Baker Rifle

Baker Rifle
general information
Military designation:	Baker Rifle
Developer / Manufacturer:	Ezekiel Baker
Development year:	1798-1800
Manufacturer country:	England
Production time:	1800 to 1838
Furnishing
Overall length:	1162 mm
Weight: (unloaded)	4 kg
Barrel length :	762 mm
Technical specifications
Caliber :	15.9 mm
Charging principle:	Muzzle loader
Lists on the subject

The Baker Rifle is a rifle used by the sniper regiments , the so-called riflemen , of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars . In contrast to the muskets common at the time, the Baker Rifle had a rifled barrel. It was developed by the London gunsmith Ezekiel Baker . It was introduced around 1802.

service

Like all muzzle-loading rifles, the Baker Rifle could not be reloaded as quickly as a musket due to the rifled barrel . Even in the hands of an experienced shooter, it allowed a maximum of two shots per minute. In terms of range, however, it exceeded the muskets by far. Their range was over 300 meters, the core range at 100 meters. The Riflemen in their green uniforms were the elite unit of the British Army and the King's German Legion at the time . Above all, they were trained to kill enemy officers. Armed with a Baker Rifle, the rifleman Thomas Plunkett of the 1st Battalion of the 95th Rifles is said to have shot the French General Colbert from an unknown distance during the war on the Iberian Peninsula , but some sources report from 600 yards (approx. 550 m) . That this was not a lucky shot showed that he then shot a soldier hurrying to the general's aid as well.

literature

• Bailey, British Military Flintlock Rifles 1740-1840 , Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 2002, ISBN 978-1-931464-03-1

Web links

Commons : Baker Rifle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Development of the Baker Rifle ( Memento from September 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stuart Hadaway, Rifleman Thomas Plunkett: 'A Pattern for the Battalion.'
2. ^ Edwart Costello, Rifleman Costello ISBN 1-84677-000-9