NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Jarmann M1884

The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was among the first bolt action repeating rifles to be adopted in the Western world. Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army from a fighting force armed with single-shot black powder weapons into a force armed with modern repeating weapons firing smokeless ammunition. Several thousands were manufactured to equip both Norwegian and Swedish forces in the 1880s. The design is unique, and is the brainchild of Norwegian engineer Jacob Smith Jarmann. After the design had been phased out of the Norwegian Army, a number of the weapons were rebuilt as harpoon guns. A bolt-action firearm is one that is manually operated (i. ... A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition (consisting of primer, powder, and bullet contained in a cartridge). ... Jacob Smith Jarmann (1816-1894) was a Norwegian firearms designer. ... Rimmed, centerfire . ... The 10. ... 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. ... The Rate of fire is the speed at which a specific firearm or artillery piece can operate. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... The barrel of a gun or other firearm is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed. ... A bolt-action firearm is one that is manually operated (i. ... A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition (consisting of primer, powder, and bullet contained in a cartridge). ... Black powder - here a 100 grams container - can be freely bought in Switzerland. ... Smokeless powder Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of gunpowder-like propellants used in firearms which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older black powder which it replaced. ... Jacob Smith Jarmann (1816-1894) was a Norwegian firearms designer. ...

Description

The Jarmann M1884 fired a 10.15 mm black powder cartridge in an 8-round, tubular magazine in which the rounds were lined up in a tube below the barrel. It has a non-rotating bolt (the part of the action that seals the rear end of the barrel) locked by a rotating bolt handle, and reputedly a smooth action. However, this action is not considered strong enough to fire modern ammunition, since the only locking is provided by the rotating bolt handle. Image File history File links Cross section of the Jarmann M1884 repeter, taken from old Norwegian Army manual. ... Image File history File links Cross section of the Jarmann M1884 repeter, taken from old Norwegian Army manual. ... Black powder - here a 100 grams container - can be freely bought in Switzerland. ... Rimmed, centerfire . ... An M16 Magazine Various Mags A magazine (also called a mag) is an ammunition storage device within or attached to a firearm. ... A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech at the moment of firing. ... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ...

Jacob Smitch Jarmann designed his first rifle—a breech-loading rifle firing cardboard cartridges—in 1838,^[1] but this was turned down by the armed forces at the time. The logic was that a rifle capable of firing 13 shots a minute would be impossible to resupply with enough ammunition. In the 1870s, he stepped down from the daily running of his workshop to work on his newly invented bolt-action rifle. According to the patent, three particulars were considered new and unique with the action he had developed:^[1] An interrupted screw style breech plug in the M109 howitzer A breech-loading weapon, usually a gun or cannon, is one where the bullet or shell is inserted or loaded into the gun at the rear of the barrel, or breech; the opposite of muzzle-loading. ... 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. ...

Another interesting oddity is that the Jarmann action does not have a separate ejector, but instead relies the fact that the extractor pushes the spent round down onto the elevator. The resulting friction was enough to safely eject the round from the receiver.

The design was first tested by a joint Norwegian-Swedish rifle committee. Their first tests were favorable but highlighted the desirability of a repeating weapon, that is, a weapon with a magazine. Several magazine-fed prototype rifles were built—Ole Herman Johannes Krag, the designer of the Krag-Petersson and the Krag-Jørgensen repeating rifles, designed two different magazines^[1] for the Jarmann rifle: one virtually identical to the magazine used on the Krag-Petersson, one which was the forerunner for the magazine he used on the Krag-Jørgensen. Jacob Smith Jarmann himself also made several prototypes,^[1] mainly with tubular magazines under the barrel or detachable magazines mounted sideways over the bolt. The latter was considered unusable in the field, and in the end a tubular magazine was selected for the weapon. The magazine is similar to the Kropatschek^[2] tubular magazine and might be inspired by it, although it is just as possible that the magazine is inspired by the magazine of the Krag-Petersson. Image File history File links Picture taken for use on Wikipedia, no rights reserved File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Picture taken for use on Wikipedia, no rights reserved File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Ole Herman Johannes Krag (1837 â€“ 1916) was a Norwegian gun designer. ... The Krag-Petersson rifle was the first repeating rifle adopted by the armed forces of Norway, and one of the first repeating arms used anywhere in the world. ... The Krag-JÃ¸rgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik JÃ¸rgensen in the late 19th century. ... A Kropatschek is any variant of a rifle designed by Alfred von Kropatschek. ... The Krag-Petersson rifle was the first repeating rifle adopted by the armed forces of Norway, and one of the first repeating arms used anywhere in the world. ...

Despite being a trailblazer with its then-pioneering design, the Jarmann M1884 cannot be considered successful. The combination of tubular magazine and centerfire ammunition has been referred to as too excitable, especially when used with pointed bullets.^[3] Also, the balance of the weapon changed with every shot fired. However, both of these issues are common with all firearms using tubular magazines. Image File history File links Picture taken for use on Wikipedia, no rights reserved. ... Image File history File links Picture taken for use on Wikipedia, no rights reserved. ... A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge in which the primer is located in the center of the cartridge case head. ...

The first Jarmann design was firmly a single-shot weapon, and Jacob Smith Jarmann was reportedly at first unwilling^[1] to design a magazine for it. This may explain why the magazine and bolt do not always work well together.

The sights on the Jarmann M1884, as first issued,^[1] were graduated to a distance of 2,400 m (7,880 ft), and the original issue ammunition had a muzzle velocity of about 485 to 500 m/s. At first the ammunition used paper-wrapped lead bullets but soon changed to a steel jacketed bullet. During production, the sights was modified, so that M1884s with serial numbers higher than 4330 also had a combat sight;^[1] by folding the sight arm fully forward a v-notch was revealed. This combat sight was graduated to 430 m (1,410 ft), since the path taken by the bullet did not rise over 1,80 meter (6 ft) at this distance. The M1884 with this final form of sight was also equipped with a sidemounted volley sight, intended for indirect volley fire over long distances. To be effective an entire company would have to fire at the same time, which would ensure that at least some of the bullets found their targets. The volley sight was used at distances beyond 1,600 meter (about one mile). Image File history File links Detail of a larger photograph, showing the volleysight on the Jarmann M1884. ... Image File history File links Detail of a larger photograph, showing the volleysight on the Jarmann M1884. ... Metre per second (U.S. spelling: meter per second) is an SI derived unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector), defined by distance in metres divided by time in seconds. ... A full metal jacket bullet (or FMJ) is a bullet that is encased in a copper-coated steel or gilding metal jacket. ...

Ammunition

The aforementioned Norwegian-Swedish committee also designed the 10.15 x 61R cartridge^[1] that various prototypes and also the service weapon were chambered for. Originally a black powder round with a paper-wrapped lead bullet, it was later loaded with smokeless powder and a full metal jacket bullet. More than 5 million cartridges were manufactured for the M1884, in addition to several thousand speciality cartridges. The following different variations on the 10.15 x 61R cartridge has been identified:^[1] The 10. ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... Smokeless powder Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of gunpowder-like propellants used in firearms which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older black powder which it replaced. ... A full metal jacket bullet (or FMJ) is a bullet that is encased in a copper-coated steel or gilding metal jacket. ...

Accuracy

The Jarmann rifle was a remarkably accurate rifle for its time. In 1886, the joint Norwegian-Swedish rifle committee, which had selected the Jarmann, created a list of the ballistic properties of all the rifles tested.^[1] It is clear from the list that the Jarmann M1884 was significantly better than the other rifles tested, although in part this must be due to the higher muzzle velocity of the Jarmann. A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ...

The 10.15 mm bullet fired by the Jarmann was fully enfilading (the path of the bullet would pass through a man-sized target) all the way out to 438 meters (1,430 ft), and at a range of 600 meters (1,970 ft) it did not spread more than 61 centimeters (24 in) with uncoated lead bullets and 46 cm (18 in) with jacketed bullets. This compared very favorably to the Remington M1867, then the Norwegian standard weapon, which was enfilading out to 300 meters (1,000 ft) and had a spread at 600 meters of 96 cm (38 in). French frigate Poursuivante firing raking fire in enfilade on a British ship of line French frigate ArÃ©thuse and English frigate AmÃ©lia exchanging defilade fire on the shores of Guinea, the 7th of February 1813 Enfilade and defilade are military tactical concepts used to describe a fighting units... Remington M1867 Country Norway Type rolling block rifle Inventor Date of design 1867 Service duration 1867 - mid 1890s (rifle) 1888 - 1908 (modified carbines) Cartridge 12. ...

In comparison, the tested Gras rifle displayed a spread of 89 cm (35 in) and the tested Mauser rifle (presumable a Gewehr 71) had a spread of 80 cm (31.5 in), both at 600 meters (1,970 ft). 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. ... Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ...

Service

Despite the problems with the weapon, no less than 30,000^[1] were manufactured for the Norwegian armed forces in the decade between its adoption in 1884 and the adoption of the Krag-Jørgensen in 1894. A further 1,500^[1] were manufactured for the Swedish Navy in the same period. In Norwegian service, it replaced the Remington M1867 and the last few kammerladers still in use. Image File history File links Two Norwegian cadets from the War Academy armed with Jarmann M1884 rifles. ... Image File history File links Two Norwegian cadets from the War Academy armed with Jarmann M1884 rifles. ... The Krag-JÃ¸rgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik JÃ¸rgensen in the late 19th century. ... The Swedish Naval Ensign Coat of arms of the Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy (Swedish: Marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. ... Remington M1867 Country Norway Type rolling block rifle Inventor Date of design 1867 Service duration 1867 - mid 1890s (rifle) 1888 - 1908 (modified carbines) Cartridge 12. ... The Kammerlader, or chamber loader, was the first Norwegian breech loading rifle, and among the very first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. ...

When the weapon was elected and first issued, the military considered it a very good weapon.^[1] It had a good rate of fire and had less than half the spread of the Remington M1867 at 600 m (46 versus 96 cm). It was, however, eclipsed by the radical development of firearms at the time. Within a decade it was phased out and replaced by the Krag-Jørgensen rifle. Even though it was phased out, several second-line units were issued the weapon in 1905,^[1] when war was considered imminent between Norway and Sweden. The Krag-JÃ¸rgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik JÃ¸rgensen in the late 19th century. ...

Towards the end of their use in the armed forces, the original gunpowder cartridges were replaced by cartridges filled with smokeless powder. Despite the increase in muzzle velocity, the sights were not altered,^[1] thus radically decreasing the accuracy of the rifle.

Fate of the Jarmanns

Jarmann M1884s in their original condition are now extremely rare. During the 1920s and 1930s, a number of the surplus rifles was either sold to civilians or rebuilt into M28 harpoon guns. Whaling harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or other large aquatic animals such as whales. ...

From the mid 1920s and until the German invasion of Norway, it was possible for civilians to buy surplus Jarmann rifles for about a quarter of what a brand new Krag-Jørgensen would cost. Despite the reasonable price, it appears that very few were actually sold. Attempts was also made to sell the rifles and ammunition abroad. In 1929, about 5,000 rifles were sold to a German firm,^[1] but the fate of these Jarmanns is unknown. In 1936 King Ibn Saud from Saudi Arabia initiated talks to buy 20,000 Jarmanns with ammunition for his police force,^[1] but the request was turned down by the Norwegian parliament, who claimed that the sale of such outdated weapons would reflect badly upon Norway. In 1938 a private investor - Trygve G. Hygen, a former captain in the Norwegian Army - caused a minor international incident when he offered to sell Jarmann rifles to Ceylon.^[1] The British Consulate general complained to the Norwegian government, pointing out that Ceylon was British and they wanted full control of all weapons sold there. The Norwegian government reprimanded Hygen, and the offer was withdrawn. Attempts was also made by Hygen to sell Jarmanns to Lithuania, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Italy and the Netherlands, but without any takers.^[1] Image File history File links Group of Norwegian soldiers armed with the Jarmann M1884. ... Image File history File links Group of Norwegian soldiers armed with the Jarmann M1884. ... Operation WeserÃ¼bung was the German codename for Nazi Germanys assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. ... The Krag-JÃ¸rgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik JÃ¸rgensen in the late 19th century. ... `Abd al-`AzÄ«z as-Sa`Å«d ( 1880 - November 9, 1953) (Arabic:Ø¹Ø¨Ø¯Ø§Ù„Ø¹Ø²ÙŠØ² Ø¢Ù„ Ø³Ø¹ÙˆØ¯) was the first monarch of Saudi Arabia. ...

It is reported that the Germans melted down^[1] the last remaining Jarmann rifles in military warehouses during the Nazi occupation, since they were "too obsolete to be of interest, too modern to have lying around".^[4] It is quite possible that as many as 21,000 Jarmanns was destroyed in this fashion. Starting with the invasion of April 9, 1940, Norway was under military occupation of German forces and civil rule of a German commissioner in collaboration with a Pro-german puppet government. ...

M28 Harpoon gun

Between the war, several Norwegian gunsmiths attempted to create harpoon guns,^[1] intended for the dual purpose of hunting seals and shooting rescue lines to boats in distress. Seeing a ready market, and having access to the several thousand Jarmann in storage, Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk designed a harpoon gun was referred to as M28.^[1] As part of the rebuild, the magazine was removed, the handguard and barrel shortened and the repeating mechanism removed. In addition a heavy rubber shoulderpad was added to reduce the recoil, which must have been considerable. The rifle could still fire the ordinary 10.15 x 61R cartridge after the conversion. A box could be mounted under the handguard containing up to 300 meter (1000 ft) of thin rope. Kongsberg manufactured the M28 harpoon gun until 1952, when they started using the Mauser 98 mechanism in a new harpoon gun called M52. The sources indicate that around 1,911 Jarmann rifles was modified to M28s,^[1] about half of them after World War II. A bolt-action firearm is one that is manually operated (i. ... Jacob Smith Jarmann (1816-1894) was a Norwegian firearms designer. ... Rimmed, centerfire . ... The 10. ... 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. ... The Rate of fire is the speed at which a specific firearm or artillery piece can operate. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... The barrel of a gun or other firearm is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed. ... Image File history File links An advertisment for the M28 rescue gun (rebuild Jarmann M1884) dating from 1930. ... Image File history File links An advertisment for the M28 rescue gun (rebuild Jarmann M1884) dating from 1930. ... Families Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Pinnipeds (fin-feet, lit. ... Some boats in a harbor in Miami Beach, Florida A boat is a watercraft, usually smaller than most ships. ... Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ... The Karabiner 98k (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a bolt-action rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the Wehrmacht, and was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles. ...

The M28 was advertised as being suitable for use for hunting and rescue work, as well as for general shooting of lines. The advertisement reproduced here specifically mentions its suitability for firefighters, people erecting telephone lines and general construction work. The M28 was seen as suitable for hunting Northern bluefin tuna, seals, swordfish and other large marine animals. Among the equipment that could be delivered for the M28 was hunting harpoons, rescue harpoons, rocket-assisted harpoons, 'dum-dum bullets' and rope of various lengths in special crates. The special rounds for launching harpoons were manufactured until the mid-1970s.^[1] It has been suggested that Firefighter Assist and Search Team be merged into this article or section. ... A telephone line (or just line) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communications system. ... Binomial name Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus, 1758 The Northern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a species of tuna fish, living in both the Western and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and extending into the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. ... Binomial name Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758 Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill in contrast to the smooth, round bill of the marlins. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... Dum Dum is a group of small towns to the north west of Kolkata (Calcutta) in West Bengal state in India, and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport. ...

Comparison with contemporary rifles

The Jarmann was, at the time of its adoption, considered a good weapon, but how well did it really stand up to other rifles in service at the time? By comparing it to the Remington M1867, which was the standard issue rifle in the Norwegian Army, as well as against the standard service rifles of Germany, France and the United Kingdom at the time, it is clear that the Jarmann indeed was an excellent weapon.

Remington M1867 Country Norway Type rolling block rifle Inventor Date of design 1867 Service duration 1867 - mid 1890s (rifle) 1888 - 1908 (modified carbines) Cartridge 12. ... Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ... 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. ... The Martini-Henry (also known as the Peabody-Martini-Henry) was a breech-loading lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini (based on the Peabody rifle developed by Henry Peabody), with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry. ...

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