Diana 56TH
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 439 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.04 kg
- Introduced
- Not recorded
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Diana 56TH (Target Hunter) is a German side-lever, spring-piston air rifle manufactured by Mayer & Grammelspacher (Diana) of Rastatt, Germany. Available primarily in .22 (5.5mm) and also .177 (4.5mm), it is a single-shot, fixed-barrel rifle cocked by a side lever. Its defining feature is a sliding 'sledge' recoilless system in which the entire action moves rearward by roughly 10mm under a scope on firing, giving the shooter a near-recoilless, dead-still aim point without any external charging equipment. Built around a heavy beech thumbhole semi-target stock with a raised dovetail scope rail and the adjustable T06 two-stage trigger, the 56TH is regarded as one of the most accurate spring-piston field-target and hunting rifles ever produced.
Diana, founded in 1890 in Rastatt, Germany, is one of the oldest airgun makers in the world. The 56TH carried the company's spring-piston tradition into the high-end field-target market, its recoilless sliding-action design solving the hold-sensitivity that plagues most spring guns and earning it a reputation as a precision target and hunting rifle.
Marketed in North America under the RWS brand as the RWS Model 56 Target Hunter. Muzzle energy varies by market between roughly 16 J (around 12 ft-lbf) in test data and higher in unrestricted markets. The heavy sledge action makes it one of the most stable but heaviest spring rifles on the market.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Mayer & Grammelspacher GmbH (Diana)
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Germany
- Status
- In production
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 439 mm
- Overall length
- 1118 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.04 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Lever action
- Trigger
- Two stage
- Capacity
- 1
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 175 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 16 J
- Effective range
- 40 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Side lever cocking
Fixed barrel
Sliding recoilless action
T06 two stage trigger
Beech thumbhole stock
Adjustable butt pad
Raised dovetail scope rail- Scope arrestor holes
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 5.04 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1118 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 439 mm | 584 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 1 | 5 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Diana 56TH
How much does the Diana 56TH weigh?
The Diana 56TH weighs 5.04 kg (11.10 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Diana 56TH?
The Diana 56TH is chambered in .22 Air (5.5mm Pellet) and .177 Air (4.5mm).
How many rounds does the Diana 56TH hold?
The Diana 56TH holds 1 rounds.
How long is the Diana 56TH?
The Diana 56TH is 1118 mm (44.0 in) long overall, with a 439 mm (17.3 in) barrel.
Who makes the Diana 56TH?
The Diana 56TH is made by Mayer & Grammelspacher GmbH (Diana) (Germany).
How does the Diana 56TH operate?
The Diana 56TH uses a lever action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
80%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/diana-56th' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "diana-56th", "name": "Diana 56TH", "manufacturer": { "id": "diana", "name": "Mayer & Grammelspacher GmbH (Diana)", "countryCode": "DE", "foundedYear": 1890, "website": "https://www.diana-airguns.de", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-06 11:00:16", "updatedAt": "2026-07-06 11:00:16", "version": "d6e6c7d39c4b6dc278777bb60d226704614a71e59723eb96e19694fb9049c191" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "DE", "year_introduced": null, "barrel_length_mm": 439, "weight_empty_g": 5035, "action_type": "lever_action"}