THE MARTINI HENRY.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Thanks to kahnjar1 and Pukka Bundook for spot on detail regarding the Martini Henry. The new ammunition and longer ejection handle did a lot to correct the initial fault and looking at the rate of fire in the hands of a trained infantryman the net effect was close to magazine fed weapons with more than 20 rounds a minute being recorded.

One of the big problems; using black powder ammo was a great billowing smoke cloud causing the target to be obscured as seen in the many portrayals of the MH in artworks of the time.

True about the smoke but then all black powder weapons suffered the same problem. The Martini of course was later made in .303 which were smokless, so the target was not obscured.
Stu

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Here's that crinkly case ammo that was a problem when it fell apart in the breach..