A New military Rifle.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 199, 25 August 1886, Page 4

A New military Rifle.

i Tin: discovery of a new motor, a now principlo,or a now material has always the effect ' of directing tho attention of portions of invontivo capacity towards tho particular I subjoets to which thoso discoveries aro applicable, and thus bringing machines and appliances which havo lain dormant fur : centuries, awaiting improvement, toustuta approaching perfection in a very short timo. Tho ciTbct upon tho human ruco of 1 tho great parent inventions of print- ' ing, gunpowder, tho uao of steam, und ; at a later period of electricity, aro ■ incalculable, and it id impossible to say 1 what distant vißtae, at protont hidden in > gloom, may not bo opened and mado plain i by them in tho future. Taking tho first, 1 as an iiifetanco, tho art of printing, except- ' ing that metal types Huporsoaod wood blacks, made little progress from tho days - of Tyndul Gutonborg until tho ingonioua Hoo discovered the rotary method, which, with .subsequent improvements, has multi i plied tho productivoneas of the proia v hundredfold. Similarly tho composition of gunpowder, from tho date of its obscuro oastorn origin until tho present d.iy, remains practically unchanged, but: its value, especially for warlike nnd destructive purpose?, hus been enormously onhaneod by the greater piecieion und rungo <f tho guns whosa pro jcotiles it is employed to hurl against the enemy. Skirmishers aro nojljngcr sent out, as by Marmont in tho Peninsula, to mask tho movemonta of tho main body under a cloud of smoko, but with tho object ot practising at objects distant, it may bo a thousand yards, and tho " /one of tiro " coustatitly extending, keeps soldiers at a di.stanco from each other which would astonish both that general and hid matter. Although the principle of rilling, or imparting a lateral rotary motion to a bullet by means oi a twist in tho barrel of tiio piece, is fully two hundrod and fifty year.-: old, tho pro eese of hammeiing a spheric il bullet, down the mu-v.lo with a lauirod and a mallet was so awkward an,l dilatory that Brown Bead held hor own until tho introduction of tho Minio or cylindrical bullet in l.S.'il, which at onco created a demand for a liru'.ock adapted to itg construction, and tlio result was the Entield rille. Tho Luliut lits co Ioo?oly into tho b.uiol of this pioco that its own weight ia almost suflicicnt to carry it down to tho breech, its grip of tho grooves b ing afforded by means of a cup at tho hinder end, liiled with a woodon peg, and thU cup, blown asunder by tho explosion of tho jio.vdor, catches tho rilling, and affords tho spin roquired. Tho next groat innovation was tho conversion of tho Enliold into tho Snidor or brocohloading rill), and this in 1 its turn was superseded by the Martinillonry, with which tho force i-> ut present supplied. But admirable though this pioco U In many respects, improvomonU upon it, i and especially tho addition of v "magazine" i or tube containing a reserve of bullets, with a self-acting loader havo long occupied the consideration of oxport* in small arml. A maga/.iic rifle, Slid to bo tho bost weapon of its character in tho world, will bo ifsuod to tho nfivy in less than throe yoars, and a new rillo has been . devised for tho land forces, named by its in - vonlora tho Bnfiold-Martini, The con , etruction of this weapon liau recently boon i explained before tho Royal U-. S. Institution by Col. T. 11. Arbuthnot, K.A., in a lecture, followed by a discussion, in which Sir 1 llonry Halford, Culonol Hope, V.C., Captain Henry and otborfi took took part. The now rillo his the samo brooch action as tho Martini-Henry, Mr Childo'f, Iho Secrotary of Stato fur War at tho timo it was designed, giving express orders on this ■ point, much against tho judgmont of tho small arms department, who consider tho Martini breoch tho worst of any firearm, and ono complained of all ovor tho world. Tho calibre of the barrel isO'4o2 in.,tho smallest of any military riflo except i tho.Tarraan, adopted in Norway and Sweden, and tho twist 15 inches. Tho sighting ia peculiar, boing both fixed and movablo ; tho former, or point blank sight is used up to .'iO.'J yards, in view of tho very low trajectory of the pieco at that 1 rango. A bullot tired from tho rillo hold ■ horizontally sfeot from tho ground travels 550 yards, For practico between 300 and 400 yards, n small loaf sight at tho breech ' ond ot tho barrel, and for longer ranges up ' to 2,000 yards, a graduated elevating backj sight, with a wind gnugo attached, aro ' employed. The butt of tho piaco is made 1 narrower than at present so as to rost in tho ' shoulc'or, and tho stock ia more bent than ' that of tho Martini llonry. Tho groove in ' which tho barrel Hoi has boon cut away, 1 and it now rests on tho fore end, so that it ' can easily bo kept freo from rust on tho under side A wooden hand guard, suggested by Col. Morloy, who commanded tho 03rd regimental district, has boon added to 1 the rifle, so that tho soldier, aftor rapid fir- ! ing, can grasp it without burning his hand. A quick loader, designed with the object of rapid loading in dark or wot and cold weathor, will be sorvod out with the rille. This contrivance which ' is not iutendod to tako tho place of a magazine, but to present a cartridge in tho readiest position for a man to load will hang on tho side of the body of the action and hold six cartridge?. ThoEc aro actod upon a zig 1 zag spring which forces each one in succes i sion up an inclined plane, tho head of tho cartridge appearing through an aperture in the lid ready for the soldier to tako hold of whon ho wants to look. On the trial of these quick loaders it waa found that six rounds could bo fired in twenty-five seconds, as against ovor forty seconds whon loading from tho pouch. The ammunition is a solid drawn cartridgo case contains 85 grains of powdor, separated from tho bullet, which weighs 3SI grains, ; by a compound wad of cartridgo and booa j wax. This projectile possesses a muzzle velocity of 1570 feot" per second, higher ' than that of any other military rifle, ' and the romaining velocitiea at all ranges ' are also higher than those of any other 3 arm. The penetrativo power takes tho I" bullet througha j-inch iron plate ot a disJ tanca of 200 yards, and tho piece shoots 1 with groit accuracy. By its adoption a very great simplification in ammunition 1 will be effected, ap, instead of tho four different pattorns of cartridges now in uso, ■ the solid drawn and the ribbon cartridge cases for riflos, the carbine cart ridgo and the machine gun cartridgo, 1 a uniform pattern will servo all requirements. The bayonet, unliko tho long triangular Martini bayonet, will bo a fc 9hort sword with a sharp cutting odgo, ' affixed not to tha side cf the muzzle as hitherto, but underneath. The now pieco, * with aword bayonet, ia I-Sozs heavier than the I Springfield (U.S.), and 4ozs hcavior than ' tho Martini-Henri. It ia 5 feet Hi inches in length, or 2 inches ehortor than tho . longest in use, the Russian Bordan ; the ! calibre, 0402, is tho lowost, with one unimportant exception, of any military rifle, while its muzzle velocity ia tho highest.