19th Century
Mass production
The early years of the 19th century heralded an industrial age the like of which had never before been witnessed and an extraordinarily rapid advance in weapons technology, which continues to this day.
Formerly a labour-intensive and expensive industry, by the late 1850s the mass production of military firearms had become mechanised, using technology perfected in the United States by a number gunmakers including Whitney, North, Colt and Robbins & Lawrence and others and which was first adopted in Britain by the Royal Small Arms Manufactory at Enfield.
Notable objects located in this gallery
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1848 Dragoon Colt Revolver
Samuel Colt’s Dragoon Model 1848 revolving pistol.
Dates from 1850 | Object number: XII.908
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Gatling Gun
The Gatling machine gun on display in the War Gallery at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
Dates from 1873 | Object number: XII.1804
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