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词条 Girandoni air rifle
释义

  1. History and use

  2. Design and capabilities

  3. Importance

  4. See also

  5. Footnotes

  6. Sources

{{Primary sources|date=May 2011}}{{Infobox weapon
| name = Girandoni air rifle
| image = Girandoni Air Rifle.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = Girandoni system Austrian repeating air rifle, circa 1795, believed to have been taken on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
| origin = {{flagcountry|Holy Roman Empire}}
| type = Air rifle
| is_ranged = Yes
| service = 1780–1815
| used_by =
Austrian Empire
United States (Lewis and Clark)
| wars =
| designer = Bartholomäus Girandoni
| design_date = 1779 or 1780
| manufacturer =
| unit_cost =
| production_date =
| number =
| variants =
| spec_label =
| weight = {{convert|4.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| length = {{convert|120|cm|ft|abbr=on}}
| part_length =
| width =
| height =
| diameter =
| cartridge = spherical balls
| cartridge_weight =
| caliber = .46, 210 grains (13.6 g)
| barrels =
| action =
| rate =
| velocity = about 500 fps (152 m/s), 117 ft lbs (159 J)
| range =
| max_range =
| feed = 20/21 round vertical hopper
| sights = Iron
}}

The Girandoni air rifle was an airgun designed by Tyrolian inventor Bartholomäus Girandoni circa 1779. The weapon was also known as the Windbüchse ("wind rifle" in German). One of the rifle's more famous associations is its use on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore and map the western part of North America in the early 1800s.

History and use

The Girandoni air rifle was in service with the Austrian army from 1780 to around 1815. Many references to the Girandoni air rifles mention lethal combat ranges of 125 to 150 yards and some extend that range considerably. The advantages of a high rate of fire, no smoke from propellants, and low muzzle report granted it acceptance. It did have problems and was eventually removed from service for several reasons decades after introduction. While the detachable air reservoir was capable of around 30 shots, it took nearly 1,500 strokes of a hand pump to fill those reservoirs. Later, a wagon-mounted pump was provided. The reservoirs, made from hammered sheet iron held together with rivets and sealed by brazing, proved very difficult to manufacture using the techniques of the period and were always in short supply.

In addition, the weapon was very delicate and a small break in the reservoir could make it inoperable. It was also very different from any other weapon of the time, requiring extensive training to use.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition used the rifle in the demonstrations that they performed for nearly every Native American tribe they encountered on the expedition.[1][2]

Design and capabilities

The rifle was {{convert|4|ft|m|abbr=on}} long and weighed {{convert|10|lb|kg|abbr=on}}, about the same basic size and weight as other muskets of the time. It fired a .46 caliber ball[3] (caliber is contested, original sources such as Dolleczek[4] describe the caliber as 13mm (.51 cal) and it had a tubular, gravity-fed magazine with a capacity of 20 balls. This gravity operated design was such that the rifle had to be pointed upwards in order to drop each ball into the breech block. Unlike its contemporary, muzzle-loading muskets, which required the rifleman to stand up to reload with powder and ball, the shooter could reload a ball from the magazine by holding the rifle vertically while lying on his back and operating the ball delivery mechanism. The rifleman then could roll back into position to fire, allowing the rifleman to keep a "low profile". Contemporary regulations of 1788 required that each rifleman, in addition to the rifle itself, be equipped with three compressed air reservoirs (two spare and one attached to the rifle), cleaning stick, hand pump, lead ladle, and 100 lead balls, 1 in the chamber, 19 in the magazine built into the rifle and the remaining 80 in four tin tubes. Equipment not carried attached to the rifle was held in a special leather knapsack. It was also necessary to keep the leather gaskets of the reservoir moist in order to maintain a good seal and prevent leakage.[5]

The air reservoir was in the club-shaped stock. With a full air reservoir, the Girandoni air rifle had the capacity to shoot 30 shots at useful pressure. These balls were effective to approximately {{convert|125|yd|m|abbr=on}} on a full air reservoir. The power declined as the air reservoir was emptied.[6]

Importance

The Girandoni air rifle was an important first. It was the first repeating rifle of a specific general kind to enter general military service.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} It was one of the first uses of a tubular magazine.

See also

{{commons category|Girandoni air rifle}}
  • Weapons of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Footnotes

1. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.westernexplorers.us/Firearms_of_Lewis_and_Clark.pdf |title=The Firearms of the Lewis and Clark Expedition |date=2005 |accessdate=March 12, 2013 |author=Wier, S.K. |pages=12}}
2. ^[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqFyKh-rUI Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.] at YouTube
3. ^The Beeman article on Girandoni air rifles in the sources section and an article in the German gun magazine Visier (issue 1/2007, page 141) claim the caliber was actually .463" (11.75 mm).
4. ^Die Entwicklung der Handfeuerwaffen im österreichischen Heere, 1896, Anton Dolleczek
5. ^A letter detailing regulations, "Signed, Vienna, 24th January 1788"; reproduced in Baker, G; Currie, C. The Austrian Army Repeating Air Rifle 2nd Ed., 2007.
6. ^Military writer August Haller claimed in an 1891 treatise Die österreichische Militär-Repetier-Windbüchse that the first ten shots would be effective to about 150 paces, the next ten shots up to 120-125 paces, the next ten out to 100 paces, and then the remaining air pressure in the reservoir would be too low.

Sources

  • Beeman's History on Austrian Large Bore Airguns
  • I Benemeriti Di Cortina D’Ampezzo
  • Die Windbüchse
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dZLeEUE940] (original 1780 example)
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqFyKh-rUI Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.]

3 : Air guns|Italian inventions|1779 introductions

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