![]() ![]() This also kept regular French field artillery in a neglected position in the eyes of French emperor Napoleon III, with dire consequences during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. ![]() The Reffye model had initially been built in small numbers and in secrecy: only about 200 were available at the beginning of the conflict. Smaller numbers of other designs, including the Gatling gun, were also purchased by the French government during the latter part of that conflict. ![]() Initially kept under wraps as a secret weapon, it was widely used in battle by French artillery during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). From 1859, Joseph Montigny proposed his design to Napoleon III, which led to the development of the French Reffye mitrailleuse, designed by Jean-Baptiste Verchère de Reffye with the collaboration of Montigny, and which was adopted by the French Army in 1865. The system was improved during the 1850s by Louis Christophe and the Belgian engineer Joseph Montigny, with the completion of the 37-barrel Montigny mitrailleuse in 1863. The first 'mitrailleuse' was a manually fired 50-barrel volley gun originally developed in Belgium in 1851 by the Belgian Army Captain Fafschamps, who made a rough prototype and drawings of his invention. They were not infantry support weapons, but rather a form of special artillery. ![]() Reffye mitrailleuses were deployed in six gun batteries and were manned by artillery personnel. The maximum effective range of the Reffye mitrailleuse was about 2000 yards a distance which placed their batteries beyond the reach of Prussian Dreyse needle rifle fire. The sustainable firing rate of the Reffye mitrailleuse was 100 rounds per minute. With the rotation of a crank, the 25 rounds were discharged in rapid succession. A steel block containing twenty-five 13 mm (.51 calibre) centre-fire cartridges was locked against the breech before firing. It became the first rapid-firing weapon deployed as standard equipment by any army in a major conflict when it was used during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Then the French 25 barrel ' Canon à Balles', better known as the Reffye mitrailleuse, was adopted in great secrecy in 1866. It was followed by the Belgian Montigny mitrailleuse in 1863. The earliest true mitrailleuse was invented in 1851 by Belgian Army captain Fafschamps, 10 years before the advent of the Gatling gun. A mitrailleuse ( French pronunciation: from French mitraille, 'grapeshot') is a type of volley gun with multiple barrels of rifle calibre that can fire either multiple rounds at once or several rounds in rapid succession. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |