Berdan's hunting rifle was considered one of the best in its time. Unfortunately, today it is not very well known, especially against the background of numerous foreign models. Nevertheless, the role of Berdan rifles for the Russian army is invaluable. They were in service for about twenty years and therefore fully deserve to occupy a worthy place in the history of domestic weapons.
Story
The creator of the Berdan rifles is an American inventor. It is in his honor that they are named. It is believed that the first copy came off the machine in 1868. In April 1869, the creator of the Berdan rifles arrived with his brainchild in Russia. A new single-shot gun was introduced to the Russian Tsar. Alexander II really liked it. The sovereign by his decree adopted it. That is how the story of the long service of Berdan rifles in the Russian army began. Initially, a batch of thirty thousand copies was ordered at the plant. At the same time, the factory in Bridge Port began production of seven and a half million cartridges intended for these rifles.
Later, Colonel of the Russian Army A. Gorlov and Lieutenant Gunius took up its development. And already in 1870, the old samples were replaced by a new rifle of the Berdan system - 2. It had a sliding bolt and was considered a real small weapon.
As a result of improvements to the original design, thirty-five changes were made. The updated model was presented to the GAU commission. She withstood all the tests with honor and was adopted as a "linear rifle."
Application area
Her excellent ballistics became the reason that this model was used by soldiers operating in a loose formation and moving away from close combat.
This rifle was used in the guard forces of the Russian army during the war with the Turkish Janissaries from 1877 to 1878. They did not cease to be used even when the guns of Nagan or Mosin appeared. During World War I, some soldiers fired from Berdan-2 rifles with a caliber of 10.75x58.
In Russia, these weapons were not produced. However, it was stamped in Russian, for example, on the trunk there was an inscription: “Koltovo weapons factory. Hartford. America ”and serial number. By the start of the Russo-Turkish war, there were about eighteen thousand Berdan rifles in the Russian troops. In addition, a large number of these weapons were in service in the Bulgarian army in the 1914 war. About thirty thousand copies were delivered at almost the same time from Russia to the Kingdom of Montenegro. And already in 1995-96, during the war in Ethiopia, thirty thousand pieces of trunks of the third generation were purchased.
Description
From the point of view of modern users, this weapon seems truly a "monster." Its long and rather heavy body and cartridge with black powder contributed little to comfortable shooting. However, if you look at this weapon through the eyes of his contemporaries, then there are many advantages. The main ones in the Russian army at that time were the single-shot rifles Krnka and Karle with a caliber of 15.2 mm. And it was against their background in those years that the “berdanks” seemed real “little things” - light and elegant.
Design Features
The Berdan-2 rifle was equipped with a frame sight, designed for a maximum firing range of six hundred steps. Her fly without a gun was located at a considerable distance from the muzzle. And on the right side of the trunk there was a tide designed to mount the bayonet, and a bed with a straight neck. "Berdanka" was equipped with a bayonet.
The design of the rifle was extremely simple. Its trigger mechanism with a mainspring and a striker was located inside the key tube, which, together with the shutter, reclining on the transverse axis, worked quite smoothly. The rifle was not equipped with an extractor: soldiers had to retrieve spent cartridges only by hand. And therefore, surpassing its contemporaries in accuracy and accuracy of fire, in terms of convenience, it lost to some other models.
The Berdan-2 rifle had the same box as on the first issue. Initially, it was made from walnut, and then from birch. The forend was fastened to the barrel with sliding rings on the screws. There were two of them. Sights also had the same design, and the tide for mounting the bayonet remained on the right side. At the same time, the bayonet was modified. It was mounted not under the barrel, but on the right.
The shutter was locked when it was rotated forty-five degrees. This was clearly not enough for such a large-caliber gun firing a powerful cartridge. In this case, the comb, which was equipped with a shutter rifle Berdan, abutted against the rear wall on the receiver.
Using
Here in this form, she began to enter the Russian army. Using a rifle was quite simple. When the locking tube was pulled by the tail of the locking tube, the mainspring cocked and the hammer was put on the platoon.
After that, taking a small spherical handle, it was necessary to open the bolt and, folding it forward and up, charge the rifle. After closing the weapon was ready to fire.
Cartridge
Berdan’s rifles fired with seamless bottle-shaped brass sleeves, inside of which was a brass cup to strengthen the cap, as well as a central capsule. The charge of nitrate-coal powder and brown coal weighed 1 gold, or 4.265 g. For the cavalry version. While the Berdan-2 infantry rifle fired with a slightly heavier fuse - 1.19 gold, or five grams. On the gunpowder in a paper cup lay a prosalnik made of fat mixed with wax. It was necessary for softening the soot barrel and better obturation. The cavalry cartridge was provided for two prosalnik. The bullets in Berdan's rifles were cylinder-animated, stamped, made of pure lead and in a paper wrapper. At their bottom there was a special recess for placement inside the end of the paper.
Caliber
The wrapper helped protect the rifling from the lead process. In addition, she insulated the metal of the sleeve, did not allow the appearance of longitudinal tracks on bullets. This defect at that time was very common and appeared when they passed through the bore.
Bullet "Berdanok" had the same caliber as the barrel. She weighed 24.16 grams. When fired, a sufficiently long bullet was compressed in length, increased in caliber and filled the rifling. After its departure, the paper wrapper under air pressure fell off during rotation. Outside, the bullets with the wrapper settled, thereby reducing friction when fired in the barrel. It was very easy to distinguish the infantry cartridge from the cavalry cartridge. The wrapping paper for the latter's bullet was pink, while the infantry cartridge was white. Its weight was 39.4 grams.
The initial bullet for the infantry cartridge was a speed of 1414 feet, or 431 meters per second, and the cavalry - 1188 m / s. In the first case, she pierced three iron sheets with a thickness of two and a half millimeters each with two hundred steps. While the cavalry bullet could do the same, but from a distance of one hundred meters.
Production in Russia
The Berdan-2 rifle was initially ordered at an arms factory in Birmingham. But it soon became apparent that it was no longer possible to arm the army of such a large state as Russia through supplies from abroad. The time came when it was already necessary to establish domestic production. But this was not an easy task. For the production of "berdanok" and cartridges for them in the right amount, it was necessary to thoroughly modernize the Russian arms industry. And this was done, albeit with great expense and considerable effort. By the autumn of 1872, everything was ready at the Tula arms factory . At the same time, work was in full swing at the Izhevsk and Sestroretsk mechanical factories.
Since the domestic machine-building industry at that time was still in its infancy, all machines, tools and equipment had to be purchased abroad. English specialists played a significant role in establishing production of Berdan rifles in our country. To satisfy the need of the Russian army for cartridges for this weapon, in 1869 a plant was built and equipped in St. Petersburg with modern machine tools. Thanks to the ongoing changes, the army gradually began to rearm itself with modern domestic models.
Features
At that time, the Berdan rifle was characterized by excellent ballistics and accuracy of fire. Complaints caused only the exactingness of the weapon to plentiful lubrication. Some discontent was felt about the low reliability of the trigger mechanism.
Advantages and disadvantages
The rifles of the first and second samples did not have a magazine and were single-shot. Experienced shooters could put up to ten bullets in one and a half meter circle from a distance of one hundred meters in one minute. At that time, this was considered a good result. However, an infantry rifle was considered not entirely unsuccessful for armaments: firstly, it required a good ability to shoot from fighters, and secondly, they had to be trained in handling for about a month. This was due to the fact that the design of the hinged shutter, as well as the maintenance of this gun were quite complicated.
Cost
Berdan rifles, especially with rare modifications, are now considered rare books in our country. In good condition, they are very difficult to find. In the tsarist and already in the Soviet years, all copies available in warehouses were completely redone into smoothbore ones. That is why today it is very rare to find a real factory rifle Berdan. Its price is quite high. It depends on the model and the presence of an additional sight. Equally important is the technical condition of the weapon. On average, the infantry Berdan-2 can be bought for seventy thousand rubles and above.
In accordance with the legislation in force in our country today, only if there is an expert opinion of the Ministry of Culture that recognized the rifle as a cultural value, it can legally be in free circulation.