mrw311 - Anthology

Rifles and Handguns

Many of the technologies utilized by the Gatling and machine guns of the era were also used to improve British small arms. The invention of the self-contained cartridge allowed for the creation of breech loading weapons, thereby reducing the time and exposure necessary to reload a single-shot rifle as the weapon could now be loaded from the rear (breech) rather than the front (muzzle). This meant that a soldier no longer had to be standing to reload his weapon; a breech-loader could be operated while crouching or prone, thus allowing the operator to make better utilization of cover. Additionally, rifled barrels and smokeless powder allowed a rifleman to not only shoot more accurately but also further as more consistent power could be contained in a cartridge and the long barrels provided spin to keep bullets flying straight. Revolvers were no longer restricted by how quickly the cylinders could be repacked with powder and shot - the Webley Mk. I introduced a top-break mechanism whereby the operator simply needed to throw a catch that would open a hinge on the revolver and eject the spent casings and reload fresh cartridges with a speed-loader or by hand. After encountering the German Mauser and American Winchester in the hands of the Boers, the British army began experimenting with magazine-fed, bolt-action rifles. The Lee-Metford, Britain's first attempt at a magazine-fed rifle, was an awkward albeit necessary evolution of the British army's battle rifle. Unable to shake loose the comfortable accoutrements of the weapons that served them faithfully through the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lee-Metford had a few deficiencies that detracted significantly from its numerous merits and many in the British military wanted to cease development of magazine-fed rifles despite the growing evidence that other imperial powers were creating more effective variations of the same weapon. Despite the resistance from higher up, development continued and the British eventually sorted out the kinks of the Lee-Metford to create the Lee Enfield series of rifles that would go on to serve the British Army from 1895 to 1957. 

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