page_title: Chassepot
section_title: Bolt mechanism
hierarchical_section_title: Chassepot / Technology / Bolt mechanism
caption_attribution_description: English: Chassepot
context_page_description: The Chassepot, officially known as Fusil modèle 1866, was a bolt action military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It replaced an assortment of Minié muzzleloading rifles many of which were converted in 1864 to breech loading. A great improvement to existing military rifles in 1866, the Chassepot marked the commencement of the era of modern bolt action, breech-loading military rifles. Beginning in 1874, the rifle was easily converted to fire metallic cartridges, a step which would have been impossible to achieve with the Dreyse needle rifle.
  It was manufactured by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne, Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault, Manufacture d'Armes de Tulle and, until 1870, in the Manufacture d'Armes de Mutzig in the former Château des Rohan. Many were also manufactured under contract in England, in Belgium, and in Italy at Brescia. The approximate number of Chassepot rifles available to the French Army in July 1870 was 1,037,555 units. Additionally, State manufacturies could deliver 30,000 new rifles monthly.
context_section_description: The breech was closed by a bolt similar to those of more modern rifles to follow. Amongst the technical features of interest introduced in 1866 on the Chassepot rifle was the method of obturation of the bolt by a segmented rubber ring which expanded under gas pressure and thus sealed the breech when the shot was fired. This simple yet effective technology was successfully adapted to artillery in 1877 by Colonel de Bange, who invented grease-impregnated asbestos pads to seal the breech of his new cannons (the De Bange system).
caption: Chassepot bolt mechanism
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2010:07:26 01:23:18", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "222", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "8004", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8116", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4262", "EXIF ExposureTime": "8/5", "EXIF FNumber": "16", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:07:25 15:37:14", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:07:25 15:37:14", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "-11/16", "EXIF ApertureValue": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "-1/3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "100", "EXIF SubSecTime": "74", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "74", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "74", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5616", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3744", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "7974", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5616000/1459", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1872000/479", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}