Charleville Model 1728
Manufacture royale d'armes de Charleville · Rifle · Discontinued · 1728
Also known as: Fusil modèle 1728, Charleville Musket Model 1728, French Model 1728 Infantry Musket
Overview
The Charleville Model 1728 is a .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore muzzle-loading musket produced at the French royal arsenal at Charleville. The first of the Charleville pattern to standardize three barrel bands securing the barrel to the walnut full stock, it replaced the earlier pinned-barrel construction, easing field disassembly and giving the socket bayonet a more secure mount. It served as a principal infantry arm of the French Royal Army and set the template refined by the later 1746, 1763, and 1766 patterns.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4560 g (160.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1524 mm (60.00") |
| Barrel Length | 1187 mm (46.73") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Muzzle Velocity | 427 m/s (1401 fps) |
| Effective Range | 46 m (50 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 180 m (197 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 3 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Smoothbore |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Polished Steel |
Calibers
- .69 Caliber Musket Ball · primary — also known as 0.69 in, 17.5 mm ball
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Smoothbore Barrel, Three Barrel Bands, Socket Bayonet Lug, Wooden Ramrod, Brass Furniture
Service history
Operators
- French Royal Army · adopted 1728 · as Fusil modèle 1728
Conflicts
- War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
Production
Estimated total produced: 375,000 · Production years: 1728-1746
Estimated tens of thousands to several hundred thousand produced before the pattern was superseded by the Model 1746.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Discontinued: 1746
Notes
The 1728 pattern is regarded as the true starting point of the standardized Charleville musket lineage. Its three-band barrel retention became a defining feature carried through subsequent French military muskets.
Background
The Charleville muskets took their name from the armory at Charleville-Mézières in the Ardennes; the 1728 pattern's three-band barrel system would later influence the French muskets that armed Continental Army soldiers during the American Revolution.