Montigny Mitrailleuse
Joseph Montigny · Machine Gun · Out Of Production · 1863
Also known as: Montigny Volley Gun, Fafschamps-Montigny Mitrailleuse, Mitrailleuse de Montigny
Overview
The Montigny Mitrailleuse is a Belgian 37-barrel volley gun and one of the earliest practical rapid-fire machine guns. Based on a 50-barrel concept patented by Belgian Army Captain Toussaint-Henry-Joseph Fafschamps in 1851, it was refined and put into production by gun maker Joseph Montigny from 1863. Thirty-seven 11mm rifled barrels (each roughly 833 mm long) are bundled in a hexagonal cluster inside a cylindrical casing mounted on an artillery field carriage. A pre-loaded steel plate holding 37 cartridges is locked against the breech with a hinged lever, then turning a side hand crank fires the barrels in rapid succession at a cyclic rate of 300-370 rounds per minute, driving each ~25 g bullet to about 435 m/s. Crewed by five men and aimed with a tangent sight graduated to roughly 1,500 m, it was the direct inspiration for the French Reffye mitrailleuse used in the Franco-Prussian War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 907000 g (31993.5 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1760 mm (69.29") |
| Barrel Length | 833 mm (32.80") |
| Width | 1530 mm (60.24") |
| Action Type | Lever Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Magazine Capacity | 37 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 435 m/s (1427 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2365 J (1744 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 1500 m (1640 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3000 m (3281 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 370 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
Calibers
- 11mm Montigny · primary — also known as 11mm Belgian Montigny, 11mm volley cartridge
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Breech Block Plate
- Features: 37 Barrels, Multi Barrel, Lever Loaded Breech Plate, Volley Fire, Field Carriage Mounted, Removable Loading Plate
Service history
Operators
- Belgian Army · adopted 1863
- French Army · adopted 1869
- Austro-Hungarian Army · adopted 1870 · as Montigny Szorloveg 1851/65.M
- Romanian Army
- Qing Dynasty China
Conflicts
- Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
Production
Estimated total produced: 350 · Production years: 1863-1890
Approximately 350 units produced; France procured around 190 guns by 1869, and Austria-Hungary fielded roughly 80 (Hungarian Honved) plus Landwehr guns by 1871. Chambering varied (11mm Belgian, 11x42R Werndl for Austria-Hungary) depending on the customer.
Origin
Country of origin: Belgium
Designer: Toussaint-Henry-Joseph Fafschamps
Discontinued: 1890
Notes
Treated as a multi-barrel volley gun / proto-machine-gun rather than a true automatic. Roughly 350 examples were produced; loading plates were swapped to sustain fire. The ~907 kg figure is the complete system weight on its field carriage; the barrel group and firing mechanism alone weigh about 182 kg. The Austro-Hungarian Model 1851/65 was chambered for the 11x42R Werndl cartridge and built by OEWG Steyr and G. Sigl, Vienna; the gun carriage was adapted from the M1863 80mm cannon.
Background
The Montigny was conceived as a defensive 'organ gun' for fortifications, but its dramatic volume of fire made it a sensation that influenced every early machine-gun designer who saw it, including the French engineer Jean-Baptiste Verchere de Reffye, whose closely related mitrailleuse became one of the first standard-issue rapid-fire weapons fielded in a major war.