The Swiss Ordnance revolver of 1882 was designed in large part by the Swiss colonel Rudolf Schmidt. Born in Basel in 1832, Schmidt began his career in the grocery business, changing to textiles in his early twenties. Neither career agreed with him though, and by the time he turned thirty, Schmidt had found his calling: he entered the profession of engineer, and took a liking to designing firearms. By 1866 he had been appointed director of SIG (Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft) at Neuhausen on the Rhine. He soon petitioned the Swiss government to establish an arsenal at Bern however, and by 1871 the new government factory was open, with Schmidt as its first director. While at the Waffenfabrik Bern, Schmidt designed two important guns – the Schmidt-Rubin infantry rifle, and the M1882 revolver.
This revolver is perhaps the finest military revolver ever produced, with design features so advanced, they would be copied by others, and never improved upon. The first feature worth noting is the loading gate. It is a patented design by the Belgian inventor Georges Abadie. In this design the loading gate disconnects the trigger from the hammer when the gate is open, and at the same time, prevents the hammer from being cocked. This ensures that no cartridge can be accidentally set off while the cylinder is being loaded. Pulling the trigger also advances the cylinder to make reloading faster. The second feature is the pivoted extractor rod. It is built in such a way that the cylinder pin cannot be removed unless the rod is flipped all the way up toward the barrel. This prevents the cylinder pin from falling out while the rod is being used to eject spent cartridges. The final improvement over other revolvers of similar design is the side plate. Chamelot & Delvigne and others, such as the German Reichskommissionsrevolver utilize a large side plate which is secured by a tab and screw to the side of the frame. This side plate can be removed to expose the entire internal mechanism to the shooter. The mechanism can be inspected, cleaned and repaired without having to disassemble the gun. The only negative aspect of this design is the fact that the side plate is a separate piece, and can be dropped or lost, if not careful. The Swiss revolver’s side plate is hinged to the frame in front of the trigger guard, and it can be opened like a fancy pocket watch. No loose parts, no chance of dropping or losing the cover. This same feature would be adopted by the French 10 years later, in their Mle1892.
Swiss M1882 military revolvers are fairly scarce on the Canadian antique market. Although the arsenal at Bern produced over 37,000 pieces between 1883 and 1937, only those with a serial number below 7508 are considered antique in Canada. The M1882 was produced by both the SIG Neuhausen and the Bern factories for military use and private sale. Specimens with a serial number below approximately 20,000 were fitted with plastic grips bearing the Swiss cross. Later models would be fitted with plain wooden grips. The M1882 saw a slight re-design in the 1920’s and was re-named the model 82/29. The M1882 was in service from 1883 until the 1970’s and was carried by military, police, border patrol and home guard forces.
These Swiss revolvers are usually in extremely fine condition when sold on the antique market. This can be attributed to the following two facts: firstly, Switzerland has not been involved in a war since 1847, its last armed conflict, a short-lived civil war. The second reason for the fine condition is the Swiss government’s policy to allow soldiers leaving the service to keep their side arms. Given this opportunity, most soldiers were careful to maintain and protect their guns more diligently than if it had been just an issued piece to be returned to the arsenal.
The Swiss Ordonanzrevolver of 1882 is chambered for the 7.5 Swiss Ordnance cartridge, but in Switzerland the .32 S&W Long is commonly used, as it is more readily available.
Rudolf Schmidt (1832-1898)
Swiss Service Revolver Model of 1882
The hinged side plate opens like a Swiss watch
This revolver is perhaps the finest military revolver ever produced, with design features so advanced, they would be copied by others, and never improved upon. The first feature worth noting is the loading gate. It is a patented design by the Belgian inventor Georges Abadie. In this design the loading gate disconnects the trigger from the hammer when the gate is open, and at the same time, prevents the hammer from being cocked. This ensures that no cartridge can be accidentally set off while the cylinder is being loaded. Pulling the trigger also advances the cylinder to make reloading faster. The second feature is the pivoted extractor rod. It is built in such a way that the cylinder pin cannot be removed unless the rod is flipped all the way up toward the barrel. This prevents the cylinder pin from falling out while the rod is being used to eject spent cartridges. The final improvement over other revolvers of similar design is the side plate. Chamelot & Delvigne and others, such as the German Reichskommissionsrevolver utilize a large side plate which is secured by a tab and screw to the side of the frame. This side plate can be removed to expose the entire internal mechanism to the shooter. The mechanism can be inspected, cleaned and repaired without having to disassemble the gun. The only negative aspect of this design is the fact that the side plate is a separate piece, and can be dropped or lost, if not careful. The Swiss revolver’s side plate is hinged to the frame in front of the trigger guard, and it can be opened like a fancy pocket watch. No loose parts, no chance of dropping or losing the cover. This same feature would be adopted by the French 10 years later, in their Mle1892.
Swiss M1882 military revolvers are fairly scarce on the Canadian antique market. Although the arsenal at Bern produced over 37,000 pieces between 1883 and 1937, only those with a serial number below 7508 are considered antique in Canada. The M1882 was produced by both the SIG Neuhausen and the Bern factories for military use and private sale. Specimens with a serial number below approximately 20,000 were fitted with plastic grips bearing the Swiss cross. Later models would be fitted with plain wooden grips. The M1882 saw a slight re-design in the 1920’s and was re-named the model 82/29. The M1882 was in service from 1883 until the 1970’s and was carried by military, police, border patrol and home guard forces.
These Swiss revolvers are usually in extremely fine condition when sold on the antique market. This can be attributed to the following two facts: firstly, Switzerland has not been involved in a war since 1847, its last armed conflict, a short-lived civil war. The second reason for the fine condition is the Swiss government’s policy to allow soldiers leaving the service to keep their side arms. Given this opportunity, most soldiers were careful to maintain and protect their guns more diligently than if it had been just an issued piece to be returned to the arsenal.
The Swiss Ordonanzrevolver of 1882 is chambered for the 7.5 Swiss Ordnance cartridge, but in Switzerland the .32 S&W Long is commonly used, as it is more readily available.
Rudolf Schmidt (1832-1898)
Swiss Service Revolver Model of 1882
The hinged side plate opens like a Swiss watch
