Each man was to fire one shot, but two pistols were allowed in case of a misfire.

Every now and then I took a walk round the Battery to see that all was working correctly, and every hour the N.C.O.'s in charge of each gun brought in their fired tubes to the Command Post and reported how many rounds had been fired in the preceding hour and how many tubes misfired.

Forster attributes the constant misfires to the bad quality of the flints supplied by the Government, and says that English flints had a very unsatisfactory reputation on the Continent.

" In the case of a misfire, don't open the bolt immediately, as it may be a hangfire.

Misfires are often due to the fact that the bolt handle was not fully pressed down.

Her engine misfired continuously, and Barlow lacked the mechanical knowledge to remedy its ailment.