Snider-Enfield
| Snider–Enfield | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Service rifle |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1867–1901 |
| Used by | |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Designer | RSAF Enfield |
| Designed | 1860 |
| Manufacturer | RSAF Enfield |
| Produced | 1866–1880s |
| No. built | ~870,000 |
| Variants | Long Rifle, Short Rifle, Engineer's Carbine, Cavalry Carbine, Artillery Carbine, Yeomanry Carbine, Naval Rifle, Royal Irish Constabulary Carbine |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 8 lb 9 oz (3.8 kg) (unloaded) |
| Length | 49.25 in (1,250 mm) |
|
|
|
| Cartridge | .577 Snider |
| Calibre | 0.577 in (14.7 mm) |
| Action | Side-hinged breechblock |
| Rate of fire | 10 rounds/minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 1250 ft/s (original black powder load) |
| Effective firing range | 600 yd (550 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 2,000 yd (1,800 m) |
| Feed system | Single shot |
| Sights | Sliding ramp rear sights, Fixed-post front sights |
The British .577 Snider–Enfield was a breech-loading rifle. The American Jacob Snider invented the firearm action, and the Snider–Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties. The British Army adopted it in 1866 as a conversion system for its ubiquitous Pattern 1853 Enfield muzzle-loading rifles, and used it until 1874 when the Martini–Henry rifle began to supersede it. The British Indian Army used the Snider–Enfield until the end of the nineteenth century.
In trials, the Snider Pattern 1853 conversions proved both more accurate than original Pattern 1853s and much faster firing; a trained soldier could fire ten aimed rounds per minute with the breech-loader, compared with only three rounds per minute with the muzzle-loading weapon. From 1866 onwards, the Enfield rifles were converted in large numbers at the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) Enfield beginning with the initial pattern, the Mark I. The converted rifles received a new breechblock/receiver assembly, but retained the original iron barrel, furniture, lock, and hammer.
The Mark III rifles were newly made. They featured steel barrels which were so marked, flat nosed hammers, and a latch-locking breech block instead of the simple integral block lifting tang.
The Snider–Enfield used a new type of metal-cased cartridge called a Boxer cartridge after its designer. The breech block housed a diagonally downward sloping firing pin struck with a front-action lock mounted hammer. To operate the weapon, the rifleman cocked the hammer, flipped the block out of the receiver to the right by grasping the left mounted breech block lever, and then pulled the block back to extract the spent case. There was no ejector, so the firer lifted the case out or, more usually, turned the rifle upside-down to allow the case to drop out. (Perhaps even more usually, the firer then shook the weapon vigorously to dislodge hot cartridges or those fouled by dust or grime.)
...
Wikipedia