Eduard Alexander Rubin (17 July 1846 – 6 July 1920) was a Swiss mechanical engineer who is most notable for having invented the

full metal jacket bullet A full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet is a small-arms projectile consisting of a soft core (often lead) encased in an outer shell ("jacket") of harder metal, such as gilding metal, cupronickel, or, less commonly, a steel alloy. A bullet jacket usu ...

in 1882. His most famous cartridge was the 7.5×55mm Swiss which was the standard ammunition for the

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 ...

, K31 and

Stgw 57 The Sturmgewehr 57 is a selective fire battle rifle designed by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SAN Swiss Arms) of Switzerland. It uses a roller-delayed blowback system similar to the H&K G3 and CETME rifles. The AM 55 entered servic ...

military rifles. Besides the full metal jacket bullet, Rubin developed the military Schmidt-Rubin rifle (together with Rudolf Schmidt), the Rubin-Fornerod ignition mechanism and the use of TNT and ammonium nitrate to replace gunpowder in artillery grenades. His fully copper clad bullets were also the inspiration for the full metal jacket bullets introduced in 1886 for the

Lebel rifle The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: ''Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel"'') also known as the ''"Fusil Mle 1886 M93"'', after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French Ar ...

. He served as director of the Swiss Federal Ammunition Factory and Research Center in Thun. He held the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in the

Swiss military 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 ...

and was married to Rosina Susanna Leuzinger, daughter of

Swiss cartographer The cartography of Switzerland is the history of surveying and creation of maps of Switzerland. Switzerland has had its current boundaries since 1815, but maps of the Old Swiss Confederacy were drawn since the 16th century. The first topographical ...

Rudolf Leuzinger. GP11.jpg, 7.5×55mm Swiss 7.5x55 Cutaway cartridge.jpeg, 7.5x55 Cutaway cartridge Schmidt-Rubin-2.jpg, Schmidt-Rubin Model 1911 Granatzünder 84 120 cm Kan.jpg, Rubin-Fornerod ignition mechanism

References

* *H. Ziegler, "Oberst Ed. Rubin : Direktor der eidg. Munitionsfabrik Thun" (obituary), ''Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung'' 66.17 (1920), 281–283.

External links

"Manufacture Dates of Swiss Schmidt–Rubin Rifles" (radix.net)The History The 7.5 Swiss Cartridge (swissrifles.com)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubin, Eduard 1846 births 1920 deaths Firearm designers 19th-century Swiss inventors