Springfield Model 1855 pistol carbine
The Springfield Model 1855 Pistol Carabiner is a detachable butt percussion pistol developed by the Springfield Armory, Massachusetts and manufactured from 1855 to 1857 . It was intended to arm the US Cavalry and Dragoon regiments .
Development, technology
The weapon was based on the Springfield Model 1855 US Percussion Rifle Musket , of which 47,115 were made in the Springfield Amory from 1857 to 1861 and 12,158 in the Harpers Ferry Armory . Like this long gun, it has a rifled barrel in .58 caliber and fired the Minié bullet developed by Claude-Étienne Minié .
The length of the pistol carbine is 72 cm, length of the pistol 45 cm, length of the barrel 30.5 cm. The weapon weighs a total of 2.1 kg, the pistol 1.5 kg. The gun shown has a folding sight, firing range 50 and 100 yards. The charging rod or cleaning rod is connected to a joint at the front end to prevent loss, which is useful for a cavalry weapon .
The weapon was a percussion lock ignited, could by the Piston currently mounted percussion cap , but also by the Maynard ignition system carried out in which the ignition charges were placed on a paper strip, which was further advanced by a squib when tightening the tap.
A disadvantage of the Maynard system was its dependence on the weather, when it rained it could misfire, and the positioning of the ignition charge was not always precise enough.
Use of the weapon
A total of 4,021 of these pistol carbines were manufactured, most of them in the Springfield Armory, a few in the Harpers Ferry Armory. The reason for the development of this combined weapon was as follows: Mounted the weapon should be used as a pistol, while on foot as a carbine. Initially, the 1855 pistol carbines were used by US cavalry and dragoon troops on the western border against Indians; at the beginning of the Civil War , volunteer cavalry regiments were armed with them. It is unclear whether the weapon was later replaced by a revolver, since the single-shot weapon was unsatisfactory.
The reaction from Colt is interesting. From 1855 Samuel Colt began to manufacture a little over a thousand pistons for his six-shot Third Model Colt Dragoon revolver in caliber .44 (serial number approx. 13,000 - 16,000), which was manufactured from 1855 .
Springfield 1855 pistol
Springfield 1855 Maynard Lock
Maynard lock opened
Springfield 1855 Pistol to Colt Dragoon Comparison
Stock for Colt revolver
1855 Minié bullet
Web links
literature
- Echoes of Glory, Arms and Equipment of the Union. Virginia Live Books, Alexandria, Virginia 1991.
- Norm Flayderman: Flayderman's Guide to Antique Firearms . Krause Publications, Iola, WI 2001, ISBN 0-87349-313-3 .