3-pounder Whitworth rifle
| 3-pounder Whitworth rifle | |
|---|---|
| Type | field gun |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States |
| Wars | American Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Joseph Whitworth |
| Manufacturer | Joseph Whitworth |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 208 lbs |
| Barrel length | 6 ft |
| Breech | 1.5 inches |
| Effective firing range | 9,500 yards (9,688 claimed) |
The 3-pounder Whitworth rifle was a small caliber field gun deployed during the mid-19th century. Designed by Joseph Whitworth, the gun was most notably used during the American Civil War.
Description
[edit]The 3-pdr rifle was designed by British manufacturer Joseph Whitworth in the early 1850s. Along with Whitworth's 12-pdr rifle, the artillery piece was considered for adoption by the British government's Board of Ordnance, eventually losing out to the Armstrong gun.[1] During the American Civil War the weapon was imported and saw service in the Union army and possibly[2] in the Confederate army. In service, the rifle was sometimes referred to as a mountain gun, though this might stem from a confusion over caliber sizes.[3]
From a design standpoint, the weapon was unique. Like all of Whitworth's designs, the weapon had a hexagon-ally rifled barrel. It was also a breechloader, an unusual feature for the time. The piece had exceptional range and accuracy, being capable of firing a 3-pound shell over 9,500 yards.[4] However, the small size of the shell limited its bursting charge, consequently reducing the number of fragments formed when the shell detonated.[4] According to a 1860 New York Times article covering Whitworth's weapons, the relatively small 3-pdr had superior range compared to his larger rifled guns.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Whitworth Rifled Ordnance". 2008-02-13. Archived from the original on 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
- ^ Weller, Jac. "The Confederate Use Of British Cannon." Civil War History 3, no. 2 (1957): 135-152h. doi:10.1353/cwh.1957.0019.
- ^ "Whitworth mountain gun". www.bulgarianartillery.it. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
- ^ a b Bartleson, John D. (1972). A Field Guide for Civil War Explosive Ordnance. U.S. Naval School, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Naval Ordnance Station.
- ^ "The New Rifled Cannon.; EXPERIMENTS WITH MR. WHITWORTH'S NEWLY INVENTED BREACH-LOADING CANNON". The New York Times. 1860-03-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-06.