The Chassepot, officially known as Fusil modèle 1866, was a military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and 1871. It replaced the obsolescent muzzle-loading Minié rifle. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2000x2000, 100 KB) fr: Fusil Chassepot Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chassepot ... Breech from Russian 122 mm M1910 howitzer, modified and combined with 105mm H37 howitzer barrel An interrupted screw style breech plug in the M109 howitzer An animation showing the loading cycle for a large naval breech-loader. ... Antoine Alphonse Chassepot (1833-1905) was a French inventor and gunsmith. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... Rate of fire is the speed at which a specific firearm or artillery piece can ]] per minute (RPM or round/min), or rounds per second Note that heat and ammunition concerns mean that most automatic weapons are unlikely ever to sustain their cyclic rate of fire for a full minute... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... Breech from Russian 122 mm M1910 howitzer, modified and combined with 105mm H37 howitzer barrel An interrupted screw style breech plug in the M109 howitzer An animation showing the loading cycle for a large naval breech-loader. ... A rifle is a firearm with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the barrel walls. ... Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with south German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III Otto Von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000 at the beginning of the war 1,200,000 Casualties 150,000 dead or wounded 284,000 captured 350,000 civilian... Training with the Minié rifle during the American Civil War, 1863. ...

It was so called after its inventor, Antoine Alphonse Chassepot (1833—1905), who, from 1857 onwards, had constructed various experimental forms of breechloader, and it became the French service weapon in 1866. In the following year it made its first appearance on the battlefield at Mentana on 3 November 1867, where it inflicted severe losses upon Giuseppe Garibaldi's troops. The event was reported at the French Parliament with a phrase that attracted mixed reviews : "Les Chassepots ont fait merveille!", a statement translatable as : "The Chassepots did marvelous execution ! ". Antoine Alphonse Chassepot (1833-1905) was a French inventor and gunsmith. ... Inner square of the castle in Mentana. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... Cunt BAg Twat Fuk suck my penis ring 0778851865!!!!!!Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Garibaldi in 1866. ...

In the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) it proved greatly superior to the German Dreyse needle gun, outranging it by 2 to 1. Although it was a smaller caliber (11 mm vs. 15.4 for the Dreyse), the chassepot ammunition had more gunpowder and thus faster muzzle velocity (by 33% over the Dreyse), resulting in a flatter trajectory and a longer range. The Chassepots were responsible for most of the Prussian and other German casualties during the conflict. The Dreyse needle-gun (German das Zündnadelgewehr or figuratively firing-pin rifle) was a military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the Prussians in 1866 and of the Germans in 1870 and 1871. ...

close-up, with cartridge

The breech was closed by a bolt similar to those of more modern rifles to follow. Amongst the technical features of interest was the method of obturation of the bolt with a shielded rubber ring which was quite effective. It was similar in principle to the de Bange obturator for artillery. The Chassepot used a combustible paper cartridge holding an 11mm (.43 inch) round-headed cylindrical lead bullet. An inverted standard percussion cap was at the rear of the paper cartridge and hidden inside. It was fired by the Chassepot's needle (a sharply pointed firing pin) upon pressing the trigger. While the Chassepot's ballistic performance and firing rates were excellent for the time, burnt paper residues as well as black powder fouling did accumulate in the chamber and bolt mechanism after continuous firing. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2552x1124, 137 KB) fr: Fusil Chassepot Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chassepot ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2552x1124, 137 KB) fr: Fusil Chassepot Work by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chassepot ... Obturate means to block or obstruct. ...

In order to correct this problem the Chassepot was replaced in 1874 by the Gras rifle, which had a center fire metallic cartridge, and virtually all rifles of the older model (1866) remaining in store were converted to take the same ammunition (fusil modèle 1866/74). The Gras rifle of 1874 used by the French Army was an adaptation to metallic cartridge of the Chassepot by general (then captain) Basile Gras. ...

Trivia

During the Franco-Prussian War, Captain Battreau as a young private was issued a Chassepot with serial number 187017, which he returned at the end of the war. In 1891, in the jungles of Dahomey, Battreau, now an officer in the French Foreign Legion, captured a rifle in a skirmish. It was the same Chassepot he had used in 1870. Dahomey was a kingdom in Africa, situated in what is now the nation of Benin. ... Legionnaire (film) The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. ...

Notes

Reference

• Ford, Roger. The World's Great Rifles. London: Brown Books, 1998. ISBN 1-897884-33-8

See also

• Antique guns

Antique guns are collected by enthusiasts on several continents. ...

External links

• The French Army 1600-1900
• Chassepot Rifle

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Chassepot Mle 1866