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RIFLES

The rifle used by the 80th Regiment of Foot is the Martini-Henry.

This rifle is the weapon of Empire. It protected and served the British Empire for over thirty years. It utilizes a falling block, self cocking, lever operated single action combined with a rifled barrel. The action was designed by Freidrich Von Martini, whilst the rifling system was designed by Alexander Henry, hence the name Martini-Henry.

The Martini-Henry was adopted for use by the British Army in June 1871. During its active service several variations were developed. Versions were designed for several different arms of the army. This page will only show the infantry and cavalry versions which were used by the 80th  Regiment.

Martini-Henry Infantry Rifle Mark I (1871-76)

  • Large cocking indicator.

  • Roman numeral I stamped on the right side of the receiver and near the manufacturers roundel on the buttstock.

  • Crown with V.R. (Victoria Regina) and an arrow indicating it was military property on the right side of the lever.

  • Checkered iron buttplate.

  • Safety. (This is rarely seen).

  • The top of the breech block was polished.

  • Three patterns of the Mark I were made with a bronze breechblock axis pin on the earlier variations, which became a steel pin on  variation 3.

The Mark I was manufactured by RSAF Enfield, Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) and The London Small Arms (LSA) companies.

 

Martini-Henry Infantry Rifle Mark II (1877-81)

  • Revised trigger assembly.

  • Safety omitted.

  • Roman Numeral II on the right side of the receiver and near the manufacturer's roundel on the buttstock.

  • Smooth iron buttplate.

  • Revised rear plates.

  • The top of the breechblock was blued.

  • New cleaning rod which was approved in 1876.

The Mark II was manufactured by RSAF Enfield, BSA, LSA and the NAA (National Arms and Ammunition Co) companies.

 

Martini-Henry Infantry Rifle Mark III (1881-88)

  • Small cocking indicator.

  • Fore-end attached by a hook arrangement hooking into the front of the receiver. rather than a pin going through the wood.

  • Roman Numeral III with the Arabic numeral 1 below it on the right side of the receiver, and also near the manufacturer's roundel on the stock.

  • New wider breechblock

  • Firing pin hole diameter increased.

  • Stronger wider firing pin.

  • An improved rear sight.

The Mark III was manufactured by RSAF Enfield, BSA, LSA, NAA and HRB (henry Rifled Barrel Company).

 

Martini-Henry Infantry Rifle Mark IV (1888-89)

  • Operating lever lengthened by three inches.

  • Roman Numeral IV with Arabic numeral 1 on the right side of the receiver, and also near the manufacturer's roundel on the buttstock.

  • New humped receiver design.

  • New buttstock design.

  • New cleaning rod design.

  • New buttplate design attached with brass screws.

  • New extracter design.

The Mark IV was maunfactured by RSAF Enfield.

 

Martini-Henry Carbine Mark I - Cavalry Carbine (1877-82)

  • receiver body has rounded lower front corners for ease of sliding into a saddle bucket.

  • Small cocking indicator to reduce snagging.

  • Forearm secured by the hook arrangement found in the Mark III and IV.

  • Front sight has thinner barleycorn with wings to protect it from saddle wear.

  • Two pins secure the barrel to the forearm.

  • A leather sight cover (devised in 1879) to protect the sight from snagging.

  • Lower sling swivel removed.

  • No bayonet lug.

  • The Mark I Cavalry Carbine was manufactured by RSAF Enfield.

 

BAYONETS

There were a wide variety of bayonets used with the Martini-Henry. Many were converted from previously issued bayonets in the interests of saving money.

1853 Pattern Socket Bayonet

This was sometimes referred to as the 'Common Socket Bayonet' as nearly every infantryman used it. It was originally issued for use with the pattern 1853 Muzzle-loading Rifle. It was slightly curved away from the muzzle when attached to the rifle to allow the soldier to load the rifle without himself on the point of the bayonet. The cross-section shape was wider on top. As vast quantities of these were available, a bushing was braised into them to allow them to be used with the new Martini-Henry. There were several different scabbards used with this bayonet.

Overall Length - 20.7 inches (52.5cm) Blade Length - 17 inches (43.2cm)

1876 Pattern Socket Bayonet

This is an improved and redesigned pattern 1853. The length was increased by nearly five inches, and the cross section was made equi-angular. also the outward curve was omitted since this was only to be used with breech-loading arms. Two Scabbards were used. the MArk I which had two rivets on  the front face of the leather body and the Mark II which had three rivets. These rivets were attached to a long leaf spring which held the bayonet secure when it was in the scabbard. This bayonet was referred to as 'The Long Common Socket Bayonet'.

Overall Length - 25 inches (63.5cm) Blade Length - 21.75 inches (55.3cm)

1860 Pattern Sword Bayonet

This is another example of an existing bayonet being modified for use with the Martini-Henry. Their muzzle rings were bushed to fit the Martini-Henry barrel, and the tops of the pommels were filed down to allow the pattern 60 to slide onto the top barrel band tab. It features a curved blade known as a 'Yataghan' type blade.

Overall length - 28.1 inches (71.4cm) Blade length - 22.7 inches (57.7cm)

1879 Pattern Artillery Bayonet

This was also a conversion bayonet made from the pattern 1859 Cutlass bayonet. They were made for use with the newly adopted Martini-Henry Carbine. They feature a 9.25 inch 41 tooth integrated saw on the top of the blade. The primary use for this saw was for falling small trees to be used in  constructing abaitis. new production Pattern 1879s have the button for the latch on  the right side of the pommel, and the catch leaf spring on the left. Converted 1879s have these parts on the opposite sides.

Converted - Overall Length - 31.2 inches (79.3cm) Blade length - 25.8 inches (65.5cm)

New Production - Overall Length - 29.8 inches (75.7cm) Blade Length - 24.3 inches (61.7cm)

Firearms Regulations

All Martini-Henry rifles are genuine rifles - replicas are not available. Due to the age of these weapons it is possible to purchase one without a firearms or shotgun licence.

However, please note that if you have one of these rifles it is necessary that you possess the correct licence (either a firearms certificate for a rifled barrel or a shotgun licence for a smooth barrel) if you wish to fire it. Also it may be necessary for you to possess a black powder licence if you wish to possess the blank ammunition used in these rifles. Please check with members of the group for full information regarding these regulations.

Please note ownership of the correct certificates will be inspected before we allow you to fire your Martini-Henry. Also your rifle will be checked by our armourer to ensure that it is safe to be fired.

 

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