| .450 Nitro Express | ||||||||||||||||
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| Type | Rifle cartridge | |||||||||||||||
| Place of origin | United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||||||
| Designer | John Rigby & Company | |||||||||||||||
| Designed | 1898 | |||||||||||||||
| Produced | 1898–present | |||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||
| Parent case | .450 Black Powder Express | |||||||||||||||
| Case type | Rimmed, straight | |||||||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | .458 in (11.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Neck diameter | .481 in (12.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Base diameter | .545 in (13.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Rim diameter | .624 in (15.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Rim thickness | .042 in (1.1 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Case length | 3.25 in (83 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Overall length | 3.95 in (100 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Case capacity | 130.0 gr H2O (8.42 cm3) | |||||||||||||||
| Rifling twist | 1-15 in (381 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Primer type | Boxer/Berdan | |||||||||||||||
| Maximum pressure | 44,237 psi (305.00 MPa) | |||||||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||
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| Source: "Cartridges of the World" 500gr load specified by ADI-Powders[1] | ||||||||||||||||
.450 Nitro Express also known as the.450 Nitro Express 31⁄4-inch is a rifle cartridge designed for hunting dangerous game such as elephant, rhino, cape buffalo, lion, and leopard. This cartridge is used almost exclusively indouble rifles for hunting in the tropics or hot climates in general and is associated with the Golden Age of Africansafaris and Indianshikars.
The .450 Nitro Express was the firstNitro Express cartridge, developed around 1898 byJohn Rigby. This cartridge was based on the then popular.450 Black Powder Express case with 70 grains (5 g) ofCordite and a 480-grain (31 g) jacketed bullet.Muzzle velocity is listed at 2,150 feet per second (655 m/s) with 4,909 ft⋅lbf (6,656 J) of muzzle energy. This straight case has a length of 3.25 in (83 mm) with a .624 in (15.8 mm) rim.[1]
Early cartridges used the black powder case that was designed for around 22,000psi and not the 34,000 psi that the Cordite load generated. Case extraction was difficult, especially in warmer climates such asAfrica andIndia where the cartridge was primarily used. To remedy this problem, a reinforced case was produced andKynoch made a reduced load to lower the case pressure. Another problem lay in the sensitivity of Cordite, loads developed in the cool British climate performed differently in the tropical heat of Africa and India, resulting in excessive pressures. The manufacturers responded by developing "tropical loads" with reduced propellant.[2]
These initial problems led toHolland & Holland developing the.500/450 Nitro Express andEley Brothers developing the.450 No 2 Nitro Express, both of which offered very similar performance to the original .450 Nitro Express. By the time these two cartridges appeared, the early issues with the .450 Nitro Express had been resolved, and it quickly became the most popular and widely used dangerous-game hunting round.[2]
Following the British Army1907 ban of .450 caliber ammunition intoIndia and theSudan, instead of developing their own replacement, Rigby adopted Joseph Lang's.470 Nitro Express as their standard double rifle cartridge.[1] By the time the ban was lifted the .470 NE had largely supplanted the .450 NE as the industry's most popular elephant cartridge, andMauser'sGewehr 98bolt actioned rifles offered cheaper alternatives to the expensive double rifles required by the Nitro Express cartridges.[citation needed]
In 1914 and early 1915, Germansnipers were engagingBritish Army positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to.303 British ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the BritishWar Office purchased 62 large-bore sporting rifles from British rifle makers, including 47 of .450 caliber rifles, which were issued to regiments, some British officers also supplied their own.[3]
On one notable occasion, Richard "Dickie" Cooper brought down threeAlbatros D.III fighters fromErnst Udet's squadron,Jagdstaffel 15, with his Holland & Holland .450 Nitro Express big-game double rifle. Cooper is recorded as saying: "I aimed well ahead of the leader. He came down like apheasant, as did the one that followed, and I had time to reload and fire again at the third before he passed over - he also crashed."[3]
Prominent users of the .450 Nitro Express includeAgnes Herbert,Arthur H. Neumann,Major Chauncey H. Stigand andDenys Finch Hatton; the latter had a gunsmith rebarrel his.475 No 2 Nitro Express Lancaster double rifle into .450 Nitro Express as it was easier to find ammunition.[4][5][6][7][8][9]