Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Model 1873 was the fifth variation of the Allin trapdoor design, and was named for its hinged breechblock, which opened like a trapdoor. The infantry rifle model featured a 32 5 ⁄ 8 -inch (829 mm) barrel, while the cavalry carbine used a 22-inch (560 mm) barrel.
Springfield Model 1870 – .50-70 caliber trapdoor rifle. [8] Springfield Model 1870 Remington-Navy – .50-70 caliber rolling-block rifle. [9] Springfield Model 1871 – .50-70 caliber rolling-block rifle. [10] Springfield Model 1873 – .45-70 caliber trapdoor rifle. [11] Springfield Model 1875 – .45-70 caliber trapdoor officer's rifle. [12 ...
Springfield Model 1866, trapdoor breech closed. In 1872–1873 a military board, headed by Brigadier-General Alfred H. Terry, conducted an examination and trial of 99 rifles from several domestic and foreign manufacturers, including those from Springfield, Sharps, Peabody, Whitney, Spencer, Remington, and Winchester pursuant to the selection of a breech-loading system for rifles and carbines ...
Rather than re-tool their production equipment to make an item that was now considered obsolete, Springfield Armory chose instead to modify the Model 1873 to use a new bayonet system. [ 1 ] In the days of smooth bore muskets , bayonets had played a considerable role on the battlefield, often accounting for many of battlefield casualties.
This model is unique in the trapdoor series by being marked with the actual year of manufacture (1868, 1869, or 1870) on the breech-block. The 1868 marking is extremely rare with probably no more than 150 so marked; about 16,000 were marked 1869, with the remaining 36,000 being stamped 1870.
In 1877, many changes were made to both the Model 1873 rifle and the Model 1873 carbine (the carbine was just a shorter version of the rifle). Historically, the Model 1877 rifle has just been considered to be a variant of the Model 1873, while the Model 1877 carbine has been considered to be a separate model.
The result of the quest for a more accurate, flatter shooting .45 caliber cartridge and firearm was the Springfield trapdoor rifle. Like the .50-70, the .45-70 used a copper center-fire case design. A reduced power loading was also adopted for use in the Trapdoor carbine. This had a 55-grain (3.6 g) powder charge.
Like many other armed forces, the U.S. Army searched for a new rifle in the early 1890s to replace their old Springfield Model 1873 "trapdoor" single-shot rifles. A competition was held in 1892, comparing rifle designs from Lee , Krag–Jørgensen , Mannlicher , Mauser , Schmidt–Rubin , and about 40 other military and civilian designs.