Krag-Petersson
Encyclopedia
The Krag-Petersson rifle was the first repeating
rifle
adopted by the armed forces of Norway
and one of the first repeating arms used anywhere in the world. Developed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag
, the action
of the Krag-Petersson was uniquely actuated by an oversized hammer. Another distinguishing feature was that the cartridge rising from the magazine was not seated automatically, but had to be pushed into the breech of the rifle.
Testing by the Norwegian military
revealed the Krag-Petersson was a robust, accurate and quick-firing weapon, and the Royal Norwegian Navy
adopted the rifle in 1876. The rifle was extensively tested by other nations, but none adopted it. After being phased out around 1900, the remaining rifles were sold to civilians and often were extensively rebuilt. Today, it is so difficult to find one in original condition that the Krag-Petersson has been described as "the rifle everybody has heard about, but hardly anybody has ever seen". It was the first rifle designed by Ole H. J. Krag to be adopted by an armed force.
, with vital help from his friend Axel Petersson
on the actuation of the mechanism. Ole H. J. Krag had been experimenting with repeating rifles for several years before he designed the Krag-Petersson rifle. His earlier models were actuated by a side-mounted lever working an interior crankshaft. Moving the lever in a half circle, counter-clockwise, made the breechblock
– the part of the mechanism that seals the rear of the barrel – move back and down. The rearward movement of the breechblock automatically ejected the spent round and the downward movement allowed the magazine follower to push a new round into the breech. In 1871, Axel Petersson suggested changing the design to allow the hammer to operate the breechblock instead, thus making the mechanism both simpler and easier to operate. The Krag-Petersson, like Krag's previous design, featured a tubular magazine under the barrel.
The action of the Krag-Petersson is, as seen in the photograph to the right, simple compared to modern rifles. It consists of only eight major components: the receiver (A), the hammer (B), the tilting breechblock (C), the firing pin
(D), two pins to secure the hammer and breechblock (E and F), a lockplate with a screw to secure the pins (G) and the tubular magazine (not shown in the photograph).
The Krag-Petersson repeating rifle has a falling block action
, i.e. the breechblock
moves downwards as the mechanism is opened, actuated (operated) by the operation of the exterior hammer. The tubular magazine
, containing a total of 10 rounds of ammunition, was placed under the barrel. Once the mechanism
was open, an extractor ejected the spent cartridge. A fresh round of ammunition was pushed into a shaped recess on top of the falling block by the spring in the magazine, whereupon the falling block rose slightly. The round could then be pushed into the chamber by the shooter, and the breechblock would rise completely. This rising of the breechblock (by means of a powerful spring) could catch the shooter off guard, resulting in pinched skin on the thumb.
In 1872, Krag presented his design to a Norwegian
/Swedish
Artillery Committee. Towards the end of 1872, this committee reported its findings. It was recommended that a refined model of the Krag-Petersson be tested further. These tests were undertaken in 1873 and 1874, with generally positive findings. The reports in particular praised the accuracy of the rifle, the rate of fire
and the fact that the ejector worked without fail. The reason for the last praise was that the ejector on the Remington M1867
– the standard rifle in the Norwegian Army
– often did not eject the empty cartridge when the rifle had been fired for a while.
During development, it was found that the rifle was not only solidly designed and well engineered, but it was also capable of firing 18 to 19 aimed shots a minute when used as a single loader – faster than the standard Remington M1867's 13 aimed shots per minute. When used as a magazine loader, it was found that 11 shots – ten in the magazine and one in the chamber – could be fired in 25 seconds. Tests carried out during the evaluation also indicated that the rifle was more accurate than the Remington M1867, although both weapons were firing the same ammunition from identical barrels. The rifle was also found to be extremely rugged – one of the tests carried out consisted of throwing the rifle repeatedly from a height of 4 meters (12 ft) towards a rocky surface in order to see if any of the rounds in the magazine would go off. Even modern firearms would be damaged by this treatment, but the Krag-Petersson survived it with only superficial damage to the woodwork.
After the tests were concluded, the committee recommended several Krag-Petersson rifles be manufactured and distributed to a selected army unit for troop trials. After careful consideration, 30 rifles were manufactured and issued to the King's Guard for use on their annual exercises in 1875. These 30 rifles differ from the later rifles by being 35 mm (1.4 in) shorter. During the troop trials, roughly 500 rounds were fired from each rifle, or about 15,000 in total. The feedback on the rifles was excellent, comparing it most favourably to the standard Remington M1867 rifles. The function of the extractor was particularly praised in the official reports.
Despite this, the committee did not recommend the Krag-Petersson as a standard-issue weapon for the Norwegian and Swedish armies, primarily because the round it was designed around was considered to be obsolete. At the same time, the committee had already started testing the Jarmann M1884
bolt action
rifle. However, the Royal Norwegian Navy
decided to adopt it as their standard arm in 1876, pointing out that they still were using the old M1860 "Kammerlader
" ("chamber-loader") modified to fire the 4 linjer rimfire round. It was also clear that the Jarmann, if adopted, would first be issued to the Army, leaving the Navy without a modern arm for at least another decade.
The initial order placed by the Royal Norwegian Navy for the Krag-Petersson was for 450 rifles, but the order was later amended to raise the total to 975. The weapon was ordered and delivered complete with the requisite equipment, such as a tampion
, oil bottle and straps.
The weapon as approved for use was chambered for the 4 linjer rimfire ammunition
already in use in the Remington M1867 rifles by Norwegian and Swedish
armed forces
, and apparently equipped with identical barrels to the Remington. While the ammunition was nominally 4 linjer, the calibre of the barrel was 3.88 linjer (12.17 mm or 0.479 in), while the uncoated lead bullet had a diameter of 4.021 linjer (12.62 mm or 0.497 in).
Since Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk
– the main armoury in Norway – was manufacturing Remington M1867s for the Norwegian army, the Krag-Peterssons were manufactured partly by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärfaktori (serial numbers 1 through 200 and 301 through 700) in Sweden, and partly by Carl Johans Vern (serial numbers 201 through 300 and 701 through 975) in Norway. A handful (about 17) were manufactured at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk, although these likely were development models and prototypes, since Krag was working there at the time.
A bayonet
was issued for each rifle, and each was individually numbered to the rifle to which it belonged. The bayonet was a so-called sabre bayonet, with a yatagan
(S-shaped) blade and a prominent fuller
, a wooden grip and brass guard and pommel. By modern standards the bayonet was rather large, with a total length of 71 cm (28 in), of which 57 cm (22.5 in) was the blade. Today, a bayonet in original condition is as hard to find as the Krag-Petersson itself, and it is often mistaken for a Remington M1867 bayonet. A well-preserved bayonet can fetch around $1,000 U.S. if it is in good condition.
The bayonet was almost identical to the bayonet issued with the Remington M1867, but was numbered on the guard as opposed to the blade itself. The available sources seems to indicate this was done because the bayonets were fitted to the rifles after the blade had been hardened, while the bayonets for the M1867 was fitted to the M1867 before the blade was hardened. The reason for this is that Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk manufactured the bayonets, and shipped them to Carl Johans Vern where they were fitted to the individual rifles.
In 1876, the Danish military
tested two preproduction rifles delivered from Norway, and were impressed enough to manufacture slightly modified 115 Krag-Peterssons in 1877 for troop trials. Despite the good results, the Danes decided not to adopt the Krag-Petersson. Krag did not receive any royalties on the production in Denmark, but was later made a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
, as thanks for his efforts both with the Danish Krag-Peterssons and for his efforts with the Krag-Jørgensen
the Danes adopted in 1889.
France also tested the Krag-Petersson, and adopted – without asking – the "magazine regulator" of the Krag-Petersson for their Kropatschek
rifle. As a form of compensation, Krag was later made a knight of Légion d'honneur
. Russia and Brazil
tested the Krag-Petersson without adopting it, and Krag travelled Europe extensively to market the Krag-Petersson.
The Krag-Petersson remained in use in the Royal Norwegian Navy for almost 25 years, alongside the Jarmann, and, from 1896, the Krag-Jørgensen
. By 1900, they were considered obsolete and sold to civilians, many of whom rebuilt the rifles to centerfire and in a few cases to shotguns. The details of the sales are lacking, although it is known that in 1928 only 70 Krag-Peterssons remained in military warehouses. It is likely that these were considered unsellable and scrapped. Today the Krag-Petersson is very rare, and unaltered specimens can fetch high prices – anywhere from 2,000 USD and up.
As a curiosity, Roald Amundsen
owned a Krag-Petersson with the serial number 168, probably bought from the Royal Norwegian Navy just after 1900. It is unclear if this rifle accompanied him on expeditions, but it is on display at the Fram
museum in Oslo.
Comparable weapons from the same era:
Repeating rifle
A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition. These rounds are loaded from a magazine by means of a manual or automatic mechanism, and the action that reloads the rifle also typically recocks the firing action...
rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
adopted by the armed forces of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and one of the first repeating arms used anywhere in the world. Developed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag
Ole Herman Johannes Krag
Ole Herman Johannes Krag was a Norwegian officer and firearms designer.-Biography:Ole H. J. Krag was born in Vågå, in Oppland county, Norway. Krag grew up in various locations where his father, Hans Peter Schnitler Krag , served as pastor, including Vågå, Fredrikshald and Christiania...
, the action
Firearm action
In firearms terminology, an action is the physical mechanism that manipulates cartridges and/or seals the breech. The term is also used to describe the method in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism. Actions are generally categorized by the type of mechanism used...
of the Krag-Petersson was uniquely actuated by an oversized hammer. Another distinguishing feature was that the cartridge rising from the magazine was not seated automatically, but had to be pushed into the breech of the rifle.
Testing by the Norwegian military
Norwegian Defence Force
The Norwegian Armed Forces numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to mobilisation plans , the strength during full mobilisation would be approximately 83,000 combatant personnel. Norway has mandatory military service for men and voluntary service for women...
revealed the Krag-Petersson was a robust, accurate and quick-firing weapon, and the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
adopted the rifle in 1876. The rifle was extensively tested by other nations, but none adopted it. After being phased out around 1900, the remaining rifles were sold to civilians and often were extensively rebuilt. Today, it is so difficult to find one in original condition that the Krag-Petersson has been described as "the rifle everybody has heard about, but hardly anybody has ever seen". It was the first rifle designed by Ole H. J. Krag to be adopted by an armed force.
Design and development
The mechanism was developed by Ole Herman Johannes KragOle Herman Johannes Krag
Ole Herman Johannes Krag was a Norwegian officer and firearms designer.-Biography:Ole H. J. Krag was born in Vågå, in Oppland county, Norway. Krag grew up in various locations where his father, Hans Peter Schnitler Krag , served as pastor, including Vågå, Fredrikshald and Christiania...
, with vital help from his friend Axel Petersson
Axel Petersson
Axel Petersson was a Swedish engineer who may be best known for helping Ole Herman Johannes Krag with a rifle design. The importance of his aid is best made clear by the fact that Ole H J Krag insisted on calling the finished rifle Krag-Petersson.-Source:...
on the actuation of the mechanism. Ole H. J. Krag had been experimenting with repeating rifles for several years before he designed the Krag-Petersson rifle. His earlier models were actuated by a side-mounted lever working an interior crankshaft. Moving the lever in a half circle, counter-clockwise, made the breechblock
Breechblock
A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a weapon at the moment of firing....
– the part of the mechanism that seals the rear of the barrel – move back and down. The rearward movement of the breechblock automatically ejected the spent round and the downward movement allowed the magazine follower to push a new round into the breech. In 1871, Axel Petersson suggested changing the design to allow the hammer to operate the breechblock instead, thus making the mechanism both simpler and easier to operate. The Krag-Petersson, like Krag's previous design, featured a tubular magazine under the barrel.
Firing pin
A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...
(D), two pins to secure the hammer and breechblock (E and F), a lockplate with a screw to secure the pins (G) and the tubular magazine (not shown in the photograph).
The Krag-Petersson repeating rifle has a falling block action
Falling block action
A falling-block action is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon and actuated by a lever....
, i.e. the breechblock
Breechblock
A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a weapon at the moment of firing....
moves downwards as the mechanism is opened, actuated (operated) by the operation of the exterior hammer. The tubular magazine
Magazine (firearm)
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable . The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action...
, containing a total of 10 rounds of ammunition, was placed under the barrel. Once the mechanism
Firearm action
In firearms terminology, an action is the physical mechanism that manipulates cartridges and/or seals the breech. The term is also used to describe the method in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism. Actions are generally categorized by the type of mechanism used...
was open, an extractor ejected the spent cartridge. A fresh round of ammunition was pushed into a shaped recess on top of the falling block by the spring in the magazine, whereupon the falling block rose slightly. The round could then be pushed into the chamber by the shooter, and the breechblock would rise completely. This rising of the breechblock (by means of a powerful spring) could catch the shooter off guard, resulting in pinched skin on the thumb.
Military trials
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
/Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Artillery Committee. Towards the end of 1872, this committee reported its findings. It was recommended that a refined model of the Krag-Petersson be tested further. These tests were undertaken in 1873 and 1874, with generally positive findings. The reports in particular praised the accuracy of the rifle, the rate of fire
Rate of fire
Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...
and the fact that the ejector worked without fail. The reason for the last praise was that the ejector on the Remington M1867
Remington M1867
The Remington rolling block M1867 was the first truly modern rifle to be adopted by the Norwegian Army. Nominally it had a caliber of 4 Norwegian decimal lines, the actual caliber was 3.88 Norwegian decimal lines , and it fired an 12.615 mm rimfire round.-Birth of the M1867:In the 1860s the...
– the standard rifle in the Norwegian Army
Norwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
– often did not eject the empty cartridge when the rifle had been fired for a while.
During development, it was found that the rifle was not only solidly designed and well engineered, but it was also capable of firing 18 to 19 aimed shots a minute when used as a single loader – faster than the standard Remington M1867's 13 aimed shots per minute. When used as a magazine loader, it was found that 11 shots – ten in the magazine and one in the chamber – could be fired in 25 seconds. Tests carried out during the evaluation also indicated that the rifle was more accurate than the Remington M1867, although both weapons were firing the same ammunition from identical barrels. The rifle was also found to be extremely rugged – one of the tests carried out consisted of throwing the rifle repeatedly from a height of 4 meters (12 ft) towards a rocky surface in order to see if any of the rounds in the magazine would go off. Even modern firearms would be damaged by this treatment, but the Krag-Petersson survived it with only superficial damage to the woodwork.
After the tests were concluded, the committee recommended several Krag-Petersson rifles be manufactured and distributed to a selected army unit for troop trials. After careful consideration, 30 rifles were manufactured and issued to the King's Guard for use on their annual exercises in 1875. These 30 rifles differ from the later rifles by being 35 mm (1.4 in) shorter. During the troop trials, roughly 500 rounds were fired from each rifle, or about 15,000 in total. The feedback on the rifles was excellent, comparing it most favourably to the standard Remington M1867 rifles. The function of the extractor was particularly praised in the official reports.
Despite this, the committee did not recommend the Krag-Petersson as a standard-issue weapon for the Norwegian and Swedish armies, primarily because the round it was designed around was considered to be obsolete. At the same time, the committee had already started testing the Jarmann M1884
Jarmann M1884
The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was among the first bolt action repeating rifles to be adopted in the Western world. Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army from a fighting force armed with single-shot black powder weapons into a force armed with modern repeating weapons...
bolt action
Bolt-action
Bolt action is a type of firearm action in which the weapon's bolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of the breech with a small handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon...
rifle. However, the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
decided to adopt it as their standard arm in 1876, pointing out that they still were using the old M1860 "Kammerlader
Kammerlader
The Kammerlader, or "chamber loader", was the first Norwegian breech loading rifle, and among the very first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single shot black powder rifle, the kammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of the receiver. This...
" ("chamber-loader") modified to fire the 4 linjer rimfire round. It was also clear that the Jarmann, if adopted, would first be issued to the Army, leaving the Navy without a modern arm for at least another decade.
Deployment
Tampion
A tampion is a wooden plug, or a metal, canvas, rubber or plastic cover, for the muzzle of a gun. They can be found on both land based artillery and naval guns...
, oil bottle and straps.
The weapon as approved for use was chambered for the 4 linjer rimfire ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
already in use in the Remington M1867 rifles by Norwegian and Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
, and apparently equipped with identical barrels to the Remington. While the ammunition was nominally 4 linjer, the calibre of the barrel was 3.88 linjer (12.17 mm or 0.479 in), while the uncoated lead bullet had a diameter of 4.021 linjer (12.62 mm or 0.497 in).
Since Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk
Kongsberg Gruppen
Kongsberg Gruppen is Norway's major defence contractor and maritime automation supplier, located in Kongsberg, a former mining town....
– the main armoury in Norway – was manufacturing Remington M1867s for the Norwegian army, the Krag-Peterssons were manufactured partly by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärfaktori (serial numbers 1 through 200 and 301 through 700) in Sweden, and partly by Carl Johans Vern (serial numbers 201 through 300 and 701 through 975) in Norway. A handful (about 17) were manufactured at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk, although these likely were development models and prototypes, since Krag was working there at the time.
Bayonet for the Krag-Petersson
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
was issued for each rifle, and each was individually numbered to the rifle to which it belonged. The bayonet was a so-called sabre bayonet, with a yatagan
Yatagan
The yatagan or yataghan is a type of Ottomanknife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries....
(S-shaped) blade and a prominent fuller
Fuller (weapon)
A fuller is a rounded or beveled groove or slot in the flat side of a blade . A fuller is often used to lighten the blade, much in the way that an I-beam shape allows a given amount of strength to be achieved with less material...
, a wooden grip and brass guard and pommel. By modern standards the bayonet was rather large, with a total length of 71 cm (28 in), of which 57 cm (22.5 in) was the blade. Today, a bayonet in original condition is as hard to find as the Krag-Petersson itself, and it is often mistaken for a Remington M1867 bayonet. A well-preserved bayonet can fetch around $1,000 U.S. if it is in good condition.
The bayonet was almost identical to the bayonet issued with the Remington M1867, but was numbered on the guard as opposed to the blade itself. The available sources seems to indicate this was done because the bayonets were fitted to the rifles after the blade had been hardened, while the bayonets for the M1867 was fitted to the M1867 before the blade was hardened. The reason for this is that Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk manufactured the bayonets, and shipped them to Carl Johans Vern where they were fitted to the individual rifles.
Evaluation in other countries
The Krag-Petersson was one of the earliest repeating rifles in the world, and as such generated considerable interest in Europe and the rest of the world. It was tested by several countries, but despite good reports and much praise was not adopted by any other nation than Norway. Most probably, the main reason for this is that the rifle was designed around an outdated cartridge, and there was doubt that the action could be modified for more powerful ammunition.In 1876, the Danish military
Military of Denmark
The armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark, known as the Danish Defence is charged with the defence of the Kingdom of Denmark.The Chief of Defence is the head of the Danish Armed Forces, and is head of the Defence Command which is managed by the Ministry of Defence. Constitutionally, the...
tested two preproduction rifles delivered from Norway, and were impressed enough to manufacture slightly modified 115 Krag-Peterssons in 1877 for troop trials. Despite the good results, the Danes decided not to adopt the Krag-Petersson. Krag did not receive any royalties on the production in Denmark, but was later made a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
, as thanks for his efforts both with the Danish Krag-Peterssons and for his efforts with the Krag-Jørgensen
Krag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
the Danes adopted in 1889.
France also tested the Krag-Petersson, and adopted – without asking – the "magazine regulator" of the Krag-Petersson for their Kropatschek
Kropatschek
A Kropatschek is any variant of a rifle designed by Alfred von Kropatschek. Kropatschek's rifles used an tubular magazine of his design, of the same type used in the German Mauser Gewehr 1871/84 and the Japanese Type 22 Murata.-Variants:Austria-Hungary:...
rifle. As a form of compensation, Krag was later made a knight of Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. Russia and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
tested the Krag-Petersson without adopting it, and Krag travelled Europe extensively to market the Krag-Petersson.
Fate of the Krag-Petersson rifles
Krag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
. By 1900, they were considered obsolete and sold to civilians, many of whom rebuilt the rifles to centerfire and in a few cases to shotguns. The details of the sales are lacking, although it is known that in 1928 only 70 Krag-Peterssons remained in military warehouses. It is likely that these were considered unsellable and scrapped. Today the Krag-Petersson is very rare, and unaltered specimens can fetch high prices – anywhere from 2,000 USD and up.
As a curiosity, Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
owned a Krag-Petersson with the serial number 168, probably bought from the Royal Norwegian Navy just after 1900. It is unclear if this rifle accompanied him on expeditions, but it is on display at the Fram
Fram
Fram is a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912...
museum in Oslo.
Comparison with contemporary rifles
The Krag-Petersson is often said to be a good rifle. By comparing it to the Remington M1867, which was the standard issue rifle in the Norwegian Army, as well as against the standard service rifles of Germany, France and the United Kingdom at the time, it is quite clear that the Krag-Petersson suffered from having been designed for an outdated cartridge.| Rifle | Krag-Petersson | Remington M1867 Remington M1867 The Remington rolling block M1867 was the first truly modern rifle to be adopted by the Norwegian Army. Nominally it had a caliber of 4 Norwegian decimal lines, the actual caliber was 3.88 Norwegian decimal lines , and it fired an 12.615 mm rimfire round.-Birth of the M1867:In the 1860s the... |
Mauser Gewehr 71 Mauser Model 1871 The Mauser Model 1871 adopted as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71 was the first of millions of rifles manufactured to the designs of Paul Mauser and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company.During 1870-71 trials with many different rifles took place, with the "M1869 Bavarian Werder" being the... |
Gras rifle | Martini-Henry Martini-Henry The Martini-Henry was a breech-loading single-shot lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini , with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy at 600 m | 82 cm (32 in) | 96 cm (37.8 in) | 80 cm (31 in) | 89 cm (35 in) | Unknown |
| Enfilading | 300 m (984 ft) | 300 m (984 ft) | 350 m (1,150 ft) | 379 m (1,243 ft) | 346 m (1,135 ft) |
| Effective range | 900 m (2,953 ft) | 900 m (2,953 ft) | Unknown | Unknown | 1,372 m (4,500 ft) |
| Rate of fire | 19 or 28 (see article) | 13 | Unknown | Unknown | 8 to 12 |
| Magazine capacity | 10 | None | None | None | None |
| Calibre | 12.17x44 rimfire | 12.17x44 rimfire | 11.15x60R center fire | 11x59R center fire | .577/450 (11.455x65R) center fire |
| Muzzle velocity | 381 m/s (1,250 ft/s) | 381 m/s (1,250 ft/s) | 430 m/s (1,411 ft/s) | 455 m/s (1,493 ft/s) | 416 m/s (1,365 ft/s) |
| Barrel length | 951 mm (37.44 in) | 951 mm (37.44 in) | 855 mm (33.66 in) | 822 mm (32.28 in) | 840 mm (33 in) |
| Total length | Unknown | 1355 mm (53.3 in) | 1350 mm (53.14 in) | 1305 (51.37 in) | 1245 mm (49 in) |
| Loaded weight | Unknown | 4.32 kg (9.6 lb) | 4.5 kg (9.9 lb) | 4.15 kg (9.1 lb) | 3.83 kg (8.5 lb) |
See also
Other Norwegian rifles:- KammerladerKammerladerThe Kammerlader, or "chamber loader", was the first Norwegian breech loading rifle, and among the very first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single shot black powder rifle, the kammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of the receiver. This...
- Remington M1867Remington M1867The Remington rolling block M1867 was the first truly modern rifle to be adopted by the Norwegian Army. Nominally it had a caliber of 4 Norwegian decimal lines, the actual caliber was 3.88 Norwegian decimal lines , and it fired an 12.615 mm rimfire round.-Birth of the M1867:In the 1860s the...
- Jarmann M1884Jarmann M1884The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was among the first bolt action repeating rifles to be adopted in the Western world. Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army from a fighting force armed with single-shot black powder weapons into a force armed with modern repeating weapons...
- Krag-JørgensenKrag-JørgensenThe Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
Comparable weapons from the same era:
- The German MauserMauserMauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
Gewehr 71Mauser Model 1871The Mauser Model 1871 adopted as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71 was the first of millions of rifles manufactured to the designs of Paul Mauser and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company.During 1870-71 trials with many different rifles took place, with the "M1869 Bavarian Werder" being the...
and 71/84 - The French Gras rifle and the various KropatschekKropatschekA Kropatschek is any variant of a rifle designed by Alfred von Kropatschek. Kropatschek's rifles used an tubular magazine of his design, of the same type used in the German Mauser Gewehr 1871/84 and the Japanese Type 22 Murata.-Variants:Austria-Hungary:...
s - The British Martini-HenryMartini-HenryThe Martini-Henry was a breech-loading single-shot lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini , with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry...
- The Russian Berdan Type IIBerdan rifleThe Berdan rifle is a Russian rifle created by famous American firearms expert and inventor Hiram Berdan in 1868. Standard issue in the Russian army from 1869-1891, the Berdan was replaced by the Mosin-Nagant rifle...
- The American M1870 Sharps and Winchester-HotchkissWinchester-HotchkissThe Winchester Hotchkiss was a bolt-action repeating rifle patented by Benjamin B. Hotchkiss in 1876 and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Springfield Arsenal from 1878...