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Revision as of 20:37, 29 March 2012 by Shashenka (talk | contribs) (Added ISBN number to a book.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| .476 Enfield Mark III | |
|---|---|
 One Enfield Mk II (left) and three Enfield Mk III cartridges. | |
| Type | Revolver |
| Place of origin |  Britain |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1881-1911 |
| Used by | British Army, Colonial Militaries, North-West Mounted Police |
| Specifications | |
| Bullet diameter | .455 in (11.6 mm) |
| Neck diameter | .474 in (12.0 mm) |
| Base diameter | .478 in (12.1 mm) |
| Rim diameter | .530 in (13.5 mm) |
| Case length | 0.87 in (22 mm) |
| Overall length | 1.33 in (34 mm) |
| Primer type | Berdan |
The .476 Enfield (also known as the .476 Eley, .476 Revolver, and occasionally .455/476) is a British centrefire black powder revolver cartridge.
Used in the Enfield Mk II revolver, the Mk III variant was introduced in 1881 for the British Army, supplanting the earlier .476 Enfield Marks I and II cartridges, which in turn had replaced the .450 Adams cartridges, all of which also used black powder propellant.
The .476 Enfield cartridge was only in British service for a comparatively short while before it was itself replaced in service by the black powder-loaded .455 Webley Mark I in 1887 and then by the smokeless powder-loaded .455 Webley Mark IV in September 1894. Just over 1,000 Enfield Mark IIs were issued to the North-West Mounted Police, which remained in use until 1911, when the last Enfields were phased out in favour of more modern (and reliable) .45 Colt New Service revolvers.
Using the same bullet as the .455 (11.6mm) Webley Mark I, the .476 casing was 0.05 mm (0.002 in) longer and carried a charge of 18 gr (1.17 g) of black powder, compared to 6.5 gr (0.42 g) of cordite in the .455 Mark I.
While the .476 Enfield cartridge can be used in any British-manufactured .455 Webley calibre service revolver, there are issues with the later-production Colt or Smith & Wesson .455 Revolver models, which are liable to have slightly smaller bore diameters.
Despite the difference in designation, the .476 will readily interchange with the earlier .450 Adams and .455 Webley rounds (the latter in black powder Mark 1 and smokeless Marks I through VI), as well as the .455 Colt (a U.S. commercial brand for the same .455 Webley round, with slightly different ballistics), which all use the same .455 in (11.6mm) bullet, the distinction being which diameter was measured. Officially, .450 Adams, .476 Enfield, and .455 Webley cartridges all could be fired in the Webley Mark III British Government Model revolver; although case length, bullet weight and shape, and powder charge differed, all three cartridges featured a case diameter of .476 inch with a bullet diameter of .455 inch, which could be fired in a barrel of .450 inch bore.
The Enfield name derives from the location of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, the armoury where British Military Small Arms were produced (in this case, the Enfield revolver the cartridge was best known for being used in), while Eley was a British commercial brand.
See also
Notes
- ^ Barnes, p.175, ".476 Ely/.476 Enfield Mk-3".
- ^ Maze, p.32.
- Barnes, p.174, ".455 Revolver MK-1/.455 Colt".
- Geoffrey Boothroyd, The Handgun (Crown Publishers, 1970). ISBN 9780948253270
References
- Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".476 Ely/.476 Enfield Mk-3", in Cartridges of the World, pp. 175 & 178. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. ISBN 0-695-80326-3.
- ______ & _____. ".455 Revolver MK-1/.455 Colt", in Cartridges of the World, p. 174. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. ISBN 0-695-80326-3.
- Maze, Robert J. Howdah to High Power. Tucson, AZ: Excalibur Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-880677-17-2.