Alfred von Kropatschek

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Alfred von Kropatschek, 1901

Alfred Ritter von Kropatschek (born January 30, 1838 in Bielitz , Austrian Silesia, † May 2, 1911 in Lovrana , Istria) was an Austrian Feldzeugmeister (general of the artillery) and played a key role in the field of weapons technology.

Its most important development was probably the Kropatschek rifle with a tubular magazine , but the feather spur on the mount of the Austrian M / 75 field gun is also important in terms of weapon technology.

Life

Alfred von Kropatschek first attended the artillery academy in Olomouc and Mährisch-Weißkirchen. After participating in the Italian campaign in 1859, he completed the higher artillery course from 1861 to 1863, and in 1864 he was assigned to the Artillery Committee in Vienna . After the campaign in 1866 of the most technically gifted officer worked instrumental in the introduction of breech loading -Gewehrs (after the defeat at Königgrätz seemed their introduction urgently required) in the Austrian army, at times, he also worked as an instructor at the Army shooters School in Bruck an der Leitha and was at the same time advisor to the Ottoman Minister Daud Pascha for arming with Josef Werndl's rifles. In 1870/71 Kropatschek undertook a study trip to the Franco-German theater of war , from 1874 he was captain of the battery in the field artillery regiment No. 4 (promoted to major in 1876 ).

In 1869 he taught the Archduke Johann Nepomuk Salvator in mathematics and artillery.

In 1870 he applied for Leopold Gasser's army revolver to be tested and introduced .

1877-1883 he was in command of the artillery cadet school in Vienna, then he took over command of the field artillery regiment No. 2 in Olmütz (promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1880 and to colonel in 1884 ), in 1886 of the 13th artillery brigade in Agram , and in 1890 of the 3rd artillery brigade in Graz ( Appointed major general in 1890 ). In 1894 he was finally promoted to field marshal lieutenant and in 1895 to general artillery inspector, which he remained until his retirement in 1907 (since 1902 Feldzeugmeister ). In 1895 he was also appointed holder of Corps Artillery Regiment No. 4.

Kropatschek was one of the most capable weapons technicians and artillery organizers in the Austro-Hungarian army. He developed a repeating rifle that improved the feeder systems used at the time for the forend magazines. It was used (still set up for the 11 mm caliber) by the Hungarian Landwehr and the Bosnian-Herzegovinian gendarmerie , but above all by the French marine infantry , where it was further developed into the Lebel Model 1886 with 8 mm caliber. In the artillery field, Kropatschek reduced the recoil by attaching the feather spur he had invented to the mount of the M / 75 field gun , thus increasing its efficiency. In addition to the technical improvements in the recoil mounting included a protective shield to the field guns and the introduction of unit cartridge in the ammunition to Kropatscheks merits. In 1899 he introduced the rapid fire cannon into the Austro-Hungarian army.

His repeating rifle ( Kropatschek rifle ) in caliber 8 mm (8 × 60 mm R Guedes or 8 × 56), which was developed for Portugal in 1886 and manufactured by the Österreichischen Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft in Steyr with 40,000 pieces, is still known and present on the German collectors' market mm R Kropatschek) with a capacity of ten cartridges, the first “small-caliber” rifle (the calibers customary up to then were in the 11 mm range), whose cartridge was initially supplied with black powder and from 1895 with nitrocellulose . This gave Portugal the most modern infantry rifle at that time. When switching to nitrocellulose, the sleeve was shortened by 4 mm, hence the new designation "8 × 56 mm R Kropatschek". This weapon was used in the Portuguese colonies until the 1960s.

Awards

Small arms developed by Kropatschek

Austria-Hungary :

  • Gendarmerie Repetier-Karabiner M1881 : 11 mm, black powder ( M1874 / 81 );
  • Kropatschek torpedo boat rifle M1893 : 8 mm, marine rifle for torpedo boat crews.

France :

  • Fusil de Marine Mle 1878 : 11 mm (black powder)
  • Fusil d'Infanterie Mle 1884 : 11 mm (black powder)
  • Fusil d'Infanterie Mle 1885 : 11 mm (black powder)

Portugal :

  • Espingarda de Infantaria 8 mm m / 1886 : 8 mm infantry rifle, first set up for black powder, then for nitrocellulose
  • Carabina de Caçadores 8 mm m / 1886 : 8 mm for the light cavalry
  • Carabina de Cavalaria 8 mm m / 1886 : 8 mm Cavalry - carabiner
  • Carabina da Guarda Fiscal 8 mm m / 1886/88 : 8 mm for the Guard of the Finance Minister
  • Espingarda de Infantaria 8 mm m / 1886/89 : 8 mm modification with hand protection for the colonies
  • Carabina de Artilharia 8 mm m / 1886/91 : 8 mm artillery carbine.

Weapons with the Kropatschek system

literature

  • Walter Hummelberger :  Kropatschek Alfred von. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 4, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1969, p. 296 f. (Direct links on p. 296 , p. 297 ).
  • Rainer Egger :  Kropatschek, Alfred Ritter von (since 1871). In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 88 ( digitized version ).
  • Frech, Christian, General Artillery Inspector Feldzeugmeister Alfred Ritter von Kropatschek, in: Blätter für Österreichische Heereskunde 1987, Vienna 1987
  • Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Volume 11. Leipzig 1907, p. 739.
  • Nekrolog in: Communications on objects of artillery and genius, 1911, pp. 477–484
  • Alten, G., Handbook for Army and Fleet, Volume 5, Berlin 1913
  • Kropatschek rifle 8 × 60 mm edge, in: Visier 1994 issue 10, pp. 116-120
  • In stock. How multi-loader rifles came about and why many generals resisted it for so long. Spencer M 1860, Vetterli, Hotchkiss, Mauser 71/84, Kropatschek 1886, Lebel rifle 1886, Krag-Jörgensen, Springfield 1903, Lee rifle, Mannlicher-Carcano, MAS 36 u. a., in: Visier-Special 31, p. 32.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kropatschek, Alfred von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian general of the artillery and weapons developer
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Bielitz (Austrian Silesia)
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1911
Place of death Lovrana (Istria)