Kropatschek rifle

Kropatschek/Steyr-Kropatschek
Kropatschek/Steyr-Kropatschek
	Kropatschek 1886
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1886–1961 (Portugal)
Used by	See Users
Wars	War of the Pacific; French conquest of Tunisia; Mandingo Wars; First Madagascar expedition; Tonkin campaign; Sino-French War; 31 January 1891 revolt; Revolta da Armada; Federalist Revolution; First Italo-Ethiopian War; Portuguese conquest of the Gaza Empire; War of Canudos; Second Boer War; World War I ; Spanish Civil War; World War II (Portuguese colonies) ; 1959 Viqueque rebellion; Annexation of Goa; Portuguese Colonial War
Production history
Designer	Alfred von Kropatschek
Designed	1886
Produced	1886–circa 1898
Variants	Long rifle, short rifle
Specifications
Mass	4.3 kg (9.5 lb)
Length	1320 mm (4 ft)
Barrel length	820 mm (32.3 in)
Cartridge	11.15x58mmR; 11×.15x36mmR; 11×59mmR Gras; 8×56mmR Kropatschek Corto; 8×60mmR Guedes; 8x50mmR Mannlicher
Caliber	8mm (.329 in)
Action	Bolt action
Muzzle velocity	609 m/s (2,000 ft/s)
Effective firing range	2406 yd (2,200 m)
Feed system	8-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.

The French Lebel Model 1886 rifle was a modified Kropatschek, which was adopted by the French Navy in 1878.

Variants

Austria-Hungary

Gendarmerie Repetier-Karabiner M1881: 11 mm Gendarmerie Carbine (also known as M1874/81);
Kropatschek Torpedo Boats Gewehr M1893: 8 mm Navy Rifle for Torpedo boat crews.

France

Fusil de Marine Mle 1878: 11 mm Navy Rifle, it was a modified Fusil Gras mle 1874 fitted with a 7-round tubular magazine and shortened 60 mm (2.4 in) to reduce weight.
Fusil d'Infanterie Mle 1883: 11 mm Infantry Rifle.
Fusil d'Infanterie Mle 1874/85: 11 mm Infantry Rifle—like the Navy M1878, it was a Gras M1874 rifle fitted with a Kropatschek magazine and a two-piece stock, and the gun overall length was shortened 60 mm (2.4 in).

Portugal

Espingarda de Infantaria 8 mm m/1886: 8 mm Infantry Rifle;
Carabina de Caçadores 8 mm m/1886: 8 mm Light Infantry Carbine;
Carabina de Cavalaria 8 mm m/1886: 8 mm Cavalry Carbine;
Carabina da Guarda Fiscal 8 mm m/1886/88: 8 mm Treasury Guard Carbine;
Espingarda de Infantaria 8 mm m/1886/89: 8 mm Colonial Infantry Rifle;
Carabina de Artilharia 8 mm m/1886/91: 8 mm Artillery Carbine.

Users

Austria-Hungary
Brazil – 1878 Kropatschek rifle adopted by the navy in 1884; in 1891 it was replaced by the 1886 Portuguese model. During the second Revolta da Armada the army used a small number of Kropatscheks captured from navy depots. The Kropatschek was phased out in naval service in 1895 after the adoption of the 1894 Brazilian Mauser
Chile – 2,000 1878 Kropatschek rifles were delivered for the navy in 1881. The objective of this acquisition was to have a fast-firing weapon to repeal torpedo boats.
Ethiopian Empire
French Third Republic
Kingdom of Greece – Part of French military aid during World War I.
Kingdom of Portugal
Portugal – Remained in service with colonial troops until 1961
Qing Empire
Russian Empire – 150,000 Kropatscheks bought from France in 1915
Soviet Union – taken into Soviet inventory following the Russian Civil War; most were shipped to Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War
Kingdom of Spain – 746 M1878 Kropatschek rifles procured from OEWG.
Spanish Republic – 1,821 surplus 1878 Kropatschek rifles delivered by the Soviet Union
Wassoulou Empire – The Wassoulou Empire arms industry created functional copies of the Krophatschek rifle in the 1880s and 90s to use in their struggle against French colonial forces.

References

↑ Esposito, Gabriele, Armies of the War of the Pacific 1879-83: Osprey Publishing (2016)
1 2 3 4 McCollum, Ian (2019). Chassepot to Famas: French Military Rifles 1866-2016. Headstamp Publishing. ISBN 978-1733424608.
↑ de Abreu, Jorge, A Revolução Portugueza: O 31 de Janeiro (Porto 1891) (2009)
↑ "O EXÉRCITO REPUBLICANO" (PDF).
↑ McLachlan, Sean (20 September 2011). Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896: The Italian Disaster in Ethiopia. Men-at-Arms 471. Osprey Publishing. pp. 35–36. ISBN 9781849084574.
↑ "History of WWI Primer 083: The Kropatschek Pt.2 Documentary" – via YouTube.
↑ VILLELA Jr, M E C. CANUDOS: memórias de um combatente. 2 ed. Rio de Janeiro: EdUERJ, 1997. p. 107.
↑ Gunter, Janet (2007). "'Communal Conflict in Viqueque and the 'Charged' History of '59'". The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology. 8: 27–41. doi:10.1080/14442210601177977.
↑ 8x56 R Kropatschek Short - MUNICION.org (spanish)
↑ 8x60 R Guedes - Kropatschek - MUNICION.org (spanish)
↑ Reade 1890, p. 742.
1 2 Hicks & Jandot 1938, pp. 11, 27.
↑ Hicks & Jandot 1938, p. 11.
↑ "ArmasBrasil - Carabina Kropatschek". Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑ "Armas de Fuego y Municiones". 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
1 2 "M1878 French Naval Kropatschek (Fusil de Marine M1878)". MilitaryRifles.com. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
↑ Reade 1890, p. 740.
↑ Walter 2006, p. 238.
↑ Jowett 2016, p. 13.
↑ "Scraping the bottom of the barrel blackpowder rifles of the great war part 1".
1 2 3 "Foreign Rifles of the Spanish Republic, 1936-1939".
↑ Bocoum, Hamady (2001). "SAMORI' S SMITHIES: FROM CRAFT PRODUCTION TO ATTEMPTED MANUFACTURING, OR A DRAFT PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGICAL INDEPENDENCE". Mande Studies. 3: 55–63.

Bibliography

Hicks, James Ernest; Jandot, Andre (1938). Notes on French Ordnance, 1717 to 1936. Mount Vernon, New York: James E. Hicks.
Jowett, Philip (2016). Imperial Chinese Armies 1840–1911 (PDF eBook ed.). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1428-9.
Reade, Philip (1890). "Military Rifles". Appletons' American Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1899. Vol. 29. New York City: D. Appleton & Company.
Walter, John (2006). Rifles of the world (3rd ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-89689-241-5 – via Internet Archive.

External links

French 1878 Marine Kropatschek Forgotten Weapons

[1] Esposito, Gabriele, Armies of the War of the Pacific 1879-83: Osprey Publishing (2016)

[:Ian-2] 1 2 3 4 McCollum, Ian (2019). Chassepot to Famas: French Military Rifles 1866-2016. Headstamp Publishing. ISBN 978-1733424608.

[3] Abreu, Jorge, A Revolução Portugueza: O 31 de Janeiro (Porto 1891) (2009)

[4] "O EXÉRCITO REPUBLICANO" (PDF).

[5] McLachlan, Sean (20 September 2011). Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896: The Italian Disaster in Ethiopia. Men-at-Arms 471. Osprey Publishing. pp. 35–36. ISBN 9781849084574.

[:CNR-6] "History of WWI Primer 083: The Kropatschek Pt.2 Documentary" – via YouTube.

[7] VILLELA Jr, M E C. CANUDOS: memórias de um combatente. 2 ed. Rio de Janeiro: EdUERJ, 1997. p. 107.

[JG_2007-8] Gunter, Janet (2007). "'Communal Conflict in Viqueque and the 'Charged' History of '59'". The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology. 8: 27–41. doi:10.1080/14442210601177977.

[mokc-9] 8x56 R Kropatschek Short - MUNICION.org (spanish)

[mokg-10] 8x60 R Guedes - Kropatschek - MUNICION.org (spanish)

[FOOTNOTEReade1890742-11] Reade 1890, p. 742.

[FOOTNOTEHicksJandot193811,_27-12] 1 2 Hicks & Jandot 1938, pp. 11, 27.

[FOOTNOTEHicksJandot193811-13] Hicks & Jandot 1938, p. 11.

[14] "ArmasBrasil - Carabina Kropatschek". Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[15] "Armas de Fuego y Municiones". 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2025.

[:1-16] 1 2 "M1878 French Naval Kropatschek (Fusil de Marine M1878)". MilitaryRifles.com. Retrieved 28 March 2025.

[FOOTNOTEReade1890740-17] Reade 1890, p. 740.

[FOOTNOTEWalter2006238-18] Walter 2006, p. 238.

[FOOTNOTEJowett201613-19] Jowett 2016, p. 13.

[20] "Scraping the bottom of the barrel blackpowder rifles of the great war part 1".

[:0-21] 1 2 3 "Foreign Rifles of the Spanish Republic, 1936-1939".

[22] Bocoum, Hamady (2001). "SAMORI' S SMITHIES: FROM CRAFT PRODUCTION TO ATTEMPTED MANUFACTURING, OR A DRAFT PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGICAL INDEPENDENCE". Mande Studies. 3: 55–63.