Ie; it curves with the twist. Lighter and shorter than Brno 602, for example, yet well balanced with very . He used 1:25 spiral for the .577 bores, but also noticed that the increased weight of the bullet needed an increased charge as well to have a flat trajectory. ", The Whitworth's main problem for the Confed. Capt. A distinctive whistling noise was generated from the hexagonally shaped bullets the rifle fired. Very few (perhaps being at the lower end of between 60 and 120) of these costly target rifles were purchased and used by the Confederacy. Here yet another one of our hex designs. #2. The Confederacy imported a small number of the rifles from the Whitworth Rifle Company of Manchester, England, beginning in 1862. The earlier Whitworths were produced by the 'Whitworth Rifle Company, Manchester'. Five Confederate soldiers would later claim to making the shot. Why was it necessary sometimes to deploy entire artillery batteries to silence one single Whitworth sharpshooter? The Whitworth rifle was an English-made percussion rifle used in the latter half of the 19th century. Whitworth Rifle The Whitworth Rifle was an advanced breech loading artillery piece imported by the Confederacy from England. The residue could accumulate in the corner of the rifling causing the bullet to be hard to ram down. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth, WTS: Early war, original, all correct M1 Carbine *3,500*. Pedersoli model Mortimer "Whitworth" Target Rifle. The mechanicallyfitting bullet had some heritage in the British military art. When it was first built, the Whitworth was considerably more accurate than the British M1853 rifled musket. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Two Whitworths shipped to South Australia in 1867 were accompanied by a variety of ordnance: "The projectiles adapted to it consist of solid shot, common and shrapnell shell, rifled spheres and case shot. The queen was invited to fire a Whitworth at a target 400 yards distant by pulling a trigger cord attached to the bench mounted rifle (see image two), she struck the target just 1- inch above and to the right of the bull (see image four). One of the Whitworths in Lee's army broke its axle on the first clay, was repaired, and then the same axle broke again under the shock of firing. Their field-ammunition the Confederates consider to he far superior to that of the Yankees. The road was soon cleared ol stragglers when an enormous wagon park was discovered about 'i miles distant, where we were told the roads to Aquia Creek and United States Ford branched. The barrel was given a tighter 1:20 inch twist ratio than the Enfield to increase the Whitworth's long range accuracy. Although these weapons did see limited service on the I'eninsul.i, they were soon installed in the fixed defenses of Washington, never to be fired in anger. . The result was exceptional range, as much as six miles. The Whitworth rifles have several markings. Three years later the British National Rifle Association held its inaugural shoot on Londons Wimbledon common, with Queen Victoria as their guest. [1] Capt. In one famed incident during the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Union General John Sedgewick was shot and killed by a Whitworth Sharpshooter, having just remarked that "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance". We know about quite a few hexagonal molds, some of them made from a piece cut from the barrel. Whitworth Rifle fitted with an early scope (source). Astonishingly during British Army trials in 1857, the Whitworth was able to strike a target out to 2000 yards, over 500 yards further than the Enfield 1853 was capable of. After considerable difficulty, we succeeded in getting the range, which was found to be 2,700 yards with Hall's three guns, and soon silenced it It did not reopen from that point,". Whitworth was a well-known successful engineer, but had never designed a rifle before, so he was not overwhelmed by preconceptions. Other than this, the Whitworth was pretty much a conventional rifled musket, with a very similar stock, and percussion lock mechanism to the Pattern 1853 Enfield. (Most of these rifled guns were of .451 caliber). Southern forces received the rest of (he Whitworths sent to America, and they did use these weapons. The belted bullet of the Brunswick rifle acted the same way, but the Whitworth theory was far superior. The hexagonal rifling needs a mechanicallyfitting bullet and that is exactly what Whitworth designed. By 1864 the Richmond Arsenal was producing stronger but lighter carriages for Confederate Whitworths. It took place on May 9, 1864, at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. The Whitwortharmed snipers, operating in small teams or pairs often created heavy losses on distant artillery troops, officers, or regular enemy soldiers. Whitworth was a ell know, successful engineer, but had never designed a rifle before, so he was not overwhelmed by preconceptions. . The side mounted scope allowed the use of the standard iron sights in times of need, when long range accuracy was less important when compared to the possibility of fast aiming. The long bullet had an excellent sectional density and BC compared to other contemporary designs. There were two types of sights . 1998 2010 Davide Pedersoli & C. All right reserved -, It is without question that the most feared rifle of the American Civil War was the British, The production of the new rifle started in 1857 within England with a revolutionary barrel, Although the original bullet was hexagonal, the C.S. The barrel was made of high quality cast steel and it was compressed in a fluid state. The Whitworths bullet by comparison made two complete turns before it left the rifles muzzle this imparted substantially more spin on the round giving it a higher velocity and more stable trajectory as it travelled down range. In 1862 Whitworth's company was reorganized as the Manchester Ordnance & Rifle Company. http://www.flickr.com/photos/36224933@N07/3346759499/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitworth_rifle. Accounts vary as to the distance from which the shot was taken, with the range being put anywhere from 500 to 1000 yards. As a general field piece, the efficiency was impaired by its weight and the very cumbrous English carriage on which it was mounted." This was especially the case with breech-loading guns. Any self-respecting Alaskan or African rifle made back then had to have a folding leaf rear sight (100, 200 and 300 yards, you betcha!). The lock is marked Whitworth in front of the hammer with the Whitworth trademark . Maybe a few tens, maybe a few hundred, Project New Barrel for an Old Waadtlander post from a customer, Hole in hole accuracy of the new Pedersoli 1854 Lorenz rifle, First shots with the Pedersoli 1854 Lorenz rifle, 1000 yard shooting with the Pedersoli 1874 Sharps rifle. Physically the Whitworth looks little different to the British Army's standard rifle of the day, the Enfield 1853 Pattern, however internally it was radically different. The downside, of course, for wide use, was their cost. The intended design of bullet was hexagonal in shape, matching the bore of the barrel. These guns were essentially too accurate at too long a range to be wholly effective, given the target acquisition and spotting methods of the period. Our Price: sold. Express sights. It's thought that only about 19 or 20 genuine Confederate used Whitworths are known to exist today. The Whitworth breech loading 12-pdr., a British-made gun, was especially designed for long-range use. Army armed with similar small bore rifles like the Kerr. Some writers and commentators suggest that around 250 whitworths of all types were imported; others say there were . Only the South actually used this gun during the war however. Answer (1 of 3): Since I own a reproduction Whitworth I can give you a little insight on shooting them. (And I did not know about the Queen firing one. It is without question that the most feared rifle of the American Civil War was the British made Whitworth rifle imported by the Confederacy and delivered by fearless blockade runners thru the blockade of the U.S. Navy. It was on the order of 2 to 3 times more accurate at. Photographs 2 & 4 were both taken by renowned photographer Roger Fenton. The Whitworth rifle was a British-made rifled musket heavily based on the Pattern 1853 Enfield. In Whitworth's 1873 book, 'Guns and Steel', he writes: "IN the year 1854, when Lord Hardinge (the then Commander-in-Chief) was endeavouring to obtain the best possible rifle with which to arm the British troops, he requested me to aid him by investigating the mechanical principles applicable in the construction of an efficient weapon. In May, 1863, one of its officials reported that: "The Whitworth shells, fabricated at Richmond, are a decided success; they did admirable execution." Even with this, the Confederate users found the range and accuracy to be astonishing. The breech has sometimes been blown off or disabled through carelessness in loading. A single 70-pdr. The most famous act of sniping during the Civil War also involved a Whitworth rifle. Whitworths, complete with carriages, ammunition, and machinery for making more projectiles was donated to the U.S. government in 1861 by a group of American expatriates. But one thing is certain. The ammunition being very expensive, we soon desisted. The Whitworth, as mentioned earlier, was heavily based on the Pattern 1853 Enfield, although several elements were changed. This bullet did not need to deform, meaning it could be made of a harder lead, which means that a greater muzzle velocity could be maintained as the bullet would remain virtually uniform in shape after it was fired, remaining as aerodynamic as possible. American walnut halfstock with checkered wrist and forearm, satin oil finish. JavaScript is disabled. Gun Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Could a Whitworth with a 458 Win Mag barrel be converted to 458 Lott? .005" deep rifling 1-21" twist with 5 lands and grooves. Whitworth's rifle made out . Oct 15, 2007. In addition, we offer a personalized advisory and booking service for hunters who want to explore African hunting, whether that be a father-son first time plains game hunt, a full-blown big five safari, with or without some bird hunting . Although the original bullet was hexagonal, the C.S. This allowed for a very accurate and consistent shots at long distan. OK, how does an Interarms /Whitworth rifle compare to a CZ 550 rifle. Contents 1 Design Details 2 Ammunition 3 Usage 4 Resources Design Details The standard load of the rifle was between 70-85 grains fine British powder that propelled the 530 grain bullet. Good work! Whitworth Rifle Zouave US Model 1863 Breech Loading 1859 & 1863 Sharps 1874 & 1877 Sharps Black Widow Side by side cartridge shotguns High Wall Kodiak Mark IV Model 1886 Lever Action Model 86/71 Lever Action Army preferred to use standard paperwrapped cylindrical bullets. No one knows. These Whitworth Sharpshooter units proved very effective, famously being responsible forGeneral John Sedgwicks death, who was shot just below the eye at an estimated range of 800 yards as he urged his men to advance from their cover. One fixed (100 yds) and two flip up leaf (200 & 300 yds) rear sights. . They were superseded by the Pattern 1863 Enfield Whitworth Rifle, of which about 8000 were made, those have a shorter barrel of steel & take a sword (Yataghan style) bayonet. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); You are using an out of date browser. Wagons were seen hurrying off in every direction from the park, while we plied them with solid bolts as long as we thought it would pay.
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