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Military Rifles in the Age of Transition
(Non-U.S.) Black Powder, Metallic Cartidge, Military Rifles
1865 to 1890
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The Comblain Rifle
An Example Comblain: M1870 Civil Guard Comblain Short Rifle (Carabine Comblain de la Garde Civique Modèle 1870)
IMPORTANT REFERENCE NOTE
Ever since the development, introduction and deployment of the Comblain rifles, there has been surprisingly little information about them in the English speaking world. That changed substantially with the extensive research work of Jonathan Kirton. Indeed nearly all of the sources of information available in English today regarding Comblain rifles can trace it's availability to either direct physical examinations of surviving Comblain rifles, or to the deep scholarly work of Mr. Kirton.
Other than photos on this website sourced via collectors throughout the world and the World Wide Web, most all of the textual information derives directly or indirectly from either direct examination of surviving Comblain rifles or from Mr. Kirton's research and publications. (See Resources at the bottom of this specific page)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In the 1860s and 1870s Europe was a cauldron of military activity, wars and arms development. Firearms designers and certainly the armies of Europe were well aware of the substantial advancements in military small arms put on display by the civil war in America. This spurred a quite literal arms race among the various European powers to adopt modern breach loading rifles despite the massive cost of substantial small arms replacement. Most countries with large armies opted to initially convert muzzleloading rifles to breach loaders, for example the British adopting the M1866 Snider Enfield to convert there p1853s rifles and the Austrians adopting the M1866 Wanzl for converting their stores of Lorenz rifles.
With the Prussians defeating both the Danish Duchies and Austria in 1866, King Leopold II of Belgum decided that it was time to modernize the rifles of the Belgium infantry. This led to the development and adoption of the Albini-Braendlin and the Terssen rifles, both a conversation of the old percussion muzzleloading rifles. As a part of its small arms modernization undertaking, the Belgian government looked at a number of possible new breach loading arms. In 1867, a gunsmith named Hubert-Joseph Comblain presented his breech loading rifle to the Belgian military authorities, the Belgium Comblain.
BACKGROUND
Hubert Joseph Comblain was born in 1813 in the world-famous firearms making province of Liège, Belgium. Born into a family of gunsmiths, Comblain spent much of his youth working as an apprentice in his father's gunsmithing shop.
Hubert-Joseph Comblain of Liège, Belgium. Photo Credit: Musee d'Armed de Liege
In the mid-1860s Comblain, like so many of his contemporary designers/gunsmiths, began working on breech loading rifle designs. In 1867 he presented to the Belgian Army his breech loading rifle, the Reilly-Comblain, a conversion of a conventional muzzle loading rifle. He filed for a patent in London in 1867 (No. 2778). Comblain signed an agreement with E.M. Reilly & Co. which helped him submit the Reilly Comblain for trials with the British War Office. The War Office trials were already underway however and unfortunately the Reilly Comblain was not selected for further development
Reilly Comblain Rifle. Photo Credit: https://www.collectorsfirearms.com/
Photo: The action of Comblain’s first breech loading effort, the Reilly Comblain (photo credit www.joesalter.com).
Photo: The open action of the Reilly Comblain, showing its upward pivoting breech block similarity to other contemporary actions of the time but for pivoting at the rear instead of the front (photo credit www.joesalter.com).
DEVELOPMENT
After Comblain’s first breech loading rifle failed to secure orders, he began work on a second, completely new design. Comblain then applied for a new patent in Liege for a new falling block design. The application for the patent was made in the names of H. Comblain and L. Lambin et Cie in Liege in 1868 and England in 1869 (No. 929). Comblain denominated the new rifle Comblain II. This “II” was later dropped when military model numbers were for the various versions were adopted. The new patent design would see multiple revisions and upgrades, but it would serve as the foundation for all subsequent Comblain falling block rifles, short rifles and carbines, including the relatively successful M1870 and M1882 Comblain rifles.
Manufacturing of Comblain rifles was initially undertaken by Lambin and evaluated by the Belgian army. The Comblain was evaluated by the Belgian army. The Comblain was accepted by the Belgians and designated the m1870. However, the army, having just recently adopted the M1867 Albini Braedlin as its standard infantry rifle, did not need the Comblain for frontline service and therefore the new rifle was, in 1871, allocated to the Belgian Guarde Civic, an organization similar to a national militia.
Photo Credit: Historia Da Arma De Fogo Portatil
The city of Liege Belgium was a European center of small arms manufacturing but consisted of a large number of mostly small, individual gun making shops. These small manufacturing companies would regularly form syndicates in order to compete for insecure larger manufacturing orders than any one of them could fulfill individually. But these somewhat loose organizations would form and reform over time and contracts waxed and waned. Between around 1830 and 1890 there were multiple syndicates formed to produce a great variety of arms. One such comparatively large syndicate (La Petite Syndicate à Liège) included as many as 30 separate smaller companies and appears to have been responsible for the bulk of Comblains manufactured in Liege. By way of example only, these firms included D. Ancio & Fils, Dresse-Laloux & Cie, Auguste Francotte and Pirlot-Fresart, as well as E.M. & L. Nagant, Beuret Fes and G. Mordant. Individual markings of each can be found on various Comblain production runs along with patent royalty numbers (the French word Breveté means “patent”) which numbers were very likely used to track royalties, and are distinct from such rifles’ serial numbers, which followed a separate system of allocation between the individual makers.
GENERALLY
This substantial and rugged Comblain dropping block design was manufactured and adopted with both a bronze receiver (modèle 1870) for the earliest versions, and steel receivers for subsequent versions.
The Comblain is a unique design, nothing else is quite like it, and has also been properly called a "sliding block action" to distinguish it from more common falling block varieties, the latter scarce in military rifles but not uncommonly found among sporting rifles.
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Example of a mid-production Comblain carbine action with shrouded hammer (via Nick Stan, Administrator @ Gunboards.com
Comblain rifles found their most enthusiastic adoptions in Belgium, not surprisingly, but then in substantial numbers in South America and especially Brazil where they served the longest, with some versions even being adopted well into the smokeless powder era (see: M1892 Brazilian Comblain artillery and engineer carbines)
PERSONAL NOTE: For reasons beyond our understanding, it seems that Comblain rifles still mounting their original cleaning rods are quite scarce, and Comblain cleaning rod examples likewise quite scarce. Most surviving rifles are found without any cleaning rods attached. These are photos of what are believed to be original Comblain cleaning rods, but these are offered without certainty:
GENERAL DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Firstly, all varieties of militarily adopted Comblain rifles feature a noticeably unique action in which the rifle's massive trigger guard surrounds its trigger which itself is housed within an equally massive shroud also holding a trigger spring.
The receiver consists of a rather large steel block which separates the forearm from the buttstock and contains the hammer with its integral firing pin, and associated springs. The hammer is exposed in most models which enable it to be cocked or lowered to half cock, but many of the short rifle and carbine varieties feature a shrouded hammer protecting the inside of the mechanism from dirt and mud as well as making the arm less subject to being snagged when used in a cavalry roll.
The receiver is usually well marked with both serial numbers and Belgian Liege syndicate patent royalty numbers as well as multiple proof markings and often national ownership markings consistent with most other Liege produced firearms of the 19th century.
Rear sights are typical ramp and leaf sights of the period.
In most versions of the rifles, the forearm is retained by a pair of screw retained barrel bands and steel nosecap (brass in the case of the early M1870, or only a nosecap in the case of some carbines) as well as a screw through escutcheons on either side of the forearm. Depending on model and ordering army’s specifications, sling swivels may be found mounted either ahead of the trigger guard and below the front barrel band, or be placed below the buttstock and below the rear barrel band. Buttplates are conventional for the time.
OPERATING MECHANISM
Having a unique action, the Comblain can hardly be mistaken for anything else. The relatively massive receiver houses a substantial breech block which is pivoted back and downward below the receiver by the combination trigger guard/operating lever which pivots forward of the trigger. The trigger itself is located in a semi‑cylindrical steel housing also containing the mainspring and sear assembly. Operation of the rifle is likewise unique. Pushing the trigger guard downward and forward (most easily accomplished by pushing through with the thumb of the trigger hand) slightly backs and lowers the breech block/hammer/trigger/spring assembly, and the assembly rotates radially down and away from the chamber while both cocking the hammer and extracting the spent cartridge case. The fresh cartridge is manually inserted into the chamber, the operating lever raised which moves the breech block into the closed position and the rifle is ready to fire.
MARKINGS & DETAILS
There are many different markings on Comblain rifles and we will try to help you understand as many as we can. Below on the right is information from the "Les armes portatives de l'armee belge 1830-1910" on some generic markings.
Syndicate Makers Marks
Aguste Francotte AF
Beuret Fes BF
Dresse-Laloux & Cie
D. Ancio & Fils
E.M. & L. Nagant
Ed Malherbe EM
G. Mordant
Jules Ancion & Fils J.A. & C.
Leon Lambin LL
Lambin & Co. LC
Lambin & Theate L & T
Pirlot & Fresart
CARTRIDGES
We quote from Kirtin, Jonathan, first published in The Journal of the Historical Breechloading Small arms Association, London, UK, subsequently in The Gun Report, Volume 50, Number Five, October 2004 and re-published in The Comblain Rifle an Early Falling Block Breach Loader, Arms Collecting Publications, 2015:
"All Comblain military rifles and carbines so far examined and bore slugged invariably have left hand rifling with four equal lands and grooves, with a bore land diameter of 11mm (.433"), sometimes shown on cartridge chamber drawings as 10.93mm (.430") and a bore groove diameter of 11.6mm (.457"), giving a rifling depth of close to 0.3mm (.011") which is very deep by modern thinking.
These dimensions apply equally to infantry rifles and carbines of various sorts supplied to Belgium, Peru, Brazil, Chile and Morocco, etc.
Unsurprisingly for this era, there were multiple variations of cartridges adopted from 1871 through 1881 and evolving from coiled brass cases to more modern drawn brass.
Nominal cartridge dimensions are 50.5 mm long for rifle cartridges and 43 mm long carbine cartridges.”
Modern collectors who intend to shoot their notably strong Comblain rifles should be aware that chamber dimensions often varied considerably from that of nominal cartridge dimensions, and to maintain the reloadability of their brass they may wish to perform a chamber cast of their rifles and reload cartridges closer to their own rifles; chamber dimensions rather than to published nominal dimensions, which may differ significantly.
The original military M1870 Comblain Rifle used the same cartridge as used in the Albini-Braendlin and Terssen rifles. This cartridge used a rolled brass foil case and existed in at least 8 variations. All but the last had minor structural changes or different bullets but used a straight tapered cased. At various times these cartridges have been known as the: 11mm Belgian Infantry, 11mm Terssen, 11mm Comblain M71, 11mm Albini M67. (Francis Latoir ‘The 11mm Belgian Infantry Cartridge’ (The Cartridge Collector 237-2:9/84))
DIMENSIONS: M1867 11.4x51R, 11x50R
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Bullet diameter: 11.32mm
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Neck diameter: .11.98mm
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Base diameter: 14.73mm
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Rim diameter: 17.22mm
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Case length: 53mm
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Total length: 63mm
DIMENSIONS: M1880 11.4x51R or 11x50R
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Bullet diameter: 11.35mm
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Neck diameter: 11.68mm
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Base diameter: 14.6mm
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Rim diameter: 17.09mm
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Case length: 53mm
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Total length: 65mm
DIMENSIONS: M1867 Carbine, 11.4x42R or 11X42R
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Bullet diameter: 11.25mm
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Neck diameter:
-
Base diameter:
-
Rim diameter:
-
Case length: 42mm
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Total length: 57mm
Photo Credit: https://militarycartridges.com/
For more detailed information on the Comblain and its cartridge history, check out this article by Historian Brad Dixon, a New Zealand Cartridge Collector: Comblain Drawn Case Cartridges.
LIST OF COUNTRIES / SPECIFIC RIFLES:
BELGIUM
BRAZIL
M1873 Brazilian Comblain Artillery and Engineer Carbine (Brazilian Comblain Modelo I Mosquetao 1873)
CHILE
MOROCCO
PERSIA
PERU
OTHER
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Refer to the correspondence from Sr. Adler Homero F. de Castro to Brad Dixon discussing the varieties of Brazilian Comblain, including some rare information on the particularly obscure Brazilian "Chu chu".
Information shared with us about tools used on the Comblain rifles.
Further Reading
Les Armes a Feu Reglementaires Belges Depuis 1830 - Credit Communal
The Comblain Rifle An Early Falling Block BreechLoader - Jonathan Grenville Kirton (The Comblain Rifle Book by Jonathan Kirton Published Jan 2016 | Down East Antiques)
The History and Development of Small Arms Ammunition, George A. Hoyem, VOL II-Centerfire Primitive and Martial Long Arms, Armory Publications, Tacoma, 1982 pg 156. Special Note! For those with access to the Hoyem book, the back of the dust jacket illustrates a Chilean Comblain.
An extensive series on the Comblain rifles was produced by Mr Kirtin and published serially appearing in The Gun Report (a high quality and influential arms magazine), Volume 50, Numbers 5 through 9, October 2004 through February 2005.