Cei-Rigotti

The Cei-Rigotti (also known as the Cei gas rifle) is an early automatic rifle created in the final years of the 19th century by Amerigo Cei-Rigotti, an officer in the Royal Italian Army. Although the rifle was never officially adopted by any military, it was tested extensively by the Italian Army during the lead-up to the First World War.

Background

The Italians developed self-loading rifles as early as 1893, and one of the earliest self-loading designs to show some practical value was the Cei-Rigotti rifle, created by Captain Amerigo Cei Rigotti of the Bersaglieri.

Commonly known in the Italian press as the Cei Gas Rifle, it attracted widespread attention in international military circles for a time, while the Italian arms company Glisenti-Bettoni managed to secure the rights to produce the rifle and attempted to sell it in Italy and abroad.

Description

The rifle is gas operated and has selective fire capabilities (single shots or fully automatic). According to several publications, the prototype rifle was chambered for the 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano.

According to the patent drawing of 1895, the Cei-Rigotti rifle uses the gas pressure from the barrel to move a piston forward and compress a strong spring; once the pressure falls, the spring expands and opens the breech which features its own closing spring. As soon as the breech is open, the piston is disconnected from it. Described by Johnston and Nelson as an innovative, but never perfected design, it was intended to avoid the violent blow associated with the direct impingement operation, ultimately proving to be an overly complex mechanism. British test reports noted that the rifle was nearly uncontrollable in full-automatic mode.

Another unusual feature of the Cei-Rigotti was its trigger, which extended through a slot across the entirety of the trigger guard. It has been theorized that it was intended to make the weapon easier to operate in heavy gloves, but in reality it is used to release the bolt without accidentally firing the weapon. The trigger guard assembly was also connected to the magazine, and needed to be removed in order for the magazine to be replaced. This magazine is also a major point of contention among military historians, as, since the weapon was reloaded via stripper clips rather than detachable magazine, many argue that it disqualifies the Cei-Rigotti from being classified as an assault rifle. Reportedly, prototypes with magazines up to a capacity of 50 rounds existed.

Full sized rifle and carbine (both automatic and selective fire) prototypes were made. At least one Cei-Rigotti automatic carbine was tested by the British in 1901.

History

The gun was supposedly presented by Cei-Rigotti to his superiors in a private demonstration in 1895. An Italian newspaper reported on this event in 1900. According to another source, a demonstration was actually held publicly in Rome on June 13, 1900, when 300 rounds were fired on full automatic before the gun got so hot it seized up. Yet another source mentions a demonstration in the same year at the Brescia Arsenal.

The British also ordered and tested the gun after this event, but they found it unsuitable. According to Johnston and Nelson, representants from Glisenti-Bettoni demonstrated the Cei-Rigotti at the Royal Small Arms Factory in March, 1901. The rifle found at the UK National Firearms Centre in Leeds is chambered in 7.65x53mm Mauser, as is another example found in a U.S. private collection.

The Italian War Ministry purchased a small batch of rifles in 1911 for trial tests in Libya, but like other Italian pre-WWI self-loading designs, no mass production ever took place.

See also

Early automatic rifles

* Browning M1918 automatic rifle
* Fedorov M1916 Avtomat
* Furrer Leichtes Maschinengewehr lMG 25
* Huot M1916 automatic rifle

Early self loading rifles

* Farquhar-Hill P1918 semi automatic rifle
* Fusil Automatique Modèle 1917

References

Bibliography

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External links

*{{in lang, fr}
Encyclopesarmes

Details of the Cei-Rigotti rifle in General Information Series (United States. Office of Naval Intelligence) No. XX, 1901

Automatic rifles
Trial and research firearms of Italy
Rifles of Italy