The Hotchkiss Ordnance Company was an

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armaments A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

manufacturer founded by

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ordnance

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

Benjamin B. Hotchkiss Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss (October 1, 1826 – February 14, 1885) was one of the leading American ordnance engineers of his day. American career Hotchkiss was born in Watertown, Connecticut, and moved to Sharon, Connecticut in childhood ...

History

In the 1850s, Hotchkiss was employed as a

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

in Hartford, working on Colt revolvers and Winchester rifles. He went to France in 1867 and organized Hotchkiss & Co. in 1875, setting up offices in

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and manufacturing facilities in Saint-Denis. This company enjoyed success and the confidence of

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authorities, receiving large governmental orders and was allowed to export arms to other countries. In 1884, Hotchkiss and William Armstrong & Co. of

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agreed to manufacture Hotchkiss guns at the Elswick works. Hotchkiss died in 1885, and in 1887 the affairs of both companies were placed under the French corporation and renamed respectively, the Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie of France and the Hotchkiss Ordnance Company, Ltd. in England.

References

{{Commons category, Hotchkiss Former defence companies *Hotchkiss Ordnance Company