Archival Research – Research Press (original) (raw)

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One of the great joys of archival research is handling original 19th century documents.

Archival Research

Whitworth Rifle Company

Replacing Whitworth Barrels in the 19thC

The Whitworth rifle with its hexagonal bore set new standards in accuracy and in the early 1860s was used by keen long range riflemen in target shooting competition. By the late 1860s it was however being supplanted by other gunmakers using shallow groove rifling and hardened cylindrical bullets – notably Metford and Rigby. It is not uncommon to find Whitworth stock/lock fitted with such barrels as 19thC riflemen ‘upgraded’ their rifles, and over the years the original Whitworth barrel becomes separated.

Whitworth Rifle Company

A Semi-military Whitworth Rifle (C778)

The finely engraved semi-military rifle C778 was sold by Rock Island Auction Co., 20 May 2023. There was a batch of these engraved rifles with spur trigger guard made around this time (c1862). This particular rifle was formerly in the George W. Wray Jr. collection, Atlanta History Center. It was subsequently sold by Poulin Auction Co, Fairfield, ME, USA, in October 2019.

Whitworth 9-Pounder Breech Loading Field Gun

Birth of a Big Gun (1908)

A new weapon is launched in the pre-WWI naval arms race. This striking film illustrates the processes in the casting and manufacture of a 12-inch, 50-calibre naval gun – the kind of gun that would be used on battleships between 1914 and 1918. It was filmed in early 1908 at the factory of Armstrong Whitworth & Co., based in Newcastle-on-Tyne.