In this special episode, Jonathan is joined by Neil Aspinshaw, noted author of The Martini-Henry: For Queen and Empire, to explore the fascinating variants of the experimental .402" calibre Martini-Henry.

Why did the British Army shrink the calibre from .450" to .402"?
What problems were they trying to solve after the Zulu, Afghan, and Sudan campaigns?
And how close did this “improved” Martini come to replacing the service rifle of its age?

This is Part One of a two-part story, join us again next week for the conclusion!