Eduard Rubin
Eduard Alexander Rubin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 17 July 1846 |
| Died | 6 July 1920 (aged 73) Thun, Bern, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Occupation(s) | Director of the Swiss Federal Ammunition Factory and Research Center in Thun[1] Mechanical engineer |
| Known for | Invention of the full metal jacket bullet |
| Notable work | 7.5×55mm Swiss |
Eduard Alexander Rubin (17 July 1846 – 6 July 1920) was a Swiss mechanical engineer and artillery officer who is best known for inventing the full metal jacket bullet in 1882. He also developed the 7.5×55mm Swiss cartridge, the Schmidt-Rubin rifle, the Rubin-Fornerod ignition mechanism and the use of TNT and ammonium nitrate to replace gunpowder in artillery shells. Rubin's fully copper clad bullets were also the inspiration for the full metal jacket bullets introduced in 1886 for the Lebel rifle.
Biography
Rubin was born in Thun on 17 July 1846, the son of Carl Rubin, a mechanic, and Maria Bader.[2] He studied engineering at the Zurich Polytechnic from 1866 to 1868 and at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic, where he graduated in 1869.[2] From 1871 to 1879, Rubin was an assistant, and from 1879 to 1920, the director of the Swiss Federal Ammunition Factory in Thun.[2][1] He married Rosina Susanna Leuzinger, daughter of cartographer Rudolf Leuzinger, in 1876.[2]
Rubin developed the military Schmidt-Rubin rifle (together with Rudolf Schmidt), the Rubin-Fornerod ignition mechanism and the use of TNT and ammonium nitrate in artillery shells in place of gunpowder. His most famous cartridge was the 7.5×55mm Swiss, which was the standard ammunition for the Schmidt–Rubin, K31 and Stgw 57 military rifles. Rubin held the rank of colonel in the artillery of the Swiss Army, and also served as a radical member of Thun's executive council from 1883 to 1890.[1][3] He died in Thun on 6 July 1920, aged 73.[2]
Gallery
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7.5×55mm Swiss -
7.5x55 Cutaway cartridge -
Schmidt-Rubin Model 1911 -
Rubin-Fornerod ignition mechanism
References
- ^ a b c Holt Bobinson "The model 1911 Schmidt Rubin: the other Switzer". Guns Magazine. FindArticles.com. 08 Jun, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_11_54/ai_n28573712/
- ^ a b c d e Peter Müller-Grieshaber: Eduard Rubin in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 6 July 1920.
- ^ The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly: Centerfire Rifles, Volume 4 by J. B. Wood. Published by Krause Publications, 2003. ISBN 978-0-87349-631-5
- Peter Müller-Grieshaber: Rubin, Eduard Alexander in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- H. Ziegler, "Oberst Ed. Rubin : Direktor der eidg. Munitionsfabrik Thun" (obituary), Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung 66.17 (1920), 281–283.