Changing Weaponry in Warfare (1790-1918)

CONGREVE ROCKETS:

- developed by William Congreve in early 1800s, used by both Army and Navy. Saw prominent use in bombardment of Bouologne and Copenhagen in 1807 - frightening but ineffective weapon.

COPPERING/CARRONADES:

- brought in by Middleton in the 1770s, bottom of hulls coppered/on deck cannons introduced. The sliding mechanism of the cannons meant they were quick to reload, and deadly. Range limited.

CANNONS:

- muzzle loading Howitzer cannons in Napoleonic wars were useful at wiping out dense formations of men, but limited as they couldn't fire over hills/weren't manouverable. 

- William Armstrong making the cannons breech-loading (1858) only increased their effectiveness - new shells also increased the range and accuracy of cannons. Impacted both Army and Navy. Armstrong's design still in use today.

THE BROWN BESS MUSKET (NAPOLEONIC):

- smoothbore in Napoleonic, became rifled in Crimea making it more accurate. 

- muzzle loading was lengthy in nature - good training could reduce reload speed however. 

THE BAKER RIFLE:

- used by riflemen in Pen Wars, more accurate over range than BB but longer reload speed. 

THE PATTERN ENFIELD RIFLED MUSKET (CRIMEA):

- introduced in 1853 and saw use in Crimea, was rifled for greater accuracy and used conical 'minie ball' bullets which gave the weapon better range.

LEE-METFORD RIFLE (BOER):

- bolt action - all variants used .303 bullets. Breech-loading so could fire 25-30 shots a minute - a massive advancement from muzzle loading.

THE SHORT MAGAZINE LEE ENFIELD - SMLE (WWI):

- standard issue for WWI Tommy soldiers - the best rifle in the world at this point. Reliable and lightweight, with the bolt action and breech loading being the same as the Boer War. 

- ended traditional warfare - brought about trench warfare as cavalry charges and mass formation made obsolete - made defense of positions easier. 

- three types:

• The Maxim Machine Gun - first machine gun (600 RPM).
• The Vickers (1914-16) - water cooled to prevent overheating - heavy due to this - stationary. 
• The Lewis (1916-18) - air cooled rather than water cooled so lighter - more manouverable - American design.

- early tanks (Mark I) unreliable, but Mark IV and V became more useful - slow, with unreliable engines, but devastating if used effectively. 

- three types:

• Male - equipped with Hotchkiss Cannon (used to destroy positions). 
• Female - equipped with 4 Vickers Machine Guns (people-killers).
• Hermaphrodite - equipped with both but the offensive capabilities were smaller. 

- development of tanks and machine guns showed the importance of industry and tech over manpower. A war of machines.