The Pistola Herval was a
lever action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger ...
pistol manufactured in Brazil. The weapon was a prototype intended for mounted cavalry troops.
History
The Pistola Herval, which got its name due to its construction having been ordered by the
Marquis of Herval (General Osório), when he was the Minister of War (1879), is nothing more than a
Winchester 1873
Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The Mo ...
, reduced, and modified in order to simplify it: for example, the amount of components has been reduced from 31 to 19.
A very small number of them (three were certainly made, less than five in total, it is assumed) were handcrafted at the Fábrica de Armas da Conceição, not being adopted. Despite being purely experimental, and also the result of a modification of an existing weapon, it appears in several documents and books, perhaps due to the fact that it came from a personal intervention by General Osório, hero of the
Paraguayan War
The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...
.
One example survives today, in the Army Museum,
Fort Copacabana
Fort Copacabana ( pt, Forte de Copacabana, ) is a military base at the south end of the beach that defines the district of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. The base is open to the public and contains the ''Museu Histórico do Exército'' (Army Historic ...
.
See also
*
List of pistols
This is a list of pistols. The list covers manually operated and semi-automatic/machine pistols:
See also
*List of firearms
*List of assault rifles
*List of machine guns
*List of multiple-barrel firearms
*List of revolvers
* List of semi-autom ...
*
Short-barreled rifle
Short-barreled rifle broadly refers to any rifle with an unusually short barrel. The term carbine describes a production rifle with a reduced barrel length for easier handling in confined spaces. Concern about concealment for illegal purposes ha ...
*
Carbine
A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges.
The smaller size and lighte ...
*
Mare's Leg
The Mare's Leg is the name given to a customized shortened rifle used by Steve McQueen's character on the television series '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (1958–1961). McQueen's character was named Josh Randall, and the gun has also been referred ...
- Fictional equivalent.
References
19th-century weapons
Handguns
Pistols
Lever-action rifles
Firearms of Brazil
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