Dreyse needle gun

E626202

The Dreyse needle gun was a pioneering 19th-century Prussian bolt-action breech-loading rifle that gave its users a significant rate-of-fire advantage in battles such as those of the Franco-Prussian War.

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Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf breech-loading firearm
rifle
advantage allowed firing from prone position
significantly increased rate of fire
alsoKnownAs Prussian needle gun NERFINISHED
Zündnadelgewehr NERFINISHED
caliber 15.4 mm
cartridgeType paper cartridge
category 19th-century rifles
Prussian military equipment
constructionFeature long firing needle passing through cartridge
countryOfOrigin Kingdom of Prussia NERFINISHED
designer Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse NERFINISHED
disadvantage gas leakage at breech
needle prone to breakage
era 19th century
firingAction turn-bolt
historicalSignificance one of the first successful bolt-action service rifles
pioneered military use of self-contained cartridges
ignitionLocation base of bullet
ignitionSystem needle-fire
inception 1836
influenced Chassepot rifle NERFINISHED
introduced 1841
loadingMechanism breech-loading
massProducedBy Prussian state arsenals NERFINISHED
material steel barrel
mechanism bolt action
notableBattle Battle of Königgrätz NERFINISHED
battles of the Franco-Prussian War
patentHolder Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse NERFINISHED
propellant black powder
rateOfFire higher than contemporary muzzle-loading rifles
replacedBy Mauser Model 1871 NERFINISHED
serviceEnd late 19th century
serviceEntry 1840s
usedBy German states
North German Confederation NERFINISHED
Prussian Army NERFINISHED
infantry
usedInConflict Austro-Prussian War NERFINISHED
Franco-Prussian War NERFINISHED
Second Schleswig War NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.