Martini-Henry Mk IV
Royal Small Arms Factory · Rifle · Discontinued · 1887
Also known as: Martini-Henry Mark IV, Martini-Henry Long Lever, P-1885 Martini-Henry, Rifle, Breech-loading, .450-inch, Martini-Henry Mk IV, MH Mk IV
Overview
The Martini-Henry Mk IV is a single-shot, breech-loading British service rifle introduced in 1887, the fourth and final main production mark of the Martini-Henry family before the .303 magazine rifles superseded it. Like its predecessors it married the self-cocking falling-block action of Swiss-Austrian engineer Friedrich von Martini (derived from the American Peabody dropping-block) with the seven-groove polygonal rifling of Scottish gunmaker Alexander Henry, chambered for the massive .577/450 Martini-Henry bottlenecked black-powder cartridge firing a 480-grain (31.1 g) paper-patched lead bullet at roughly 411 m/s. The defining change of the Mk IV is its lengthened five-inch operating lever -- the so-called 'Long Lever' -- adopted specifically to apply greater torque for ejecting cases from black-powder-fouled chambers after the extraction failures exposed during the Sudan campaigns. The receiver was rounded, cut down and sloped at the rear to improve grip and handling. Many Mk IV rifles (Patterns A and B) were converted from earlier Enfield-Martini Mk I receivers, while Pattern C rifles were of new manufacture; the longer lever required existing walnut stocks to have the brass cocking-indicator cup re-seated to clear the lever tip. Sighted to around 1,800 yards and capable of about 12 aimed rounds per minute, the Mk IV had a short frontline life, being replaced within a few years by the Lee-Metford magazine rifle, but it soldiered on across the colonial empire and into Nepalese and tribal service for decades.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3900 g (137.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1245 mm (49.02") |
| Barrel Length | 838 mm (32.99") |
| Action Type | Falling Block |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 411 m/s (1348 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2626 J (1937 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 370 m (405 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 1646 m (1800 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 12 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 558 mm (21.97") |
| Number of Grooves | 7 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .577/450 Martini-Henry · primary — also known as .577/450 Boxer-Henry, .577-450, 11.43x60R
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Single Shot Breech Loaded
- Safety mechanisms: Cocking Indicator, Half Cock Notch
- Features: Falling Block Action, Long Operating Lever, Lever Operated Breech, Improved Cartridge Extraction, Henry Polygonal Rifling, Internal Striker, Single Shot Breech Loader, Socket Bayonet Lug, Sliding Rear Ramp Sight, Barleycorn Front Sight, Rounded Cut Down Receiver
Variants
- Martini-Henry Mk IV Pattern A — Enfield Martini First Pattern Conversion
- Martini-Henry Mk IV Pattern B — Enfield Martini Second Pattern Conversion
- Martini-Henry Mk IV Pattern C — New Manufacture
Base model
Service history
Operators
- British Armed Forces · adopted 1887 · as Rifle, Breech-loading, .450-inch, Martini-Henry Mk IV
- British Indian Army · adopted 1887 · as Martini-Henry Mk IV Rifle
- Royal Nepalese Army · as Martini-Henry Long Lever (Native State issue)
- Egyptian Army · as Martini-Henry Rifle
Conflicts
- Mahdist War (1881-1899)
- Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1896-1898)
- Second Boer War (1899-1902)
- First World War (1914-1918)
- Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
Production
Estimated total produced: 162,000 · Production years: 1884-1889
Approximate totals by pattern: Pattern A ~22,000 (Enfield-Martini Mk I First Pattern conversions), Pattern B ~40,000 (Enfield-Martini Second Pattern conversions), Pattern C ~100,000 (new manufacture). Produced principally at the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield. Figure excludes later Martini-Enfield/Martini-Metford rebarrelling of Mk IV receivers and Nepalese-issued examples.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Designer: Friedrich von Martini (action); Alexander Henry (rifling)
Discontinued: 1889
Notes
The Mk IV was designated 'P-1885' in some pattern records although it was formally adopted in 1887. Three sub-patterns exist: Pattern A (approx. 22,000, converted from Enfield-Martini Mk I First Pattern, retaining the barleycorn-on-block front sight), Pattern B (approx. 40,000, from Enfield-Martini Second Pattern, barleycorn-on-ramp), and Pattern C (approx. 100,000, new manufacture). The Mk IV is mechanically a falling-block, Peabody-derived, lever-operated single-shot rifle, not a bolt-action. The long lever was the principal remedy for the Martini-Henry's notorious extraction problems, which stemmed largely from thin rolled-brass foil cartridges deforming in fouled chambers; solid-drawn brass cases introduced from 1885 also helped. Production was concentrated at the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield (c. 1884-1889). After the adoption of the .303 Lee-Metford, surviving Martini-Henry rifles including Mk IV receivers were widely rebarrelled to .303 as Martini-Enfield and Martini-Metford carbines and rifles. Large numbers of Mk IV Long Levers passed to Nepal and bear later Native State issue marks.
Background
The Mk IV's distinctive five-inch 'Long Lever' was a direct lesson written in the blood of the Sudan: after Martini-Henrys jammed on fouled cases during the desperate squares of the 1884-85 Gordon Relief Expedition, the War Office lengthened the operating lever for the leverage needed to rip a stuck cartridge free. Decades after British service ended, thousands of Mk IV Long Levers found a second life in Nepal, stamped with Native State issue marks as late as 1908, and Khyber Pass copies of the pattern kept the action alive in tribal hands well into the 20th century.