Martini Henry IC1 Artillery Carbine

This is a fascinating Martini Henry IC1 Artillery Carbine. Just visible is the Enfield name and date stamp of 1879 and on the underside of the barrel is the date February 1880. The IC1 designation stands for Interchangeable Carbine MK1. This model was first introduced in 1878 primarily for use by British Garrison and Field Artillery units and regiments. Due to their similarity they are often mistaken for cavalry carbines and do share many of the same parts. This example is covered in a plethora of unit markings. On the stock there are various deleted and reissue regimental stamps. We believe that the following "3/1/ WD /RA" is an abbreviation for; WD = County of London Regiment (West Dragoons) and RA = Royal Regiment of Artillery. On the other side of the stock it is stamped "N 103 I L B". The capital letter N was only used on Navy property weapons, and this may explain the condition of the finish to the metal parts if it has been at sea! The Enfield roundal has the number 1 below which indicates that this carbine was a first class weapon used by front line troops. On the underside of the foregrip is the initials MT2, this refers to the Morris Aiming tube. Incredibly it still has its cleaning rod and i think it is safe to say that this little carbine has seen plenty of action having been issued and then reissued at least a further 5 fives!