Carcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action , internal box magazine fed, repeating military rifles and carbines . Introduced in 1891, the rifle was chambered for the rimless 6.5×52mm Carcano round ( Cartuccia Modello 1895 ). It was developed by the chief technician Salvatore Carcano at the Turin Army Arsenal in 1890, and was originally called the Modello (model) 91 or simply M91. Successively replacing the previous Vetterli-Vitali rifles and carbines in 10.35×47mmR, it was produced from 1891 to 1945. The M91 was used in both rifle ( fucile ) and shorter-barreled carbine ( moschetto ) form by most Italian troops during World War I and by Italian and some German forces during World War II . The rifle was also used during the Winter War by Finland, and again by regular and irregular forces in Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria during various postwar conflicts in those countries.
75-779: The Type I Carcano rifle was produced by Italy for the Japanese Empire prior to World War II. After the invasion of China, all Arisaka production was required for use of the Imperial Army, so the Imperial Navy contracted with Italy for this weapon in 1937. The Type I is based on the Type 38 rifle and retains the Carcano action, but uses the Arisaka/Mauser-type 5-round internal box magazine . The Type I
150-454: A "6.5 Italian Carbine" and actually shows a Carcano model M91 TS, which was the 36-inch (91 cm) Carcano carbine model sold through the ad when it was originally placed. However, from a time 11 months before Oswald placed his order, the Chicago sporting goods store from which he purchased it had been shipping the slightly longer 40.2-inch (102 cm) Model 91/38 under the same ad, and this
225-526: A boxed SA, as well as many other parts produced in those countries and barrels produced in Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Germany. The Finns also manufactured two-piece "finger splice" stocks for their Mosin–Nagant rifles. In addition, the rifle was distributed as aid to Republican anti- Franco forces in the Spanish Civil War . Spanish Civil War Mosins can be readily identified by
300-556: A falling-off in finish of the rifles. The wartime Mosins are easily identified by the presence of tool marks and rough finishing that never would have passed the inspectors in peacetime. However, despite a lack of both aesthetic focus and uniformity, the basic functionality of the Mosins was unimpaired. In addition, in 1938 a carbine version of the Mosin–Nagant, the M38, was issued. It used
375-478: A single clip of ammunition. The practice of intermixing powder types and ammunition lots in clipped rifle ammunition was generally avoided by arsenals of other nations, as it frequently resulted in varying bullet velocities and excessive bullet dispersion on the target. After reports of inadequate performance at both short and long ranges during the campaigns in Italian North Africa (1924–1934), and
450-646: Is only fair to call it the Russian 3-line rifle M1891 . The Tsar himself dashed the word "Russian" from this document with his own hand. The decision to pay off Nagant proved wise, as he remained the major contractor for the Russian Government, and the Nagant M1895 revolver was subsequently adopted by the Russian army as its main sidearm. However, in spite of the payment, Nagant attempted to use
525-564: Is the weapon Oswald received. On 22 November 1963, Oswald used this weapon to assassinate U.S. President John F. Kennedy . The rifle, made in the Terni arsenal in 1940 and bearing the serial number C2766, was equipped for an extra $ 7 with a new 4x18 Japanese telescopic sight, on a sheet metal side mount. It was later scrutinized by local police, the FBI, the U.S. Army and two federal commissions. Shooting tests, conducted by those groups and others using
600-669: The .303 British Mk VII bullet). However, the Italian government was unable to successfully mass-produce the new arms in adequate quantities before the onset of war, and in 1940, all rifle and ammunition production reverted to 6.5 mm, but no 7.35 mm Mod. 38 rifles nor carbines were ever re-barrelled to the old 6.5×52mm caliber. Some Italian troops serving on the Russian front were armed with 7.35 mm Mod. 1938 rifles, but exchanged them in 1942 for 6.5×52 mm arms. Approximately 94,500 7.35mm Modello 1938 rifles were shipped to Finland, where they were known as Terni carbines (from
675-550: The 1937 World Shooting Championships in Helsinki. M/28–30 model, serial number 60974, was also used by Simo Häyhä , a well-known Finnish sniper. M/28–30 was used as Civil Guards competition rifle before World War II, as was the case with Simo Häyhä's personal rifle. Therefore, rifles were built very well, with highest grade barrels available and carefully matched headspace. Häyhä's rifle was still at PKarPr (Northern Karelia Brigade) museum in 2002, then moved to an unknown place by
750-708: The AK series rifles. Despite its increasing obsolescence, the Mosin–Nagant saw continued service throughout the Eastern bloc and the rest of the world for many decades to come. Mosin–Nagant rifles and carbines saw service on many fronts of the Cold War , from Korea and Vietnam to Afghanistan and along the Iron Curtain in Europe. They were kept not only as reserve stockpiles, but front-line infantry weapons as well. Finland
825-807: The Czechoslovak Legions in Siberia to aid in their attempt to secure passage to France. Many of the New England Westinghouse and Remington Mosin–Nagants were sold to private citizens in the United States before World War II through the office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship, the predecessor to the federal government's current Civilian Marksmanship Program . Large numbers of Mosin–Nagants were captured by German and Austro-Hungarian forces and saw service with
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#1732790448597900-686: The Moschetto 38 TS, retiring it from service in 1981. Captured 6.5mm Carcano rifles were used by Greek forces post-war, with ammunition supplied by U.S. Western Cartridge Co. Some were also converted to 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer , one of the standard cartridges of the Greek military at the time. During the Libyan Civil War in 2011, many rebels went into battle with their personally-owned weapons, including old bolt-action rifles and shotguns. Of these, Carcano-style rifles and carbines have been
975-577: The Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935-1936), the Italian army introduced a new short rifle in 1938, the Modello 1938, together with a new cartridge in 7.35×51mm caliber. In addition to the slightly larger caliber, Italian ordnance designers introduced a spitzer -type bullet for the new cartridge, with the tip filled with aluminum to produce an unstable (tumbling) projectile upon impact in soft tissue (a design most likely copied from
1050-756: The Terni stamp with the royal crown, the logo or seal of the Regia fabbrica d’armi di Terni arsenal where they were manufactured). They were primarily used by security and line-of-communications troops during the Winter War of 1939–1940, though some frontline troops were issued the weapon. According to reports, the Finns disliked the rifle. With its non-standard 7.35 mm caliber, it was problematic to keep frontline troops supplied with good quality, or any ammunition at all, and its non-adjustable rear sight (fixed for 200 m) made it ill-suited for use in precision shooting at
1125-773: The American .30-06 Springfield cartridge. With the fall of the Iron Curtain , a large quantity of Mosin–Nagants have found their way onto markets outside of Russia as collectibles and hunting rifles. Due to the large surplus created by the Soviet small arms industry during World War II and the tendency of the former Soviet Union to retain and store large quantities of old but well-preserved surplus (long after other nations' militaries divested themselves of similar vintage materials), these rifles (mostly M1891/30 rifles and M1944 carbines) are inexpensive compared to other surplus arms of
1200-558: The Berdan rifles then in use by the Russian army. The Mosin rifle was first tested in combat in 1893, during clashes between Russian and Afghan troops in the Pamirs. The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) was the rifle's first major conflict. By the time the war broke out in 1904, approximately 3.8 million had been built, with over 1.5 million in the hands of the Russian cavalry and all of its reserves when hostilities commenced. Between
1275-797: The Carcano M91/41. True sniper versions never existed, but in World War I a few rifles were fitted with telescopic lenses and issued for service use (World War II scoped rifles were strictly prototypes). Several lots of Moschetti M91/38 TS (special troops' carbines) were chambered for the German 7.92×57mm Mauser sS heavy ball round. This modification entered service in 1943, just before the Italian capitulation. According to Rottman, some were converted in 1941, possibly to make use of German ammunition stocks in North Africa, and another batch in 1945,
1350-530: The Carcano could handle and users complained about excessive recoil. These conversions don't require an en bloc clip, but are loaded with the standard German five-round stripper clips. German forces captured large quantities of Carcanos after Italy's capitulation in September 1943. It was the most commonly issued rifle to Volkssturm units in late 1944 and 1945. After World War II, Italy replaced its Carcano rifles first with British Lee–Enfields and then with
1425-831: The Donbas, and to conscripted Russian civilians as part of Vladimir Putin's wider general mobilization during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . After the Estonian War of Independence, Estonia had around 120,000 M/1891s in stock, later the Kaitseliit , the Estonian Defence League , received some Finnish M28/30 rifles, a few modernised variants were also made by the Estonian Armory; Most Finnish rifles were assembled by SAKO , Tikkakoski Oy, or VKT ( Valtion Kivääritehdas , State Rifle Factory, after
1500-515: The Finnish Army. Mosin–Nagants have been exported from Finland since the 1960s as its military modernized and decommissioned the rifles. Most of these have ended up as inexpensive surplus for Western nations. In the USSR surplus military carbines (without bayonet) were sold as civilian hunting weapons. Also, the Mosin–Nagant action has been used to produce a limited number of commercial rifles,
1575-749: The Infantry Shooting School and head of the commission that recommended the Mod. 91 adoption, while Italian soldiers simply called the rifle as the "il novantuno" (the ninety-one). Until 1938, all M91 rifles and carbines were chambered for the rimless 6.5×52mm Modello 1895 cartridge, using a round-nose metal case bullet of 160 grains weight at approximately 2,000–2,400 ft/s muzzle velocity, depending upon barrel length. At least one small arms authority noted inconsistencies in powder types in arsenal-loaded 6.5×52mm military ammunition, often with different powder types and ammunition lots intermixed within
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#17327904485971650-661: The Mosin–Nagant (Russia had not paid for the order at any time throughout the Great War). With Remington and Westinghouse on the precipice of bankruptcy from the Communists' decision, the remaining 280,000 rifles were purchased by the United States Army . American and British expeditionary forces of the North Russia Campaign were armed with these rifles and sent to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in
1725-529: The Mosin–Nagant as a sniper rifle, with similar success with their own designs and captured Soviet rifles. For example, Simo Häyhä is credited with having killed 505 Soviet soldiers, many of whom fell victim to his Finnish M/28-30 derivative. Häyhä did not use a scope on his Mosin. In interviews Häyhä gave before his death, he said that the scope and mount designed by the Soviets required the shooter to expose himself too much and raise his head too high, increasing
1800-731: The Mosin–Nagant, all of them manufactured using the receivers of Russian-made, American-made, French-made or (later) Soviet-made rifles. Finland also utilized a number of captured M91 and M91/30 rifles with minimal modifications. As a result, the rifle was used on both sides of the Winter War and the Continuation War during World War II. Finnish Mosin–Nagants were produced by SAKO , Tikkakoski, and VKT, with some using barrels imported from Switzerland and Germany. In assembling M39 rifles, Finnish armorers reused "hex" receivers that dated back as far as 1891. Finnish rifles are characterized by Russian, French or American-made receivers stamped with
1875-405: The Russian army to meet or exceed European standards in rifle developments with "rifles of reduced caliber and cartridges with smokeless powder". The new weapons would entail "high velocities", exceeding 600 metres per second (2,000 ft/s) and would result in land battles both commencing and being capable of being fought at longer ranges, nearly two kilometers. The new Mosin rifles would replace
1950-590: The U.S. .30 caliber (7.62 mm) M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle , which the Italians labeled the ' Model 1952 (M52) . Finland sold all of its approximately 74,000 remaining 7.35 mm M91/38 Carcano rifles on the surplus market. As a consequence, large quantities of surplus Carcanos were sold in the United States and Canada beginning in the 1950s. In Italy, the Polizia di Stato and the Carabinieri retained
2025-516: The United States in 1915. Remington produced 750,000 rifles before production was halted by the 1917 October Revolution . Deliveries to Russia had amounted to 469,951 rifles when the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended hostilities between the Central Powers and now Soviet-Russia. Henceforth, the new Bolshevik government of Vladimir Lenin cancelled payments to the American companies manufacturing
2100-568: The adoption of the final design in 1891 and the year 1910, several variants and modifications to the existing rifles were made. With the start of World War I , production was restricted to the M1891 dragoon and infantry models for the sake of simplicity. Due to the desperate shortage of arms and the shortcomings of a still-developing domestic industry , the Russian government ordered 1.5 million M1891 infantry rifles from Remington Arms and another 1.8 million from New England Westinghouse Company in
2175-462: The advantage of using commonly available 7.62×54mmR ammunition. By the outbreak of the Continuation War , the remaining Mod. 1938 7.35 mm rifles were issued to the Finnish Navy, as well as anti-aircraft, coastal defense, and other second-line (home front) troops. In 1941, the Italian military returned to a long-barrelled infantry rifle once again (slightly shorter than the original M91),
2250-711: The bloody Siege of Pleven . This showed Russian commanders the need to modernize the general infantry weapon of the army. Various weapons were acquired and tested by GAU of the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire , and in 1889 the Lebel Model 1886 rifle was obtained through semi-official channels from France. It was supplied together with a model of the cartridge and bullet but without primer or smokeless powder . Those problems were solved by Russian scientists and engineers (the smokeless powder, for instance,
2325-477: The bolt, but not enough to prevent interchangeability with the earlier Model 1891 and the so-called "Cossack dragoon" rifles. Finland was a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until 1917, so Finns had long used the Mosin–Nagant in service with the Imperial military. The rifle was used in the short Finnish Civil War and adopted as the service rifle of the new republic's army. Finland produced several variants of
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2400-607: The bolt-action of Mosin's design was ordered into production under the name of 3-line rifle M1891 ( трёхлинейная винтовка образца 1891 года ). The colloquial name "Mosin-Nagant" used in the West is persistent but erroneous, as established in Nagant's legal dispute . Like the Gewehr 98 , the 1891 Mosin uses two front-locking lugs to lock up the action. However, the Mosin's lugs lock in
2475-422: The chances of being spotted by the enemy. In addition, scopes tended to reflect sunlight when moved side to side, which gave away a sniper's position. In 1935–1936, the 91/30 was again modified, this time to lower production time. The "hex" receiver was changed to a round receiver. When war with Germany broke out, the need to produce Mosin–Nagants in vast quantities led to a further simplification of machining and
2550-508: The conclusion of hostilities. Mosin%E2%80%93Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action , internal magazine –fed military rifle . Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and the former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( Russian : винтовка Мосина , ISO 9 : vintovka Mosina ), it is primarily found chambered for its original 7.62×54mmR cartridge . Developed from 1882 to 1891, it
2625-414: The decision was made to rename the existing commission and call it Commission for creation of the small-bore rifle ( Комиссия для выработки образца малокалиберного ружья ), and to put on paper the final requirements for such a rifle. The inventors obliged by delivering their final designs. Head of the commission, General Chagin, ordered subsequent tests held under the commission's supervision, after which
2700-461: The design of the interrupter after it was covered by the secrecy status given in Russia of that time to military inventions and therefore violated Russian law. Taking into consideration that Nagant was one of the few producers not engaged by competitive governments and generally eager to cooperate and share experience and technology, the Commission paid him a sum of 200,000 Russian rubles, equal to
2775-401: The ejection/loading port in front of a split rear receiver ring, also serving a similar function to Mauser's "third" or "safety" lug. The rifling of the Mosin barrel is right turning (clockwise looking down the rifle) 4-groove with a twist of 1:9.5" or 1:10". The 5-round fixed metallic magazine can either be loaded by inserting the cartridges individually, or more often in military service, by
2850-471: The evaluators were split in their assessment. The main disadvantages of Nagant's rifle were a more complicated mechanism and a long and tiresome procedure of disassembling (which required special instruments—it was necessary to unscrew two fasteners). Mosin's rifle was mainly criticized for its lower quality of manufacture and materials, due to "artisan pre-production" of his 300 rifles. The commission initially voted 14 to 10 to approve Mosin's rifle. At this point
2925-573: The front lines. Significantly, the front sight of the M38 was positioned in such a way that the Model 91/30's cruciform bayonet could not be mounted to the muzzle even if a soldier obtained one. An increase in urban combat led directly to the development of the Model M44 Mosin. In essence, the M44 is an M38 with a slightly modified forearm and with a permanently mounted cruciform bayonet that folds to
3000-625: The hands of Soviet, Afghan and Mujahadeen forces in Afghanistan during the Soviet Afghan War of the 80s and the following civil wars of the late 1980s and 90s. Their use in Afghanistan continued on well into the 1990s and the early 21st century by Northern Alliance forces. Mosin–Nagant rifles are still found on modern battlefields around the world. Russia has issued the rifle to conscripts from both occupied regions of
3075-664: The heritage of the Type I rifle is both Japanese and Italian, it tends to be shunned by collectors of Japanese focus. The Type I never had the Japanese Imperial Chrysanthemum markings, or other markings that typically interest collectors of Japanese militaria. Many Type I rifles brought back to the United States as war trophies were reportedly captured at Kwajalein Atoll , the Philippines, or from Japan at
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3150-577: The horizontal position, whereas the Mauser locks vertically. The Mosin bolt body is multi-piece whereas the Mauser is one piece. The Mosin uses interchangeable bolt heads like the Lee–Enfield . Unlike the Mauser, which uses a controlled feed bolt head in which the cartridge base snaps up under the fixed extractor as the cartridge is fed from the magazine, the Mosin has a push feed recessed bolt head in which
3225-514: The interrupter, although he borrowed it from Mosin's design initially. Mosin could not apply for a patent since he was an officer of the Russian army, and the design of the rifle was owned by the Government and had the status of a military secret. A scandal was about to burst out, with Nagant threatening he would not participate in trials held in Russia ever again and some officials proposing to expel Nagant from any further trials, as he borrowed
3300-498: The late summer of 1918 to prevent the large quantities of munitions delivered for Tsarist forces from being captured by the Central Powers. Remaining rifles were used for the training of U.S. Army troops. Some were used to equip U.S. National Guard , SATC , and ROTC units. Designated "U.S. Rifle, 7.62mm, Model of 1916", these are among the rarest of American service arms. In 1917, 50,000 rifles were sent via Vladivostok to
3375-582: The latter were done so under German orders since some Italian forces continued to fight alongside the Germans after Italy surrendered to the Allies, though it is reported that neither batches ever saw combat, despite unconfirmed claims that some of these conversions were issued to the German Volkssturm ("People's Militia"). Rottman also notes that the 7.92 mm caliber pushed the pressure limits
3450-555: The most famous are the Vostok brand target rifles exported in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s chambered in the standard 7.62×54mmR round and in 6.5×54mmR, a necked-down version of the original cartridge designed for long range target shooting. Rifles in 6.5×54mmR use a necked-down 7.62×54mmR cartridge and were the standard rifle of the USSR's Olympic biathlon team until the International Olympic Committee revised
3525-405: The most frequently observed style of bolt-action rifle. They were predominantly used by rebels in the Nafusa Mountains . These old weapons saw combat once again due to the rebels' limited access to modern firearms. Additionally, some Libyan rebels preferred to use their familiar hunting weapons over the more modern, yet unfamiliar, assault rifles available. According to Al-Fitouri Muftah, a member of
3600-435: The original rifle or similar models, addressed questions about the speed and accuracy with which the Carcano could be fired. Following lawsuits over its ownership, the rifle ended up in storage at the National Archives . The assassination was one of the factors leading to passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968 , which banned mail order sales of firearms. Type I Rifle The Type I rifle ( イ式小銃 , I-shiki shōjū )
3675-426: The original rifle, the most common being the M1891/30 (commonly referred to as "the 91/30" by shooters), which was a modernized design introduced in 1930. Some details were borrowed from Nagant's design. Despite the failure of Nagant's rifle, he filed a patent suit, claiming he was entitled to the sum the winner was to receive. It appeared that Nagant was the first to apply for the international patent protection over
3750-412: The premium that Mosin received as the winner. The rifle did not receive the name of Mosin, because of the personal decision taken by Tsar Alexander III , which was made based on the opinion of the Defence Minister Pyotr Vannovskiy : there are parts in this newly created design, invented by Colonel Rogovtzev, by Lt.-General Chagin's Commission, Captain Mosin and small-arms manufacturer Nagant, therefore it
3825-423: The rear-echelon forces of both armies, and also with the Imperial German Navy . Many of these weapons were sold to Finland in the 1920s. During the Russian Civil War , infantry and dragoon versions were still in production, though in dramatically reduced numbers. The rifle was widely used by all belligerents in the civil war. In 1924, following the victory of the Red Army , a committee was established to modernize
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#17327904485973900-419: The rebel military council overseeing the western mountain front, as many as 1 in 10 rebels in the region were armed with World War II-era weapons. All variants used the same Carcano bolt action, fed by an en-bloc clip; the rifles and carbines had different barrel lengths and differences in stocks and sights depending on barrel length. As noted in the introduction, the word moschetto means literally "musket" but
3975-475: The rifle, which had by then been in service for over three decades. This effort led to the development of the Model 91/30 rifle, which was based on the design of the original dragoon version. The barrel length was shortened by 7 cm (2.8 in). The sight measurements were converted from arshins to meters; and the front sight blade was replaced by a hooded post front sight less susceptible to being knocked out of alignment. There were also minor modifications to
4050-419: The right when it is not needed. It was an improvement on the Model 91/30, particularly for urban warfare; but few M44s saw combat on the Eastern Front. By the end of the war, approximately 19.8 million Mosin–Nagant rifles had been produced. In the years after World War II, the Soviet Union ceased production of all Mosin–Nagants and withdrew them from service in favor of the SKS series carbines and eventually
4125-431: The rules of the event to reduce the range to 50 meters and required all competitors to use rifles chambered in .22 LR. A number of the Model 1891s produced by New England Westinghouse and Remington were sold to private citizens in the United States by the U.S. government through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship Program in the interwar period. Many of these American-made Mosin–Nagants were rechambered by wholesalers to
4200-438: The same cartridge and action as other Mosins, but the barrel was shortened by 21.6 cm (8.5 in) to bring the weapon down to an overall length of 101.6 cm (40.0 in), with the forearm shortened in proportion. The idea was to issue the M38 to troops such as combat engineers , signal corps, and artillerymen, who could conceivably need to defend themselves from sudden enemy advances, but whose primary duties lay behind
4275-472: The situation for publicity, resulting in the name "Mosin–Nagant" appearing in the Western press. From a technical point of view the rifle that came to be called "Mosin–Nagant" is the design proposed by Mosin as further amended by Mosin with some details borrowed from Nagant's design. Only since 1924 the rifle was officially named "Mosin's rifle" in the USSR, although some variants were still known only by their year of origin. In 1889 Tsar Alexander III ordered
4350-422: The spring-loaded extractor snaps over the cartridge base as the bolt is finally closed similar to the Gewehr 1888 and M91 Carcano or modern sporting rifles like the Remington 700 . Like the Mauser, the Mosin uses a blade ejector mounted in the receiver. The Mosin bolt is removed by simply pulling it fully to the rear of the receiver and squeezing the trigger, while the Mauser has a bolt stop lever separate from
4425-444: The state arsenal in Gardone Val Trompia . The final shipment reached Japan on December 28, 1939. While frequently used by the Imperial Japanese Navy , some rifles were given to Japan's puppet regimes in China and used by garrison units of the Imperial Japanese Army until the conclusion of hostilities. On the collector market in the United States, the Type I rifle is uncommon but not particularly popular among collectors. Since
4500-402: The trigger. Like the Mauser, the bolt lift arc on the Mosin–Nagant is 90 degrees, versus 60 degrees on the Lee–Enfield. The Mauser bolt handle is at the rear of the bolt body and locks behind the solid rear receiver ring. The Mosin bolt handle is similar to the Mannlicher : it is attached to a protrusion on the middle of the bolt body, which serves as a bolt guide, and it locks protruding out of
4575-447: The use of 5-round stripper clips . The 3-line rifle, Model 1891 , its original official designation, was adopted by the Russian military in 1891. Production began in 1892 at the ordnance factories of Tula Arsenal , Izhevsk Arsenal and at Sestroryetsk Arsenal. An order for 500,000 rifles was placed with the French arms factory, Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Châtellerault . There have been several refinements and variations of
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#17327904485974650-410: The varied ranges encountered by Finnish soldiers during the conflict. Despite this, it's worth noticing that the Finns themselves modified the fixed optics on the rifle to operate from a range of 200 m to only 150 m. Whenever possible, Finnish soldiers discarded the weapon in favor of rifles acquired on the battlefield, including standard models of captured Soviet-made Mosin–Nagant rifles. The latter had
4725-469: The wars part of Valtion Metallitehtaat (Valmet) , State Metalworks). The Finnish cartridge 7.62×53mmR is a slightly modified variation of the Russian 7.62×54mmR , and is considered interchangeable with 54R. However, the older version of the Finnish military cartridge was loaded with the S-type bullet that had nominal diameter of .308. In 1936 the Finnish Army fielded a new standard service cartridge intended for both machine guns and rifles. This new cartridge
4800-427: The wire sling hangers inserted in the slots in the forearm and buttstock meant to take the Russian "dog collars" for Russian-style slings, so the rifles could accept Western European–style rifle slings. At the beginning of the war, the Mosin–Nagant 91/30 was the standard-issue weapon of Soviet troops. Millions were produced in World War II for use by the largest mobilized army in history. The Mosin–Nagant Model 1891/30
4875-719: Was also improved by adding coil spring to minimize very long pre-travel. Following M/39 does not have this improvement. The magazine was also modified to prevent jamming. Magazines were stamped with "HV" ( häiriövapaa , lit. ' jam free ' ) letters in right side of rifle. Later M/39 uses identical design, but without the "HV" stamp. M/28–30 also have metal sleeve in fore-end of handguard, to reduce barrel harmonics change and to make barrel-stock contact more constant between shots and/or during environmental changes such as moisture and temperature. Later M/39 does not have this upgrade. In addition to its military usage, approximately 440 M/28–30 rifles were manufactured by SAKO for use in
4950-407: Was designed from the ground up for Japanese forces. It was based on the Type 38 rifle and utilized a Carcano action, but retained the Arisaka / Mauser type 5-round box magazine . It was chambered for the 6.5 x 50 mm cartridge. Approximately 120,000 Type I rifles were produced in 1938 and 1939, with 30,000 each manufactured by Beretta and Fabbrica Nazionale d'Armi, and 60,000 manufactured by
5025-499: Was loaded with a new bullet designed in 1934–the D-166, which had a nominal diameter of .310. The new service rifle m/39 was designed from the start around the D-166, thus it had nominal barrel diameter of .310. Handloaded cartridges for Finnish rifles should however use a 0.308-inch (7.8 mm) bullet for use with other Finnish Mosin–Nagant variants instead of the 0.310-inch (7.9 mm) one which gives best results in M/39, Soviet and most of other Mosin–Nagant rifles. The trigger
5100-478: Was modified and adapted as a sniper rifle from 1932 onwards, first with mounts and scopes from Germany then with domestic designs ( PE , PEM) from 1931; from 1942 it was issued with 3.5-power PU fixed focus scopes . It served quite prominently in the brutal urban battles on the Eastern Front , such as the Battle of Stalingrad , which made heroes of such snipers as Vasily Zaitsev , Lyudmila Pavlichenko , Ivan Sidorenko , and Roza Shanina . Finland also employed
5175-410: Was officially the 6.5×52mm Mod. 91 rifle. The " Mannlicher " title came from the en bloc loading clips, having nothing to do with the action itself, which was a modified Gewehr 1888 action (which itself was a combination of the action from the Mauser Model 1871 with the Mannlicher en bloc loading); in Italy the rifle was commonly known as the "Mauser-Parravicino", after General Gustavo Parravicino of
5250-478: Was produced by Dmitri Mendeleev himself). In 1889, three rifles were submitted for evaluation: Captain Sergei Ivanovich Mosin of the imperial army submitted his "3-line" caliber (.30 cal, 7.62 mm ) rifle; Belgian designer Léon Nagant submitted a "3.5-line" (.35 caliber, 9 mm) design; and a Captain Zinoviev submitted another "3-line" design (1 " line " = 1 ⁄ 10 in or 2.54 mm, thus 3 lines = 7.62 mm). When trials concluded in 1891,
5325-406: Was produced during the early years of World War II for the Japanese Empire by the Kingdom of Italy ( Type I is not a numeric symbol, it denominates Italian ). Following Japan's invasion of China in July 1937, domestic rifle production could not keep pace with wartime demands. This necessitated the purchase of foreign rifles such as the Karabiner 98k and Vz. 24 . Unlike those, the Type I
5400-635: Was still producing the M39 Mosin–Nagant in small numbers as late as 1973. Virtually every country that received military aid from the Soviet Union, China, and Eastern Europe during the Cold War used Mosin–Nagants at various times. Middle Eastern countries within the sphere of Soviet influence—Egypt, Syria , Iraq , Afghanistan and Palestinian fighters—have received them in addition to other more modern arms. Mosin–Nagants have also seen action in
5475-744: Was used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire , the Soviet Union and various other states. It is one of the most mass-produced military bolt-action rifles in history, with over 37 million units produced since 1891. In spite of its age, it has been used in various conflicts around the world up to the present day. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , Imperial Russian troops armed mostly with single-shot Berdan rifles suffered heavy casualties against Ottoman troops equipped with Winchester 1866 repeating rifles , particularly at
5550-525: Was used generally by Italian arms makers as a descriptor of Italian 20th century rifles, often shorter-barrelled rifles in the carbine style meant for other than regular infantry uses. Regular length infantry rifles are named as fucile models. In March 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald purchased a "6.5 [mm] Italian carbine", later improperly called a Mannlicher–Carcano (although it uses a Mannlicher-style en bloc clip system), through mail order, for $ 19.95 (equivalent to $ 183.90 in 2022.) The advertisement only specified
5625-566: Was used primarily by Japanese Imperial Naval Forces and was chambered for the Japanese 6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridge. Approximately 60,000 Type I rifles were produced by Italian arsenals for the Japanese military. A Carcano M38 was used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, in Dallas , Texas. Although this rifle is often called "Mannlicher–Carcano", especially in American parlance, it
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