Martini-Henry Rifles

Martini-Henry Rifles are the focus of this site. It has links, photos and a lot of related information.

The Martini-Henry was a breech-loading lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British military, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry. It first entered service in 1871, replacing the Snider-Enfield, and variants were used throughout the British Empire for 30 years. The Martini was the first British service rifle that was designed from the outset as a cartridge-firing breechloader and was both faster firing and had a longer range than earlier rifles.

In other words, it surprised the heck out of the Zulus at Rorke's drift, were used with spitzer tipped incendiary bullets to shoot down German Zeppelins that were dropping bombs on London in WWI, and is still in limited service in Afghanistan.

The Martini-Henry was copied on a large scale by North-West Frontier Province gunsmiths. Their weapons were of a poorer quality than those made by Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, but accurate down to the proof markings. The main manufacturers were the Adam Khel Afridi, who lived around the Khyber Pass. Hence the British term for such weapons, "Pass made rifles". Many of those weapons which survive are now being sold to soldiers serving with International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan

(Me) (Home)