Jarmann M1884

The design is unique, and was the brainchild of Norwegian engineer Jacob Smith Jarmann. After the design had been phased out of the Norwegian Army, a number of the weapons were rebuilt as harpoon guns.

• Is Ranged — yes • Name — Jarmann M1884 • Origin — Norway • Type — Bolt action Repeating rifle • Designer — Jacob Smith Jarmann • Design Date — 1878 • Service — 1884 to 1900 (reissued to second line units in 1905) • Cartridge — 10.15×61mmR • Action — Bolt action • Rate — Unknown, but as fast as the operator could operate the action • Velocity — 485 to 500 m/s (1,191 to 1,640 ft/s) • Range — 430 m (with iron sight) • Max Range — 2,400 m (10.15 x 61R rimmed) • Weight — 4.5 kg (10 lb) • Length — Unknown • Part Length — 850 mm (33.5 in) • Feed — 8-round fixed tubular magazine • Sights — V-notch and front post • Variants — Swedish Jarmann (three bands) Norwegian Jarmann (two bands) • Number — 31,500 • Illustration — "Three-band" Swedish Jarmann. Apart from the number of bands around the forestock it was identical to the two-band model adopted by Norway as the M1884. • Illustration — Cross section of action

The aforementioned Norwegian-Swedish commission also designed the 10.15 x 61R cartridge that the various prototypes as well as the service weapon were chambered for. Originally a black-powder round with a paper-wrapped lead bullet, it was later loaded with smokeless powder and a full metal jacket bullet. More than 5 million cartridges were manufactured for the M1884, in addition to several thousand specialty cartridges. The following different variations on the 10.15 x 61R cartridge have been identified: • 10.15 Ball, rounded tip, lead bullet wrapped in paper, black powder (possibly testing-only round) • 10.15 Ball, flat tip, lead bullet wrapped in paper, black powder • 10.15 Ball, flat tip, full metal jacket, smokeless powder • 10.15 Gallery, round lead bullet (for use indoors or at short ranges) • 10.15 Gallery, same as above but with a ring crimped around the neck of the case • 10.15 Blank, unpainted wooden 'bullet', smooth case • 10.15 Blank, same as above but with six long ridges pressed into the case • 10.15 Blank, same as above but with six long and six short ridges pressed into the case • 10.15 Dummy, red wooden 'bullet' going all the way to the bottom of the case, six long and six short ridges pressed into the case, and two rings crimped around the neck of the case • 10.15 Dummy, as above but with just the six long ridges and rings around the neck • 10.15 Dummy, as above but with brown wooden 'bullet' and two rings crimped around the neck of the case (tests only). • 10.15 Harpoon round, a blank round crimped shut, used only in the M28 harpoon gun • 10.15 Harpoon round, as above but closed with a crimped lid

• Illustration — Group of Norwegian soldiers armed with the Jarmann M1884. Uniforms suggest photograph dates from the late 1880s. The Jarmann rifle was a remarkably accurate rifle for its time. In 1886, the joint Norwegian-Swedish rifle commission, which had selected the Jarmann, created a list of the ballistic properties of all the rifles tested. It is clear from the list, reproduced below, that the Jarmann M1884 was significantly better than the other rifles tested, although in part this must be due to the higher muzzle velocity of the Jarmann. The rifle commission found that the Jarmann with its 10.15 mm bullet had a maximum point-blank range of 438 m with a 1.8 m (6 ft) target. At a range of 600 metres (660 yd) it did not spread more than 61 cm (24 in) with uncoated lead bullets and 46 cm (18 in) with jacketed bullets. This compared very favorably to the Remington M1867, then the Norwegian standard weapon, with maximum point-blank range of 300 m (330 yd) and spread at 600 m of 96 cm (38 in). In comparison, the Gras rifle displayed a spread of 89 cm (35 in) and the Mauser rifle (presumably a Gewehr 71) had a spread of 80 cm (31.5 in), both at 600 m (660 yd).

Despite the problems with the weapon, no fewer than 30,000 were manufactured for the Norwegian armed forces in the decade between its adoption in 1884 and the later adoption of the Krag–Jørgensen in 1894. A further 1500 were manufactured for the Swedish Navy in the same period. In Norwegian service, it replaced the Remington M1867 and the last few kammerladers still in use. When the weapon was chosen and first issued, the military considered it a very good weapon. It had a good rate of fire and had less than half the spread of the Remington M1867 at 600 m (46 versus 96 cm). It was later eclipsed, however by the radical development of firearms at the time. Within a decade it was phased out and replaced by the Krag–Jørgensen rifle. Even though it was phased out, several second-line units were issued the weapon in 1905, when war between Norway and Sweden was considered imminent. Towards the end of their use in the armed forces, the original black powder cartridges were replaced by cartridges filled with smokeless powder. Despite the increase in muzzle velocity, the sights were not altered, thus radically decreasing the accuracy of the rifle.

Jarmann M1884s in their original condition are now extremely rare. During the 1920s and 1930s, a number of the surplus rifles was either sold to civilians or rebuilt into M28 harpoon guns. • Illustration — A collection of rifles from the Fram Museum, a Jarmann M1884 second from the bottom. From the mid-1920s and until the German invasion of Norway, it was possible for civilians to buy surplus Jarmann rifles for about a quarter of what a brand-new Krag–Jørgensen would cost. Despite the reasonable price, it appears that very few were sold. Attempts were also made to sell the rifles and ammunition abroad. In 1929, about 5000 rifles were sold to a German firm, but the fate of these Jarmanns is unknown. In 1936 King Ibn Saud from Saudi Arabia initiated talks to buy 20,000 Jarmanns with ammunition for his police force, but the request was turned down by the Norwegian parliament, who claimed that the sale of such outdated weapons would reflect badly upon Norway. In 1938 a private investor — Trygve G. Hygen, a former captain in the Norwegian Army — caused a minor international incident when he offered to sell Jarmann rifles to Ceylon. The British Consulate General complained to the Norwegian government, pointing out that Ceylon was British and they wanted full control of all weapons sold there. The Norwegian government reprimanded Hygen, and the offer was withdrawn. Attempts were also made by Hygen to sell Jarmanns to Lithuania, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Italy and the Netherlands, but without any takers. • Illustration — A 1930 advertisement for the M28 Some reports indicate that the Germans melted a significant number down the last remaining Jarmann rifles in military warehouses during the Nazi occupation. The Germans still gave the rifle a designation, despite being considered too obsolete for their use, the Jarmann M1884 received the designation Gewehr 351(n).

Between the wars, several Norwegian gunsmiths attempted to create harpoon guns, intended for hunting seals and shooting rescue lines to boats in distress. Seeing a ready market, and having access to the several thousand Jarmanns in storage, Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk designed a harpoon gun referred to as the M28.

The Jarmann was, at the time of its adoption, considered a good weapon. By comparing it to the Remington M1867, which was the standard-issue rifle in the Norwegian Army, as well as against the standard service rifles of Germany, France and the United Kingdom at the time it is clear that the Jarmann indeed was an excellent weapon for its time, particularly in its accuracy and range. • Rifle — Jarmann M1884 — Remington M1867 — Mauser Gewehr 71/84 — Gras rifle — Martini–Henry • Accuracy at 600 m — 46 cm (18.1 in) — 96 cm (37.8 in) — 80 cm (31 in) — 89 cm (35 in) — 69.5 cm at 1,100 m • Maximum point-blank range — 438 m (1,437 ft) — 300 m (984 ft) — 350 m (1,150 ft) — 379 m (1,243 ft) — 346 m (1,135 ft) • Effective range — 2,400 m (2,620 yd) — 900 m (980 yd) — Unknown — Unknown — 1,370 m (1,500 yd) • Rate of fire — Unknown — 13 round/min — Unknown — Unknown — 8 to 12 round/min • Magazine capacity — 8 — None — 8 — None — None • Calibre — 10.15 x 61R — 12.17 x 44 rimfire — 11.15 x 60R — 11 x 59R —.450/577 (11.455 x 65R) • Muzzle velocity — 500 m/s (1,640 ft/s) — 386 m/s (1,266 ft/s) — 430 m/s (1,411 ft/s) — 455 m/s (1,493 ft/s) — 416 m/s (1,365 ft/s) • Barrel length — 850 mm (33.5 in) — 951 mm (37.4 in) — Unknown — Unknown — 840 mm (33.1 in) • Total length — Unknown — 1355 mm (53.3 in) — Unknown — Unknown — 1245 mm (49 in) • Loaded weight — 4.5 kg (10 lb) — 4.32 kg (9.52 lb) — Unknown — Unknown — 3.83 kg (8.5 lb)

• Doyon, Keith M1879 & M1881 Jarmann / M1884, M1887 & M1887/90 Jarmann Last retrieved 16 August 2005 * *