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3 unusual facts about 6mm Lee Navy


6mm Lee Navy

On August 1, 1894 a naval test board was convened at the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island to test submitted magazine rifles in the new 6mm Navy caliber developed by naval ordnance authorities; according to the government notice of bid requirements, no other calibers or cartridges were to be considered.

Issued to both naval armed guards (bluejackets) and Marine battalions, the 6mm Lee Navy cartridge saw combat service with U.S. forces (primarily Marine riflemen and machine-gun teams) in both Cuba and the Philippines during the Spanish–American War, and was also issued to small formations of attached Cuban rebels participating in the Guantánamo Bay campaign.

The Lee straight-pull was chosen as the winner in repeated trials and adopted by the U.S. Navy in 1895 as the Lee Rifle, Model of 1895, caliber 6-mm.



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