Learning from the observations from the French-Prussian War, the GAU (Imperial Russian Department of Artillery) has set a task to develop a new long range fortress rifle with a bore diameter of 20.32mm (8 lines). The weapon was designed by Gen. T.F. Gana in the Russian Empire in 1872\3, based on the M1867 Krnka rifle.[1] It was adopted in 1876; the total number of weapons produced remains unknown.
Design Details
The M1876 is a single shot breech-loading black powder rifle. It is essentially a M1867 Krnka rifle scaled up to 20.32 mm with a few changes.[2] To counteract the recoil, it features a brass underbarrel hook and a spring in the butt plate. Sights could be regulated from 300 to 2,000 arshins (equivalent to around 200 to 1,400 meters).[3]
Ammunition
This rifle used lead or steel bullets for anti-personnel or anti-armor use, respectively. The 20.32×95mmR cartridge weighs 204 grams (7.2 ounces). The projectile has a mass of 128 g (4.52 oz) and the propellant is 23 g (0.81 oz) of black powder.
