In this special episode, Jonathan is joined by Neil Aspinshaw, noted author of The Martini-Henry: For Queen and Empire, to explore the fascinating variants of the experimental .402″ calibre Martini-Henry.
Why did the British Army shrink the calibre from .450″ to .402″?
What problems were they trying to solve after the Zulu, Afghan, and Sudan campaigns?
And how close did this “improved” Martini come to replacing the service rifle of its age?
This is Part One of a two-part story, join us again next week for the conclusion!
0:00 Intro
0:21 Neil & For Queen and Empire
1:35 What is .402″ Calibre and Why?
4:58 Issues with .450″ Calibre
10:53 Martini-Henry 1881 Pattern .402″
14:15 Sights inc. New Hanging Sight
16:52 Hanging Sight (The Right Way Up…)
21:29 Ad-hoc Button Safety
27:12 Martini-Henry 1883 Pattern .402″
29:30 Sandy Sudan Sensationalisation
32:40 Rifling
34:09 Martini-Henry 1886 Pattern .402″
35:10 The Bayonet Scandal of ’84
37:03 The ‘Perfected’ Enfield Martini
41:45 Safety
44:23 Enfield Quick Loader
49:09 Conclusions
53:53 End of Part 1
Credit to : Royal Armouries
