The
chassepot, officially known as "fusil modèle 1866," was a military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the
French forces in the
Franco-German War[?] of
1870 and
1871. 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. In the war of
1870 it proved very greatly superior to the German
needle-gun. The breech was closed by a bolt very similar to those of more modern rifles, and amongst the technical features of interest were the method of obturation, which was similar in principle to the de Bange obturator for heavy guns, and the retention of the paper cartridge.
The chassepot was replaced in 1874 by the Gras rifle[?], which had a metal cartridge, and all rifles of the older model remaining in store were converted to take the same ammunition (fusil modèle 1866/74).
- Calibre: 11mm (.433 inches)
- Weight: 4635 grams (9lb 5oz.)
- Length with Bayonet: 1.88 meters (6ft. 2in.)
- Charge (black powder): 5.6 grams (86.4 grains)
- Bullet (lead): 25 grams (386 grains)
- Muzzle Velocity: 405 meters/second (1328 feet per second)
- Sighted to: 1200 meters (5312 yards)
- (from an old encyclopedia)