The Thorneycroft carbine was one of the earliest
bullpup rifles, developed by an English gunsmith in 1901 as patent No. 14,622 of July 18, 1901. This
bolt-action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
rifle featured a bullpup action in which the retracted bolt slid back through the stock nearly to the shooter's shoulder, maximising the space available in the body of the firearm. The rifle was chambered in the contemporary
.303 British
The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
(7.7 mm) service cartridge, and held five rounds in an internal magazine.
The Thorneycroft was shorter and 10% lighter than the standard
Lee–Enfield rifle
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
used by the British military at the time. However, when tested at
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
the firearm exhibited excessive recoil and poor ergonomics, and was not adopted for military service.
See also
*
List of bullpup firearms
The following is a list of firearms designed in a bullpup (i.e., action behind firecontrol/trigger group) configuration.
References
{{Bullpup Firearms, Rifles=Pindad SS2 Bullpup
Bullpup firearms
A bullpup firearm is one with its fir ...
Sources
*
* ''The Lee-Enfield Story''. Ian Skennerton. page 89.
External links
- MilitaryImages.Net - Thorneycroft carbine- MilitaryImages.Net - Thorneycroft carbine- Youtube video of an example at the Royal Armouries, Leeds
Bolt-action rifles of the United Kingdom
Bullpup rifles
Trial and research firearms of the United Kingdom
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