Krnka-Hirtenberg experimental self-loading rifleThe designer Karel Krnka (6 April 1858 - 25 February

Krnka-Hirtenberg experimental self-loading rifleThe designer Karel Krnka (6 April 1858 - 25 February 1926) was an outstanding personality who made his mark in the history of firearms development in several ways. He can be ranked among the creators of repeating rifles and the pioneer of self-loading weapons and ammunition. His theoretical contribution to the design of self-loading firearms and the creation of a systematic classification of them is also notable.The beginnings of Krnek’s design efforts date back to 1882, when he adapted the Werndl M. 1873/77 army rifle to automatically eject fired cartridges and two years later designed a hinged firing accelerator for the same weapon, tested by the Austrian army. Between 1885 and 1891 he worked with his father Silvester Krnka on the construction of repeating rifles, but without success. During the 1890s, most European armies had already introduced repeating rifles of various systems, so the development of further designs seemed unpromising for Krnka. Together with the Swiss mathematician and physicist Hebler, he designed a series of experimental missiles aimed at reducing the cross-sectional load and reducing the calibre. From 1894 onwards, he devoted himself to the design of self-loading rifles, but it was only when he took up the post of technical director at the Georg Roth company in Vienna in 1898 that he was able to concentrate fully on the implementation of his own ideas. Undoubtedly, Krnek’s greatest success was the introduction of a pistol of his design into the armament of the Austrian army under the designation Repetirpistole M. 7. Krnek’s ten-year tenure at Roth was ended by the death of its founder in 1908, and the designer moved in early 1909 to the ammunition factory in Hirtenberg, where a number of his experimental designs were made. After the end of the war, the company sought civilian programs, and at that time Karel Krnka focused on the development of self-loading hunting rifles and pistols. At that time, however, his designs, which were especially true for self-loading pistols, did not reflect contemporary developments. He stayed in Hirtenberg until 1922, when he returned to the Republic and sought employment in the arms factories. He anchored in the Prague Armoury in Praga, where he designed a type of light machine gun and a self-loading rifle, the design of which he refined during his further work in the Czechoslovak Armoury in Brno.The design basis of the experimental self-loading rifle, produced during Krnek’s time at the Hirtenberg Ammunition Factory, dates from 1908 and its functional principle is based on Austrian patent No. 40 385, filed on 8 October 1908. The initial impulse of the wound development, transmitted to the carrier, was provided by the inclined surface of the bolt head. The complicated bolt consists of 11 components and the weapon is equipped with experimental 7 mm calibre bottle-shaped cartridges. The feeding mechanism consists of a coil cartridge box with a capacity of 5 rounds. The sight scale has no markings as it is a sample made for functional testing only.The specimen was acquired by the VHÚ in 1983 by transfer from the Military Academy of Antonín Zápotocký (VAAZ) in Brno.Calibre: 7 mm Krnka experimentalTotal length: 1243 mmIntentional length: 578 mmBarrel length: 692 mmCapacity of coil cartridge box: 5 roundsWeight of weapon: 4130 gTranslated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) -- source link
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