Chassepot 1866

Chassepot bolt action rifle.

Chassepot 1866 bolt action rifle.

Chassepot 1866 (pronounced "Shaspou") is a French bolt action single shot rifle, using paper cartridges with black powder. This rifle was used by various countries, including France, Monaco, Tokugawa shogunate (Japan) and Qajar Dynasty (Iran). French army adopted this rifle as Fusil Mle 1866 and used it as the main infantry weapon in Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871. Chassepot rifles were manufactured in France by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC), Manufacture d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) and some other factories, and also abroad France, in England, Belgium, and Italy.

When Chassepot rifle was replaced by the Gras Mle 1874, numerous Chassepots were converted to using the 11x59R mm Gras ammunition; this model was known as Fusil Mle 1866/74. Similar convertion was made in Germany that got a lot of Chassepot captured during the Franco-Prussian war. About 150,000 rifle were converted to using 11x60R mm Mauser cartridge and shortened to carbine size. German cavalry and artillery used them until the early 1880s.

Specifications

• In service: (1867–1874)
• Weight: 4.635 kilograms
• Length: 1.31 m (without bayonet)
  1.88 m (with bayonet)
• Caliber: 11 mm
• Action: Bolt action
• Rate of fire: 8-15 rounds/minute
• Effective range: 1,200 m
• Feed system: Single-shot

The Chassepot 1866 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Films

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The New Babylon		French soldiers	Model 1866/74	1929
Joe Kidd			on the table of broken guns	1972
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang		Vulgarian soldiers		1968
The Leopard (Il gattopardo)		Garibaldi's volunteers		1963

Video Game

Game Title	Appears as	Note	Release Date
Total War: Shogun 2 — Fall of the Samurai			2011