One development witnessed by the Victorians was in case of weapons of war. During this period, many light weight, easy to use and more precise weapons were made which gave the British army an edge over other countries.
The first automatic weapon developed during the Victorian time was the Gatling gun. This gun had several barrels and once the crank was turned, the barrels would rotate continuously one after another until the barrel was empty. Nordenfelt was a machine that required manual loading.
This gun was in use at around the same time as the Gatling gun. Another important gun used during those days was the Maxim gun which had one barrel and was the first self-powered gun. With the invention of the machine gun, the rate at which the guns fired enhanced and it even saved the time required to load the gun.
There were a variety of rifles used like the Snider-Enfield, which was made sometime between 1863-1875. This rifle was fast and even more precise than the previously used rifles by the British army. Martini- Henry rifle substituted the Snider-Enfield.
Cane guns were seldom used during the Victorian times as it was very inaccurate. Harpoon was another weapon which was used during 1880s. British revolver was commonly used. Brass knuckle umbrella or the Umbuster was a weapon used by the British police. Knives, swords, axes, pistols were also used as sources of weapons by the Victorian people.