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| Kammerlader | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kammerlader m/1857 | |
| Type | Breech-loadingrifle |
| Place of origin | Sweden-Norway |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1842–1870 |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Unknown |
| Designed | 1842 |
| No. built | More than 40,000 |
| Variants | Norwegian Army:
|
| Specifications | |
| Mass | M1849/55: 5 kg (11 lb), other models likely differed from this |
| Length | M1849/55: 126 cm (50 in), other models likely differed from this |
| Barrel length | M1849/55: 78 cm (31 in), other models likely differed from this |
| Cartridge | Minié ball in paper cartridge |
| Action | See text |
| Rate of fire | Depended on how quickly the shooter could reload. |
| Muzzle velocity | Sources vary; between 265 m/s to 350 m/s |
| Effective firing range | Accurate to 1,100 m, see text. |
| Feed system | single-shot |
| Sights | V-notch and front post |
TheKammerlader, or "chamber loader", was the first Norwegianbreech-loadingrifle, and among the first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single-shotblack-powder rifle, thekammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of thereceiver. This made it much quicker and easier to load than the weapons previously used.Kammerladers quickly gained a reputation for being fast and accurate rifles, and would have been a deadly weapon against massed ranks of infantry.
Thekammerlader was introduced in 1842, and it is thought that about 40,000 were manufactured until about 1870. While the firstflintlock breech-loading rifles, such as theFerguson, were launched decades before 1842, Norway was among the first European countries to introduce breech loaders on a large scale throughout its army and navy. Thekammerladers were manufactured in several different models, and most models were at some point modified in some way or other.
Thekammerladers were phased out as more modern rifles were approved for use. They were either modified forrimfire cartridges, sold off to civilians or melted for scrap. Rifles sold to civilians were often modified for use asshotguns orhunting firearms. Today it is hard to find an unmodifiedkammerlader, and collectors often pay high prices for them.
In the early 19th century, theNorwegian Army decided that the nature of warfare was changing away from the massed ranks firing in volleys towards smaller units advancing and firing independently. This conclusion was reached after having observed theAmerican Revolutionary War, theNapoleonic Wars and the shortSwedish campaign against Norway in 1814. Lessons were also learned from theGunboat War, where small, mobile gunboats outmaneuvered larger, more heavily armed ships. It was decided that abreech loaded rifle was needed, more accurate than the old smoothboremuskets, yet quicker to load than the rifles issued to the NorwegianJeger andSkijeger units. A special committee was created, and it started considering variousfirearm actions in 1837. It was soon clear that the desired weapon should:
The end result was that a modern, breech-loading rifle was approved for use on the 18 May 1842. The caliber chosen for the new rifle was 18lødig (gauge); in other words, one could manufacture 18 round bullets out of oneNorwegian pound of lead. In modern terms this means the caliber of the rifle was 17.5 mm.
From 1842, until theRemington M1867 was approved in 1867, more than 40,000 kammerladers in more than 80 different models were manufactured. In 1860 the caliber was reduced again, to fourSwedish Linjer,[1] or about 11.77 mm. When some of theKammerladers were modified to rimfire after 1867, this meant that the barrels had to be bored out to 12.17 mm to accept the new cartridge.
During a military sharpshooting competition held in Belgium in 1861, theKammerlader was proven to be among the most accurate military long arms in Europe. The Norwegian rifles were shown to be accurate to a range of about 1 km (0.6 mi), which is quite an achievement even by today's standards.
Every breechloader must have some form ofmechanism that allows thebreech to be opened for loading, yet securely locked for firing. This was even more important in the early designs made before the introduction of thecartridge. Achieving a gas-tight seal was difficult with themetallurgy of the day, and it can be argued that the Norwegiankammerladers are the first fully successful military breechloaders — theneedle gun was slightly earlier, but it leaks a significantgas pressure around the breech. Acrank mounted on the side of the weapon operates thekammerlader. Rotating the crank opens the breech of the weapon, allowing for loading. The use ofpaper cartridges — a pre-measured amount of gunpowder and a lead bullet wrapped in paper — also sped up therate of fire. While not as fast as more modern rifles, which use fixed cartridges, thekammerlader was much faster than contemporarymuzzle-loadingrifles. The loading sequence is as follows (refer to picture):
The exact rate of firing with thekammerlader depends, as with all manually operated weapons, entirely on the shooter. While the sources do not give any indication as to the rate of fire attainable by the average soldier, it is known that it was higher than for a muzzle loadingmusket — roughly four rounds a minute — and most probably lower than the contemporary Germanneedle gun's 10 to 12 rounds a minute, since thekammerlader has a more elaborate loading procedure.
Most of the rifles were modified during theirservice life. The first major modification was the change from a fixed rearsight mounted behind the receiver to an adjustable rear sight mounted in front of it. The first of the adjustable rear sights was a 'flip over' type: an L-shaped piece of metal that was hinged so it could 'flip' over. Later this was again modified to a design known in Norway as a 'ski hill sight'; a simple, yet functional, adjustable tangent sight. In principle, this latest sight doesn't differ from theiron sights found on most modern firearms. Towards the end of the service life of thekammerladers, most of the small bore rifles were modified to allow the use ofrim fire ammunition.
Thekammerlader was designed to usepaper cartridges — a pre-measured amount of gunpowder and a lead bullet wrapped in paper — both to speed up and simplify loading the weapon. In the early days of the rifle most units used round bullets in their weapons, but in 1855 it was decided that all units should use the a conical ball instead since this gave better accuracy.[1] The paper was wrapped around the cylindrical section of the bullet and secured with wool string secured in the grooves. The end of the bullet was then covered in melted tallow, before theblack powder was filled in behind the bullet and the end wrapped. For the 18 lødig rifles, a load of 96 grains (6.22 g) was used. Sources vary in the reportedmuzzle velocity, but it is known that during tests in 1849, the bullet penetrated 2 inches (51 mm) of wood at a distance of 800alen (500 m).
After the introduction of theRemington M1867 and itsrimfirecartridge in 1867, the Norwegian Army and the Royal Norwegian Navy decided to convert some of the stock ofkammerladers into rim fire rifles. There were two designs used for the modification:Landmarks andLunds. Neither can be considered completely successful, but both were cheaper, and quicker, than manufacturing new M1867s. It seems that theNorwegian Army preferred the Lund, while the Landmark was the option of choice for theRoyal Norwegian Navy.
For theLund conversion, thechamber was replaced with abreechblock, and an extractor was mounted on the left side of the receiver. A chamber fitting the12.17 x 44 mm rimfire cartridge was milled out of the rear part of the barrel. The right side of the receiver was lowered 6 mm and the bottom plate exchanged from a brass plate to a steel plate with a track for the extractor. Thefiring pin was curved to allow the hammer to strike it.
TheLandmark conversion refers to a modification invented byJens Landmark. Thechamber, which on a kammerlader is a separate piece tilted up and to the rear, is opened as before, but can be tilted further backwards by means of a hinge in the middle of the chamber. The12.17 x 44 mm rim fire cartridge is placed backwards, facing the shooter, before everything is rolled back forward. The only part to be modified was the chamber and a curving firing pin was added where the nipple for the cap had been. Pictures showing the Landmark conversion can be found here[2]
A number of thekammerladers were also converted with theRemington action, by replacing the receivers but keeping the barrels and woodwork. These can be distinguished from ordinary Remington M1867s by having a shorter receiver with more rounded corners. It is unknown how manykammerladers were modified in this fashion.
Thekammerlader rifles were manufactured over a period of 25 years (1842 to 1867) in a wide range of both military and civilian models. Almost all the military rifles were modified once or more, resulting in a very wide range of different models for a collector to collect.
Thekammerladers were phased out as more modern weapons became available — theRemington M1867, theKrag–Petersson (adopted by the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1876), and theJarmann M1884. It is likely that the last of the modified navalkammerladers was not finally removed from military warehouses until after theKrag–Jørgensen was approved for use in 1894, although sources are scarce on this. The rifles were either sold to civilians or melted down for scrap.
Most of the rifles sold to civilians were turned into hunting implements, by replacing the barrel and/or the woodwork. Some of these were supposedly used forillegal hunting duringWorld War II, when the occupying Germans had seized all modern weapons owned by civilians. Today it is hard to find akammerlader in original condition, or indeed at all.
Thekammerlader is often claimed to be an outstanding weapon for its time. The only contemporary European rifle which it can be compared to is thePrussian needle gun — the only other breech loader adopted for service in the 1840s.
| Rifle | Kammerlader M1849/55 | Prussian Needle rifle M/41 |
|---|---|---|
| Effective range | 1,000 m (1,100 yd) | 600 m (660 yd) |
| Rate of fire | 6 to 8 rounds/minute (guesstimate, see article) | 10 to 12 rounds/minute |
| Calibre | 17.5 mm (0.69 in) | 15.4 mm (0.61 in) |
| Muzzle velocity | 265 to 350 m/s (870 to 1,150 ft/s)[3] | 305 m/s (1,000 ft/s) |
| Barrel length | 78 cm (31 in) | 91 cm (36 in) |
| Total length | 126 cm (50 in) | 142 cm 55.9 in) |
| Loaded weight | 5 kg (11 lb) | 4.7 kg (10 lb) |
Images of various models and modifications:Various models of the kammerlader:
Ammunition
Modifications to rimfire:
In use
