Kammerlader

Kammerlader
Kammerlader m/1857
TypeBreech-loading rifle
Place of originSweden-Norway
Service history
In service1842–1870
Production history
DesignerUnknown
Designed1842
No. builtMore than 40,000
VariantsNorwegian Army:
  • M1842
  • M1846
  • M1846/55
  • M1849
  • M1849/55
  • M1859
  • M1860 Long
  • M1860/67 Long
  • M1860 Short
  • M1860/67 Short
  • M1862 Artillery carbine
  • M1862/66 Artillery carbine
Royal Norwegian Navy:
  • M1845
  • M1849
  • M1852
  • M1852/67
  • M1855
  • M1855/67
  • M1857
  • M1857/67
  • M1860
  • M1860/67
Swedish Navy:
  • M1851
Various civilian models
Specifications
MassM1849/55: 5 kg (11 lb), other models likely differed from this
LengthM1849/55: 126 cm (50 in), other models likely differed from this
Barrel lengthM1849/55: 78 cm (31 in), other models likely differed from this

CartridgeMinié ball in paper cartridge
ActionSee text
Rate of fireDepended on how quickly the shooter could reload.
Muzzle velocitySources vary; between 265 m/s to 350 m/s
Effective firing rangeAccurate to 1,100 m, see text.
Feed systemsingle-shot
SightsV-notch and front post

The Kammerlader, or "chamber loader", was the first Norwegian breech-loading rifle, and among the first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single-shot black-powder rifle, the kammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of the receiver. This made it much quicker and easier to load than the weapons previously used. Kammerladers quickly gained a reputation for being fast and accurate rifles, and would have been a deadly weapon against massed ranks of infantry.

The kammerlader was introduced in 1842, and it is thought that about 40,000 were manufactured until about 1870. While the first flintlock breech-loading rifles, such as the Ferguson, were launched decades before 1842, Norway was among the first European countries to introduce breech loaders on a large scale throughout its army and navy. The kammerladers were manufactured in several different models, and most models were at some point modified in some way or other.

The kammerladers were phased out as more modern rifles were approved for use. They were either modified for rimfire cartridges, sold off to civilians or melted for scrap. Rifles sold to civilians were often modified for use as shotguns or hunting firearms. Today it is hard to find an unmodified kammerlader, and collectors often pay high prices for them.