Ferdinand Mannlicher
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher (January 30, 1848 in Mainz
, Germany
– January 20, 1904 in Vienna
, Austria
) was an engineer and small armaments designer. Along with James Paris Lee
, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading magazine system. Later, while making improvements to other inventors prototype designs for rotary-feed magazines, Mannlicher, together with his protégé Otto Schönauer, patented a perfected rotary magazine design, the Mannlicher-Schönauer
, which was a commercial and military success.
In 1887 Mannlicher was awarded the 3rd class of the Order of the Iron Crown
. In 1892 he was given the title of Ritter
von (loosely translated to: 'knight of') due to his earlier ennoblement. In 1899 he was given a lifelong appointment to the Austrian Upper House, the Österreichisches Herrenhaus.
Mannlicher's successful designs during his lifetime were his bolt-action rifles, both military and sporting, in both turn bolt and straight-pull actions. Mannlicher also developed several innovative semi-automatic handgun designs in the last decade of the 19th century.
A measure of how far ahead of his time he was, can be seen by looking at his experimental designs of automatic rifles, developed at a time when ammunition was not suitable to function properly in an automatic rifle or machine gun. Mannlicher began development in 1883 of an automatic rifle firing the 11mm Austrian Werndl, a black powder cartridge. According to WHB Smith in "Mauser, Walther and Mannlicher Firearms" the Mannlicher 1885 became the inspiration for the M1 Garand
and the Mannlicher 1900 with the 'short-stroke piston' became the inspiration for the M1 Carbine
.
Mannlicher's Model 85 semi automatic gun used his recoil operated action originally developed in 1883; it anticipated the recoiling barrel system used later in designs like the German MG 34
and MG 42 machineguns, and the M1941 Johnson machine gun. The Model 85 would have fit the same tactical role as the American BAR or British Bren of World War II fame.
The Model 91 semi-automatic rifle was designed to use the 7.92x57mm Mauser
cartridge and the Model 88 rifle clip. Like the Model 85 it was a recoil operated action like the later Remington Model 8
and M1941 Johnson rifle.
Mannlicher designed two semi-automatic rifles both called Model 93, one based on his turn-bolt rifle and the other based on his straight-pull rifle. The rifles had a recoil spring housing behind the bolt and the bolt locking lugs were angled, so the bolt started turning on firing, essentially a hesitation lock or delayed blowback much like the later Thompson Autorifle
utilising the Blish lock
. In this system there was no recoiling barrel nor gas piston as with other rifle-caliber autoloading designs, so the mechanism was simple, but ejection of fired cartridge casings was so fierce as to be hazardous to bystanders.
The Model 95 semi-automatic rifle was gas operated using a slide with the cocking handle on its side and gas piston at its front to operate the bolt, with the recoil spring operating on the slide. Loading was with the Mannlicher packet clip of cartridges inserted into the magazine from the top. These features were also used in the later U.S. M1 Garand
rifle.
The Model 1900 semi-automatic rifle was also gas operated but used a short stroke piston with a camming lug that engaged the bolt to open it. The bolt was then carried to the rear by momentum with the recoil spring operating on the bolt. The US M1 carbine
used a short stroke piston to impart momentum to a slide that opened the bolt, combining features introduced in the Mannlicher Model 95 and Model 100.
Feed Mechanism for Magazine-Guns. Granted April 24, 1894. (Rifle)
Automatic Firearm. Granted April 27, 1897. (Rifle)
Automatic Firearm. Granted April 27, 1897. (Pistol, Steyr Mannlicher M1894
)
Automatic Firearm. Granted May 19, 1903. (Rifle)
Small-Arm Having Automatic Breech-Action. Granted November 14, 1905. (Rifle, granted posthumously)
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
– January 20, 1904 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) was an engineer and small armaments designer. Along with James Paris Lee
James Paris Lee
James Paris Lee was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles.-Early Life and Career:...
, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading magazine system. Later, while making improvements to other inventors prototype designs for rotary-feed magazines, Mannlicher, together with his protégé Otto Schönauer, patented a perfected rotary magazine design, the Mannlicher-Schönauer
Mannlicher-Schönauer
The Mannlicher-Schönauer is a type of rotary magazine bolt action rifle produced by Steyr-Mannlicher for the Greek Army in 1903 and later was also used in small numbers by the Austro-Hungarian Armies.-Design Characteristics:In the late 19th century, the...
, which was a commercial and military success.
In 1887 Mannlicher was awarded the 3rd class of the Order of the Iron Crown
Order of the Iron Crown
The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown was established June 5, 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte . It took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy, a medieval jewel with an iron ring, forged from what was supposed to be a nail from the True Cross as a band on the inside. This crown also gave its...
. In 1892 he was given the title of Ritter
Ritter
Ritter is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr"...
von (loosely translated to: 'knight of') due to his earlier ennoblement. In 1899 he was given a lifelong appointment to the Austrian Upper House, the Österreichisches Herrenhaus.
Mannlicher's successful designs during his lifetime were his bolt-action rifles, both military and sporting, in both turn bolt and straight-pull actions. Mannlicher also developed several innovative semi-automatic handgun designs in the last decade of the 19th century.
A measure of how far ahead of his time he was, can be seen by looking at his experimental designs of automatic rifles, developed at a time when ammunition was not suitable to function properly in an automatic rifle or machine gun. Mannlicher began development in 1883 of an automatic rifle firing the 11mm Austrian Werndl, a black powder cartridge. According to WHB Smith in "Mauser, Walther and Mannlicher Firearms" the Mannlicher 1885 became the inspiration for the M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
and the Mannlicher 1900 with the 'short-stroke piston' became the inspiration for the M1 Carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
.
Mannlicher's automatic rifle designs
Mannlicher introduced several automatic rifle designs that were unsuccessful, but ahead of their time. He introduced fundamental principles that were used by later designers, often successfully.Mannlicher's Model 85 semi automatic gun used his recoil operated action originally developed in 1883; it anticipated the recoiling barrel system used later in designs like the German MG 34
MG 34
The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, is a German air-cooled machine gun that was first produced and accepted into service in 1934, and first issued to units in 1935. It accepts the 8x57mm IS cartridge....
and MG 42 machineguns, and the M1941 Johnson machine gun. The Model 85 would have fit the same tactical role as the American BAR or British Bren of World War II fame.
The Model 91 semi-automatic rifle was designed to use the 7.92x57mm Mauser
7.92x57mm Mauser
The 8×57mm IS is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. The 8×57mm IS was adopted by the German Empire in 1905, and was the German service cartridge in both World Wars...
cartridge and the Model 88 rifle clip. Like the Model 85 it was a recoil operated action like the later Remington Model 8
Remington Model 8
The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...
and M1941 Johnson rifle.
Mannlicher designed two semi-automatic rifles both called Model 93, one based on his turn-bolt rifle and the other based on his straight-pull rifle. The rifles had a recoil spring housing behind the bolt and the bolt locking lugs were angled, so the bolt started turning on firing, essentially a hesitation lock or delayed blowback much like the later Thompson Autorifle
Thompson Autorifle
The Thompson Autorifle was a semi-automatic rifle that used a Blish Lock to delay the action of the weapon. It was chambered in .30-06, with the 1923 model in 7.62mm Russian rifle rounds....
utilising the Blish lock
Blish lock
The Blish Lock is a breech locking mechanism designed by John Bell Blish based upon his observation that under extreme pressures, certain dissimilar metals will resist movement with a force greater than normal friction laws would predict. In modern engineering terminology, it is considered to be an...
. In this system there was no recoiling barrel nor gas piston as with other rifle-caliber autoloading designs, so the mechanism was simple, but ejection of fired cartridge casings was so fierce as to be hazardous to bystanders.
The Model 95 semi-automatic rifle was gas operated using a slide with the cocking handle on its side and gas piston at its front to operate the bolt, with the recoil spring operating on the slide. Loading was with the Mannlicher packet clip of cartridges inserted into the magazine from the top. These features were also used in the later U.S. M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
rifle.
The Model 1900 semi-automatic rifle was also gas operated but used a short stroke piston with a camming lug that engaged the bolt to open it. The bolt was then carried to the rear by momentum with the recoil spring operating on the bolt. The US M1 carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
used a short stroke piston to impart momentum to a slide that opened the bolt, combining features introduced in the Mannlicher Model 95 and Model 100.
Patents
Repeating Firearm. April 12, 1892. (Rifle)Feed Mechanism for Magazine-Guns. Granted April 24, 1894. (Rifle)
Automatic Firearm. Granted April 27, 1897. (Rifle)
Automatic Firearm. Granted April 27, 1897. (Pistol, Steyr Mannlicher M1894
Steyr Mannlicher M1894
The M1894 Steyr Mannlicher blow-forward, semi-automatic pistol was an early semi-automatic pistol.-General features:This earliest Steyr Mannlicher pistol, manufactured by FAB.D'ARMES Neuhausen, Switzerland, was designed to be self loading and to use a special rimmed cartridge in 6.5 mm caliber...
)
Automatic Firearm. Granted May 19, 1903. (Rifle)
Small-Arm Having Automatic Breech-Action. Granted November 14, 1905. (Rifle, granted posthumously)