M1867 Werndl-Holub

• Name — M1867 Werndl–Holub • Origin — Austria-Hungary • Type — Service rifle • Is Ranged — yes • Service — 1867–1886 (primary Austro-Hungarian service rifle) 1886–1921 (limited use) • Used By — Austria-Hungary See users • Wars — See conflicts • Designer — Josef Werndl and Karel Holub • Design Date — 1860s • Manufacturer — Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. (ÖWG after 1869) F. Fruwirth a Bentz (up to 1873) • Unit Cost — 50 florins (1867) • Production Date — 1867–1888 • Number — 686,000 (by 1874) • Variants — See Werndl–Holub rifle • Weight — 9.65 lb • Length — 50.4 in • Part Length — 33.3 in • Cartridge — 11.15×42mmR (M1867) 11.15×58mmR (1877 Upgrade) 11.15x36mmR (Carbine) • Caliber — 11.15 mm • Action — Rotating drum bolt • Rate — 12–14 aimed shots per minute 24 unaimed shots per minute • Velocity — 439 m/s • Range — 300 m (point target) • Max Range — 1070 m (maximum setting on sights) • Feed — Single-shot breech-loading • Sights — Iron sights graduated from 200 to 1,400 paces

In 1867, the army ordered 611,000 of the new rifles. The first batch of 100,000 rifles cost 5 million florins, or 50 florins per rifle. The army received 14 million florins in funding to acquire Werndl rifles and ammunition in 1868. The budget was then cut to just 1 million in 1869. As a result, by November 1870, only 316,650 Werndl breechloaders had been produced and the army still needed an additional 302,810 rifles to fulfill the needs of the regular troops, without taking into account the demands of the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and the Royal Hungarian Honvéd. In February 1873, the war minister Franz Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld stated a need for 370,000 more Werndl rifles for the army. ÖWG (Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft) produced the Werndl and chambered it for the 11mm scharfe Patrone M.67 (11.15×42mmR) cartridge. Rifles produced before the reorganization and name change (from Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle to ÖWG) were marked Werndl, while later rifles were marked OEWG. In 1877, the military rechambered many Werndl rifles for the bottleneck 11mm scharfe Patrone M.77 (11.15×58mmR) cartridge. Some of the ones held back from conversion (due to large quantities of 11.15x42R ammunition) were marked O.P. to differentiate them from upgraded rifles.

In spite of the Werndl being long obsolete by World War I, the Austro-Hungarian forces issued Werndl rifles to rear-echelon units to free up more modern rifles for use by front-line troops.

• M1867 rifle − Issued to infantry and Jägers • M1867 carbine − Issued to cavalry units including Dragoons, Hussars, and Uhlans • M1867 extra-corps carbine − A slightly modified cavalry carbine featuring a quadrangular bayonet; issued to engineers, pioneers, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy • M1873 rifle − Infantry and Jäger rifle • M1873 carbine − Cavalry carbine • M1873 extra-corps carbine − Used by engineers, pioneers and the navy

• Illustration — The unique breechloading system of the Werndl

• Black_flag.svg Afghanistan: Imported in the late 19th century, local copies were also made. • Principality of Albania • Austria-Hungary • Argentina: Small amounts of Werndl rifles were bought in 1869, a few were used by the artillery of Buenos Aires during the 1880 revolution. • Czechoslovakia • Kingdom of Dahomey • Ethiopian Empire • Luxembourg • Principality of Montenegro: 20,000 in use with the army by 1895. • Qajar Iran Qajar Iran: 26,000 ordered after 1878. Main rifle in the Persian army after further orders. • Emblem of the Polish Legions in World War I (2).png Polish Legions in World War I • Poland • Ukrainian Sich Riflemen • Kingdom of Yugoslavia

• Paraguayan War (Limited) • Krivošije uprising 1869 • Herzegovina uprising 1875–1877 • Montenegrin–Ottoman War 1876–78 • Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 • Battles for Plav and Gusinje 1879-1880 • Revolution of 1880 • Kurdish uprising 1880-1881 • Herzegovina uprising 1882 • First Italo-Ethiopian War 1894-1896 • First Balkan War 1912-1913 • Second Balkan War 1913 • World War I (limited) • Ukrainian War of Independence 1917-1921 (limited) • Retaking of Czech Borderland 1918-1919 (limited) • Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia 1918-1919 (limited) • Revolutions and interventions in Hungary 1918-1920 (limited) • Hungarian–Czechoslovak War 1918-1919 (limited) • Polish–Ukrainian War 1918-1919 (limited) • Silesian Uprisings 1919-1921 • Polish–Czechoslovak War 1919 (limited) • Polish–Soviet War 1919-1921 (limited)