Introduction to Swiss Military Rifles

Switzerland’s Tradition of Marksmanship and Neutrality

Switzerland is known today for its tradition of marksmanship and its militia army. It is surprising to note that this modest-sized country, located in the heart of Europe and bordering two countries (France and Germany) that have had a rather turbulent shared history, has always managed to maintain its neutrality. There are many reasons for this, but two important points can be noted here: the concept of a militia army and a topography favorable to defense, with the low Jura mountains to the north and the Alps to the south. A third point can be noted, which is that Switzerland has always been able to develop high-quality weapons for its infantry. But we will come back to that later.

Nevertheless, the history of Swiss-made weapons did not really begin until around 1850. At that time, the 26 cantons that made up the Swiss Confederation chose their own weapons, which ultimately led to too much diversity, especially in artillery, and created major logistical problems in terms of ammunition management. With the constitution of 1848, the young federation wanted to standardize its weapons across all cantons, which at the time consisted of both French and German percussion rifles.

The result was the M1851 federal carbine. It was immediately clear that the intention was to arm the ‘carabiniers’, the elite of the Swiss army. This carbine is characterized by a stock with a strongly curved butt plate and a Stecher trigger, which facilitates precision shooting. At that time, Swiss shooting clubs were beginning to spring up all over the country, and the Swiss service weapon had to be as accurate as possible when shooting at paper targets. This tradition continued until the Stgw.90!

Stgw.90 with Kern 4x24 scope

From Vetterli Rifles to Schmidt-Rubin Innovations

We will skip over the M1863 rifles and the Milbank-Amsler conversions, but Switzerland obviously followed the rapid evolution of weaponry in the mid-19th century, eventually arriving at breech-loading rifles with metal cartridges. Especially since Prussia was terrorizing Europe with its Dreyse rifle, which rendered all percussion and muzzle-loading rifles obsolete, it was imperative to keep up if the German neighbors suddenly decided to cross the border...

The real change would come from SIG. The Swiss industrial company (Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft), under the impetus of Friedrich Vetterli, proposed a repeating rifle that fired a metallic rimfire cartridge. It should be noted that Switzerland was testing the .44 caliber Winchester 1866 (rimfire cartridge) at the same time. However, the American company was unable to supply the Swiss army with the weapons it required as quickly as needed. Vetterli's rifle finally came to fruition, and similarities can even be found between the Swiss weapon and the Winchester, as both weapons have a tubular magazine and shoot a rimfire cartridge. Nevertheless, Vetterli's rifle does have a bolt action rather than a lever under the trigger guard.

The M1869 ‘vetterli’ rifle

The Vetterli rifle was adopted for infantry use and was produced in a variety of models for carabiniers, cavalrymen, and border guards. SIG was therefore the Swiss army's number one supplier, and the adoption of the weapon came at just the right time in 1869, just before the Franco-Prussian War, even though very few rifles were manufactured at the start of the conflict. However, it served as a reminder to anyone who dared to cross the border that Switzerland was now equipped with a rifle capable of delivering a high volume of fire, compensating for its smaller number of soldiers.

However, the fact that the weapon came from a private company rather than a federal arsenal did not please Rudolf Schmidt, then federal controller, who did everything in his power to set up the Waffenfabrik in Bern, which was basically an assembly workshop that received the weapon components manufactured by SIG and its subcontractors for final assembly, testing, and inspection.

Schmidt did not stop there, as he developed a new rifle himself in the 1880s. It was his new rifle, commonly known as the “Schmidt-Rubin” model 1889, that was adopted in place of SIG's rifles, dealing a financial blow to the private company.

Infanterie Gewehr M1889 in 7,5x53,5mm GP90

The Schmidt rifle laid the foundations for a whole new series of weapons with its straight bolt action system, which would become one of the distinctive features of Swiss rifles. The M1889 naturally fired a 7.5x53.5 GP90 smokeless powder cartridge with a semi-ogival bullet and a cupro-nickel jacket. The rifle was equipped with an imposing removable 12-round magazine, based on the 11+1 magazine of the Vetterli rifle. However, the straight bolt action designed by Schmidt posed a problem: it was very long, which meant that the weapon could not be shortened for use by cavalry. SIG proposed a carbine based on the Mannlicher bolt, giving rise to the Model 1893 cavalry carbine. In 1896, a new rifle was adopted under the designation Model 1889/96. Despite its general appearance being very similar to the M1889, it was not simply a conversion but a new weapon, whose bolt had been improved to make it shorter: the locking lugs were moved from the rear of the main cylinder to the front, thus reducing the length. This simple modification made it possible to develop shorter weapons with barrels long enough to achieve acceptable results on target. This resulted in the M1897 cadet rifles, the M1900 short rifles, and then the M1905 cavalry carbines.

In 1898, France adopted a new cartridge with a pointed bullet, further improving ammunition performance. Germany and other nations quickly followed suit. Switzerland naturally followed suit, giving rise to the well-known 7.5x55 GP11. However, the receivers and barrels of the weapons previously developed could not withstand the much higher pressure generated by this new cartridge. This led to the introduction of the Gewehr 1911 and Karabiner 1911, as well as conversions: the M1889/96 were converted to 1896/11 and the KK1905 and KG1900 were converted to K11. Just before the outbreak of the First World War, Switzerland adopted a new rifle with a removable 6-round magazine and high-quality ammunition.

IG M1911 in 7,5x55mm GP11

Karabiner 31 and Mid-20th Century Developments

The K11s were highly appreciated by the troops for their compactness, and trench warfare had revealed that rifles over a meter long were indeed very cumbersome to maneuver. The idea was therefore to stop producing Gewehrs on the one hand and Karabiners on the other, and to equip the entire army with a single weapon. However, the K11s did not have the level of accuracy required by Swiss marksmen. The solution was found with the adoption of the Karabiner 1931: the bolt was completely redesigned to be much shorter, allowing the receiver to be shortened but the barrel to be lengthened. As a result, the Kar.31 was almost as long as the Kar.11, but its accuracy was improved by a longer barrel, and the front sight was also raised for the shooter's comfort. Once again, just before World War II, Switzerland adopted a more modern rifle, which could also fire rifle grenades.

Karabiner 1931 in 7,5x55mm GP11

After World War II, the question arose as to whether to adopt a semi-automatic rifle or an assault rifle. The German StG44 had laid the foundations for a new concept that was widely studied by the Swiss. There was also the FG42, which demonstrated the possibility of having a lightweight, individual weapon that could still fire a rifle cartridge with moderate recoil. Ultimately, interest in the semi-automatic rifle was deemed obsolete, and the Swiss turned their attention to the Sturmgewehr. With Bern and SIG still facing off, it was SIG's weapon that was adopted as the Sturmgewehr 1957. Is the Stgw.57 really an assault rifle? Or is it more of a “battle rifle”? After all, it is an imposing weapon that fires the GP11 rifle cartridge, which contradicts the concept of an assault rifle firing an intermediate cartridge. In any case, the Stgw.57 seems to have been the right choice for the Swiss army during the Cold War, whose main doctrine was defense: the weapon gives the infantryman significant firepower, ideal for defensive shooting, at the limit of the capabilities of a machine gun (remember that in this case it is the role of the MG51 to provide support to troops and sustained fire). In addition, the Stgw.57 fires rifle grenades, making Swiss infantrymen highly versatile with the ability to engage armored vehicles and light vehicles. The rifle grenade can be restrictive as it requires the weapon to be emptied in order to load it with a suitable propellant cartridge, but the grenade is much more effective than a 40 mm grenade. Furthermore, it does not require the infantryman to carry a heavy and cumbersome grenade launcher on his weapon at all times.

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Sturmgewehr 1957 in 7,5x55mm GP11

Transition to the Stgw.90 and Switzerland’s Modern Infantry Weapons

In the 1970s, research was conducted on an intermediate cartridge similar to the .223 Remington, which had recently been adopted by the US Army for its M16 rifles. Various tests were carried out, but it was not until the arrival of the Belgian SS109 bullet that the Swiss military was convinced to adopt a 5.6 cartridge with acceptable performance. The 5.6 GP90 is a Swiss-designed 5.56x45 cartridge, but in many ways very similar to the NATO 5.56x45. The ammunition is interchangeable between NATO and Swiss weapons, although variations in performance and accuracy may be noted. Once again, SIG and W+F Bern each developed weapons in the Swiss experimental calibers, and it was of course SIG's SG541 that was chosen to become the SG550, or Stgw.90. The different versions of the Sturmgewehr, including the SG530, SG540, and SG550, will be discussed in a separate article.

Switzerland finally abandoned the 7.5x55 GP11 rifle cartridge in favor of the 5.6 GP90 intermediate cartridge, thus adopting a true assault rifle, operating by gas and piston, typically like the Soviet AK47. The rifle grenade has been abandoned because its effectiveness against the latest generations of tanks is obsolete, and a 40 mm grenade launcher under the handguard is preferred. The Stgw.90 also serves as a precision weapon with the Kern 4x24 scope.

Sturmgewehr 1990 in 5,6 GP90 with 40 mm grenade launcher

It is clear that since the Vetterli rifles, Switzerland has always taken great care to ensure that the weapons used by its infantry are of the highest quality. All users of the Stgw.57 or 90 today can appreciate their shooting qualities. Of course, it would be simplistic to think that Switzerland owes its neutrality solely to the armament of its militia. Wars are won with aircraft, missiles, and tanks rather than assault rifles. But it is true that Swiss weapons have a history of their own and are often superior to the firearms of other nations.