Brazilian Comblain Modelo II

Liège Gunmakers (Belgian Trade) · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1874

Also known as: Comblain M1874, Fuzil Comblain Modelo 1874, Comblain Modelo 2

Overview

The Brazilian Comblain Modelo II is a single-shot falling-block military rifle adopted by the Brazilian Army in 1874, the second Brazilian pattern of the Belgian Comblain designed by Hubert Joseph Comblain of Liège. Chambered for the 11mm Belgian (11x50R) black-powder cartridge, it retains the all-steel shrouded (hammerless) dropping-block action operated by an under-lever, but differs from the Modelo I by adding a wooden handguard secured to the barrel by two steel clips, a sliding safety button on the trigger housing, a simplified squared-off operating lever, and a removable firing-pin/striker assembly in the breechblock.

Specifications

Weight (empty)4280 g (151.0 oz)
Overall Length1210 mm (47.64")
Barrel Length832 mm (32.76")
Action TypeFalling Block
Firing MechanismInternal Hammer
Trigger TypeSingle Stage
Magazine Capacity1 rounds
Muzzle Velocity430 m/s (1411 fps)
Muzzle Energy2218 J (1636 ft·lbf)
Effective Range500 m (547 yd)
Maximum Range1200 m (1312 yd)
Barrel RiflingRight Hand
Number of Grooves4
Frame MaterialSteel
Barrel MaterialSteel
Stock MaterialWood
FinishBlued

Calibers

Features

Service history

Operators

Production

Production years: 1874-1880s

Manufactured by the Liège gun trade for the Brazilian Army; exact Modelo II figures not recorded, and surviving unaltered examples are rare

Origin

Country of origin: Brazil

Designer: Hubert Joseph Comblain

Discontinued: 1895

Notes

Original unaltered Modelo II rifles are scarce because most were later modified to Modelo IV standard, chiefly by removing the sliding safety button. Like the Modelo I, the type was built by the Liège gun trade for Brazil and remained in Army service into the 1890s.

Background

The Modelo II's most visible upgrade over the first pattern was its short-lived sliding safety button; collectors prize the few rifles that escaped the later Modelo IV conversion that stripped that safety back out.