The Swinburn–Henry rifle was a

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...

lever-actuated

single-shot In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have ...

rifle that was used by British Commonwealth forces in the late 1870s as substitute for the

Martini–Henry The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Mar ...

, which was at the time in short supply.

Design

The Swinburn–Henry had the same

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

as the Martini–Henry with Henry pattern 7-groove polygonal with ribbed angles & right hand twist

rifling Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...

. The Swinburn–Henry also bore a striking resemblance to the Martini–Henry, but internally the two were quite distinct. Both rifles were breech-loading

falling block A falling-block action (also known as a sliding-block or dropping-block action) is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon and is actuated by a lever. Desc ...

single shot rifles, with a cocking under lever opening the breech of the weapon to load a round into the chamber, but the Swinburn–Henry employed a V spring and hammer to strike the firing pin and the Swinburn–Henry’s butt was attached to the receiver by means of an upper and a lower tang instead of a sturdy axial bolt. The most noticeable difference between the Swinburn–Henry and the Martini–Henry was the former had a thumb operated side lever which allowed the hammer to be cocked without operating the under lever, unlike the Martini–Henry. In practice this proved to be a major advantage for the Swinburn–Henry over Martini–Henry, as the former could be carried cocked in a saddle bag without risk of it discharging by itself. The greatest advantage of the Swinburn–Henry design was it fired the same .577/450 Martini–Henry cartridge as the Martini–Henry. The Swinburn design was distinct enough from the Martini design to circumvent the Martini patent that was at the time in force, but in practice the action proved to be more fragile and more prone to stoppages than the Martini action.

Rifle

The Swinburn–Henry rifle had a barrel of and weighed , with sights graduated out to . The rifle was typically issued to infantry, it was often supplied with commercially manufactured 1875 Pattern sword bayonets, although Pattern 1871

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...

bayonets were used with the rifles by naval volunteers.

Carbine

The Swinburn–Henry carbine had a barrel of and weighed , with sights graduated out to . The carbine was typically issued to mounted troops and police and some were supplied with a

Bowie knife A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. Since its fir ...

bayonet, although in service these bayonets proved to be ineffectual.

History

The Swinburn–Henry was designed by J. S. Swinburn of Swinburn & Son, Birmingham and patented in 1872, all production was carried out by Abingdon Works Co. Ltd., Birmingham. The Swinburn–Henry was used extensively by the volunteer forces of the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

. It is unknown exactly how many were purchased, but deliveries commenced in 1875 and by 1878 the colony had received 2,040 carbines and 1,150 rifles along with 190 Bowie knife carbine bayonets and an unknown quantity of sword bayonets. The carbines were issued to the mounted units and the rifles to the infantry, the Swinburn–Henry was also issued to the Natal Mounted Police and naval volunteers. The Swinburn–Henry was used by Natal’s forces during the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

, the carbine in particular saw broad service in the early years of the conflict. Both the rifle and the carbine were eventually replaced by the Martini–Henry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinburn-Henry Rifles of the United Kingdom Single-shot rifles Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom

Design

Rifle

Carbine

History

See also

References