Rifle Examination Board

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The rifle examination commission was established in 1877 as a military authority in Prussia with its seat in Spandau-Ruhleben . It was assigned to the Wünsdorf Infantry Shooting School until 1883 and was then directly subordinated to the Prussian War Ministry.

organization

Until the outbreak of World War I. In 1914, the gun-examination commission was comprised of administrative, checkout and test company from a small arms - and ammunition - department . After the start of the war, the commission was dissolved. But after a short time it became clear that the development of equipment and weapons could not stand still. In 1915 it was therefore set up again and, as the war continued, an MG department was added. Officers who were no longer fit for field service were deployed there.

The soldiers of the test company were assigned to the test company by the individual army corps for a period of one year. They were all trained craftsmen such as shoemakers , tailors , gunsmiths and plumbers .

In terms of officers , the numerical ratio of the main contingents of the Old Army was maintained; in 1902 there were twenty-two officers from Prussia, two from Bavaria , two from Württemberg and one from Saxony . They too were assigned to the rifle examination committee for a certain period of time, at least one year and a maximum of five years. It was customary to reassign the troops after a while, so that a certain continuity of the work at the commission was guaranteed.

tasks

The commission initiated troop tests, formulated test conditions and provisional operating instructions and evaluated the results. The reports to the War Ministry then led to a decision on the introduction of a new weapon or a new device. The activity was not limited to the testing of new weapons and devices, she also drew up catalogs of demands to the industry and was herself constructively active. The Gewehr 88 developed by her , also known as the “commission rifle ”, was manufactured millions of times in German rifle factories, but did not meet expectations.

resolution

After 1918 the commission was finally dissolved and the tasks were taken over in 1919 by the "Inspection for Weapons and Equipment of the Reichswehr Ministry" under the direction of the later General of the Artillery Karl Becker . He had previously been an assistant to the artillery examination commission since July 1916 . In the mid-twenties, the "Weapons and Equipment Inspection" became the Army Weapons Office (HWA).

A comparable authority today is the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr in Koblenz .

literature

  • Joachim Görtz: The pistol 08. Verlag Stocker-Schmid. ISBN 3-7276-7065-7 .
  • Georg Ortenburg: Weapons and the use of weapons in the age of millions of armies. Bonn 1992. Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5811-9 .