Arthur William Savage
Encyclopedia
Arthur William Savage was a businessman, inventor and explorer. He is most famous as the inventor of the Savage Model 99
a famously innovative lever action rifle, which remained in production for over 100 years, and the founder of Savage Arms
, a gun company. However, his most lasting and valuable inventions may be radial tires, and the modern detachable box magazine used in almost all modern military firearms. He also invented an early torpedo. He built and raced cars.
, British West Indies
. His father was Welsh
, a special commissioner to the West Indies, charged with setting up an educational system for the newly freed slaves. He attended schools in Britain and Baltimore, MD in the United states and had a classical education
. He married, and had eight children. Four were boys, four were girls.
Six years later, he patented a lever-action rifle able to shoot then-modern guncotton military center-fire cartridges
with .303-caliber spitzer bullets
. This "Model 95" was the direct predecessor of the model 99. The classic under-barrel tubular magazine used in most lever-action
rifles hold rounds
end-to-end. In such a tubular magazine, pointed spitzer bullets
can detonate the centerfire primers used in military ammunition. So, he invented a rotary magazine. Another benefit of this magazine was that it had a cartridge counter that enabled the shooter to tell how many cartridges remained.
The gun also used a firing pin
, rather than a hammer
, and was the first mass-produced hammerless
rifle
. Firing pins, as used in the model 95 and 99, are superior to hammers because they have less mass. Therefore, they can be accelerated more quickly to strike the primer. As a result, the muscular tremors of the rifleman have less time to move the rifle's point of aim. Hammers can also jam on cloth or brush. A hammerless rifle was therefore a substantially superior gun.
In 1894, Savage started Savage Arms
in rented space on Hubbell street in Utica, New York
to produce his new rifle.
Slightly later, in 1897, he filed for the patent on a nearly identical gun with a removable box primer. This is substantially the modern Savage Model 99
lever action rifle. It stayed in production until 1999.
The modern removable box magazine often seen on military rifles was invented in 1908 by
Savage, as an improvement to the Model 99. It did not come into wide use until his patent expired in 1942. It has many attractive features that ensured its eventual dominance. It has shoulders to retain cartridges when it is removed from the rifle. It also operates reliably with cartridges of different lengths. So, is insertable and removable at any time with any number of cartridges. This allows the operator to reload the gun infrequently, carry magazines rather than loose cartridges, and to easily change the types of cartridges. It is assembled from inexpensive stamped sheet metal. When empty the follower stops the bolt from engaging the chamber, informing the operator of the gun's emptiness before any attempt to fire.
Savage collaborated on the invention of the Savage-Halpine torpedo, which was eventually adoped by the Brazilian navy. Although U.S. sea trials were successful, it was not adopted in the U.S., due to political considerations.
There are some claims that Savage invented the recoilless rifle
, but searches produce no U.S. patents predating William Kroeger's 1944 patent.
s as well as new production methods.
Savage committed suicide at the age of 83, on September 22, 1938 in San Diego, still director of his successful tire company. He had left a note beside himself claiming to have been suffering from a terminal illness.
Savage Model 99
The Model 99, and its predecessor models 1895 and 1899, are a series of lever action rifles created by the Savage Arms Company in Utica, New York.-History:...
a famously innovative lever action rifle, which remained in production for over 100 years, and the founder of Savage Arms
Savage Arms
The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with a division located in Canada. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns...
, a gun company. However, his most lasting and valuable inventions may be radial tires, and the modern detachable box magazine used in almost all modern military firearms. He also invented an early torpedo. He built and raced cars.
Early life
He was born in Kingston, JamaicaKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
. His father was Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, a special commissioner to the West Indies, charged with setting up an educational system for the newly freed slaves. He attended schools in Britain and Baltimore, MD in the United states and had a classical education
Classical education movement
The Classical education movement advocates a form of education based in the traditions of Western culture, with a particular focus on education as understood and taught in the Middle Ages. The curricula and pedagogy of classical education was first developed during the Middle Ages by Martianus...
. He married, and had eight children. Four were boys, four were girls.
Travels
In the late 1880s he took his family to Australia, homesteading in a covered wagon. He came to own what was then the largest cattle ranch in Australia. Eleven years later he sold it and bought a coffee plantation in Jamaica. In 1892 he moved to Utica New York, and hired himself to a railroad, the Utica Belt Line Street Railroad (See List of New York railroads). He also got part-time work at a gun factory, the Utica Hammer Magazine Company.Utica, NY, Savage Arms
Savage, and his son Arthur John began designing guns. His first model, in 1887, was a lever-action rifle with the magazine in the stock, rather than under the barrel.Six years later, he patented a lever-action rifle able to shoot then-modern guncotton military center-fire cartridges
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
with .303-caliber spitzer bullets
Spitzer (bullet)
A spitzer, also commonly referred to as a spire point bullet, is an aerodynamic bullet design used in most intermediate and high-powered rifle cartridges...
. This "Model 95" was the direct predecessor of the model 99. The classic under-barrel tubular magazine used in most lever-action
Lever-action
Lever-action is a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is worked. Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have also been made...
rifles hold rounds
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
end-to-end. In such a tubular magazine, pointed spitzer bullets
Spitzer (bullet)
A spitzer, also commonly referred to as a spire point bullet, is an aerodynamic bullet design used in most intermediate and high-powered rifle cartridges...
can detonate the centerfire primers used in military ammunition. So, he invented a rotary magazine. Another benefit of this magazine was that it had a cartridge counter that enabled the shooter to tell how many cartridges remained.
The gun also used a firing pin
Firing pin
A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...
, rather than a hammer
Hammer (firearm)
thumb|150px|Hammer with an integral [[firing pin]] on a [[S&W Model 13]] revolver The hammer of a firearm was given its name for both resemblance and functional similarity to the common tool...
, and was the first mass-produced hammerless
Hammerless
A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur.In rifles, using a firing-pin rather than a hammer is a substantial improvement because the time from trigger pull to firing can be less...
rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
. Firing pins, as used in the model 95 and 99, are superior to hammers because they have less mass. Therefore, they can be accelerated more quickly to strike the primer. As a result, the muscular tremors of the rifleman have less time to move the rifle's point of aim. Hammers can also jam on cloth or brush. A hammerless rifle was therefore a substantially superior gun.
In 1894, Savage started Savage Arms
Savage Arms
The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with a division located in Canada. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns...
in rented space on Hubbell street in Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
to produce his new rifle.
Slightly later, in 1897, he filed for the patent on a nearly identical gun with a removable box primer. This is substantially the modern Savage Model 99
Savage Model 99
The Model 99, and its predecessor models 1895 and 1899, are a series of lever action rifles created by the Savage Arms Company in Utica, New York.-History:...
lever action rifle. It stayed in production until 1999.
The modern removable box magazine often seen on military rifles was invented in 1908 by
Savage, as an improvement to the Model 99. It did not come into wide use until his patent expired in 1942. It has many attractive features that ensured its eventual dominance. It has shoulders to retain cartridges when it is removed from the rifle. It also operates reliably with cartridges of different lengths. So, is insertable and removable at any time with any number of cartridges. This allows the operator to reload the gun infrequently, carry magazines rather than loose cartridges, and to easily change the types of cartridges. It is assembled from inexpensive stamped sheet metal. When empty the follower stops the bolt from engaging the chamber, informing the operator of the gun's emptiness before any attempt to fire.
Savage collaborated on the invention of the Savage-Halpine torpedo, which was eventually adoped by the Brazilian navy. Although U.S. sea trials were successful, it was not adopted in the U.S., due to political considerations.
There are some claims that Savage invented the recoilless rifle
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
, but searches produce no U.S. patents predating William Kroeger's 1944 patent.
San Diego, CA, Savage Tire
In 1901 Savage moved to Duarte, CA, and formed the Savage Tire company, a $5,000,000 San Diego, CA corporation formed to make tires and inner tubes. Here, he invented radial tireRadial tire
A radial tire is a particular design of automotive tire . In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially ....
s as well as new production methods.
Savage committed suicide at the age of 83, on September 22, 1938 in San Diego, still director of his successful tire company. He had left a note beside himself claiming to have been suffering from a terminal illness.