Stumbled on this while researching my 1866 project



Know which side I'd rather be on 

Well I'm playing Prussian in an 1866 campaign at the moment, but I'd prefer to be at three times the range with a chassepot!

Yeah, but I'm not sure I'd want to fire the needlegun from the shoulder. It had a nasty habit of blowing back from the breech. Not good for the eyes.   

It didn't you know, sorry, bit of a myth; what it did do was blow sparks laterally to the right which might singe your neighbours whiskers!
Notice they don't show the prussians cocking the ZNG using the spring loaded slide at the back of the weapon; its a misconception that drawing the bolt cocked the weapon (as with say, the SMLE), cocking was a separate action and slowed the rate of fire considerably. Also worth noting that the ZNG was a sub calibre weapon, did you spot the little cardboard sabot detatching after the round left the barrel?
Best video ever on this period is the short film that they show in the Koniggratz museum, bloody chilling.

This is a very interesting overview of 19th Century breechloaders. Shows a demonstation of gas escapes from a needle gun.

http://oldbritishguns.com/19th-century-overview

Cheers, Rob 

Nice little find there .

Rob,

A brilliant find, don't know how I missed it on BBC. I found it so incredibly clear and straightforward I must have misunderstood somewhere!

Mollinary

PS Cam, you are so right about the Chlum Museum video, enough to put a man off his breakfast.

Mitrailleuse animation !





EDIT: Video's embedded.

Quote from: mollinary on 06 October 2012, 04:07:49 PM
Rob,

A brilliant find, don't know how I missed it on BBC. I found it so incredibly clear and straightforward I must have misunderstood somewhere!

Mollinary

PS Cam, you are so right about the Chlum Museum video, enough to put a man off his breakfast.

I particually liked the part at the end demonstrating the the speed of an SMLE rapid fire against a Mauser.

Rob have you read 'The Advance to Mons' by Walter Bloem, a German reserve officer in a Guards Grenadier regiment; first hand account of coming up against British regulars and the 'mad minute', heart warming stuff - if you're not German!

Having just watched the original video in this thread for the fifth time, I must be the last member of this august forum to have noticed the horrendous solecism committed in the Pickelhaube department!  Oh, the shame! 

Mollinary

I did think they were a bit shiny!

No Lemmey, the brass strip down the back will be too broad/the wrong mix of copper and tin/too long/too short/won't end in a trefoil/will end in a trefoil/be the 1864 pattern/won't be the 1864 pattern  .... get the drift.

At the risk of being a bore did you chaps click on the links to the YOUTUBE animations of the Montigny and Reffye Mitrailleuses I posted earlier? If not and you haven't seen them before, can I suggest that PLEASE you have a look, they're simply fascinating and show the mechanics of both models in perfect, moving, detail.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO3haWrRtrY&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=497Htfzz1nc&feature=relmfu

Close Cam, but no cigar!  The spike is on a circular base, which was only introduced in the 1867 model, before that the shape was cruciform.   But it is not even a Model 1867, because the model 1867 removed the strip down the back (so grasshopper, there is some merit in your reply) which was only restored in the 1871 version, and subsequent models.  Unfortunately, and to my eternal shame, many of my own 1866 Prussians sport the same error, as I wanted to have the maximum variety in pose.  So the mix is OK for 1870, when both types were worn, but oh so wrong for 1866.  Mea Culpa!   

Mollinary

Cameronian
They were superb links.
Does make you wonder what the actual battlefield reload speed was like?
You can see a well drilled and sitedunit would have caused havoc