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Hi Dave,
I did not doubt you for a second, but thank you for providing the reference. My copy of that book is so worn from use I have to be careful opening that book. Not sure how I missed that as I made a point of studying original nomenclature when I was reenacting as a Private Soldier in the 42nd RHR. :shocked2: :redface: :haha:
I am very glad you brought this up, though, as it reminded me of other examples of how British Ordnance upgraded and improved Pattern Muskets as time went on and that goes to more examples of what Tenngun was wondering about.
While British Ordnance was Re-Arming the Entire British Army for the very first time worldwide with the P1730 Muskets, and even before they got that job completely finished, there were some deficiencies noted and some improvements begun before they completely finished the re-arming. The stronger trigger guard was actually one of the improvements that was applied to some P1740 muskets that helped distinguish them from the P1730. (That stronger trigger guard was so good, they used it at least to the end of the 18th century.) The other two modifications were 1. Adding a Pan Bridle to the Lock thereby making it a “Double Bridle” Lock and 2. Dropping the fancy carving around the tang and lock panels to a more simplified carving, though this was a cost savings measure - it did allow them to speed up production to get muskets into the hands of the troops faster. Bailey notes that a P1740 could have any two of these modifications, but not all three, as they were working through the modifications towards the next Pattern Musket.
This list of modifications is intended for Tenngun and others as to give an idea of what the modifications from then through the AWI were for, though it is not a complete list of every tiny modification.
P1742 Land Pattern Musket. 48” Barrel, Simplified Carving, Stronger Trigger Guard and ALL Locks were the improved “Double Bridle Locks” from this pattern on for Land Pattern Muskets. This was THE most common British Musket used by British Regulars and British Americans during the FIW, until they captured the 15,000 French Muskets at Fort Louisbourg.
P1744 “Carbine” for Dragoons. The only thing that made these “Carbines” was the shorter barrel as they still used the standard .76 cal Musket Bore. Though these were not used by most of the British Regular Infantry, this musket marks the first time British Ordnance shortened the Barrel to 42” for a major number of muskets. Some of these were issued to Highlander Infantry Troops, though.
P1748 Land Pattern Musket. 48” barrel. The huge improvement here was the introduction of the Steel Rammer to replace the Wooden Ramrod. The problem with these, though, was the larger hole ramrod pipes for the Wooden Ramrod were reduced by soldering bushings into them for the smaller diameter Steel Rammers and they used a rather flimsy spring in the Entry Pipe that commonly broke in use. Also, they didn’t quite get the tempering correct on many of the Steel Rammers. This was also the last major run of Muskets with the “Banana” Shaped Lock Plate. These were begun production in the last year of the War of the Austrian Succession, so only around 5,000 were made and they ALL went to British Regular Forces serving on the Continent (Europe) or at home. Bailey notes none of these were ever used in the American Colonies.
P1756 Land Pattern Musket. 48” Barrel. There is some evidence that a very few of the initial run of these were made with left over parts, so a very small number had Banana Shaped Lock Plates and perhaps a tiny number had Wood Ramrods, but the most significant changes were the Flatter Bottomed P1755 Locks and Steel Rammers. Though the Lock change may have looked cosmetic, it was easier to inlet and took a little less wood away from the stock, thereby making that area of the stock a bit stronger and faster to get into production. It also had the first Brass Nose Cap to keep the front of the stock from splitting and the much improved Rammer Pipes that were made for the Steel Rammers ”“ a vast improvement over the modified Wood Rammer Pipes.
This Pattern Musket was considered such a huge upgrade to the P1742 and P1748 Muskets, that they were kept for use on the Home Islands and for Regulars serving on the Continent. British Regular Regiments who had these Muskets prior to being sent to America, had them “taken from them” and re-armed with P 1742 Muskets. This because the greater threat to England was on the Continent and the War in the Colonies took a back seat to that threat. Some of these were sent to America for replacing broken/damaged P 1742 muskets, but not many and only near the end of the FIW.
P1756 and P1760 Carbines. 37” Barrel, though some very early ones had the 42” barrel. What is noteworthy about these Carbines was the fact that British Ordnance for the first time “standardized” the “Carbine Bore” at .66 Cal., instead of earlier Carbines that could have been either .76 Cal. or .66 Cal. Both of these had the Flatter bottomed Lock and the P1756 sometimes had a Wood Ramrod or Steel Rammer, while the P1760 had the Steel Rammer. I mention these as both were used here in the American Colonies the FIW by Highlander Troops. From the P1760 onwards, barrel length for Carbines was “standardized” at 37” for all but very small runs of Carbines.
P1756 Marine and Militia Musket. The first of any Major Run of 42” Barrel Muskets and was the first to be called the “Short” Land Pattern Musket ”“ thereby making earlier and later 48” barreled Muskets called “Long” Land Pattern Muskets from then on. However, they did not have all the improvements of the P1756 Land Pattern Muskets and the missing Entry Pipe was one such feature. These were not used in the American Colonies in the FIW, but were in use by British Marines and some British Regulars as early as the Battle of Breed’s/Bunker Hill in the AWI. Some folks may see the shorter barrels as a cost savings measure, and it was, though it was more than that.
British Regular Soldiers in the 18th century on average were around 5’6” tall, though those few who were around 6’ tall were selected for the Grenadier Company in each British Regiments. So reducing the length of the barrel from 48” to 42” made it much easier for the shorter British Regulars to load their muskets rapidly and of course the lighter weight was also appreciated. To my initial surprise when I first read it and perhaps to the surprise of others, American Soldiers averaged 1 ½” to 2” TALLER than British Soldiers during the period, because the American Diet was so much better than the diet of the poorer British Soldiers as they grew up. (The average height of American Soldiers would SHRINK in the early 19th century through the UnCivil War, due to all the poor immigrants from Eastern Europe.)
P1777 Short Land Pattern Musket. 42” Barrel. This was the first run of Muskets that had all the earlier Musket improvements and with the shorter Barrel. They also added a hole in the Top Jaw Screw for the first time sometimes in addition to the Turnscrew/Screwdriver Slot and sometimes with just the hole. This made it much easier to tighten/loosen the Top Jaw Screw. This was also the first lock where you cannot see the end of the Sear Spring Screw outside the lock behind the Cock/Hammer. This because they shortened the Sear Spring as a cost savings measure and some believe it was an improvement.
Near the end of the 18th century, the British still retained some Long Land Pattern Muskets for the Grenadier Companies as they believed the LLP’s looked more elegant. However, they were at first forced to adopt the cheaper 39” Barrel “India Pattern” Musket because of the overwhelming need of Muskets in the 1790’s for the Wars against France and Napoleon, but later came around to accepting them as a standard Pattern. It was during this period that “Good Heavens” they were also forced into accepting a small number of BEECH stocked Muskets as the supplies of Walnut were not there for the enormous number of Muskets needed. However, once Napoleon was finished, British Ordnance made sure that the FIRST Muskets they surplus sold were those Beech stocked Muskets and they never again accepted Beech stocks while they still used Flintlock Muskets.
Gus
I did not doubt you for a second, but thank you for providing the reference. My copy of that book is so worn from use I have to be careful opening that book. Not sure how I missed that as I made a point of studying original nomenclature when I was reenacting as a Private Soldier in the 42nd RHR. :shocked2: :redface: :haha:
I am very glad you brought this up, though, as it reminded me of other examples of how British Ordnance upgraded and improved Pattern Muskets as time went on and that goes to more examples of what Tenngun was wondering about.
While British Ordnance was Re-Arming the Entire British Army for the very first time worldwide with the P1730 Muskets, and even before they got that job completely finished, there were some deficiencies noted and some improvements begun before they completely finished the re-arming. The stronger trigger guard was actually one of the improvements that was applied to some P1740 muskets that helped distinguish them from the P1730. (That stronger trigger guard was so good, they used it at least to the end of the 18th century.) The other two modifications were 1. Adding a Pan Bridle to the Lock thereby making it a “Double Bridle” Lock and 2. Dropping the fancy carving around the tang and lock panels to a more simplified carving, though this was a cost savings measure - it did allow them to speed up production to get muskets into the hands of the troops faster. Bailey notes that a P1740 could have any two of these modifications, but not all three, as they were working through the modifications towards the next Pattern Musket.
This list of modifications is intended for Tenngun and others as to give an idea of what the modifications from then through the AWI were for, though it is not a complete list of every tiny modification.
P1742 Land Pattern Musket. 48” Barrel, Simplified Carving, Stronger Trigger Guard and ALL Locks were the improved “Double Bridle Locks” from this pattern on for Land Pattern Muskets. This was THE most common British Musket used by British Regulars and British Americans during the FIW, until they captured the 15,000 French Muskets at Fort Louisbourg.
P1744 “Carbine” for Dragoons. The only thing that made these “Carbines” was the shorter barrel as they still used the standard .76 cal Musket Bore. Though these were not used by most of the British Regular Infantry, this musket marks the first time British Ordnance shortened the Barrel to 42” for a major number of muskets. Some of these were issued to Highlander Infantry Troops, though.
P1748 Land Pattern Musket. 48” barrel. The huge improvement here was the introduction of the Steel Rammer to replace the Wooden Ramrod. The problem with these, though, was the larger hole ramrod pipes for the Wooden Ramrod were reduced by soldering bushings into them for the smaller diameter Steel Rammers and they used a rather flimsy spring in the Entry Pipe that commonly broke in use. Also, they didn’t quite get the tempering correct on many of the Steel Rammers. This was also the last major run of Muskets with the “Banana” Shaped Lock Plate. These were begun production in the last year of the War of the Austrian Succession, so only around 5,000 were made and they ALL went to British Regular Forces serving on the Continent (Europe) or at home. Bailey notes none of these were ever used in the American Colonies.
P1756 Land Pattern Musket. 48” Barrel. There is some evidence that a very few of the initial run of these were made with left over parts, so a very small number had Banana Shaped Lock Plates and perhaps a tiny number had Wood Ramrods, but the most significant changes were the Flatter Bottomed P1755 Locks and Steel Rammers. Though the Lock change may have looked cosmetic, it was easier to inlet and took a little less wood away from the stock, thereby making that area of the stock a bit stronger and faster to get into production. It also had the first Brass Nose Cap to keep the front of the stock from splitting and the much improved Rammer Pipes that were made for the Steel Rammers ”“ a vast improvement over the modified Wood Rammer Pipes.
This Pattern Musket was considered such a huge upgrade to the P1742 and P1748 Muskets, that they were kept for use on the Home Islands and for Regulars serving on the Continent. British Regular Regiments who had these Muskets prior to being sent to America, had them “taken from them” and re-armed with P 1742 Muskets. This because the greater threat to England was on the Continent and the War in the Colonies took a back seat to that threat. Some of these were sent to America for replacing broken/damaged P 1742 muskets, but not many and only near the end of the FIW.
P1756 and P1760 Carbines. 37” Barrel, though some very early ones had the 42” barrel. What is noteworthy about these Carbines was the fact that British Ordnance for the first time “standardized” the “Carbine Bore” at .66 Cal., instead of earlier Carbines that could have been either .76 Cal. or .66 Cal. Both of these had the Flatter bottomed Lock and the P1756 sometimes had a Wood Ramrod or Steel Rammer, while the P1760 had the Steel Rammer. I mention these as both were used here in the American Colonies the FIW by Highlander Troops. From the P1760 onwards, barrel length for Carbines was “standardized” at 37” for all but very small runs of Carbines.
P1756 Marine and Militia Musket. The first of any Major Run of 42” Barrel Muskets and was the first to be called the “Short” Land Pattern Musket ”“ thereby making earlier and later 48” barreled Muskets called “Long” Land Pattern Muskets from then on. However, they did not have all the improvements of the P1756 Land Pattern Muskets and the missing Entry Pipe was one such feature. These were not used in the American Colonies in the FIW, but were in use by British Marines and some British Regulars as early as the Battle of Breed’s/Bunker Hill in the AWI. Some folks may see the shorter barrels as a cost savings measure, and it was, though it was more than that.
British Regular Soldiers in the 18th century on average were around 5’6” tall, though those few who were around 6’ tall were selected for the Grenadier Company in each British Regiments. So reducing the length of the barrel from 48” to 42” made it much easier for the shorter British Regulars to load their muskets rapidly and of course the lighter weight was also appreciated. To my initial surprise when I first read it and perhaps to the surprise of others, American Soldiers averaged 1 ½” to 2” TALLER than British Soldiers during the period, because the American Diet was so much better than the diet of the poorer British Soldiers as they grew up. (The average height of American Soldiers would SHRINK in the early 19th century through the UnCivil War, due to all the poor immigrants from Eastern Europe.)
P1777 Short Land Pattern Musket. 42” Barrel. This was the first run of Muskets that had all the earlier Musket improvements and with the shorter Barrel. They also added a hole in the Top Jaw Screw for the first time sometimes in addition to the Turnscrew/Screwdriver Slot and sometimes with just the hole. This made it much easier to tighten/loosen the Top Jaw Screw. This was also the first lock where you cannot see the end of the Sear Spring Screw outside the lock behind the Cock/Hammer. This because they shortened the Sear Spring as a cost savings measure and some believe it was an improvement.
Near the end of the 18th century, the British still retained some Long Land Pattern Muskets for the Grenadier Companies as they believed the LLP’s looked more elegant. However, they were at first forced to adopt the cheaper 39” Barrel “India Pattern” Musket because of the overwhelming need of Muskets in the 1790’s for the Wars against France and Napoleon, but later came around to accepting them as a standard Pattern. It was during this period that “Good Heavens” they were also forced into accepting a small number of BEECH stocked Muskets as the supplies of Walnut were not there for the enormous number of Muskets needed. However, once Napoleon was finished, British Ordnance made sure that the FIRST Muskets they surplus sold were those Beech stocked Muskets and they never again accepted Beech stocks while they still used Flintlock Muskets.
Gus
