20187
W. Britain
A staple figure for any Zulu War diorama!
First adopted by the British Army in 1871, the Martini-Henry was a
breech-loading, single-shot rifle with a lever action. This lever-action
actuated the block to drop into the receiver to open the breech. The
same action expelled the spent cartridge in one single, fluid motion. In
tests, a skilled marksman managed 20 shots a minute, though 12 was
considered more realistic for the average soldier under battle
conditions. The Martini-Henry’s round was a lethal battle changer.
Designed for the Martini-Henry, the “bottlenecked” Boxer cartridge was
tapered from bottom to top, allowing a large charge of powder to propel a
relatively small bullet at very high velocity. The resulting flat
trajectory made the Martini far more accurate and harder hitting than
anything seen on the battlefield before.