Kropatschek rifle

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Kropatschek/Steyr-Kropatschek
Kropatschek rifle-MnM 31 AR 17-IMG 8705-white.jpg
Kropatschek Mle 1878
TypeRifle
Place of origin Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service1886 – 1961 (Portugal)
Used bySee Users
Wars War of the Pacific [1]
French conquest of Tunisia [2]
Mandingo Wars
First Madagascar expedition [2]
Tonkin campaign [2]
Sino-French War [2]
Revolta da Armada
Federalist Revolution [3]
First Italo-Ethiopian War [4]
War of Canudos [5]
Second Boer War
World War I
Spanish Civil War
World War II (Portuguese colonies)
Annexation of Goa
Portuguese Colonial War
Production history
Designer Alfred von Kropatschek
Designed1886
Produced1886–circa 1898
VariantsLong rifle, short rifle
Specifications
Mass4.3 kg (9.5 lb)
Length1320 mm (4 ft)
Barrel  length820 mm (32.3 in)

Cartridge 11×59mmR Gras 8×56mmR Kropatschek Corto [6] 8×60mmR Guedes [7]
Caliber 8mm (.329 in)
Action Bolt action
Muzzle velocity 609 m/s (2,000 ft/s)
Effective firing range2406 yd (2,200 m)
Feed system8-round integral tubular magazine

A Kropatschek is any variant of a rifle designed by Alfred von Kropatschek. Kropatschek's rifles used a tubular magazine (constructed of nickel-plated steel) of his design, of the same type used in the Japanese Murata Type 22 and the German Mauser Gewehr 1871/84. While designed for black powder, the Kropatschek action proved to be strong enough to handle smokeless powder.

Contents

The Kropatschek was the basis for the French Lebel M1886. [8]

Variants

Austria-Hungary:

France:

Portugal:

Kropatschek 1886 Kropatschek.jpg
Kropatschek 1886

Users

See also

References

  1. Esposito, Gabriele, Armies of the War of the Pacific 1879-83: Osprey Publishing (2016)
  2. 1 2 3 4 McCollum, Ian (2019). Chassepot to Famas: French Military Rifles 1866-2016. Headstamp Publishing. ISBN   978-1733424608.
  3. "O EXÉRCITO REPUBLICANO" (PDF).
  4. McLachlan, Sean (20 Sep 2011). Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896: The Italian Disaster in Ethiopia. Men-at-Arms 471. Osprey Publishing. pp. 35–36. ISBN 9781849084574.
  5. VILLELA Jr, M E C. CANUDOS: memórias de um combatente. 2 ed. Rio de Janeiro: EdUERJ, 1997. p. 107.
  6. 8x56 R Kropatschek Short - MUNICION.org (spanish)
  7. 8x60 R Guedes - Kropatschek - MUNICION.org (spanish)
  8. "French Rifle Ammunition: 8mm Lebel and 7.5mm French". 7 August 2017.
  9. "ArmasBrasil - Carabina Kropatschek".
  10. "Armas de Fuego y Municiones". web.archive.org. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  11. 1 2 "M1878 French Naval Kropatschek (Fusil de Marine M1878)". MilitaryRifles.com. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  12. "Scraping the bottom of the barrel blackpowder rifles of the great war part 1".
  13. 1 2 3 "Foreign Rifles of the Spanish Republic, 1936-1939".
  14. Bocoum, Hamady (2001). "SAMORI' S SMITHIES: FROM CRAFT PRODUCTION TO ATTEMPTED MANUFACTURING, OR A DRAFT PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGICAL INDEPENDENCE". Mande Studies. 3: 55–63.