When the German Army tested last-ditch Volkssturm rifles late in World War Two, one of the particularly obscure submissions was August Coenders’ Coenders-Rochling Volkssturmkarabiner. This was a bowl action rifle chambered for 8mm Mauser with a 5-round magazine. However, instead of using a traditional bolt action system it had a fixed breechblock and the handle was attached tot he barrel. Cycling the action meant unlocking the barrel and sliding it forward, while the breechblock held the fired case in place. When the barrel was fully forward, the next round in the magazine would kick out the empty case, and pull the barrel rearward seated the next cartridge, ready to fire. In testing, the rifle was, frankly, terrible.
Thanks to the Springfield Armory National Historic Site for giving me access to this unique specimen from their reference collection to film for you! Don’t miss the chance to visit the museum there if you have a day free in Springfield, Massachusetts:
https://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm
I can see that cycling the barrel would not help accuracy. But it is interesting to see what can be done for a simple last-ditch effort.
While it might not be a very thick volume, having Headstamp Publishing documenting these sorts of desperate efforts would be of interest.
It looks like an updated version of the Prince patent of 1856;
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/01/29/princes-sliding-barrel-breechloading-rifle/
Or for that matter the Gevelot pinfire, although in its case there was just a sliding chamber;
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/gevelot-11mm-sliding-chamber-pinfire-rifle/
Exactly how this was supposed to be faster and cheaper to make for the Volkssturm I’m not really getting.
clear ether
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