Krag-Petersson M1876
Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1876
Also known as: Krag-Petersson Marinegevær M1876
Overview
The Krag-Petersson M1876 was a lever-operated repeating rifle designed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Axel Jacob Petersson, and the first repeating rifle adopted by a Norwegian armed force: the Royal Norwegian Navy. It used a Peabody-type pivoting breechblock in which the externally mounted central hammer doubled as the operating lever, fed from a tubular magazine under the barrel and chambered for the 12.17×44mmR rimfire cartridge.
Specifications
| Action Type | Falling Block |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 8 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tube |
| Muzzle Velocity | 381 m/s (1250 fps) |
| Effective Range | 900 m (984 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 19 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
Calibers
- 12.17×44mmR Rimfire · primary — also known as 12mm Swedish/Norwegian rimfire, 12.17×44R
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine
- Features: Hammer As Operating Lever, Pivoting Breechblock, Tubular Magazine
Service history
Operators
- Royal Norwegian Navy · adopted 1876 · as M1876
Production
Estimated total produced: 975 · Production years: 1874-1881
Roughly 975 made across several small series between 1874 and 1881
Origin
Country of origin: Norway
Designer: Ole Herman Johannes Krag
Discontinued: 1888
Notes
Manufacturer attribution is mixed across sources, which variously credit Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori (Sweden), Carl Johans Værn in Horten, and Kongsberg. Magazine capacity is reported as 8 or 10 rounds. Considered a practical disappointment as contemporaries moved to smaller-bore cartridges.
Background
The Krag-Petersson is the rare design that successfully bolted a repeating tubular magazine onto a Peabody pivoting-block action, borrowing a Remington-style hammer, a Peabody block and a Vetterli magazine, but its hefty 12mm cartridge was already a generation behind when it entered Norwegian naval service.