Carcano

Carcano, Mannlicher-Carcano, Carcano-Mannlicher, and Mauser-Parravicino, are frequently used names for a series of Italian bolt-action, internal box magazine fed, repeating military rifles and carbines. Introduced in 1891, the rifle was officially designated as the Fucile Modello 1891 (Model 1891 Rifle) and chambered for the rimless 6.5×52mm Carcano round (''Cartuccia a pallottola Modello 1891'', later updated to ''Cartuccia a pallottola Modello 1891/95''). It was developed by the chief technician Salvatore Carcano at the Turin Army Arsenal in 1890. Replacing the Vetterli-Vitali rifles and carbines in 10.35×47mmR, it was produced until 1945. The Mod.91 family of weapons included both rifle (''fucile'') and shorter-barreled carbine (''moschetto'') form and was used by Italian troops during both World War I and World War II. It was also used by Finland, German Volkssturm and the Imperial Japanese Navy (the latter using the Type I rifle variant) during WWII. During the post-war era, the Carcano would see use with both regular and irregular forces in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

A Carcano Mod.91/38 rifle was used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.

Background

By 1887, the Vetterli rifles in Italian service were rendered obsolete after the French adopted the Lebel Model 1886 rifle while Italy's main rival, Austria-Hungary adopted the Mannlicher M1888, forcing the Italian government to form a commission to choose a new infantry rifle at the end of 1888. After testing more than 50 different rifles (including designs from Lee and Mauser), the commission decided to adopt a 6.5 mm cartridge using a Mannlicher-type magazine. After conducting trials with a Terni design based on the Gewehr 1888 (fitted with Italian-pattern sights and the barrel jacket removed) and a design developed by a team led by Salvatore Carcano from the arms factory in Turin, the commission recommended Carcano's design on 5 March 1892. The Ministry of War formally approved the rifle for service on March 29, with the first Carcano rifles being issued in the spring of 1894.

Although this rifle is often called "Mannlicher−Carcano", especially in American parlance, it was officially the ''Fucile Modello 1891'' (Model 1891 rifle).
The " Mannlicher" title came from the en bloc loading clips system, having nothing to do with the action itself, which was a modified Gewehr 88 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 reported by army and civilian sources as "Carcano−Mannlicher" since the action engineer is usually named before the magazine designer's in Italian nomenclatures (like with Vetterli-Vitali and others). Some Italian sources also report the name "Mauser−Parravicino", after General Gustavo Parravicino of the Infantry Shooting School and head of the commission that recommended the Mod. 91 adoption.
Italian soldiers simply called the rifle as the ''il novantuno'' (the ninety-one).

Description

The Carcano is a family of six-round bolt-action rifles and carbines using a modified Mauser-type action with a Mannlicher-type magazine. Upon introduction the 6.5 mm Carcano cartridge was quite typical of the era, using a round-nosed bullet of relatively modest power. By 1908 most nations switched to the improved spitzer bullet, but Italy was late to adopt a new rifle cartridge and by the time a larger caliber was adopted, the outbreak of WWII prevented the replacement of the 6.5×52mm Carcano, which remained the standard army cartridge until 1945.

While the round-nose bullet quickly lost velocity and consequently stopping power at long ranges, the 6.5 mm round is lethal enough with a well aimed shot. According to a United States Army technical manual, a bullet fired from a Model 91/24 carbine can incapacitate a man (or animal) at a range of .

Early models featured a progressive rifling (also known as gain twist, the twist of the barrel rifling gradually increases towards the muzzle). The gain twist increased the stability and accuracy of the bullet, but it was costly and complex to manufacture. According to Walter, this feature was dropped in the Mod. 41 rifle, but only a handful of these guns were produced before the Italians surrendered to the Allies in 1943.

Unlike Austrian Mannlichers, the Carcano used symmetrical clips, while the use of a smaller cartridge allowed one extra round to be carried. The bolt was simpler than the Gewehr 88, and it also featured a safety, which was a projecting plate between the rear of the bolt piece and the cocking piece. The Italians slightly modified the rifle over the years, but the design itself practically remained unchanged for more than 60 years.

Despite often being described as an inaccurate and inferior weapon, specially by Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists, it is an accurate and capable weapon. Pegler notes that it was used as a sniper rifle by the Italian Army during WWI. He also stated that the Carcano carbines used by Alpini troops proved to be adequate for relatively short-range sniping.

The rifle was described by military historian Ian V. Hogg as "a serviceable enough weapon and on a par with its contemporaries"; According to Pegler, "the basic rifle design was like many others, sound but unexceptional"; Morin stated that "while certainly not representing the best among rifles of the time, he Mod. 91was not a completely worthless weapon", adding that "the individual weapon is only one of the factors of a tactical group's firepower"; FBI firearms expert Robert A. Frazier, who test-fired Lee Harvey Oswald's Carcano, testified that it was an accurate weapon.

E. C. Ezell stated that despite rumors of the Carcano being unsafe to fire, "it is as safe as any other military rifle", provided the gun is in good condition and proper ammunition is used.

History

Italy

According to McLachlan, due a shortage of the new 6.5 mm cartridge and the unwillingness of the Crispi government to order more, the first Carcanos were only issued in Italian Eritrea during summer 1896, months after the defeat at the battle of Adwa, forcing the colonial troops and even reinforcements destined to Africa to use the obsolete Vetterli-Vitali rifles and Remington Rolling Blocks (some of the latter taken from the inventories of the defunct Papal States) during the Adwa campaign. According to Prouty, the governor Oreste Baratieri deliberately issued older rifles as a cost-saving measure, making use of readily available stocks of old ammunition.

Prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Italian Army had a total of 700,000 M1891 rifles produced at government arsenals at Terni, Brescia, Turin, and Torre Annuziata. When the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed, the Terni factory alone produced 2,063,750 rifles in total.

Following Luigi Cadorna failed offensives in the Isonzo front, the Italians lost so many rifles that some Vetterli-Vitalis had to be converted to fire the 6.5 mm Carcano cartridge as an emergency measure since the factories were unable to replenish losses quickly enough. These converted rifles were issued to rear-guard troops, freeing up badly needed M91s for the frontlines.

During the war, the Italians used scoped M1891s as sniper rifles, while some Alpini soldiers preferred to carry the carbine variant instead. A large variety of scopes were used during the war, including a French-made APX derivate with proprietary mount, known as Amigues, after his patent owner. In early 1916, the Italians started producing a 4× power scope based on German (or Austrian) models, known as "Scheibler", manufactured by the Filotecnica-Salmoiraghi factory.

After the war, to get desperately needed carbines for their operations in the colonial theaters, the Italian Army proceeded by converting the old M1891 rifle to carbine length. Rifle barrels were cut down and grafted (in order to mantain the correct progressive rifling twist) to a lenght of , the bolt handle bent down and the sights improved. This version was accepted for service as the M1891/24.

Experience during the war, as well in North Africa and Abyssinia, indicated that the 6.5 mm round was inadequate in terms of stopping power, and during the 1930s the Terni arsenal began conducting experiments under the supervision of Colonel Giuseppe Mainardi with the cooperation of Bombrini-Parodi-Delfino and Società Metallurgica Italiana for a new cartridge. The resulting 7.35 mm bullet adopted in 1937 could be loaded into the 6.5×52 cartridge gun chambers with minimal alterations. To properly host this new cartridge, the Italians followed the other great powers and adopted a short version of their service infantry rifle, creating the Mod. 38 short rifle, obtained by recycling action and barrels of old mod. 91 rifles. The Terni factory began converting 6.5 mm rifles and carbines to fire the new 7.35×51mm Carcano cartridge as the Mod. 38 family of guns, but in December 1939, foreseeing Italy's involvment in the Second World War, the government decided to withdraw all 7.35 mm guns from frontline service and re-issue the older 6.5 mm versions, to simplify logistics. According to Walter, the 7.35 Mod. 38 rifles and carbines were issued to militia units, while a considerable number were sold to Finland.

The Mod. 38 variants were also fitted with fixed sights at ; Italian commanders concluded that using adjustable rear sights graduated up to was a waste, since most firefights rarely exceeded the range, while the average soldier in the heat of the battle wasn't expected to have the composure necessary to adjust his sights according to the enemy movements. Also, Italian Infantry squads rotated mostly around light machine gun crews, while riflemen were mostly intended to offer covering fire.

In 1941, the Italian military returned to a long-barrelled infantry rifle once again (slightly shorter than the original Mod. 91), the Carcano Mod. 91/41, in order to properly exploit the 6.5x52 cartridge, that underperformed in the mod. 38 short rifle barrels. According to Morin, this variant used a conventional barrel rifling and had adjustable rear sights graduated from .

According to Husson, a small number of M1891/38 TS carbines chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser were issued shortly before the Italian surrender and produced in small numbers until the end of the war, while an experimental version using a Mauser-type box magazine but chambered for the 7.35 mm Carcano cartridge was produced around the same time. According to Walter, the 7.92 mm conversions were produced in 1944 for the Italian Social Republic by the Armaguerra Arms Factory in Cremona, which milled the magazines to allow the larger Mauser round to be pushed down while a modified clip was welded into the magazine to keep the cartridges in place. These conversions had to be single loaded.

After the end of WWII, the Italian Army gradually replaced its Carcanos with Lee-Enfield and M1 Garand rifles, while the some units of the Polizia di Stato and Carabinieri continued using M91/38 TS carbines for several years. During the early 1960s the Italian government decided to sell its remaining inventories as military surplus, mostly to the US market. According to Wheeler, a total of 570,745 rifles were sold to the American company Adam Consolidated Industries, for $1,776,658.54 ().

China

In 1920 the Beiyang government ordered 40,000 rifles from an Italian company, despite an arms embargo imposed by the Western powers in 1919, though Ness and Shih stated that most of these may have ended up in the hands of the warlord Cao Kun of the Zhili clique instead, which used both rifle and carbine variants of the Carcano. Cao Kun bought another 14,000 in 1922 and received them in 1924, while his protégé Wu Peifu got 40,000 in 1924. According to Jowett, Wu Peifu signed a $5.6 million deal with an Italian arms dealer in 1922. The warlord Zhang Jingyao of the Hunan province obtained 10,000 rifles just before being ousted. In 1924 the Beiyang government purchased all the cargo onboard a ship including 40,000 M1891 rifles.

According to Ness and Shih, the Carcano was probably well used during the Warlord Era conflicts despite the fact that the 6.5 mm cartridge was non-standard in China.

Finland

Approximately 94,500 7.35mm Mod. 38 rifles were shipped to Finland, where they were known as ''Terni'' carbines (from the Terni stamp with the royal crown, the seal of the F''abbrica d’armi Regio Esercito di Terni'' where they were manufactured).''The Finnish Army 1918–1945: Rifles'', Part
Three Mausers and One Terni
Jaeger Platoon Website They arrived too late for the Winter War, but they were used by security and line-of-communications troops during the continuation War, 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 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 the advantage of using commonly available 7.62×54mmR ammunition. By the end 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 1957, Finland deemed its remaining stockpiles of Carcanos as obsolete and exported them via Interarms as military surplus in exchange for used Sten submachine guns.

Japan

With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, production of Arisaka rifles were reserved to the Imperial Japanese Army, forcing the Imperial Japanese Navy to place contracts overseas. Government arsenals and private contractors such as Terni, Brescia, and Beretta produced the Type I rifle using the Carcano action fitted with a Japanese-style bayonet mount and sights. This hybrid design uses an internal Mauser-type box magazine loaded with single 6.5×50mmSR Arisaka rounds or a 5-round stripper clip. Some rifles had their buttstocks shortened since the average Japanese soldier had shorter stature compared its European counterparts, but the vast majority of them were replaced by Type 99 rifle in 1941 and relegated to training duties, or kept in storage. Some rifles however, were captured by American forces in Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and Luzon.

While most sources give a total of 60,000 rifles ordered, other sources (based on the serial numbers) estimate a total between 120,000 and 130,000 rifles.

Other countries

During World War I, Austria-Hungary converted about 49,500 captured rifles to fire the easily available 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer cartridge under the designation ''6.5mm M.91 Adaptiertes Italienisches Repetier-Gewehr''. After the battle of Caporetto the Austrians captured so many rifles and ammunition that further conversions became unnecessary. Converted rifles sent as war reparations to Italy had their calibers reverted back to the 6.5×52mm Carcano round.

Captured and surplus ex-Italian guns were used by Albania, Ethiopia, Greece and Yugoslavia during and immediately after WWII. Most of them were quickly replaced by other weapons, including the Lee-Enfield and Mauser Kar98k.

Prior to the German invasion in 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia used Mod. 91 rifles under the designation ''Puska 6.5mm M91'' while rifles captured by the Germans received the designation ''Gewehr 214(j)''. They were later used by both Chetniks and Yugoslav partisans, with the latter issuing captured guns to support units, while frontline units made use of captured Karabiner 98k rifles.

In September 1943, after Italy surrendered to the Allies the Germans captured a large number of Carcanos and gave them the designations ''Gewehr 214(i)'' (Mod. 91), ''Gewehr 209(i)'' (6.5 mm Mod. 38) and ''Gewehr 231(i)'' (7.35 mm Mod. 38). They were issued in considerable numbers for the Volkssturm militia.

Following the Italian expulsion from Italian East Africa in 1941, they left behind a large number of rifles including Mod. 91, Mod. 38 rifles and even some Mod. 91/24 carbines in Ethiopia. They saw limited use with militias well into the 1950s. Several were exported to the United States as military surplus by Royal Tiger Imports.

According to Hogg, some carbines converted to fire the 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge saw action in Israel and Syria before becoming rarities.

In the early 1990s during the Somali Civil War, hundreds of M91 rifles (mostly in poor condition or virtually useless) were captured alongside modern Western and Soviet weapons from the troops of local warlords and later destroyed.

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 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 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.

Variants

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 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.

*''Fucile Modello 1891'' (Rifle Model 1891), 6.5×52 mm with detachable knife bayonet, barrel, these were adopted on 29 March 1892 as per Ministerial Act No. 57.

* ''Moschetto Modello 1891'' (Musket Model 1891) 6.5×52mm with integral folding bayonet, barrel, these were adopted on 9 June 1893 and under Act No. 116 dated of 15 July 1893 is when the nomenclature became official. These have been referenced as ‘for Cavalry’ ''(per Cavalleria)'' carbines in both English and Italian lingo however, this term was only used colloquially and not in any formal way. These were initially made to be issued to Cavalry Troops but were however issued to other troops as well such as the Carabinieri Reali, Bersaglieri Ciclisti, and later to the Paratroopers and the MVSN Troops. Initially these models did not have handguards on them but were added to them as per Circular No.400 dated June 30, 1916. They modified or manufactured new made nose caps for these with a little tab on the top of them to fit the handguard into. As part of this modification process they also had to modify the rear sight assembly on the back where the handguard fit into it. These were made from 1893 well up to 1944, the easiest way to say these are such models is they all have the adjustable rear sight, no matter by which manufacturer made them or what year they were manufactured. 10,000 were made with a PS prefix allegedly for police use.
*''Moschetto Modello 1891 per Truppe Speciali'' (Musket Model 1891 for Special Troops), 6.5×52 mm with side mounted type (transverse) bayonet, barrel, on 6 January 1900 under Act No.6 these firearms were officially called as such models even though production of these were started in 1898. These were issued to machine gun, mortar and Artillery crews. These had slings swivels on the bottom of the buttstock and on the nose cap. There two types of handguards and nose caps used on the models, the first was the type where the handguard was not retained by a little tab on the nose cap on the top of them but it was found that these could come off so as per Circular No.124 dated February 25, 1916, they decided to add the little tab to keep them in place.
*''Moschetto Modello 1891 / 1924'' (Musket Model 1891 / 1924), 6.5×52 mm, barrel, In 1924 they started conversion of the Fucile Modello 1891 to be shortened as per Circular No. 59 dated January 29, 1925, which specifically says the nomenclature of this firearm shall be 'moschetto mod. 91/24'. The easiest way to tell this model is that it has the longer adjustable rear sight of the rifle on it, these did not have the smaller shorter adjustable rear sights.
*''Moschetto Modello 1891 per Truppe Speciali Modificato'' (Musket Model 1891 for Special Troops, Modified), 6.5×52 mm, barrel, There were several changes in different years of these in the sling configurations and bayonet mount on the nose cap. They either kept the original sling configuration, got rid of the one the buttstock and filled it in with wood and the one on the nose cap was also removed. They added a sling bar to the left side on the buttstock and on the left side of the stock. They also later decided to use both type of sling configurations on them. The nose caps for these were configured to use the standard 1891 rifle bayonet instead of the side mounted type and in all new productions the original nose cap and barrel bands were replaced with the Fucile mod. 91 ones. These have been nicknamed in the collector community as "91/28" models, but in no such way, shape or form were these ever called as 91/28. You can find a stamp on some of these saying "Moschetto Modello 91 /28" but it was just a short term to indicate a Mod. 91 T.S. carbine paired with a mod. 28 Tromboncino grenade launcher. In the different circulars the army wrote on the modification of these firearms for arsenal and regimental armorers, they use the word modificato or T.S. modificato, while logistics only indicate these as "Moschetto mod. 91 per T.S., as if it was the same as the old version. Nowhere are they referred to as 91/28.
* ''Moschetto per Truppe Speciali con Tromboncino mod. 28'' (''con Tromboncino'', with grenade launcher) Modified Mod.91 T.S. carbine coupled with a 38.5 mm grenade launcher. barrel.

* ''Fucile Modello 1938'' (Rifle Model 1938), adopted in 1938 in 7.35×51mm caliber, fixed sights, detachable folding knife bayonet) barrel.

* ''Moschetto''s (carbines) Mod. 1938 (folding bayonet) and Mod. 1938 TS (detachable bayonet) carbine versions of Model 1938 short rifle in 7.35×51mm. Production of these guns were later reverted to 6.5x52mm, with their 91/38 iteration. barrel.
* ''Fucile Mod. 91/38''("Model 1891/1938 rifle" chambered in 6.5×52mm caliber since 1940). The barrel is the barrel of the earlier 7.35 mm caliber, but now changed to 6.5 mm. Unlike the slightly shorter and lighter TS Moschetto, it also has both sling swivels on the left side of the stock, not visible from the right side of the rifle. This is the model (stamped "1940" to show manufacture date) owned by Lee Harvey Oswald and determined to be the John F. Kennedy assassination rifle. From 1940, the ''Moschetto'' Mod. 1938 and Mod. 1938 TS were also made in 6.5×52mm.
* ''Fucile Mod. 91/41'' (6.5×52mm rifle adopted in 1941, adjustable sights), developed and produced to properly exploit 6.5x52, which was underperforming in the mod.91/38 rifle barrel. Distributed to newly formed divisions in Spring 1943. barrel.
* '' Type I Rifle'' 6.5×50mm infantry rifle, produced as export for the Imperial Japanese Defense Ministry (formally, to arm and train Manchukuo Armed Forces), and had adjustable sights

Specifications

Users

*
*: Captured during World War I, about 49,500 were converted to use the available 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer cartridges.
* − Used mostly by the Zhili clique
*
*: captured from the Italian forces in 1896 or acquired after World War I. Still in use with irregular forces in the 1950s.
*
* Known as 7.35 kiv/38 "Terni" (7.35mm Rifle 1938 "Terni") in Finnish Service
*
*
*, used during Indonesian National Revolution, limited use due to scarcity of ammunition.
*
**
**
*: Purchased the Type I Rifle on contract.
*
*
* : People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
*
* : The British sent captured Carcanos to the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
*
*
*
*
*: M91 carbines used after the 1946 Syrian independence
* : M91 rifles used by the Neo Destour
* : Purchased M38 rifles manufactured post-WWII and chambered for 8mm Mauser.
* − Designated as the Puska 6.5mm M91. Also used by the Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans.

Kennedy assassination rifle

In March 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald purchased a "6.5  mItalian carbine" which was erroneously reported to have been a Mod. 38 carbine (a 7.65 mm variant) while the Dallas Police Department initially reported as being a "7.65 mm Mauser" or an "Italian Mauser", through mail order, for $19.95 (). The advertisement only specified a "6.5 Italian Carbine" and actually shows a scoped Suprema carbine, a purpose built carbine obtained by the importer by shortening thousands of Fucile Mod. 91 to 40". The Carcano carbine model sold through the ad when it was originally placed was described as a '' carbine'', so most probably a T.S. carbine. 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 Model 91/38 under the same ad, and this 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 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.

See also

* List of common World War II infantry weapons

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Carcano CompendiumItalian page on CarcanosCarcano M38 cal.7.35x51mm shooting (video)close-up (video)

{{WWIAus-HunInfWeaponsEquipment

8 mm firearms
Bolt-action rifles of Italy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
World War I Italian infantry weapons
World War II infantry weapons of Italy
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1891
World War II rifles