Maynard carbine
The Maynard carbines are a further development of the breech loading rifle developed by Edward Maynard in 1851 . These are single-shot weapons with a drop barrel lock. The weapon with percussion lock fired cartridges developed by Maynard with brass cases, which could be ignited both by the ignition system developed by Maynard and by percussion caps placed on the pistons.
history
Since the ignition system developed by Maynard did not prove itself on the Model 1855 US Percussion Rifle and the Model 1855 pistol carbine, it was no longer used on the successor, the Model 1861 US Percussion Rifle . Even so, the Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts manufactured over twenty thousand of these carbines and rifles between 1858 and 1868. The first model produced first , a carbine, was purchased by various US states to arm their militias. After the outbreak of the American Civil War , these weapons were sold to the Northern States Cavalry, the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry , the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry and the United States Marines to equip the crew of the USS Saratoga . In the southern states, mounted troops from Florida , Georgia , Mississippi , South Carolina and Louisiana were also equipped with First Model Maynard weapons.
In the Second Model or Model 1863 Carbines , manufactured during the Civil War between 1863 and 1865, the Maynard ignition system was dispensed with towards the end of production. After the Civil War, carbines and long guns were produced as hunting and sporting weapons for years.
technology
In the rifle developed by Maynard as a break-open rifle, barrels of different calibers could be mounted and fired on the same frame. As a carbine with the 20 inch carbine barrel (51 cm), the length of the weapon is 83 cm. Length of the gun barrel 26 inches (66 cm). Barrel caliber .50 or .52 inch (carbine) and .35 inch (rifle).
The ignition system developed by Maynard was a further development of the percussion ignition system . Instead of putting a primer cap on the piston before each shot , the ignition charge attached to a strip of paper was brought onto the piston by a mechanism when the cock was cocked. The advantage of the system was the faster repeating process. The disadvantage that led to the abolition of the system was the weather dependency of the system. When it rained, and generally when the weather was damp, it misfires. In addition, the advance and positioning of the ignition charge was not always precise enough. This was the reason why the Model 1861 US Precussion Rifles manufactured by the Springfield Armory were no longer equipped with the Maynard ignition system used in the Model 1855 .
Early breech-loaders with percussion ignition usually fired paper cartridges, while reloadable brass cases were used in the Maynard system. They were ignited by a small hole in the center of the case base. The advantage of the system was that the cases could be reloaded several times and, like modern cartridge cases, sealed the cartridge chamber to the rear by expanding .
literature
- Echoes of Glory, Arms and Equipment of the Union. Virginia Live Books, Alexandria, Virginia 1991.
- Echoes of Glory, Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy. Virginia Live Books, Alexandria, Virginia 1991.
- Norm Flayderman: Flayderman's Guide to Antique Firearms . Krause Publications, Iola, WI 2001, ISBN 0-87349-313-3 .
- Smith, Graham: Maynard Carbine. Civil War Weapons . Chartwell, Iola, WI 2011, ISBN 978-0-7858-2854-9 .
