Whitworth's rifle was a strange beast. In 1853, in a characteristic burst of energy and design flair, he carefully studied the subject and came up with a 44 calibre muzzle loading, hammer and cap, 500 grain bullet, black-powder rifle of immense range, bullet stability, ease of manufacture, accuracy and low weight - with a rifled hexagonal bore!
And he had a state of the art factory in Manchester to build them in. The rifle was baulked at by the War Office, [ because of an inherent black powder fouling problem ] and they ordered a competitor's conventional rifle instead.
The 'Whitworth' was a one-shot marvel, ideal for snipers but not infantry. His rifle swept the board at shooting competitions* though, as one would expect.
[* These contests were a regular feature of Victorian England, with gigantic prize money, akin to a lottery jackpot today. There were no gun laws then and shootists regularly travelled to these contests by train or omnibus with their guns open to view and loaded ].
When his design was rejected, Whitworth bought a building right opposite the War Office and spent many snarling hours glowering angrily across the street through a window at his detractors.
The French adopted his rifle, of course.
Alan
