Chelembron system
The Chelembron system is a magazine loading system for flintlock repeating rifles that began in Italy around 1668. It was designed by Michele Lorenzoni and uses rotating magazines under the barrel to hold 20 rounds. The magazines rotate around a central axis to load powder into the breech first, then the ball.
The earliest known weapon using the system is dated 1668 and signed by T. Lefer Avalenza. In the second half of the 18th century, several rifles in India used the Chelembron system. A rifle once owned by George III carried the name “Chalembrom.” In 1779, Claude Martin was named Superintendent of Artillery and Arsenals to the Nawab of Oudh, and many weapons made at the Lucknow Arsenal used this system. A Chelembron gun from 1785 is heavily damaged and appears to have been recovered from a battlefield. Pistols using the system were also made around 1800.
The weapon has separate tubular magazines for powder and ball beneath the barrel. To reload, the gun is pointed upward, the release is pressed, and the barrel is rotated so the magazines sweep over the breech, loading powder and priming the pan. At the same time, the cock rotates to firing position and the pan closes. The ball drops into a rear compartment and is pushed into the barrel by a plunger. The breech and ball-plunger compartments are fixed in the stock and lock.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:13 (CET).