The
Martini–Henry was a
breech-loading single-shot lever-actuated
rifle adopted by the
British Army, combining the dropping-block action first developed by Henry O. Peabody (in his
Peabody rifle) and improved by the Swiss designer Friedrich von Martini, whose work in bringing the cocking and striker mechanism all within the receiver greatly improved the operation of the rifle, which new iteration was combined with the polygonal barrel rifling designed by Scotsman
Alexander Henry. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the
Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader conversion to the cartridge system. Martini–Henry variants were used throughout the
British Empire for 30 years. Though the Snider was the first breechloader firing a metallic cartridge in regular British service, the Martini was designed from the outset as a breechloader and was both faster firing and had a longer range.