24th Foot Standing Firing, No.4
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.
