This article is about the muzzleloader rifled musket. For the breachloader rifled field gun, see 12-pounder Whitworth rifle. For the breachloader rifled naval gun, see 70-pounder Whitworth naval gun.
Muzzle-loading rifle
Whitworth rifle
Type
Muzzle-loading rifle
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Service history
Used by
United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand Confederate States of America
Wars
American Civil War, Australian frontier wars, New Zealand wars
Production history
Designer
Joseph Whitworth
Designed
1854–1857
Manufacturer
Whitworth Rifle Company
Produced
1857–1865
No. built
13,400
Specifications
Length
49 in (1,200 mm)
Barrel length
33 in (840 mm)
Calibre
0.451 in (11.5 mm)
Action
Percussion lock
Rate of fire
2–3 rounds per minute
Effective firing range
800 to 1,000 yd (730 to 910 m)
Maximum firing range
1,500 yd (1,400 m)
Feed system
Muzzle-loaded
Sights
Classic iron sights, Scope
The Whitworth rifle was an English-made percussion rifle used in the latter half of the 19th century. A single-shot muzzleloader with excellent long-range accuracy for its era, especially when used with a telescopic sight, the Whitworth rifle was widely regarded as the world's first sniper rifle.[1]
The Whitworth rifle saw extensive use with the Confederate sharpshooters in the American Civil War, claiming the lives of several Union generals, including Major General John Sedgwick, one of the highest-ranking Union officers killed during the Civil War, shot on 9 May 1864, at Spotsylvania. In October 2017, a surviving example of a Confederate Whitworth rifle was auctioned with a hammer price of $161,000.[2]
The Whitworth rifle was considered to be the very best rifle of its time in terms of accuracy, when compared to other British, French, American rifles, or those produced elsewhere.[3]
^"Sure Shot: Confederate Sharpshooters Left No Doubt the Whitworth Was Their Weapon of Choice—When Available". History.net. November 2017.
^James D. Julia Inc. https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?inventoryid=436103
^Illustrated Times: Weekly Newspaper, v. 4, p. 46, 21 July 1860.
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Global Information
United Kingdom