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The 12-pdr rifle was designed in the early 1850s by British manufacturer Joseph Whitworth, who had recently been contracted to improve the Pattern 1853 Enfield.During his experiments with the Enfield, Whitworth was inspired to begin experimenting with a hexagonally-rifled barrel; Whitworth would later apply these principles to his field guns.
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The 3-pdr rifle was designed by British manufacturer Joseph Whitworth in the early 1850s. Along with Whitworth's 12-pdr rifle, the artillery piece was considered for adoption by the British government's Board of Ordnance, eventually losing out to the Armstrong gun. [1]
The above diagram shows the typical gun crew of a Civil War cannon. Each cannoneer was numbered and played an important role in the firing sequence when the order "Commence fire" was given: [43] Gunner: Gave the order "Load" to load the cannon and sighted it at the target. Number One: Sponged the barrel clean and rammed the round to the breech.
Whitworth was born in John Street, Stockport, Cheshire, where the Stockport Courthouse is today.The site is marked by a blue plaque on the back wall of the courthouse. He was the son of Charles Whitworth, a teacher and Congregational minister, and at an early age developed an interest in machinery.
The gun was initially adopted by both the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, and was in full service by 1885.It marked a return to breech-loading guns, after the British Army had reverted to muzzle-loaders in the late 1860s following the failure of the Armstrong screw breech guns.
The Whitworth rifle was an English-made percussion rifle used in the latter half of the 19th century. A single-shot muzzleloader with excellent long-range accuracy for its era, especially when used with a telescopic sight , the Whitworth rifle was widely regarded as the world's first sniper rifle .
Ignition was through a copper lined vent at the breech end of the gun. A copper friction tube would be inserted and a lanyard attached. When the lanyard was pulled the tube would ignite, firing the gun. [1] A number of different fuzes could be used enabling shells to either burst at a pre-determined time (and range), or on impact.