| Kalthoff repeater | |
|---|---|
 Kalthoff-type flintlock musket(1600s) at Livrustkammaren | |
| Place of origin |  Duchy of Berg |
| Service history | |
| In service | c.1657–c.1696 |
| Used by |  Denmark |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Kalthoff gunsmiths |
| Designed | c. 1630 |
| Specifications | |
| Caliber | .40-.80 in |
| Barrels | Smoothbore |
| Action | Breech loading |
| Rate of fire | 30-60 rounds/min |
| Feed system | Separate component magazines, 5 to 30 rounds |
The Kalthoff repeater was a type of repeating firearm that was designed by members of the Kalthoff family around 1630,[1] and became the first repeating firearm to be brought into military service.[2] At least nineteen gunsmiths are known to have made weapons following the Kalthoff design.[2] Some early Kalthoff guns were wheellocks,[3][4] but the rest were flintlocks.[5] The capacity varied between 5 and 30 rounds, depending on the style of the magazines.[1] A single forward and back movement of the trigger guard, which could be done in 1–2 seconds, readied the weapon for firing.[6] The caliber of Kalthoff guns generally varied between 0.4–0.8 in (10–20 mm),[5] though 0.3 in (7.6 mm) caliber examples also exist.[7]
Their guns have been described as advance clockworks centuries ahead of their time as seen in this disassembly of a rifled .58 30 round example shown here Kalthoff 30-Shot Flintlock: The First Repeating Firearm Used in War (1659) - Forgotten Weapons
- ^ a b Hoff, Arne. (1978). Dutch firearms. Stryker, Walter Albert, 1910-. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet. ISBN 0-85667-041-3. OCLC 4833404.
- ^ a b Peterson, Harold (1962). The Treasury of the Gun. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. p. 230.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:7was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hoff, Arne (1956). Royal Arms at Rosenborg. Chronol. Coll. of the Danish Kings at Rosenborg. OCLC 834973513.
- ^ a b Rausing, Gad (1991). "Kalthoff's Flintlocks..the Repeaters of 1657". Gun Digest 1991 45th Annual Edition: 62–64.
- ^ Peterson, Harold (1962). The Book of the Gun. Paul Hamlyn Publishing Group.
- ^ "8,1mm Magasinriffel med flintelås". Nationalmuseets Samlinger Online (in Danish). Retrieved 2020-08-19.