The Wänzl or Wänzel rifle was a breechloading conversion of the Lorenz M1854 and M1862 rifles. The Austro-Hungarian Empire used the Wänzel as their service rifle until they had enough Werndl-Holub M1867 rifles to arm the military.[2][3]

Wänzl rifle
TypeBreech-loading rifle
Place of originAustrian Empire
Service history
In service1867–1918
Used byAustrian Empire
Qing Empire
Kingdom of Dahomey[1]
WarsHerzegovina Uprising (1882)
Boxer Rebellion
Balkan Wars
World War I (rear echelon troops)
Production history
DesignerFranz Wänzel
No. built70,000
VariantsWänzel Infanterie Gewehr M1854/67
Wänzel Infanterie Gewehr M1862/67
Wänzel JägerStutzen M1854/67
Wänzel JägerStutzen M1862/67
Wänzel Extra-Corps Gewehr M1854/67
Wänzel Extra-Corps Gewehr M1862/67
Wänzel WallGewehr M1872
Specifications
Length41.4 in (1,050 mm) to 52.6 in (1,340 mm)

Cartridge14×33mmR rimfire and centerfire
ActionFront-hinged trapdoor
Feed systemSingle-shot
Various Wänzl rifles

The rifle was a lifting block breechloader chambered for the 14×33mm Wänzel rimfire cartridge. The Austrians converted a total of 70,000 Lorenz muskets to Wänzels.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kea, R. A. “Firearms and Warfare on the Gold and Slave Coasts from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries.” The Journal of African History, vol. 12, no. 2, 1971, pp. 185–213. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/180879. Accessed 2 Jan. 2024
  2. ^ Никола Гажевић, Војна енциклопедија 7, Војноиздавачки завод, Београд (1974), стр. 548-550
  3. ^ Никола Гажевић, Војна енциклопедија 10, Војноиздавачки завод, Београд (1976), стр. 676-679

Sources

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