Dreyse needle gun

Design and development Early versions of the needle gun made by Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse were muzzle-loading. They used a long, needle-shaped firing pin powered by a coiled spring. When the trigger was pulled, the needle pierced the cartridge and struck a percussion cap on the base of the sabot, igniting the charge. Dreyse later combined this ignition system with a bolt-action breech-loading design. This allowed the rifle to be loaded from the rear rather than the muzzle, significantly increasing its rate of fire and making it more practical for military use. Production After successful testing in 1840, the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV ordered 60,000 of the new rifles. Dreyse set up the factory in Sömmerda with the help of state loans to ramp up production. It was accepted for service in 1841 as the , but only 45,000 units had been produced by 1848. Early service The needle gun was used in combat for the first time during the German revolutions of 1848–49 and proved its combat superiority in street fighting during the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849. Many German states subsequently adopted the weapon, however, the Sömmerda factory could not meet demand and produced only 30,000 rifles a year. Most of the Prussian infantry in the 1850s were still equipped with the obsolete 1839 Model Potsdam musket, a smoothbore weapon whose range and accuracy was far inferior to the French Minié and Austrian Lorenz rifle. The Prussian Army's low level of funding resulted in just 90 battalions being equipped with the weapon in 1855. Dreyse consented to state manufacture of the rifle to increase production. The Royal Prussian Rifle Factory at the Spandau Arsenal began production in 1853, followed by Danzig, and Erfurt. At first, the Spandau factory produced 12,000 Dreyse needle guns a year, rising to 48,000 in 1867. Foreign evaluation The British Army evaluated the Dreyse needle gun in 1849–1851. In the British trials, the Dreyse was shown to be capable of six rounds per minute, and to maintain accuracy at . The trials suggested that the Dreyse was "too complicated and delicate" for service use. The French muzzle-loading rifle was judged to be a better weapon, and an improved version was adopted as the Pattern 1851 Minié-type muzzle-loading rifle. Expansion and reform Between 1859 and 1863, the Prussian army received a 25% increase in funding and was reformed by Wilhelm I, Albrecht von Roon and Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. The Dreyse needle gun played an important role in the Austro-Prussian victory in the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864. In the early 1860s, the introduction of cast steel barrels made industrial mass production of the weapon possible. The new 1862 model and the enhanced M/55 ammunition further accelerated the weapon's widespread adoption. The success of German private industry in delivering the necessary amount of armaments for the army marked the definite end of government-owned army workshops. By the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, the Prussian Army infantry had 270,000 Dreyse needle guns. Its use changed military tactics in the 19th century, as a Prussian soldier could fire five (or more) shots, even while lying on the ground, in the time that it took his Austrian muzzle-loading counterpart to reload while standing. Dominance and global spread (1866–1870s) Production was ramped up after the war against Austria and when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, the Prussian Army had 1,150,000 needle guns in its inventory. In 1867, Romania purchased 20,000 rifles and 11,000 carbines from the Prussian government. These were used to great effect in the Romanian War of Independence. Sometime in the late 1860s, Japan acquired an unknown number of Model 1862 rifles and bayonets. These were marked with the imperial chrysanthemum stamp. China also acquired Dreyse rifles for the modernisation of their armed forces. == Ammunition and mechanism ==

The cartridge used with this rifle consisted of the paper case, the bullet, the percussion cap and the black powder charge. The 15.4 mm (0.61 in) bullet was shaped like an acorn, with the broader end forming a point and the primer attached to its base. The bullet was held in a paper case known as a sabot, which separated from the bullet as it exited the muzzle. Between this inner lining and the outer case was the powder charge, consisting of 4.8 g (74 grains) of black powder. The upper end of the paper case is rolled up and tied. Upon release of the trigger, the point of the needle pierces the rear of the cartridge, passes through the powder and hits the primer fixed to the base of the sabot. Thus the burn-front in the black powder charge passes from the front to the rear. This front-to-rear burn pattern minimizes the effect seen in rear-igniting cartridges where a portion of the powder at the front of the charge is wasted, as it is forced down and out of the barrel and burns in the air as muzzle flash. It also ensures that the whole charge burns under the highest possible pressure, theoretically minimising unburnt residues. Consequently, a smaller charge can be used to obtain the same velocity as a rear-ignited charge of the same bullet calibre and weight. It also increases the handling security of the cartridge, since it is virtually impossible to set the primer off accidentally. There was also a blank cartridge developed for the needle gun. It was shorter and lighter than the live round, since it lacked the projectile, but was otherwise similar in construction and powder load. == Limitations ==

British trials in 1849–1851 showed that: This was mainly because a sizable amount of gas escaped at the breech when the rifle was fired with a paper cartridge. An improved model, giving greater muzzle velocity and increased speed in loading, was introduced later, but it was replaced shortly thereafter by the Mauser Model 1871 rifle. The placement of the primer directly behind the bullet meant the firing needle was enclosed in black powder when the gun was fired, causing stress to the pin, which could break over time and render the rifle useless until it could be replaced. Soldiers were provided with two replacement needles for that purpose. The needle could be easily replaced in under 30 seconds, even in the field. Because the rifle used black powder, residue accumulated at the back of the barrel, making cleaning necessary after about 60–80 shots. This was not a large problem because the individual soldier carried fewer cartridges than that and Dreyse created an "air chamber" by having a protruding needle tube. (The Chassepot also had this, but it was more likely to jam after fewer shots because its chamber had a smaller diameter.) A soldier trained before the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 had to finish field cleaning in less than 10 minutes. == Comparison with contemporary rifles ==