Lefaucheux Model 1870 Navy
Lefaucheux · Revolver · Discontinued · 1870
Also known as: Lefaucheux de Marine 1870, Revolver de Marine modele 1870, Modele 1870 N, M1870 Navy
Overview
The Lefaucheux Model 1870 Navy was a French six-shot, double-action revolver designed by Eugene Lefaucheux as the centerfire successor to his pinfire Model 1858. Adopted by the French Navy on 3 February 1870, it abandoned the pinfire cartridge in favour of a self-contained 11mm centerfire round and adopted a solid closed frame, firing in both single and double action through a six-shot cylinder loaded via a hinged gate and cleared with an ejector rod. It marked the start of the worldwide shift among armed forces toward centerfire service revolvers.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 1100 g (38.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 245 mm (9.65") |
| Barrel Length | 121 mm (4.76") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Double Action |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 215 m/s (705 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 192 J (142 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 25 m (27 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Polished |
Calibers
- 11mm Lefaucheux Centerfire · primary — also known as 11mm Lefaucheux, 11mm centerfire, 11mm de Marine 1870
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Six Shot Cylinder
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Closed Frame, Loading Gate, Ejector Rod, Centerfire Cartridge, Six Shot Cylinder, Lanyard Ring, Walnut Grips
Variants
- Lefaucheux Model 1870 de Marine Modifie N - Mas Forged Frame
Base model
Service history
Operators
- French Navy · adopted 1870 · as Revolver de Marine modele 1870
Conflicts
- Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
Production
Estimated total produced: 8,000 · Production years: 1870-1875
Two contracts of roughly 4,000 units each (1870 and 1873); the second batch was completed by MAS with forged steel frames as the modele 1870 N
Origin
Country of origin: France
Designer: Eugene Lefaucheux
Discontinued: 1875
Notes
Originally requested in 1868 when the Navy wanted 4,000 more Model 1858 revolvers; Lefaucheux instead proposed his new centerfire design, tested for two years at Vincennes and aboard the warships Louis XIV and Savoie. The contract signed 10 February 1870 was delayed by the Franco-Prussian War, with the first revolvers delivered to Cherbourg only in February 1872. A second batch ordered in 1873 was transferred to the state arsenal MAS after a price dispute; MAS produced the 'modele 1870 N' with a steel forged frame (replacing Lefaucheux's malleable-iron frame), delivered from February 1875. Replaced in French service by the MAS 1873.
Background
Eugene Lefaucheux had already given the world its first nationally adopted metallic-cartridge revolver with the 1854; the Model 1870 carried the family forward once more, trading the fragile protruding pin of the pinfire era for the modern centerfire cartridge just as navies everywhere were doing the same.