General Basile Gras (2 January 1836 – 14 April 1901) created the

Gras rifle The Fusil Modèle 1874 or Gras was the French Army's primary service rifle from 1874 to 1886. Designed by Colonel Basile Gras, the Gras was a metallic cartridge adaptation of the single-shot, breech-loading, black powder Chassepot rifle. It was ...

for the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

in 1874 by converting the Mle 1866

Chassepot rifle The Chassepot (pronounced ''SHAS-poh''), officially known as ''Fusil modèle 1866'', was a bolt-action military breechloading rifle. It is famous for having been the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It replace ...

to fire metallic cartridges. Gras, who was a colonel at the time, played a very important role in the formulation and industrial production of the

Lebel rifle The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: ''Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel"'') also known as the ''"Fusil Mle 1886 M93"'', after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French A ...

. He was an alumnus of Ecole Polytechnique, then a shooting instructor at l'École Normale de Tir at Châlons. Eventually he supervised the three weapon manufacturing facilities at St Etienne, Châtellerault and Tulle. Finally he became Secretary of War for France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gras, Basile 19th-century French inventors French generals Firearm designers 1836 births 1901 deaths École Polytechnique alumni