Carcano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Lee Harvey Oswald's Carcano M91/38 Fucile Corto (short rifle) |
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| Type | Service rifle |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1892 - 1950 |
| Used by | Italy, colonies |
| Wars | First World War Second World War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1891 |
| Produced | 1892 - 1945 |
| Variants | cavalry carbine, special troops' carbine |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 8 lb 9 oz (3.8 kg) (unloaded) |
| Length | 49.5 in (1295 mm) |
| Barrel length | 780 mm |
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| Cartridge | 6.5 x 52 mm Carcano and 7.35 x 51 mm Carcano (some in 7.92 x 57 Mauser) |
| Caliber | 6.5 x 52 mm Carcano and 7.35 x 51 mm Carcano (some in 7.92 x 57 Mauser) |
| Action | Bolt-action |
| Muzzle velocity | 2300 ft/s (700 m/s) |
| Effective range | c. 600m |
| Feed system | 6 round magazine, charger fed |
Carcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action military rifles. Introduced in 1891, this rifle was chambered for the newly-developed rimless 6.5 x 52 mm cartridge. It was developed by the chief technician Salvatore Carcano at the Turin Army Arsenal in 1890 and called the Model 91 (M91). Successively replacing the previous Vetterli-Vitali rifles in 10.35 x 47 mm R, it was produced from 1892 to 1945. The M91 was issued in both rifle and carbine form to most Italian troops during the First World War and Second World War.
Although this rifle is often called "Mannlicher-Carcano" especially in US parlance, that name was never official, as little as the even less correct moniker "Mauser-Parravicino." Its official designation in Italian is simply Mod. '91 ("il novantuno"). The name Mannlicher-Carcano is also misleading because the rifle's bolt action was based on a German Mauser-style bolt action, not the Austrian Mannlicher-style. The Mannlicher designation comes from the fact that the rifle depends for proper usage upon a magazine system using en bloc clips developed and patented by Ferdinand Mannlicher.
A short rifle variant in carbine length called the M91/38 was introduced in 1938, with a new 7.35 x 51 mm cartridge. The new caliber, however, never replaced the old one, and in 1940, production switched back to the 6.5 x 52 mm cartridge. In 1941, the military reverted to a long-barrelled infantry rifle again (slightly shorter than the original M91), the M91/41.
Sniper versions never existed, but in World War I, a few rifles were fitted with telescopes (World War II scoped rifles are prototypes only). A number of Moschetti M91/38 TS (special troops' carbines) were chambered for the larger caliber German 7.92 x 57 mm ("8 mm Mauser") ammunition. The reasons for this conversion are still not clear; one batch was already converted in World War II (around 1941), but never saw troop service, while most were converted after 1945, and were exported to Egypt, where they served as drill and training carbines. The occasional model designation "Model 1943 (M43)" is wrong, and was never applied to either 8 mm gun.
German forces captured large quantities of Carcano rifles after Italy's capitulation in September 1943. It was the most commonly issued rifle to the German people's militia Volksturm units in late 1944 and 1945.
After World War II, Italy replaced its Carcano rifles first with British Lee-Enfields and then with the US .30 caliber (7.62 mm) M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle which the Italians labeled the Model 1952 (M52.) Large quantities of surplus Carcanos were sold in the USA and Canada beginning in the 1950s.
The most infamous or notorious example of a Carcano was the M91/38 short rifle in 6.5 x 52 mm, made in the Terni arsenal in 1940 and bearing the serial number C2766, which was used by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963 to assassinate U.S. President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Oswald had purchased the surplus rifle, along with a cheap 4x18 Japanese telescopic sight on a sheet metal side mount, from Klein's sporting goods mail order firm in Chicago for $19.95 (package price with scope, would have been $12.78 without the scope).
The original Carcano cartridge, 6.5 x 52 mm, was also used in World War I era machineguns. However, in 1935, the 8 x 59 mm Breda cartridge was adopted, and was used in machineguns during World War II (rechambered Fiat-Revelli, Breda M37, Breda M38).
Contents |
[edit] Operation
Taken from Jane's Guns Recognition Guide by Ian V. Hogg
[edit] Safety
Manual safety catch in the form of a collar with a knurled 'flag' around the end of the bolt. Turned DOWN to the right, the rifle is ready to fire. Turned UP so that it is visible in the line of sight, the rifle is set to safe.
[edit] Unloading
Place safety catch to 'fire' and open the bolt, thus ejecting any round which may be in the chamber. Inspect the chamber and magazine. If there is ammunition in the magazine, press the clip latch in the front edge of the trigger guard; this will release the ammunition clip and it, together with any cartridges it contains, will be ejected upwards through the top of the action. Check again, close the bolt and press the trigger.
[edit] Variants
- Fucile di Fanteria Mo.1891 (long infantry rifle Model 1891, adopted in 1891)
- Moschetto Mo.91 da Cavalleria (carbine, adopted in 1893)
- Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mo.91 (or M.91TS, carbine for special troops, adopted 1897)
- Moschetto di Fanteria Mo. 91/24 (carbine, modification of the original Mo.1891 with shortened barrel, adopted in 1924)
- Moschetto di Fanteria Mo. 91/28 (newly constructed carbine, adopted in 1928)
- Moschetto di Fanteria Mo. 91/28 con Tromboncino (modified version coupled with a 38,5 mm grenade launcher)
- Fucile di Fanteria Mo. 1938 (Model 1938, modernized version adopted in 1938 in the 7,35 caliber)
- Moschetto di Fanteria Mo. 91/38 (Model 1938 carabine in the original 6,5 caliber)
- Fucile di Fanteria Mo. 91/41 (long infantry rifle, similar to the original Mo.1991, adopted in 1941)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Italian firearms and light weapons of World War II |
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| Side arms |
| Beretta M1934 | Beretta M1935 | Glisente M1910 |
| Rifles & carbines |
| Fucile di Fanteria Mo.1891 Moschetto Mo.91 da Cavalleria | Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mo.91 | Mo. 1938 |
| Submachine guns |
| Beretta 1918 | MAB 38 | OVP | FNAB-43 | TZ-45 |
| Machine guns & other larger weapons |
| Fiat-Revelli M1914 | Fiat_Revelli M1935 | Breda M1930 | Breda M1937 Brixia M1935 |
| Cartridges used by the Italian Army during World War II |
| .32 ACP | .380 ACP | 6.5 x 52 Mannlicher-Carcano | 7.92x57 mm Mauser | 9 mm |
