Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
The gun was the British army's first rifled breechloading field gun, superseding the SBML 9 pounder 13 cwt of 1801. The gun as originally adopted had a barrel 84 inches long, with a bore of 73.375 inches.
The Armstrong Whitworth 12-inch naval gun of 40 calibres length was designed by and manufactured mainly by Armstrong's ordnance branch, Elswick Ordnance Company. It was intended for the Royal Navy's Royal Sovereign-class battleships, but budgetary constraints delayed their introduction. The first units were instead supplied to Japan.
It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, exported to allied countries, and used for land service. [4] In British service "12-pounder" was the rounded value of the projectile weight, and "12 cwt (hundredweight)" was the weight of the barrel and breech, to differentiate it from other "12-pounder" guns.
Download as PDF; Printable version; In other projects ... Whitworth rifled breech loader ... Reffye 75 mm cannon
In this test, Armstrong advised against using a powder charge higher than 9 pounds with his breechloader. Meanwhile the other guns that were tested, the Armstrong muzzle loader, and the Whitworth muzzle loader, used 14 and 12 pounds of
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.
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.