William Tranter
| William Tranter | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Tranter June 6, 1816 Oldbury, Worcestershire, United Kingdom |
| Died | January 7, 1890 (aged 73) Birmingham, England |
| Occupation | Inventor, gunsmith |
William Tranter (1816 – January 7, 1890) was a British gunmaker and gun designer famous for inventing the Tranter Revolver.
Born in Oldbury in Worcestershire, William Tranter was the eldest son of a blacksmith. Birmingham was for many years the centre of arms manufacture in England and in 1830, at the age of 14, Tranter was apprenticed to the gunsmithing firm of Hollis Bros & Company. In 1839 a small legacy allowed him to buy out another Birmingham gunsmith.
Tranter went into partnership with his former employers, John and Isaac Hollis, in 1844. The partnership dissolved five years later, and Tranter is known to have had an extensive manufactory, together with sales offices, at 50 Loveday Street between 1854 and 1860.
By about the year 1853 Tranter had manufactured over 8000 Adams double-action revolvers under licence. Together with James Kerr, Tranter developed modifications to the Adams action and about 1853 he made the first of his double trigger, double-action revolvers. The first model was built on an Adams frame and featured a detachable rammer which fitted onto the frame. His next model featured a rammer secured by a keyed peg on the frame and a hook on the barrel. In 1855 he also manufactured his own version of the Beaumont–Adams revolver, known as the Tranter-Adams-Kerr.
After 1856 he began production of his third model double trigger revolver, with a more streamlined frame and screw-secured rammer. At the same time he developed his fourth model, a single trigger, double-action revolver based on the same frame.
At the time the size of revolvers was typically described by the bore instead of the term calibre which is used today. The bore size equates to the number of lead balls of a particular diameter that can be cast from one pound (454 g) of lead. Tranter's most common bores were:
With the onset of the American Civil War, the Confederate States began buying British arms in quantity and Tranter's high-quality weapons were much esteemed. The New Orleans importers Messrs Hyde & Goodrich and A. B. Griswold & Co (who later manufactured his own pistols) distributed Tranters. Tranter also produced percussion rifles that used a revolver cylinder instead of a magazine. These rifles were produced in various configurations including both single and double trigger mechanisms.
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