Lorenz Rifle

Lorenz Infantry Rifle Model 1854
Type	Rifled musket
Place of origin	Austrian Empire
Service history
Wars	Second Italian War of Independence, American Civil War, Austro-Prussian War
Production history
Designer	Joseph Lorenz
Designed	1854
Manufacturer	Austrian government with many private contracts
Specifications
Barrel length	37.5" (952.5 mm)
Caliber	.54
Action	Percussion lock
Feed system	Muzzle-loading

The Lorenz rifle was an Austrian rifle used in the mid 19th century. It was used in several European wars, and also featured prominently in the U.S. Civil War.

The Lorenz rifle was designed by Austrian lieutenant Joseph Lorenz. It was first approved for manufacture in 1854, and was Austria's first all-new infantry firearm in decades. The demand for the rifles was much greater than what the Austrian government could produce, so much of the production was done by private manufacturers. Many of these manufacturers did not have the skill and precision required to make what was then a very modern and sophisticated rifle design, and as a result, the quality of Lorenz rifles varied quite a bit. The bore diameters also varied quite a bit due to insufficient control of allowable tolerances. This often left too much of a gap between the bullet and the barrel, resulting in poor performance.

Replacing the earlier Augustin rifled musket, the Lorenz was first distributed to Austrian soldiers in 1855. Despite its superiority to the Augustin, the Lorenz suffered from slow delivery and was sometimes used ineffectively due to prevailing conservatism in tactics and training. By 1859, the year of the Austro-Sardinian War, not all Austrian units had received the new rifle.

The Lorenz rifle was a percussion type muzzle loader, and as such was similar in design to the British Pattern 1853 Enfield and the American Springfield rifle-muskets. It had a 37.5 inch barrel which was held into place by three barrel bands. The barrel was .54 caliber, which was slightly smaller than the .577 used by the Enfield and the .58 standardized in later Springfields.

The stock was made of beech or occasionally walnut. The Lorenz could have either block or leaf-sights.

The rifle was fitted with a quadrangle socket bayonet.

The Lorenz rifle first saw action in the Second Italian War of Independence. It was later used in the Balkans.

The Lorenz rifle was the third most widely used rifle during the American Civil War. The Union recorded purchases of 226,924 and the Confederacy bought as many as 100,000. Confederate-bought Lorenz rifles saw heavy use in the Army of Tennessee in 1863-64, with many of them being issued to re-equip regiments captured at the siege of Vicksburg and later exchanged. The quality of Lorenz rifles during the Civil War was not consistent. Some were considered to be of the finest quality (particularly ones from the Vienna Arsenal), and were sometimes praised as being superior to the Enfield; others, especially those in later purchases from private contractors, were described as horrible in both design and condition. Many of these poorer-quality weapons were swapped out on the battlefield for the British Enfield or the American Springfield rifle-muskets whenever one became available.

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Wikipedia