Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 665 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.35 kg
- Introduced
- 1878
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 'Fusil de Marine' was a bolt-action, tube-magazine repeating rifle designed by Alfred von Kropatschek and adopted by the French Navy to replace the Chassepot. Chambered for the 11mm Gras cartridge and fed from a seven-round Winderless-style brass tubular magazine in the forestock with a magazine cut-off, it was the first commercially successful Kropatschek design and the direct ancestor of the French Lebel Mle 1886. Roughly 25,000 were built by Steyr in Austria.
Delivered 'in the white' with bright polished steel rather than blued, the naval Kropatschek pioneered the tube-magazine repeater layout that France would later wrap around smokeless powder to create the world-shaking Lebel rifle.
Distinct from the single-shot Fusil Gras Mle 1874; the Kropatschek 1878 adds a tubular magazine making it a repeater. Its action and magazine layout directly informed the design of the Mle 1886 Lebel.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Steyr Arms
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- France
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1878 to 1885
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 665 mm
- Overall length
- 1243 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.35 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 7
- Magazine
- Tube
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Polished white
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 450 m/s
- Effective range
- 600 m
- Maximum range
- 1800 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.
Tubular magazine
Magazine cut off lever
Ramp and leaf sight
Bayonet lug
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 | 4.35 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1243 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 665 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 7 | 5 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine
How much does the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine weigh?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine weighs 4.35 kg (9.59 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine is chambered in 11x59mmR Gras.
How many rounds does the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine hold?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine holds 7 rounds, fed from a tube magazine.
How long is the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine is 1243 mm (48.9 in) long overall, with a 665 mm (26.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine is made by Steyr Arms (Austria). It was designed by Alfred von Kropatschek.
When was the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine introduced?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine was introduced in 1878 and discontinued in 1885.
How does the Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine operate?
The Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
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.
In service
- French Navy
- 1878
- Spanish Navy
- Spain
- Chilean Armed Forces
- Chile
Provenance
Confidence in this record
76%
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/gras-kropatschek' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "gras-kropatschek", "name": "Kropatschek Mle 1878 Marine", "manufacturer": { "id": "steyr-mannlicher", "name": "Steyr Arms", "countryCode": "AT", "foundedYear": 1864, "website": "https://www.steyr-arms.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": "Austrian rifle manufacturer, founded 1864. Currently produces hunting and sporting rifles.", "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "a826cd329c11aab62c76039016717ad94b5d38e37df48de00a5a6800ce0b3c60" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "FR", "year_introduced": 1878, "barrel_length_mm": 665, "weight_empty_g": 4350, "action_type": "bolt_action"}