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Baker Rifle

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
Revision as of 00:07, 1 February 2018 by Crouchbk (talk | contribs) (→‎Film)
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Baker Rifle (1801-1837), Caliber - 0.625 inch (15.9 mm)
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Sean Bean holds a Baker at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, for History Channel's documentary Sean Bean On Waterloo (2015). Bean remarked that it was the first time he had handled a genuine Baker (a carefully preserved Napoleonic relic), as all of the weapons he handled in the Sharpe series were replicas.

The Baker Rifle (officially designated the "Infantry Rifle") was a flintlock rifle issued to the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue rifle of the British Army.


History

The Baker was issued to the specialized Rifle brigades of the British Army, who were tasked to act as skirmishers and scouts rather than regular line infantry. The weapon was prized for its long-range accuracy but regarded as slow in reloading (since the rifling of the barrels was ineffective unless the lead balls rammed down the muzzle were first wrapped in leather patches to grip the grooves), so the smooth-bore musket remained the standard-issue weapon for the majority of the Army. For the same reason, Napoleon Bonaparte refused to issue rifles to any units of the French Army.

British rifle units used the Baker in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars and in Canada during the War of 1812. Bakers were also, supposedly, carried by Mexican soldiers at the Battle of the Alamo, and the Nepalese government has recently released stores of Bakers that were previously supplied to its army.

Probably the most famous shot fired by a Baker was by Rifleman Thomas Plunket during the retreat to La Coruna, which flew an unmeasured but incredibly long distance (estimated as much as 800 yards) to kill French General Auguste Colbert (a short while later, just to prove that it wasn't a fluke, Plunket scored another hit on one of Colbert's aides).

The Baker has enjoyed a resurgence of historical and public interest thanks to its extensive use in the Sharpe series, based on the books by Bernard Cornwell.


The Baker Rifle has been used in the following films and television series:


Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Sharpe's Rifles Sean Bean Lt. Richard Sharpe 1993
Sharpe's Rifles Daragh O'Malley Private Patrick Harper 1993
Sharpe's Rifles Michael Mears Private Cooper 1993
Sharpe's Rifles Jason Salkey Private Harris 1993
Sharpe's Rifles John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1993
Sharpe's Rifles Paul Trussell Private Isiah Tongue 1993
Sharpe's Rifles Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1993
Sharpe's Eagle Sean Bean Capt. Richard Sharpe 1993
Sharpe's Eagle Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1993
Sharpe's Eagle Michael Mears Private Cooper 1993
Sharpe's Eagle Jason Salkey Private Harris 1993
Sharpe's Eagle John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1993
Sharpe's Eagle Paul Trussell Private Isiah Tongue 1993
Sharpe's Eagle Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1993
Sharpe's Company Sean Bean Capt. Richard Sharpe 1994
Sharpe's Company Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1994
Sharpe's Company Michael Mears Private Cooper 1994
Sharpe's Company Jason Salkey Private Harris 1994
Sharpe's Company John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1994
Sharpe's Company Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1994
Sharpe's Enemy Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1994
Sharpe's Enemy Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1994
Sharpe's Enemy Michael Mears Private Cooper 1994
Sharpe's Enemy Jason Salkey Private Harris 1994
Sharpe's Enemy John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1994
Sharpe's Enemy Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1994
Sharpe's Enemy 60th Regiment Riflemen 1994
Sharpe's Honour Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1994
Sharpe's Honour Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1994
Sharpe's Honour Michael Mears Private Cooper 1994
Sharpe's Honour Jason Salkey Private Harris 1994
Sharpe's Honour John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1994
Sharpe's Honour Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1994
Sharpe's Gold Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1995
Sharpe's Gold Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1995
Sharpe's Gold Michael Mears Private Cooper 1995
Sharpe's Gold Jason Salkey Private Harris 1995
Sharpe's Gold John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1995
Sharpe's Gold Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1995
Sharpe's Battle Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1995
Sharpe's Battle Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1995
Sharpe's Battle Jason Salkey Private Harris 1995
Sharpe's Battle John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1995
Sharpe's Battle Lyndon Davies Private Perkins 1995
Sharpe's Sword Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1995
Sharpe's Sword Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1995
Sharpe's Sword Jason Salkey Private Harris 1995
Sharpe's Sword John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1995
Sharpe's Regiment Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1996
Sharpe's Regiment Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1996
Sharpe's Regiment Jason Salkey Private Harris 1996
Sharpe's Regiment John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1996
Sharpe's Siege Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1996
Sharpe's Siege Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1996
Sharpe's Siege Jason Salkey Private Harris 1996
Sharpe's Siege John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1996
Sharpe's Siege Philip Whitchurch Capt. William Frederickson 1996
Sharpe's Mission Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1996
Sharpe's Mission Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1996
Sharpe's Mission Jason Salkey Private Harris 1996
Sharpe's Mission John Tams Private Daniel Hagman 1996
Sharpe's Revenge Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1997
Sharpe's Revenge Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1997
Sharpe's Revenge Philip Whitchurch Capt. William Frederickson 1997
Sharpe's Justice Sean Bean Maj. Richard Sharpe 1997
Sharpe's Justice Daragh O'Malley Sgt. Patrick Harper 1997
Sharpe's Waterloo Sean Bean Lt. Col. Richard Sharpe 1997
Sharpe's Waterloo Daragh O'Malley Patrick Harper 1997
Sharpe's Waterloo Jason Salkey Sgt. Harris 1997
Sharpe's Waterloo John Tams Sgt. Daniel Hagman 1997
The Alamo Patrick Wilson Lt. Col. William Travis 2004
Sharpe's Challenge Sean Bean Richard Sharpe 2006
Sharpe's Challenge Daragh O'Malley Patrick Harper 2006
Sharpe's Peril Sean Bean Richard Sharpe 2008
Sharpe's Peril Daragh O'Malley Patrick Harper 2008

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 Not usable 2017