Lefaucheux-Francotte M. 71

Lefaucheux-Francotte M. 71^[2] or Revolver m/1871^[3] was a 19th-century Belgian revolver made for Swedish military.^[3][1][4] It was also the first service revolver of the Principality of Serbia.^[2][5][6]

Lefaucheux-Francotte M. 71
Lefaucheux-Francotte Model 1871, Marinmuseum, Sweden.
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
In service	1871–1914
Used by	Sweden Principality of Serbia
Wars	Serbian–Ottoman Wars (1876–1878) First Balkan War Second Balkan War
Production history
Designed	1871
Manufacturer	Auguste Francotte&Comp., Liege, Belgium
No. built	7.000 for Sweden[1]
Specifications
Mass	1.17 kg
Length	305 mm
Barrel length	150 mm
Caliber	11 mm
Action	Double-action
Muzzle velocity	160 m/s
Effective firing range	50 m
Feed system	6-round cylinder
Sights	Blade front sight, hammer notch rear sight

Production

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Auguste Francotte of Liege was one of the largest Belgian arms factories, mostly manufacturing rifles and revolvers for export. Francotte's first breechloading revolver was Model 1865, double action revolver chambered for 11 mm pinfire cartridges, made for the Danish Navy.^[3]

Design

Revolver m/1871 has a Lefaucheux-Francotte double action system with solid frame and fixed cylinder, with no mechanical extractor. Made for Swedish army, it was chambered for 11 mm centerfire cartridges.^[3][1] In 1875, Principality of Serbia bought several thousands of these revolvers for the Serbian military.^[2]

Model 1871 was a very similar, but slightly smaller weapon made at the same time for the Danish military, but chambered for 11 mm pinfire cartridges.^[3]

See also

• Green percussion rifle, contemporary Serbian service rifle.