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Martini-Henry Rifle

Small Arms And Sidearms

The Martini-Henry is a breech-loading, single-shot service rifle that combined a falling-block action designed by Friedrich von Martini with polygonal rifling by the Scottish gunmaker Alexander Henry. Adopted by the British Army in 1871, it fired the .577/450 Martini-Henry cartridge, could manage around twelve rounds a minute in trained hands, and remained standard issue through the end of the First World War in 1918. It saw extensive service across British colonial campaigns, most famously the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the defense of Rorke's Drift, and armies including the Ottoman Empire, Romania, Egypt, and the Boer republics also carried it into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Facts
Classification
Caliber
.303 British 1
Service Status
Retired 1
Weapon Class
Breech-loading single-shot rifle 1
Introduced Year
1871 1
Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category)
Rifle 1
FAQs

What replaced the Martini-Henry in British service?

The .303 bolt-action magazine Lee-Metford, which fired considerably faster.

The British decided to replace the Martini-Henry with the Lee-Metford, a bolt-action magazine rifle in .303 caliber that gave a considerably higher maximum rate of fire. The Martini-Henry was a single-shot rifle, so the magazine-fed Lee-Metford offered a clear gain in firepower.
Connections

Operated By

British Army, Armed Forces and Units
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia

Used In

Anglo-Zulu War, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
Balkan Wars, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
First Boer War, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
First Italo-Ethiopian War, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
Portuguese Conquest of the Gaza Empire, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
Second Anglo-Afghan War, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
Second Boer War, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
War of the Pacific, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
World War I, Wars
Source Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
Sources
1. Martini-Henry, Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    The Martini-Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army.
  • Service history section
    It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider-Enfield.
  • Infobox: service
    1871-1918
  • Infobox: cartridge
    .577/450 Boxer-Henry .577/450 Martini-Henry .303 British 11.43×55R (Ottoman) 11.43×59R (Romanian) 7.65×53 (Ottoman)
  • Used In: Second Anglo-Afghan War, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: War of the Pacific, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: Anglo-Zulu War, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: First Italo-Ethiopian War, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: First Boer War, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: Portuguese Conquest of the Gaza Empire, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: Second Boer War, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: Balkan Wars, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Used In: World War I, Infobox: wars
    British colonial wars Perak War Second Anglo-Afghan War Argentine Civil Wars Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) Russo-Turkish War War of the Pacific Anglo-Zulu War First Italo-Ethiopian War North-West Rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) First Boer War Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire Second Boer War Balkan Wars World War I Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) The Troubles Nepalese Civil War War in Afghanistan (1978-present) (limited)
  • Operated By: British Army, Wikipedia article text
    The Martini-Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army.
View the Source
Wikidata: Martini-Henry Rifle
Wikidata Q1905626, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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