Krag-Jørgensen
| Krag-Jørgensen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| general information | |
| Civil name: | Krag rifle |
| Military designation: | .30 Caliber Springfield Rifle of the Krag-Jorgensen Pattern (USA) |
| Country of operation: |
Norway , United States , Denmark |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Ole Krag, Erik Jørgensen, Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk, Springfield Armory |
| Manufacturer country: | Norway, United States |
| Production time: | 1889 to 1905 (USA) |
| Weapon Category: | gun |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 986–1328 mm depending on the model |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 3.4–5.2 kg depending on the model |
| Barrel length : | 520–832 mm depending on the model |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 8 × 58 mm R (DNK), .30-40 Krag (USA), 6.5 × 55 mm (NOR) |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 5 cartridges |
| Fire types: | Single fire |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | Left |
| Visor : | open sights |
| Closure : | Cylinder lock |
| Charging principle: | Multiple loaders |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Krag-Jørgensen is a multi-loading rifle that was developed towards the end of the 19th century by artillery captain Ole Herman Johannes Krag, head of the state arms factory in Kongsberg in Norway, and his colleague Erik Jørgensen. The rifle was introduced by Denmark in 1889 as an orderly weapon, followed by the United States in 1892, and later Norway.
technology
The special feature of this rifle is its five round magazine. The cartridges lie in a row transversely under the locking cylinder, a cartridge is brought into the loading position by a curve upwards. The magazine is filled with individual cartridges through a flap on the magazine protruding on the right-hand side. This has the advantage that individual cartridges can be refilled even with the lock locked, which was possible with gloves even in extreme cold. In contrast, in most multi-loaders with a permanently installed box magazine, the magazine can only be refilled from above when the lock is open. The advantage of the Krag system is more than offset by the possibility of using the Mauser system to insert several cartridges into the magazine at once using loading strips .
Another disadvantage of the Krag system was that the locking mechanism is not as robust as that of weapons with the Mauser locking system . The cantilever bolt cylinder had only one bolt at the front, so that the weapon could not be converted to stronger cartridges.
Denmark
The interest of the Danish military only started the development of the rifle. Krag and Jørgensen presented their first drafts there in 1886, which they revised several times in accordance with the reservations expressed during testing. The original prototype had a ten-round magazine and was found to be too heavy. Three years later the weapon was added to the arsenal of the Danish armed forces , where it remained until it was occupied by German troops in 1940.
United States
In 1892, the US witness office decided to replace the obsolete Springfield single loader in the .45-70 Government gunpowder caliber with the multi-loader with a barrel length of 30 inches (762 mm) developed in Norway. In addition, ammunition was developed according to contemporary standards, the .30-40 Krag . It was the first small-caliber cartridge with low-smoke powder in service with the US Army . The Krag rifle came to the troops only two years later, as material defects and modification requests made extensive repairs necessary.
After the Mauser rifles of the Spanish troops had proven themselves better in the Spanish-American War - thanks to loading strips they could be loaded faster, and the 7 mm Mauser cartridge was ballistically superior to the .30-40 Krag - the Krag was replaced in 1903 and Withdrawn 1907. The new weapon, the Springfield M1903 Rifle , had the Mauser loading mechanism and the Mauser lock, which was superior to the cantilever bolt. In the 1920s, the US Army sold its reserve stocks, after which the Krag became a popular hunting weapon in the United States. At the present time, the weapon is of particular interest to collectors because, after many conversions and retrofits as well as special models, a large variety of variants are in circulation.
In the Springfield Armory (Massachusetts) , all versions added together, about half a million pieces were made. The most fundamental changes compared to the Danish model included:
- The original loading flap could be swiveled down, this was replaced by a horizontal drawer.
- The hook safety gave way to a wing safety.
- The chamber handle was cranked.
Norway
The army of the country of manufacture was the last armed force in which the Krag was introduced. In advance, a Swedish-Norwegian commission had been able to agree on a standard cartridge with the 6.5 mm Swedish Mauser, but not on a standard rifle. At that time the two countries were still linked in personal union. In 1894 Norway took over the Krag from its own production, Sweden the Mauser 1896. The Krag 1894 differed little from the American models. The rifle remained in the arsenal of the Norwegian army until World War II .
Web links
- www.cruffler.com: Norwegian M1894 Krag-Jorgensen Rifle. (English)
- Guns & Ammo: Model 1896 Krag-Jorgensen Carbine. (English)
- I Krag-Jørgensen Norvegesi. Production numbers and years, specifications (Italian)
- Cantilever rifles. (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Note: in the en-wp the barrel length is given as 30 "= 760 mm