Krag–Petersson

Krag–Petersson
The Krag–Petersson rifle
Type	Falling-block repeating rifle
Place of origin	Norway
Service history
In service	1876 to 1900
Production history
Designer	O.H.J. Krag and A. Petersson
Designed	1872
No. built	17 prototypes and preproduction models 30 rifles for Norwegian trials 975 production rifles 115 rifles for Danish trials
Variants	prototypes, production rifles
Specifications
Weight	Unknown
Length	Unknown
Barrel length	951 mm (37.44 in)
Cartridge	12.17 × 44 mm rimfire
Action	Falling block
Rate of fire	19 shots a minute when used as a single loader 11 shots in 25 seconds when used with magazine
Muzzle velocity	381 m/s (1,260 ft/s)
Effective firing range	900 m (3,000 ft)
Feed system	10-round tubular magazine
Sights	V-notch and front post

The Krag–Petersson was the first repeating rifle adopted by the armed forces of Norway and was one of the first repeating rifles to be adopted as standard issue by a military force, being preceded by the Swiss Vetterli adopted in 1867. Developed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag, the action of the Krag–Petersson was uniquely actuated by an oversized hammer. Another distinguishing feature was that the cartridge rising from the magazine was not seated automatically, but had to be pushed into the breech of the rifle.

Testing by the Norwegian military revealed the Krag–Petersson was a robust, accurate and quick-firing weapon, and the Royal Norwegian Navy adopted the rifle in 1876. The rifle was extensively tested by other nations, but none adopted it. After being phased out around 1900, the remaining rifles were sold to civilians and often were extensively rebuilt. Today, it is so difficult to find one in original condition that the Krag–Petersson has been described as "the rifle everybody has heard about, but hardly anybody has ever seen". It was the first rifle designed by Ole H. J. Krag to be adopted by an armed force.

The mechanism was developed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag, with vital help from his friend Axel Petersson on the actuation of the mechanism. Ole H. J. Krag had been experimenting with repeating rifles for several years before he designed the Krag–Petersson rifle. His earlier models were actuated by a side-mounted lever working an interior crankshaft. Moving the lever in a half circle, counter-clockwise, made the breechblock – the part of the mechanism that seals the rear of the barrel – move back and down. The rearward movement of the breechblock automatically ejected the spent round and the downward movement allowed the magazine follower to push a new round into the breech. In 1871, Axel Petersson suggested changing the design to allow the hammer to operate the breechblock instead, thus making the mechanism both simpler and easier to operate. The Krag–Petersson, like Krag's previous design, featured a tubular magazine under the barrel.