In 1881 the rifles used in the British service were the Martini-Henry and Snider Enfield, and carbines having the same constructors' names were used by the artillery, with the Westley-Richards carbine for the cavalry. The Martini-Henry rifle was far superior to any of its predecessors. The inside of the barrel was constructed with grooves, so as to give the bullet a twist when leaving. These were seven in number. The rifle, with the bayonet fixed, was 5 feet 11.5" inches in length. The trajectory was 8.1 feet when the rifle was sighted for shooting at 500 yards, and the velocity of the bullet in the air was 1,320 feet per second. The bullet turned round once in twenty-two inches. Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 119 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1971 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com