| Year of introduction | System | Calibre |
| 1867 | Dutch Snider (conversion) | 17.5 x 30R |
| 1870 | Beaumont model 1871 | 11 x 52R Beaumont |
| 1870 | Remington Rolling Block | 11 x 45R Remington |
| 1873 | Remington Rolling Block | 11 x 52R Beaumont |
| 1888 | Beaumont-Vitaly model 1871/88 | 11 x 52R Beaumont |
| 1895 | Mannlicher Model 1895 | 6.5 x 53R |
Remarks about the table above:
The purpose of the table is to give an overview of the development of the systems that were issued to the land forces. The model designations, mentioned by the system names are indicative. Different model designations, but with the same system and calibre, are not mentioned separately. Calibre modifications can be relevant for showing the technical borders of a certain system. Therefore calibre modifications are mentioned.
The Dutch Remington Rolling Block was issued as a carbine only.
The great advantage of a breech loading rifle is its speed of loading in comparison with a muzzle loading rifle. After the second half of the 1860s most European countries started to equip their armies with a breech loading rifle. The Austrian-Prussian war of 1866 was the trigger for the Dutch king Willem III to ask the Minister of War for the adoption of a breech loading infantry rifle.
Original drawing from the
Dutch Snider. Source: Joost et al. from "Atlas, behorende bij
handleiding tot de kennis der Draagbare wapenen".
The then existing breech loading systems had many shortcomings and the development was still in full progress. It was certain that improved systems would come available sooner or later. It was expensive and it took a lot of time to get thousands of newly made rifles. Besides there was a great change that the new rifle became very soon obsolete. For this reason Minister of War, J.A. van den Bosch, decided to convert the existing percussion rifles to a breech loading system. On 17 august 1866 a new formed "commissie tot het onderzoek van geweren met kamerlading" (commission for the research of breech loading rifles) had its first meeting. The Dutch Snider rifle was soon officially accepted on 24 January 1867. As stated, all Dutch Snider rifles were conversions, and not entirely new made rifles. The Dutch rifles were converted by cutting a piece at the breech end of the barrel and placing a breech block in the remaining breech-end of the barrel. This was for example unlike the British Enfield-Snider rifles. The Enfield percussion rifles were transformed by placing a complete new receiver complete with breech block at the breech of the sawn off barrel. The chairman Happé of the Dutch Commission for the research of breech loading rifles, stated that nearly 97.000 suitable percussion rifles were available for conversion. The rifles were converted by the following factories:
Factory Number of converted rifles Year of conversion
P. Stevens Maastricht, The Netherlands 25.000 February 1867
Birmingham Small Arms, England 30.000 July 1867
P. Stevens Maastricht, The Netherlands 5.000 September 1867
Geweerwinkel (WDW) te Delft, The Netherlands 23.000 1870 and 1872
____________________________________ +
Approximate total of converted rifles 83.000
Some rifles had a very rich history. They started their life as new made flintlocks rifles. Later on they were converted to the percussion lock. The smooth bore was rifled and a rear sight was assembled. At the end the rifle was converted to Snider rifle. Flintlock and percussion lock rifles were made by factories in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, England and even in France.
The Dutch army rifle M71/79 / "Geweer Klein Kaliber, stelsel de Beaumont" (Small Bore Rifle, action de Beaumont). Calibre : 11.3 x 51R.
This Beaumont M71/79 rifle bears serial number 19C. In 1879 these rifles were fitted with the de Betou rear sight.
On 26 February 1867 the Minister of War, J.A. van den Bosch, gave a order to chairman Lieutenant-general A.H. Happé for the "commissie tot het onderzoek van geweren met kamerlading" (commission for the research of breech loading rifles). The Snider conversion was a temporary solution and one of its main drawbacks was the large calibre of 17,5 millimetres. The commission should select a good breech loading system for the adoption of a newly made rifle for the Dutch army. The continuation of the commission became target of a political discussion. In 1867 J.K.H. de Roo van Alderwerelt, member of the "Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal" (House of representatives of the States General) was very skeptical. J.K.H. de Roo stated that it was impossible to choose a system that was not obsolete within several years. De Roo suggested to directly purchase 25.000 Winchester repeating rifles and 25.000 Remington rifles, although this choice was random. Nobody liked the ideas of de Roo. Winchester repeating rifles are too weak for military purposes. Afterwards it would appear that it is impossible to convert the single shot Remington rolling-block rifle to a reliable repeating rifle. In despite of these facts a personally don't think that the ideas of de Roo are that bad. The Winchester M1866 repeating rifle would have given the Dutch army of 1867 an enormous firepower. Afterwards the Netherlands adopted the Remington rolling block as a carbine!
The commission had its meetings nearly every week and numerous rifle models were inspected and tested. Finally the following models were selected for testing by the Infantry and marines in the field:
Peabody falling-block rifle. Patented in 1862 by Henry O. Peabody, Boston USA.
Werndel rotating-block rifle. Invented by Joseph Werndel and chief engineer Karl Holub of the Steyr factory. Austria decided in 1867 to adopt the Werndl rifle in favor of the Remington rolling-block because of the high royalties that Remington asked on ground of the patent rights.
Remington rolling-block rifle. Designed by Leonard Geiger and Joseph Rider and made by E. Remington & Sons.
Remington-Kerr bolt-action rifle.
Beaumont bolt-action rifle.
A number of 50 rifles per breech loading system should be made with iron-work (barrel bands) like de France Chassepot Rifle and barrels with a caliber of 11 millimeters and 4 grooves.
The Peabody-Martini rifle
The commission had also inspected and tested the Peabody-Martini rifle but they rejected it in 1868. The Peabody-Martini was based on the Peabody design but modified by Friedrich von Martini of Frauenfeld, Switzerland. The cocking indicator that protrudes when the striker spring was cocked made the rifle needlessly complex. Besides the cocking indicator was not visible clearly enough. The commission found this unacceptable for security reasons.
The British Special Committee on Breech-Loading Rifles also didn't like this cocking indicator. They replaced it by a cocking indicator combined with the tumbler axis pin on the right side of the action body. The British Committe on Breech-Loading Rifles selected the Martini breech loading system in 1868 to ultimately develop the Martini-Henry Infantry Rifle MK-I.
The Remington bolt-action rifle
Samuel Norris, an European Agent for Remington, send two rifles from the design of Peter Paul and Wilhelm Mauser on February 1868 to the Dutch commission. I assume that the breech loading system of this rifle was similar to the Mauser-Norris rifle that is displayed below. Lieutenant-colonel Staring stated that this rifle was unsuitable for long lasting storage. This vague statement could have something to do with the extraordinary placement of the bold in closed position.
The Mauser-Norris rifle breech loading system
Source : Deutches Waffen-Journal 1/98
In April 1868 James Kerr, owner of Kerr & Co London, offered a Remington bolt-action rifle as displayed in the sketch below. This rifle also seems to be the design of the Mauser brothers and Remington was the owner of the Patent of 1868 in the USA. The Dutch committee praised the extraction mechanism. The opening of the bold, by rotating, forces the cartridge out of the chamber by the wedge principle.
The improved Remington-Kerr rifle with external hammer.
Source : G. de Vries & B.J. Martens, "Nederlandse Vuurwapens, Landmacht,
Marine en koloniale troepen 1813 - 1866", Arnhem, The Netherlands 2001
The British committee also tested the Remington-Kerr rifle. They found that there was a danger of cartridge firing before the bolt was closed. During the British trails the keeper screw became worn and the sear spring plus the main spring became rusted and broken. At Mr. Kerr's request the rifle was exchanged for a rifle with an improved keeper screw. This latter rifle was not submitted to the exposure tests because the British committee had already formed their opinion on Mr. Kerr's system.
In July 1868 an improved Remington-Kerr rifle was offered to the Dutch. This rifle had a one-piece firing pin that eliminates the danger of cartridge firing before the bolt was closed. Besides the keeper screw was improved and the hammer was placed at the inner side. The rifles are marked "REMINGTONS ILION N.Y. U.S.A." and they bears English proof marks. The Dutch government ordered 50 of this improved Remington-Kerr rifles for troop testing.
The Beaumont rifle
Although the field-tests by the Infantry and Marines were already started in February 1868 the committee decided on 16 March 1868 to involve a new candidate in the tests. This concerns the rifle of the Dutch arms dealer Edouard de Beaumont. The committee and others to whom it concerns were impressed by the simplicity of the design form de Beaumont. It also features the wedge principle extracting mechanism like the Remintong-Kerr rifle.
Edouard de Beaumont 1841-1895
Source: http://www.nvbiw-edouard-de-beaumont.nl/
Edouard de Beaumont was not the inventor of the rifle that bears his name. In 1874 the German Captain F. Heutsch stated that the Beaumont combined the designs from the France Chassepot rifle, the Mauser-Norris rifle and the rifle from Jean Joseph Cloes of Liége, Belgium. The collection from the Royal Armories in Leeds contains a rifle almost identical to Beaumont's first patented rifle. The main characteristic from the Beaumont rifle is the position of the firing pin spring. This blade spring is placed in the bolt-arm. F.Heutsch stated that this idea was copied from the designs of Mauser-Norris and J.J. Cloes. Also J.E.A. de Fléron claimed the design of the position of the firing pin spring for which he had a patent in Belgium since 1866. On 12 April 1870, Jonn Joseph Cloes of Liége Belgium get Patent with no 101826 in the United States for a rifle design that bears al the characteristics of the Beaumont Rifle. The Patent description states : "J.J. Cloes, assignor to Edward de Beaumont". This was 1 month after the Dutch acceptance of the Beaumont rifle for the Military Service. Edouard de Beaumont was a good business man but the Belgian J.J. Cloes was the inventor of the rifle that bears the name of Beaumont.
Misleading or not and although offered during troop testing instead of before, the rifle from Edouard de Beaumont was selected in favor of his other competitors, followed by the Remington-Kerr on the second place. The commission didn't made a bad choice. The Beaumont rifle is a very simple and sturdy rifle that is easy to handle.
Except for the breech mechanism the resemblance of the Beaumont rifle with the France Chassepot and the derived France Gras is remarkable. Barrel bands, swing swivels, but plate, the shape of the barrel and the method of fixing the breech action with the stock are almost exactly identical. Although identical it should be noted that the Chassepot rifle is a bit smaller and the parts are not interchangeable. The Dutch had a tradition for following the France small arms patterns that had its roots in the Napoleonic period. For example the Dutch M1815 flint lock rifle is a copy of the France Napoleonic Modèle 1777. Possibly it was a matter of tradition that made the commission choose the iron work of the France Chassepot for its test rifles which finally had led to the adoption of the Beaumont rifle in its present form.
On 7 March 1870 King Willem III asked the Ministry of War to budget the initial purchase of 64.000 Beaumont rifles. Approximately a total of 147.000 single shot Beaumont rifles were produced between 1870 and 1892.
Factory Produced Year
Manufacture d'Armes de Saint Etienne, France for E. de Beaumont 0 1870
Simson at Shul, Germany for E. de Beaumont ? 1871 - 1875
Göbel at Shul, Germany for E. de Beaumont ? 1871 - 1875
Bornmüller at Shul, Germany for E. de Beaumont ? 1871 - 1875
____________________________________ +
subtotal of manufactured rifles, delivered by E.de Beaumont 31.600
P. Stevens Maastricht, The Netherlands 37.291 1870 - 1875
P. Stevens Maastricht, The Netherlands 48.741 1875 - 1889
Geweerwinkel te Delft, The Netherlands 29.746 1870 - 1892
____________________________________ +
Approximate total of produced single shot Beaumont rifles 147.378
The production of Beaumont rifles by Manufacture d'Armes de Saint Etienne in France ceased.
This was because of the outbreak of the France-German War on 19 July 1870.
Rifle M71/79 / "Geweer Klein Kaliber, stelsel de Beaumont" (Small Bore Rifle, action de Beaumont). Characteristics : like the M71 but fitted with the de Betou rear sight graduated up to 1800 meters.
"Kadetten geweer" (Cadet Rifle) Adopted in 1878. Characteristics : A shortened and lightened version of the M71 Rifle with a length of 1,15 meters. Receiver marked with the letter "K". Serial number prefix "K". Rear sight without graduations. Not more than several 100 pieces were made.
"Pupillen geweer" (Pupil Rifle) Adopted in 1878. Characteristics : A shortened and lightened version of the M71 Rifle with a length 1,02 meters. Receiver marked with the letter "P". Serial number prefix "P". Rear sight without graduations. Not more than several 100 pieces were made.
"Geweer tot Kamer Schiet Oefenigen, eerste model (KSO)" (Rifle for gallery shooting, first model). Adopted in 1874 Characteristics : Finish of metal parts in the White. Stock panted black. Caliber 6 mm Flobert placed in a steel adapter with the dimensions of the original cartridge. Firing pin modified to rim fire.
Rifle M91 / "Geweer tot Kamer Schiet Oefenigen, tweede model (KSO)" (Rifle for gallery shooting, second model) Adopted in 1891 Characteristics : Finish of metal parts in the White. Stock panted black. The barrel has a 15 cm long steel rifled insert for chambering the 6 mm Flobert cartridges. Modified firing pin and extractor.
Colonial Army model designations
Rifle M73 / "Geweer achterlaad - Klein Kaliber Nederlands Indisch Leger, stelsel de Beaumont" (Breechloading Rifle Dutch East Indian Army, action de Beaumont). Characteristics : M73 rifles always have a safety catch. Finish of metal parts blued except the bolt. Socket bayonet. Rear sight graduated up to 1200 passes. Rear sight graduated up to 1000 meters since 1884. The rifle has a length of 1,32 meters.
"Pupillen geweer" (Pupil Rifle) Adopted in 1884. As far as known no Colonial Army pupil rifle has remained.
The colonial army didn't use a special modified rifle for gallery shooting an a large scale.
On the colonies they used a steel adapter with the dimensions of the original cartridge.
This adapter was a design of of the France inventor Gaupillat.
The Gaupillat adapter made use of a blank central fire cartridge with a separate pointed bullet.
Navy model designations
Rifle M73 / "Geweer Klein Kaliber met sabelbajonet, stelsel de Beaumont" (Small Bore Rifle with saber bayonet, action de Beaumont). Characteristics : Finish of metal parts in the White. Socket Bayonet. Rear sight graduated to 1100 passes (803 meters)
Pupil rifle / "Geweer klein kaliber licht model met sabel bajonet" ( Light model small bore rifle with saber bayonet). Adopted in 1878. Characteristics : A shortened and lightened version of the M73 Rifle with a length 1,02 meters. No swing swivels. Serial number prefix "." (dot). Not more than several 100 pieces were made, all converted from original M73 rifles.
"Geweer tot Kamer Schiet Oefenigen met sabelbajonet, eerste model (KSO)" (Rifle for gallery shooting with saber bayonet, first model) Characteristics : Finish of metal parts in the White. Stock panted black. Caliber 6 mm Flobert placed in a steel adapter with the dimensions of the original cartridge. Firing pin modified to rim fire..
Rifle M91 / "Geweer tot Kamer Schiet Oefenigen met sabelbajonet, tweede model (KSO)" (Rifle for gallery shooting with saber bayonet, second model) Adopted in 1891 Characteristics : Finish of metal parts in the White. Stock panted black. The barrel has a 15 cm long rifled insert for chambering the 6 mm Flobert cartridges. Modified firing pin and extractor.
Rifle modifications
The cleaning rod
Initial the head of the cleaning rod was utilized with a squared hole for placement of a cleaning patch. Later on the cleaning patch hole was abolished. The hole of existing cleaning rods was filled with iron.
Notice the vague contours of the cleaning patch hole that is filled with iron.
The serial number 19 must be placed after the modification.
The new model cartridge extractor and bolt head of 1875
Initially the cartridge extractor was fitted by a screw. A special screwdriver was needed to prevent the soldiers and sailors from messing with it. Time learned that the cartridge extractor became loosen without giving the soldier the possibility of tighten it. The new model cartridge extractor of 1875 was fitted with a dovetail joint that was fixed by a pin. The colonial army did not use this new model extractor. The tropical climate needed a extractor that could be disassembled for cleaning.
The front of the initial model bolt head was sharp en therefore closing the bolt led to burrs. With the assembling of the new type extractor the bolt head was also rounded of to prevent burrs.
The bold head with the new model cartridge extractor.
Notice the vague contours of the fixing pin on the dovetail joint.
See also the rounded of bold head.
Abolishment of the safety catch in 1878
Initially the rifles were utilized with a safety catch. Experience shows that
the safety catch was of no use. On December 1878 was decided to abolish the
safety catch with the replacement of a furniture spring. New made rifle made
from after that time have no safety catch or furniture spring. The safety catch
was only abolished by the Army. The colonial army and the navy kept the safety
catch.
The breech action of the M71/79 rifle with serial number 19c. The furniture spring is clearly visible between bolt arm and empty cartridge shell. Its only function is covering the holes of the removed safety catch. The drilled hole on the bolt left below the bolt arm blocked the firing pin when the catch was in "safe" position. By the way, the single shot Beaumont rifles does not have an ejector.
The rear sight from de Betou in 1879
The France-German war of 1870 has proved the value in certain cases of long distance shots up to 1600 meter. For this reason, the Dutch improved the loads, bullets and greasing of the rifle cartridge. Besides a new rear sight was needed, graduated up to 1800 meters. The conventional wings of the rear sight did not give room for twice as much graduation inscriptions. This problem could be solved by a far more complex telescopical sight. Captain de Betou solved the problem by simply enlarging the wings of the rear sight. The old graduation in passes was also replaced by meters. M71 rifles, fitted with the rear sight form de Betou are designated M71/79.
The Betou rear sight adjusted at 800 meters. Also notice the screw assembly. The small metal stripe at the inner of the rear sight blade prevents the adjustment under 250 meters.
The improved rifle cartridge used external bullet greasing. Therefore this type of cartridge and its rear sight graduation was unsuitable for the warm climate of the East Indies. The Colonial Army decided to use another type of rear sight different form the de Betou design in 1886. The rearsight of de Betou was also not fitted on rifles for the Navy.
A new stop on the rear sight de Betou
The graduation of the de Betou rear sight started at 150 meters. Later on this distance appears to be to short. It was decided to stop the rear sight blade at a minimum distance of 250 meters by a screw assembly.
Conversion to a repeating rifle in 1888
In 1888 it was
decided to convert the M71 to a repeating rifle with the Italian Vitaly box
magazine system.
This old model socket bayonet for the Beaumont M71/79 rifle bears serial number 2.
The bayonet of the Beaumont rifle is identical to the bayonet for the Dutch Snider rifle except for its dimensions. The Beaumont bayonet is a bit smaller.
The department of war decided in 1875 that the so called "stormring" (assault ring) henceforth should made form 2 pieces of steel fitted together by 2 screws. This modification simplified the manufacturing. The assault ring tighten the bayonet on the rifle by turning it. The Colonial Army took over this simplification also in 1877.
The old model socket bayonet had an iron assault ring with 1 screw and had a steel blade that was welded on an iron shaft. This forge could only be done by a very skilled smith. The new model socket bayonet with 2 screws was made entirely from steel. In 1876 bayonet smiths were rare. All socket bayonets for the percussion rifles that were later transformed to Snider breech loaders were entirely made from forged iron.
The Dutchmen reused the model numbers of obsolete cartridges for new adapted cartridges. This led to a very confusing model number designation.
| Caliber | Designation | Adoption | Remarks |
| 17.5 x 30R Dutch Snider | Scherpe patroon No.7 | x | Type Gaupillat (during the trails) |
| 17.5 x 30R Dutch Snider | Scherpe patroon No.7 | 1867 | Type Daw |
| 17.5 x 30R Dutch Snider | Losse patroon No.4 | 1867 | Blanks |
| 6 mm Flobert | 1868 | For Snider rifle | |
| 17.5 x 30R Dutch Snider | Scherpe patroon No.7 | 1870 | Case of solid drawn brass |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Losse patroon No.5 | Blanks | |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Scherpe patroon No.8 | 1871 | Bullet external greased |
| 11 x 45R Remington | Scherpe patroon No.9 | 1871 | Dutch Rolling Block Carbine |
| 11 x 45R Remington | Losse patroon No.6 | Blanks | |
| 6 mm Bosquette | Scherpe patroon No.7 | 1874 | Beaumont KSO |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Scherpe patroon No.2 | 1879 | Longer "Harsveldt" bullet |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Scherpe patroon No.1 | 1888 | M71/88, no external greasing |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Losse patroon No.3 | M71/88, Blanks | |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Scherpe patroon No.11 | 1895 | No.8 was renamed to No.11 |
| 6.5 x 53R Mannlicher | Scherpe patroon No.1 | 1895 | Mannlicher M95 |
| 11 x 52R Beaumont | Losse patroon No.8 | 1896 | No.3 was renamed to No.8 |
| 6 mm Bosquette | Scherpe patroon No.13 | 1924 | Mannlicher M95 KSO |
At the beginning, Dutch Remington Rolling Block carbines were chambered for the 11 x 45R Remington called "Scherpe patroon No.9. During the seventies and eighties of the nineteenth century the Remington carbines were rechambered for the longer 11 x 51R Beaumont cartridge, the "Scherpe patroon No.8".
17.5 x 30R - Scherpe patroon No.7
Cartridges are as old as firearms itself. so called paper cartridges were used with muzzle loading firearms to keep an appropriate charge of powder to getter with the bullet. The cartridge was tarred apart, the powder charge was dropped in the muzzle and the paper was sometimes used to fill the space between the bullet and the barrel wall.
Central fire cartridges were also available earlier than the sixties of the nineteenth century. These early systems were far from perfect. The Dutch Snider rifle first used the so called Gaupillat system. With the Gaupilatt system the priming compound was placed in the centre between an inner and outer brass base. At the outside there was no primer visible so it looks like a rim fire cartridge.
Later on the Dutch placed an order for 5,000,000 cartridges following the design of Englishman G.H.Daw. These cartridges used a separate primer, placed in the base. The famous Kolonel E.M. Boxer improved the design of G.H.Daw, which led to a lawsuit, before the Boxer cartridge was adopted by the English for their own Enfield-Snider conversion.
During the seventies the Dutch made use of another improvement, a drawn cartridge shell entirely made of copper, similar as show in the drawing. below.
A cutaway drawing of a late model 17.8 mm Dutch Snider cartridge.
Source: W.C. Hojel, "Handleiding tot de kennis der artillerie, deel 3".
11 x 51R Beaumont - Scherpe patroon No.8
The first model 11 x 51R Beaumont cartridge was called "Scherpe patroon No.8" which was renamed in 1895 to "Scherpe patroon No.11". The .22 Long Rifle cartridge is displayed for comparison only. The base of the cartridge, "Scherpe patroon No.8", on the photo is stamped "10" "93", which stands for a production date of October 1893. Notice the little round dent on 4:00 o'clock on the head stamp of the 11 x 51R. This indicates that the cartridge case was reloaded one time.
11 x 51R Beaumont - Scherpe patroon No.2
In 1879 a new model cartridge: "Scherpe patroon No.2" was used. This cartridge used the longer and heavier "Harsveldt" bullet. With the introduction of the Beaumont-Vitally M71/88 repeating rifle the cartridge model was changed to "Scherpe patroon No.1" and in 1895 renamed to "Scherpe patroon No.9". The "Scherpe patroon No.1" was nearly identical to the "Scherpe patroon No.2" with the exeption of the greasing.
6,5 x 53.5R - Scherpe patroon No.1
The "Scherpe patroon No.1" (Dutch 6.5 x 53R cartridge) head stamp on the photo below, has the year of assembly at 6 o'clock. "14" stands for 1914. "BS" designates the LOT of the brass that the cartridge was made.
Below, photos of a carton with 2 pieces of 6,5 x 53.5R Dutch Mannlicher cartridge clips. The 6,5 x 53.5R Dutch Mannlicher cartridge was called: "Scherpe patroon No.1". The .22 Long Rifle cartridge is displayed for comparison only.
The designation "No.1 S. 5-39" on the carton, means "Patroon Scherpe Nummer 1" (Life Cartridge Number 1), followed by the month (June) and the year (1939) that the cartridge was assembled. "39" under stripe "G" designates the year that the cartridge shell was made (1939) and the LOT of the brass that it was made from.
The notation on the cartridge head stamp changed in 1921, see the head stamp on the third photo, below. "39" at 12 o'clock designates the year of production. "39" at 3 o'clock designates the year that the cartridge was assembled. "G" stands for the code of the LOT of the brass that the cartridges were made of and "06" was the LOT of the nitro powder.
Since 1924 the cartridges were better protected against moisture by a lacquered primer annulus and the bullets were made with a crimp grove that was filled with grease. (Source: G. de Vries & B.J. Martens, "Nederlandse Vuurwapens 1895-1940")
6 mm Double Culot - Scherpe patroon No. 13
6 mm Double Culot Flobert cartridge, called: "Scherpe patroon No. 13", made bij RWS. The acorn on the head stamp was the symbool of the German "Rheinisch Westfälische Sprengstoff Fabrik" (abbreviated RWS) where the cartridges were made. The .22 Long Rifle cartridge is displayed for comparison only.
The Dutch used the 6 mm Double Culot Flobert cartridge (also known as Bosquette), called: "Scherpe patroon No 13.", (Life round #13). The cartridge was used for training purposes with the (specially adapted) Dutch Beaumont K.S.O. rifles and Dutch Remmington Rolling Block K.S.O. carbines. This cartridge was later on renamed to "Scherpe patroon No 7.", for use in the Dutch Mannlicher M.95 K.S.O. Rifles. K.S.O. stands for Kamer Schiet Oefeningen (Gallery Shooting Practice).
G. de Vries & B.J. Martens, "Nederlandse Vuurwapens, Landmacht, Marine en koloniale troepen 1813 - 1866", Arnhem, The Netherlands 2001. (Dutch language)
G. de Vries & B.J. Martens, "Nederlandse Vuurwapens, Landmacht, Marine en koloniale troepen 1866 - 1895", Arnhem, The Netherlands 2001. (Dutch language)
G. de Vries & B.J. Martens, "Nederlandse Vuurwapens, 1895 - 1940", Arnhem, The Netherlands 1993. (Dutch language)
B.J. Martens, "SAM Wapenmagazine Nr. 141, Vroege Beaumont geweren", Arnhem, The Netherlands 2006. (Dutch language)
B.J. Martens, "SAM Wapenmagazine Nr. 142, Nogmaals de Beaumont", Arnhem, The Netherlands 2006. (Dutch language)
B.A.Temple, I.D. Skennerton, "A treatise on the British Military Martini, The Martini Henry 1869-C1900", Kilcoy, Australia 1983.
With thanks to G. Klein Baltink, The Netherlands, for the pictures originated from "W.C. Hojel, Handleiding tot de kennis der artillerie, deel 3" and "Joost et al, Atlas, behorende bij handleiding tot de kennis der Draagbare wapenen" (Dutch language).