Marksmanship Weapon: Baker's 1800 Infantry Rifle
Marksman Sharpe with a Baker rifle. A still from one of the many films about his adventurous life
“Well, let’s prove now, in the face of all this tribe of Delaware, which of us is the best shooter!” shouted the scout, striking the muzzle of his gun with the finger that had pulled the fatal trigger so many times. “Do you see, Major, the gourd bottle that hangs on that tree over there? If you're a border guard shooter, you'll beat her.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
History firearms weapons. The cycle on the history of the uniform aroused great interest among the VO readership. But - and this is natural, during the discussion of this topic by readers, questions arose related to the weapons of the same British "red coats". About the murderous "darkie" - the most productive flintlock gun in the history of wars, that is, the Brown Bess gun, on our website material has already been, about the Fergusson rifle (a rifle with a "hole in the treasury") we also wrote. Now, of course, it turns out that we need to talk about the Baker rifle. That's what we're talking about today...
1805 Baker Rifle (1800-1830) Participated in the Battle of Waterloo. Length: 1167 mm, barrel length: 747 mm, weight: 3,78 kg. Old Tower Collection, London
And it so happened that the wars in the North American colonies (1775-1783), about which James Fenimore Cooper spoke so poetically and picturesquely in his novels, as well as the Franco-British war (1793-1802), showed the British military that they can't do without rifled weapons. Therefore, the British government in 1798 decided to develop and adopt a regular rifled gun. At the same time, in 1800, the first regiment of the Rifle Brigade was created, the soldiers of which were fully armed with new rifles with rifled barrels.
The same rifle. Front view
Its official name was: "Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle" (infantry rifle of the 1800 model of the year), but more often it was called simply "Baker Rifle" or "Baker's rifle".
This weapon was made by the master Ezekiel Baker, who had previously been engaged in custom-made rifled guns for English gentlemen and even wrote a book called: “Notes on Rifles”. The rifle was tested, found to meet all the requirements, and, although its price was very decent, it was immediately put into service. So the British army received the most modern rifled gun for those years.
“In 1800, the Board of Ordnance commissioned the chief arms manufacturers in England to manufacture the best rifle for use in the Rifle Corps (95th Regiment) set up by the government. Among those who were chosen for this occasion, they also wished to see me. A committee of field officers was appointed to review and draw up a report in accordance with their opinion. Many rifles came from America and Europe, and they were all tried out at Woolwich. After which my barrel, which had only a quarter-turn thread in the rifle, was approved by this committee.
“It was noted that the barrel of my rifle was less prone to fouling from frequent shots than full-turn, three-quarter or half-turn rifle barrels, which was considered a great advantage for the Rifle Corps, especially in combat, since they would not require frequent cleaning. . Moreover, he had all the advantages of other guns in terms of accuracy and fighting power at a distance of three hundred yards. For all these reasons, the committee gave preference to my barrel, and recommended to the Board of Ordnance that my rifle be accepted into service.
Ezekiel Baker
“It was noted that the barrel of my rifle was less prone to fouling from frequent shots than full-turn, three-quarter or half-turn rifle barrels, which was considered a great advantage for the Rifle Corps, especially in combat, since they would not require frequent cleaning. . Moreover, he had all the advantages of other guns in terms of accuracy and fighting power at a distance of three hundred yards. For all these reasons, the committee gave preference to my barrel, and recommended to the Board of Ordnance that my rifle be accepted into service.
Ezekiel Baker
Indeed, Baker only claimed the rifling system as his own. Outwardly, his rifle had much in common with the rifles of that time, which were in service for up to twenty years or more. Basically, they had seven grooves in the trunks, and the trunks themselves were 30 inches long and caliber from 0,60 inches to 0,70 inches. One rotation of the bullet for 30 inches gave the bullet a faster rotation, which in theory should have provided better accuracy. However, such barrels required frequent cleaning, which, for example, in the same battle was completely unacceptable.
Baker rifle 1800-1820 View from the left. Length: 1160 mm, barrel length: 766 mm. The barrel is cut, so that the rifling along it is clearly visible. Collection of the old Woolwich arsenal. London
Baker's first rifle was musket-sized and caliber and was rejected as too bulky. The first of many improvements was a reduction in barrel length and overall size, as well as a reduction in caliber to .0,625 (the "standard" rifle bore for the time, given that the standards then were not held in the same way as they are now).
Baker rifle 1800-1820 Right view. The door of the container for ... "salty rags" is clearly visible. Collection of the old Woolwich arsenal. London
“When the 95th was first formed, I made some guns the size of muskets so that they could be supplied with ammunition, if necessary, from any infantry regiment that might be near them. The commander, Colonel Manningham, as well as all the officers of the regiment, objected to this, since heavy guns required too much effort when shooting and bothered people because of their excessive weight on the campaign.
Ezekiel Baker
Ezekiel Baker
I must say that structurally, the Baker rifle was not much different from traditional infantry rifles with a smooth barrel. Moreover, he took the gun of the German rangers "Jäger rifle" as the basis for the rifle. However, it was quite noticeably different from the same Brown Bess musket, primarily in its compactness and some external changes and improvements, so it was completely impossible to confuse them when picking up.
A rifle with a split barrel. Front view. Old Tower Collection, London
Because it was a rifle, the bore was rifled and had seven right-handed, spiraling rifling along which the bullet could make a quarter turn before leaving the barrel. As for the firing mechanism and flintlock, they were standard for the time when all European military rifles were equipped with French “battery-type” locks.
Although the rifle was intended for particularly accurate shooting, the sights on it were the most primitive and consisted of a rear sight with a triangular slot and a pointed front sight.
Shooter Sharpe again with a Baker rifle in his hands
The stock of the rifle and the buttstock were distinguished by the high quality of the workmanship, and the walnut wood was a match for him. A semi-hidden chute for a ramrod was made in the forearm, which was inserted into two tubes. A characteristic feature of the buttstock was a container cut out on it on the right side, covered with a hinged lid on a latch, intended for storing salted pieces of fabric needed to wrap a bullet in them before hammering it into the barrel. One belt swivel was located in front of the forearm, and the second was placed on the trigger guard (which had a protrusion under the fingers for greater ease of holding), in front of it.
The bayonet of this rifle differed from the needle bayonets adopted in England. This was a long cleaver with a 61 cm long blade and a characteristic D-shaped handle. A scabbard worn on a waist belt relied on a bayonet. A special bracket was provided for attaching the bayonet to the muzzle of the barrel on the right. The blade of the bayonet mounted on the barrel was located vertically, which was an ill-conceived decision, in this case it could get stuck between the ribs. It was necessary to fasten it to the back of the handle, with the blade horizontal. But Baker didn't think of that for some reason.
Bayonet for Baker rifle. Pay attention to the saw on the back of the blade. Collection of the old Woolwich arsenal. London
The barrel and flint lock, as well as the ramrod, and both swivels were made of steel. Details such as the trigger guard, both ramrod tubes, the butt plate, the butt cap, as well as individual elements of the “fittings”, were traditionally made of brass.
Baker's rifle was supposed to be muzzle loaded. In this case, the lead bullet was placed on an oiled wad, and then it had to be flattened with a ramrod and a special wooden mallet, which was originally included in the shooter's equipment. However, they soon decided to abandon the hammer, considering that just a heavy ramrod would be enough, since the bullets were made of very soft lead!
At that time, it was a very light, very durable, comfortable, and in all respects very high-quality weapon, which, compared with smooth-bore guns, was distinguished by both a greater firing range and accuracy. True, only very few shooters could make more than two aimed shots per minute out of it, but this was quite enough. Well, her lead bullet weighing 31 grams (where is the famous “nine grams in the heart” before her!) Not only delivered a strong stopping blow when it hit, but also led simply to terrifying wounds, which, due to gangrene, almost always led to death. exodus.
It is known that from 1800 to 1810, the Baker rifle underwent minor changes in the design of the stock, flintlock four times, and the length of its barrel was increased from 762 to 813 mm.
Baker's carbine. Length: 892 mm, barrel length: 495 mm, weight: 2,72 kg. Old Tower Collection, London
At the same time, in 1801, a shortened model (cavalry carbine) was also created with a barrel length of only 480 mm and an original latch for the ramrod, which did not allow it to fall out from shaking. This carbine was not equipped with a bayonet. There was no bracket on his trunk for mounting it.
Baker originally made the rifle chambered in .65 (16,5 mm). In 1807, a .75 (19,5 mm) caliber army model was made, but in 1830 it was decided to return to .65 caliber. The recommended weight of gunpowder is from 4,5 to 5,5 grams.
The rifle proved itself so well that both regular British troops and various military formations of states friendly to Great Britain began to arm it. Rifle regiments armed with this rifle fought in the Iberian Peninsula and participated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The performance characteristics of the Baker rifle were as follows:
Length: 1162 mm
Barrel length: 762 mm
Weight: 4,1 kg
Muzzle velocity: 304 m/s
Rate of fire: 1-2 rds / min
Sighting range: 200 m
Despite the fact that the rifle performed well in battle, the bulk of the British infantry continued to be armed with the Brown Bess. There were two main reasons: a complete rearmament would be too expensive, and besides, many senior officers simply did not see the point in increasing the accuracy of shooting. Volley fire and the moral shock that it produced on the enemy - these are the main trump cards of the trained infantry, they believed. At that time, a trained British soldier could reload a Brown Bess every 15 seconds, that is, four shots per minute!
Baker's Cavalry Carbine 1827. Total length: 904 mm, barrel length: 504 mm, weight: 2,82 kg. Old Tower Collection, London
Tests conducted in 1811, when shooting at a target in the form of a wooden wall imitating an infantry line, showed that at a distance of 100 yards (91,44 m) this target accounts for 53% of hits, at 200 yards (182,88 m) - 30% hits, 300 yards (274,32 m) gives only 23% hits. Taking into account the psychological burden on a soldier in combat, we can reduce the accuracy of combat by 20% at all distances, which will give us 100% at 33 yards, 200% at 10 yards and 300% at 3 yards. From this, the conclusion was drawn, firstly, about the advantage of the first salvo, and secondly, that ... the very first salvo would somehow disable 30% of the enemy’s infantry, and his return fire would, accordingly, weaken! That is, a correctly chosen firing time in just one minute could decide the fate of the battle! Therefore, the extra time needed to load rifled weapons was considered by most British officers as wasted.
Experienced primer rifle Baker, 1815-1825. Length 1161 mm, barrel length 767 mm. Old Tower Collection, London
That is why, despite the excellent fighting qualities, relatively few Baker rifles were produced: for the entire time, about 22 rifles and carbines. Nevertheless, she remained in service with the regular army of Great Britain for 000 years. Until it was replaced with the Brunswick rifle in 37.
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