The crews of the Italian Wars of Independence

During the several ones it is made of the First War of independence (1848-1849) is the Austrians is the Sardinians appealled crews to percussion.

Sluice with the first decades of XIX the century, the experience of the crews that for I prime it of powders employed the spark provoked from the collision of a stone focaia on martellina, in all the armies set offed to us to standardize the employment of primes chemical. These new linchpins had been develop to you for successive applications from originate them ideas that the Scottish ecclesiastic Forsyth had between the last years of the ' 700 and the first years of I' 800.

The Austrians after all a series of experimentations turned their attentions on a system devised in the 1835 from a civil employee of the Finance of Milan, sure Giuseppe Consul.

In such he arranges the fulminating one was contained in a tubetto of branch (zunder) that he came inserted in part in the focone while the part remaining sporgeva in the appropriate one scodellino for being hit from the dog. Subsequently some improvements work were brought them to the system from general Augustin. With the 1848 imperial troops they were by now all equipped with crews to percussion type zunder arranges Augustin. The infantry had Infanteriegewehr M 1842, in bore 17,6 milimeter smooth cane, total length 147 cm, weight 4,350 kg.

To the troops of cavalry it had been distributed Kavalleriekarabiner M 1844, also this with smooth cane in cal. 16,9 milimeter, long 75,7 cm and heavy 2,5 kg, and in some cases Kavaileriepistole M 1844 always in 16,9 bore milimeter.

The chosen troops, the hunters, the sharpshooters had to disposition or i Kammerbùche M 1842 in cal. 18.1 milimeter with cane to 12 lines, along 122,8 cm, heavy 4,6 kg, or (the oldest) argerstutzen M 1835 with battery Consul not modified, cane with 7 lines in 13,9 bore milimeter, one length of 105 cm and heavy 3,350 kg.

Also for the Sardinians the half of years Thirty marked the beginning of the percussion. 1118 june 1836 Carl Alberto instituting the body of the Bersaglieres established that they had to be equip to you with modern striped carabine to percussion. For the remaining part of the single army with the 1843 the transformation of the models to stone focaia (Mod. 1814 was decreed, ' 23, ' 33) in models to percussion.

The explosion of the war saw the line of the troops of the large Savoia way equipped as it follows: the infantry with guns to smooth cane Mod. ' 43 and ' 44; but little such particular crews were identical. Milimeter, one had a cal. of 17 long cane 102,7 cm, one total length of 141 cm and a weight on the 4 kg. The artillerymen had moschetti the Mod. 44. Equipped of striped cane this model he introduced one total length of 109,3 cm and a weight of 3,5 kg.

The cavalry had the Pistoloni Mod. ' 44 with cane to 8 lines, cal. 17 milimeter total length 84 cm.

The more sophisticated crews had the Bersaglieres to them, carabine type Delvigne Mod. 36 equipped some groups of this chosen body. Already however the distribution of the most modern carabina Mod was begun . ' 44, some di.le equipped which of cannocchiali. Characterized from I prime to tape to advance automatic rifle had one striped cane in cal. 17 milimeter, one total length of 125,5 cm, one length of cane to 75 cm and a weight of 3,9 kg.

The Second War of Independence saw a greater dissemination of the striped crews.

The Sardinian Reign introduced the gun from Mod infantry. ' 54 that it was of the Minie type with Peeters ball, had one long cane 102,7 cm with 4 lines in cal. 17,5 milimeter and one total length of 142 cm with a weight of 4,450 kg, For the Bersaglieres were begun to withdraw from the line the Mod. ' 44, sure revolutionary for sure aspects but too much complex for the technology of the time. S' introduced the carabina Mod. ' 56. This arm employed one bullet to Peeters expansion, one bore 17,5 milimeter, 4 lines, one length of cane dl 88 cm one total length of 126,8 cm and a weight on the four chili and means.

The Austrians while disappointed from the systems of prime zunder, withdrew with Jnfantenegerwerh M 1854 on simplest and tested I prime to cap with which they equipped the infantries.

Finished to the conflict with the widening of the Sardinian territories and the incorporamento in the Sardinian army of the Armed Forces of the territories that went forming Italy, it was necessary to re-equip with standardized material the line, also in consideration of the fact that the same Sardinian army beyond to the crews already cited had online all one acquired equipment series of French origin a.tito it of "military attendance" in order to make forehead the insufficiencies of production of the local arsenals. With decree of 17 February 1860 the start was given to the production of a "class" of light weapons notes like Mod. 1860 and that they had to be the last Italian crews to muzzle-loader.

The "class" of crews comprised a gun for Infantry, moschetto for Police officers to horse and one for Police officers on foot, a pistolone for Cavalry, a pistolone from Cavalry "reduced" and a pìstolone for carpenters. They were all characterized from a cane to 4 lines in cal. between 17,5 and the 17, 4 milimeter and employed bullets to expansion Peeters type.

The Austrians introduced while of the technical improvements for their models adopting are for lnfantenegewehr the M 1862 that for the KavalIene new guns M 1859 (both striped ones and in cal. 13,9 milimeter) the steel cane. With these crews the Third and last War of Independence was fought.

Gruppo Murat