''Waffenfabrik Bern'' (Weapons Factory Bern), also known as W+F Bern, was an arms manufacturer in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, which was a

government-owned corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

producing firearms for the

Swiss Armed Forces The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

List of W+F weapons

Vetterli rifle The Vetterli rifles were a series of Swiss army service rifles in use from 1869 to 1889,Barnes, p.196, "10.4x38R Swiss Vetterli M69/81". when they were replaced with Schmidt–Rubin rifles. Modified Vetterlis were also used by the Italian Army. ...

* Schmidt M1882 - 1882 revolver. Chambered in 7.5 Swiss Ordnance *

Schmidt–Rubin The Schmidt–Rubin rifles were a series of Swiss Army service rifles in use between 1889 and 1958. They are distinguished by the straight-pull bolt action invented by Rudolf Schmidt and use Eduard Rubin's 7.5×55mm Schmidt–Rubin rifle cartrid ...

- 1889 straight-pull bolt-action rifle. Chambered in 7.5×53.5 Swiss. * Swiss Mannlicher M1893 - straight-pull bolt-action rifle designed by

Ferdinand Mannlicher Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher (January 30, 1848 – January 20, 1904) was an Austrian engineer and small arms designer. Along with James Paris Lee, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading magazine system ...

. Chambered in 7.5×53.5 Swiss. *

- 1896 straight-pull bolt-action rifle. Chambered in 7.5×53.5 Swiss. *

- 1896/11 straight-pull bolt-action rifle. Chambered in 7.5×55 Swiss. *

- 1911 straight-pull bolt-action rifle. Chambered for the revamped 7.5×53.5 Swiss. The case was lengthened to 55 mm. This new load became the 7.5×55 Swiss. The new load used a modern spitzer bullet and more modern smokeless powders and produces a much higher velocity and pressure than the older 7.5×53.5mm load. 7.5×55mm should never be fired in the 1889 series Schmidt–Rubin. * Parabellum pistol (''Pistole 1920, 06/29'') *

MG 11 The Maschinengewehr Modell 1911 or MG 11 is a Swiss heavy machine gun which was introduced before and during World War I. The MG 11 has a narrow constructive relationship with the German MG 08 heavy machine gun. History The MG 11 was based on ...

- machine gun. * Flieger-Doppelpistole 1919 - double barrel aircraft submachine gun. *

K31 The Karabiner Modell 1931 (K. 31/Kar. 31/Mq. 31) is a magazine-fed, straight-pull bolt-action rifle. It was the standard issue rifle of the Swiss armed forces from 1933 until 1958 though examples remained in service into the 1970s. It has a 6-ro ...

- straight-pull bolt-action rifle. Chambered for 7.5×55mm Swiss. *

Bern Pistole 43 german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

- Semi-automatic pistol intended to replace the Luger 06/29 but ended up being discontinued because of the SIG P210 *

Sturmgewehr 52 The Sturmgewehr 52 (STG-52) was a battle rifle manufactured by the government-owned W+F Bern of Switzerland. It was chambered in the 7.5mm Kurzpatrone cartridge and later the 7.5mm Swiss service round as the Sturmgewehr 54, which was fed from t ...

Sturmgewehr 54 The Sturmgewehr 52 (STG-52) was a battle rifle manufactured by the government-owned W+F Bern of Switzerland. It was chambered in the 7.5mm Kurzpatrone cartridge and later the 7.5mm Swiss service round as the Sturmgewehr 54, which was fed from t ...

* MG 51 *C42 assault rifle

Notable people

Adolf Furrer Adolf Furrer (born Johann Adolf Furrer-Kägi, November 13, 1873 – January 15, 1958) was a Swiss military officer and small arms designer. He used to be the director of the Waffenfabrik Bern and held the rank of Oberstbrigadier (Chief Brigadier) ...

- small arms designer and Colonel in Swiss Army. He was the director of W+F Bern from 1921 and resigned after World War II.

Bibliography

* Fusils & carabines de collection. F. Pellaton, R. Caranta, H. Bonsignori, J. Jordanoglou. Édition Crepin-Leblond 1979 * Die Repetiergewehre der Schweiz (1991)

External links

*http://www.swissrifles.com/vetterli/index.html *http://www.schiferli.net/Vetterli.htm *http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/schmidt_rubin.html {{Authority control Firearm manufacturers of Switzerland Defunct companies of Switzerland Companies based in Bern