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http://www.swissrifles.com/vetterli/index.html
On December 20, 1866 the Swiss committed themselves to adopting a repeating rifle to arm their armed forces. At the time no suitable design existed. The task of designing the rifle was left to designer Friedrich Vetterli, who had joined the Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft Waffen-Department (SIG) in 1864. Vetterli already been involved in weapon design with the Germans, French, and British, and was strongly influenced by American rifle designs, most notably the Henry Repeating rifle. By 1866, Vetterli had already come up with a single shot, bolt operated rifle. The action was a modified Terry action, designed in England in the early 1850s. 1867 saw the wedding of the bolt action concept to the tube magazine, and 1868 resulted in a spring operated bolt. On February 27, 1868 the Swiss government placed an order for 80,000 Vetterli rifles.
This design represented a significant advance in European Military Technology. Up to this point, the Swiss had been using Milbank-Amsler Rifles, single-shot muzzleloaders, which had been converted to fire rimfire cartridges (for more information about Milbank-Amsler rifles, click here and here.) The Vetterli Rifles were capable of holding up to 13 rounds, and a rate of fire of 21 rounds per minute.
On December 20, 1866 the Swiss committed themselves to adopting a repeating rifle to arm their armed forces. At the time no suitable design existed. The task of designing the rifle was left to designer Friedrich Vetterli, who had joined the Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft Waffen-Department (SIG) in 1864. Vetterli already been involved in weapon design with the Germans, French, and British, and was strongly influenced by American rifle designs, most notably the Henry Repeating rifle. By 1866, Vetterli had already come up with a single shot, bolt operated rifle. The action was a modified Terry action, designed in England in the early 1850s. 1867 saw the wedding of the bolt action concept to the tube magazine, and 1868 resulted in a spring operated bolt. On February 27, 1868 the Swiss government placed an order for 80,000 Vetterli rifles.
This design represented a significant advance in European Military Technology. Up to this point, the Swiss had been using Milbank-Amsler Rifles, single-shot muzzleloaders, which had been converted to fire rimfire cartridges (for more information about Milbank-Amsler rifles, click here and here.) The Vetterli Rifles were capable of holding up to 13 rounds, and a rate of fire of 21 rounds per minute.
