F: Hurray! My son doesn't hate me!

GIII: I doubt

GII: *Holds a gun to Frederick's head* But I hate you!

GI: Shut up already!

Prince’s Patent Breechloading Rifle

Hey guys, here’s my first Armourer’s Bench video of 2019. Towards the end of last year I had the chance to look at an example of Frederic Prince's breechloading percussion rifle dating from the 1850s. 

Prince’s rifle used a sliding barrel action, with the barrel sliding forward when the action was unlocked, to open the breech. It’s a fascinating design, almost the reverse of a later bolt action with the bolt attached to the barrel rather than the breechblock/bolt. It was tested by the British Army and recommended for more testing but the trials never took place and it wouldn’t be until the 1860s that the British Army adopted a breechloader. 

It’s a beautifully made gun with fascinating history behind it, it was a real pleasure to examine. Feel free to check out the video above and an even more in-depth article I wrote about it with more hi-res photos here. 

Frederick Prince’s Breech-loading Rifle

In February 1855, London gunmaker Frederick Prince patented an unusual breech-loading system. Prince offered his rifle to the Board of Ordnance for testing where it outshot the rival Enfield 1853 Pattern rifle musket during trials at the School of Musketry at Hythe in 1855. However, the Board refused to consider adopting the new system believing it to be too complex and expensive to manufacture.  

Prince’s system uses a sliding barrel to open up the breech to allow the loading of a paper cartridge, once the breech is closed the percussion lock was then capped. Once the hammer was pulled back to full cock the rifle was ready to fire. In order to load the rifle the weapon was placed on half cock, the ‘bolt handle’ was then unlocked by pulling back the curved piece which protruded from the base of the trigger guard (see image #2). The bolt handle was then turned slightly to the right disengaging the two lugs which locked the breech (see image #5 & #6) and then the bolt could be pushed down a short ‘L’ shaped channel (see image #3 & #4). This pushed the barrel assembly forward, sliding on rollers inside the stock. This opened the breech allowing the rifleman to load a paper cartridge (see images #5 & #6). Once loaded the bolt handle was pulled rearward again, and turned to the left again to re-engage the locking lugs. The bolt locking piece was then pushed back into a recess in the bolt handle to secure it (see images #7 &#8).  The bolt handle, along with the lugs inside the receiver, acts to keep the breech block locked during firing. 

Pictured below is Prince’s original patent granted in 1855, it shows the ‘bolt handle’ positioned off to the side of the rifle’s breech in the position we are more accustomed to seeing it.  The handle still acts as a locking mechanism for the breech block and the system remains the same as seen in the rifle’s built later. The patent also mentions the use of an interrupted screw thread to seal the breech and the possible use of rubber gas seals to prevent venting. 

Prince’s February 1855 patent for his breech-loading system, note the differing location of the ‘bolt handle’ (source)

During the trials at Hythe Prince’s rifle had been able to fire six rounds in just 46 seconds with 120 fired in just 18 minutes by Prince himself. Using a small bore version of the rifle Prince was able to demonstrate how accurate his rifle was putting 16 rounds onto a small piece of notepaper, a grouping of 1 ¾ inches, at a range of 100 yards while demonstrating it at the Victoria Regimental Practice Ground. The trials at Hythe saw it fired against the Enfield rifle musket where it put 48 out of 50 rounds on target at 300 yards compared to the Enfield’s 47. While Prince’s rifle performed admirably the Board of Ordnance refused to order a batch for further testing,  Perhaps they felt his system was too complex or too expensive to manufacture, or perhaps not robust enough for military service. Another important factor to consider is that in 1855, while the Board of Ordnance continued to trial guns the British Army had just two years earlier formally adopted the 1853 Pattern rifle musket and was in the process of manufacturing these. Prince's patent is undeniably an ingenous breech-loading system. It is a testament to the belief in the design that in 1859, four years after it had first been rejected, a group of prominent London gun makers including Manton, Wilkinson, Samuel Nock, Parker Field, and Tatham petitioned the Board of Ordnance to reconsider their decision.

This example of a Prince’s patent rifle chambered in .577 has a more robust, metal lined bolt channel, sling swivels and two barrel bands which indicate that this rifle was probably a trials model. (source) 

While rare there are a number of examples which survive today which indicate Prince’s Patent rifles were produced by a series of different British gunmakers including Prince’s own company Prince & Green, Wilkinson’s, E.M. Reilly and Isaac Hollis & Sons. The rifles tend to have barrel lengths of between 25 and 31 inches and most have either three or five groove rifling. The rifles were made in various calibres from the British army’s standard issue .577 to much smaller rook and rabbit hunting guns .24 and .37 calibre. Other calibres include .500 and .90 inch bores. With the variety of makers the sights found on the rifles vary greatly from simple dovetailed leaf rear sights to more complex ladder sight while one example even having a series of folding aperture sights.

Drawing of Prince’s Breech-loader from Hans Busk’s ‘The Rifle’ (source)

The example pictured above was manufactured by Wilkinson of London (who later became Wilkinson Sword). It is marked with the serial number ‘X. 16′ on the receiver and had ‘Prince’s Patent’ engraved on the action. It was possibly manufactured in the mid 1860s as it is marked simply ‘Wilkinson’ rather than Wilkinson’s & Son as it had been until 1861 when Henry Wilkinson died and left the company to John Latham.  This example was one of the many Prince’s Patent rifles made for civilian sporting and target use.

In refusing to adopt Prince’s breech-loading system it can be argued that Britain lost an opportunity. While it has been suggested that the system was simple and cheap to manufacture, and it was undoubtedly fast and accurate in action, it’s possible the Board of Ordnance felt the system was too complex and not robust enough with its sliding barrel,  However, the Prince rifle was a single victim of a wider trend between 1842 and 1865 the British Army and Board of Ordnance examined and trials dozens of breech-loading rifles but did not feel it necessary to adopt one until they had been overwhelmingly proven in the field. 

In early 1864 the armies of Europe were shocked by the decisive victory the Prussian Dreyse Needle Guns brought during the Danish-Prussian War. In 1865 the British began to seriously look for a breech-loading replacement of their Enfield 1853 Pattern rifle muskets. Following trials of various submitted designs Jacob Snider’s cartridge conversion was selected and in September 1866 the Snider rifle was introduced becoming Britain’s first breech-loading military rifle.

Sources:

Military Small Arms, G Smith, (1994)

The Rifle, H. Busk (1861) [source]

Various antique firearms auction catalogues

Prince’s Carbines, Gun’s Review, Nov. 1971, R.J. Wilkinson-Latham

Thanks also to www.researchpress.co.uk for their assistance with finding Prince’s Patent.

Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle, P. Smithurst (2011)

The Martini-Henry Rifle, S. Manning (2013)

A Brief History of Wilkinson Sword (source)