Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle a.k.a. Baker infantry rifle | |
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Type | Muzzle-loading rifle |
Place of origin | Kingdom of Great Britain |
Service history | |
In service | 1801–1837 (British Army) |
Used by | United Kingdom Portugal Brazil[1][2] United States Mexico |
Wars | French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars War of 1812 Brazilian War of Independence Texas Revolution |
Production history | |
Designed | 1798–1800 |
Produced | 1800–1838 (all variants) |
No. built | 22,000+ |
Variants | Cavalry carbine |
Specifications | |
Mass | 9 lb (4.08 kg) |
Length | 453⁄4 in (1162 mm) |
Barrel length | 30.375 in. (762 mm) |
Cartridge | 0.615 in. (15.6 mm) lead ball |
Caliber | 0.625 in (15.9 mm) |
Action | Flintlock |
Rate of fire | User dependent, Usually 2+ rounds a minute |
Muzzle velocity | Variable |
Effective firing range | Variable |
Feed system | Muzzle loaded |
The Baker rifle (officially known as the Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle) was a flintlock rifle used by the rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first British-made rifle that the British armed forces issued as a standard weapon for all line companies in a regiment. The Pattern 1776 Infantry rifle had been issued on a limited basis of 10 per regiment to units serving in the American War of Independence.
The Baker rifle was first produced in 1800 by Ezekiel Baker, a master gunsmith from Whitechapel. The British Army was still issuing the infantry rifle in the 1830s.