In 1857, the French gunsmith Antoine Alphonse Chasseau designed a new rifle, which later became a model for other shooting models using clips and a sliding bolt. In history, this creation of the French designer is known as the 1866 Chasseau rifle of the year. It was in this year that she entered service with the army of the French Empire. Information about the history of creation, description and technical characteristics of the Chasspo rifle can be found in this article.
History
Design work on the creation of the Chasspo 1866 single-shot needle rifle was started back in 1857. During the Franco-Prussian war, Prussian soldiers used Dreyse needle rifles, which were very effective at that time. By defeating the French at the Battle of Sadov, the Prussian soldiers showed the advantage of modern small arms.
According to experts, it was this battle that became the impetus for the adoption of Chasseau rifles into service with France. This infantry unit passed its baptism of fire in November 1867 at the Battle of Mentana. Then the French, armed with new rifles, defeated the Garibaldians. The product of the French gunsmith showed its best side, which became the basis for launching it into mass production.
This issue was de alt with by several enterprises in France itself. The production of rifles under a contract was also established in Italy (at the Glisenti factory in Brescia), England (Potts and Hunt), Austria and Belgium. In 1871, 12,000 weapons were delivered from Austria to France. Spare parts (100 thousand pieces) were attached to it. By 1870, 1200 thousand rifles were produced, another 700 thousand by 1874. Production ceased in 1875.
About device
The Chasseau rifle is equipped with a bolt action that can rotate 90 degrees. Unlike modern rifles, in this rifle model, after the shutter was closed, the trigger was not set on a combat platoon. To do this, the shooter had to perform one extra movement. According to experts, in their design features, modern bolt-action rifles are very similar to the French needle.
Unlike the Dreyse shooting model, the Chasspo uses a more advanced shutter obturation system, so that the powder gases do notbroke out. At that time, due to the lack of metal sleeves, this was a very big problem. Chasseau solved it with a rubber o-ring that can expand under the influence of gases.
The disadvantage was that the rubber rings had to be replaced frequently as they burned out quickly. Over time, the seals were replaced by asbestos gaskets - Debenge obturators. In order to make the rifle more reliable, the primer was placed at the base of the cartridge case, and not in the pallet, as was the case with Dreyse.
As a result, the needle turned out to be much shorter in Chassepo rifles. According to experts, the 11-mm cartridge had high power and excellent ballistic properties. Paper was used to make cartridges. Under the pressure of powder gases, the bullet expanded. As a result, there was no need for a sleeve pallet. Due to the fact that after the shot the cartridge burned out, and the remaining particles were removed during further firing, the extractor was not provided in the design of the rifle.
However, as practice has shown, the removal of the remnants of the cartridge was not carried out to the full extent, since the rifles often became clogged. In order to make this rifle unit effective in close combat, the French gunsmith provided a bayonet for the Chasspo rifle, which the soldier wore on his belt, and, if necessary, mounted on the weapon.
About specifications
- The rifle weighs 4, 1 kg.
- Without a bayonet, the length is 1313 mm, with a bayonet - 1890 mm.
- Within oneminutes, you can fire no more than 15 shots.
- The 11mm rifle is effective at distances up to 1200m.
- The fired projectile has an initial velocity of 410 m/s.
- Ammunition single-shot.
- An open sight is provided for the rifle unit.
About modifications
On the basis of the 1866 rifle, the following models of small arms were designed:
Rifles 1866-1874 T. The designation "T" indicates that this model is a remake. In order to make it possible to use weapons with the new 11x59 R ammunition, the chamber was changed in it, and the sight was equipped with new divisions. As a result, the effective fire range has been increased from 1200 to 1700 m
- Rifles 1866-1874 M80 T. The maximum range was 1800 m.
- Sample 1874 M14. The base for the weapon was the M80 T model, in which the barrel was replaced with a new metal cartridge 8x51R.
About combat use
According to experts, Chasseau rifles were quite effective in the Franco-Prussian war. Despite the fact that the Dreyse muzzle-loading rifles were inferior to the new rifle units in terms of ballistic properties, they were not withdrawn from service. For this reason, the French army was only 30% equipped with new weapons.
