Whitworth Rifle 12-Pounder

History of the Whitworth Rifle 12 Pound Rifle

The Whitworth rifle, named after its creator, Joseph Whitworth of England (1803-1887), was a rifled field gun used during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The genre neither liked the volume and exposure of its rival brothers, but it is worth noting that it was a barrel-breech (rear)-loaded artillery, at a time when the artillery was still generally loaded muzzle-loading ( As in the Napoleon 12-pounder, popular with the states and the Allies).

Production of the Whitworth rifle takes place outside the UK, which is rather limited in the US.

The Whitworth Rifle is considered an excellent field gun with exceptional accuracy in range - especially in counter-artillery fire, the gun can regularly hit up to 1,600 yards (4,800 ft) ) on large stationary targets (accuracy given by some sources)). At 10,000 yards! ). The base design mounts a 2.75" (12 lb) hex bore barrel, which is mounted on conventional mounting hardware, including a trailing arm and a pair of multi-spoke wheels. Like other artillery pieces of the period, the Whitworth rifle was dragged in and out of action by a loaded beast, although its wheels allowed riflemen to reposition/retrain the gun at short distances.

Another version is the 2.17" (6 lb) bore.

The rifle fires a nearly 13 lb flat projectile with a helical groove for better attachment to the rifle barrel (making the projectile fairly accurate at range). The spiral concept was patented before the Civil War in 1855.

Whitworth attempted to get the British Army interested in his field work, but was rejected, and some of his weapons ended up in the hands of the Allies in the United States (some were captured by Union forces).

One of the major drawbacks of the Whitworth rifle design was the fragility of the bolt system over prolonged exposure to the course of combat. This resulted in crews eventually permanently sealing the breech action and reloading/reloading their guns in the typical fashion - negating the gun's only true, unique quality.

Whitworth also designed an infantry service rifle, simply called the "Whitworth Rifle", to replace the Enfield Pattern 1853 gun. 577 caliber. This rifle, like the Whitworth Rifle Field Gun, uses a hexagonal chamber (.451 caliber) to fire a slender hex bullet.

Again, this local design was adopted by the British Army, but the long gun was adopted by the French Army and the Confederate States of America.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on the ammunition carrier.

Changes