles.
New model for the Ottoman Empire
Since there was a shortage of ammunition for the Peabody Martini in the Turkish army, in 1908 it was remade for firing under Mauser ammunition (7.65 mm caliber). So there was a new model of small breech-loading weapons - the Martini-Mauser model of 1908. Shells of new ammunition began with smokeless powder, which entailed an increase in their power. After a hundred or two shots were fired, the increased power was already perceived as a drawback: the receiver could not withstand the load and quickly deteriorated.
Modifications
In the British Empire, arms designers based on the Peabody locking mechanism and the trigger, improved by the Swiss engineer Martini, created new modifications of rifles equipped with Henry trunks with polygonal rifling. The weapon was called Martini-Henry Mark (Mk). The rifles were presented in four series:
- Mki. The weapon was equipped with a more advanced trigger and a new ramrod.
- Mk II. In this series, another design was developed for the pillar.
- Mk III. The rifles were equipped with improved sights and pointers for cocking hammers.
- Mk IV. These models were equipped with extended reload levers, new butts and ramrods. In addition, the Mk IV is characterized by a modified shape of the receiver.
In all four series, weapon designers managed to increase the rate of fire of rifles to forty rounds per minute. The new modification was easy to handle, which fell in love with the English infantry.
The total number of manufactured Martini-Henry Mk rifles is about a million units.
Cavalry carbines were created on the basis of Peabody Martini. Unlike standard rifles, the weight and length of carbines were less. In this regard, during the shooting, they noted increased returns. Because of this, carbines were found unsuitable for use with basic rifle ammunition. When firing from carbines, cartridges were used, which were equipped with bullets with a lower weight and size.
To distinguish carbine ammunition from rifle ammunition, light bullets were wrapped in red paper.
Japanese model
The system, working on the principle of a swinging longitudinally-sliding shutter, attracted many followers with its simplicity and reliability.
In 1905, Japan developed its own breech-loading rifle using a sliding rotary bolt. In the history of small arms, this model is known as Arisaka.
Since it is very important for infantrymen to have a full knife on hand during a battle or when setting up a camp, Japanese developers equipped the muzzle of the rifle with needle bayonets. In the manufacture of this cold steel used high-quality steel. Due to its high characteristics, these American knives also used these knives. Like Peabody Martini rifles, Arisaka rifles have served humanity in many wars.
