India Pattern Brown Bess Musket
British Board of Ordnance · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1797
Also known as: India Pattern Musket, Pattern 1797, Third Model Brown Bess
Overview
The India Pattern Brown Bess is the most-produced variant of the British Land Pattern Musket family, a .75 caliber flintlock smoothbore originally designed for the British East India Company and adopted by the British Army in 1797 as a cheaper, simplified wartime musket. With a shortened 39-inch barrel and reduced furniture, it was faster and cheaper to manufacture than the earlier Long and Short Land patterns, and it became the standard British infantry arm through the Napoleonic Wars. More than three million were produced, making it the definitive 'Brown Bess' of the period.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4400 g (155.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1400 mm (55.12") |
| Barrel Length | 991 mm (39.02") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Muzzle Velocity | 305 m/s (1001 fps) |
| Effective Range | 46 m (50 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 274 m (300 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 3 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Russet Brown |
Calibers
- .75 Caliber Musket Ball · primary — also known as 0.75 in, 11-bore ball, .693 lead ball
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Smoothbore Barrel, Muzzle Loaded, Brass Furniture, Three Pin Fastened Barrel, Socket Bayonet Lug, Ramrod
Base model
Service history
Operators
- British Army · adopted 1797 · as India Pattern Musket
- British East India Company
Conflicts
- French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)
- Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
- War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Production
Estimated total produced: 3,000,000 · Production years: 1797-1854
India Pattern alone exceeded three million muskets, the bulk of total Brown Bess production.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Discontinued: 1854
Notes
The 39-inch barrel was retained by three pins and an upper swivel screw rather than barrel bands. Nominal bore .75 in; service ball roughly .693 in. Muzzle velocity figures for period smoothbores are approximate.
Background
Originally a cost-cutting design for the East India Company, the India Pattern was adopted by a cash-strapped British Board of Ordnance during the wars with Revolutionary France, and ended up being the very musket carried by Wellington's infantry at Waterloo.