Making the Enfield Pattern 1853 Rifle-Musket (Hardcover)

Peter G. Smithurst

ISBN 10: 1036106853 / ISBN 13: 9781036106850

Editore: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, 2025

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Hardcover. A variety of factors surround military firearms they needed to be produced in large numbers to a standardised pattern at an affordable price. This book examines the transition from traditional hand-craft methods to the beginnings of mechanised manufacture using as examples the French Model 1777 and the Russian Model 1808 infantry muskets. A number of factors led to this choice. The French Model 1777 musket, designed by Honore Blanc working under General Gribeauval, contained many novel features which became blueprints for the arms of numerous countries and was copied in its entirety by Russia. Another factor is that they are the only firearms whose manufacture is covered in contemporary accounts. A third factor is that they provide contrasts in their methods of manufacture; the French 1777 musket was largely produced by hand-craft methods, whereas in Russia we see the beginnings of extensive mechanisation in the early 19th century. Another important aspect which appears is 'interchangeability' the ability to exchange identical parts of identical mechanism without 'special adjustment'. This is a vital factor at the foundation of modern manufacturing and first appears in early 18th century France, was pursued again by Blanc in 1777 and was picked up in Russia. For the first time, all these 'technologies' are examined, explained, compared and contrasted in extensive detail. AUTHOR: Peter G Smithurst graduated in Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1968 spending several years as a research chemist before pursuing his passion for industrial and technological history, moving in to museum work. 236 b/w illustrations Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Codice articolo 9781036106850

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Titolo: Making the Enfield Pattern 1853 Rifle-Musket...

Casa editrice: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley

Data di pubblicazione: 2025

Legatura: Hardcover

Condizione: new

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Riassunto:

The Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket embodies a number of revolutionary milestones for Britain; it, and the carbines and short rifles derived from it, were the first rifled firearms to be issued universally to all troops; its design owed more to the French 1777 musket than to its English forbears; it was the first firearm to be produced en masse extensively by machinery; in 1857 it became the first firearm in Britain to be made fully interchangeable. The nature of this new rifle presented a number of challenges for the private contractors who traditionally had supplied military firearms and some unique contract documents specifying standards are shown. Their failure to meet contractual obligations led to the formation of the Select Committee on Small Arms in 1854 to examine its manufacture and procurement. However, its outcome was pre-empted - in that same year the Committee on the Machinery of the United States, was sent to America to examine the machinery used in gun manufacture and given authority to purchase appropriate machines for use at Enfield. Aspects of its manufacture at Enfield are covered in a small number of contemporary accounts. These vary in the detail provided and contain errors which have been noted and corrected. Access to a wealth of specimens, drawings and documents not previously studied or published, has allowed the manufacture of this iconic rifle using these new technologies to be presented in unprecedented detail.