Rafael Mendoza Blanco ( Chihuahua, October 24, 1885 –

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, 1966) was a Mexican engineer and inventor. Founder of the arms company

Productos Mendoza Productos Mendoza, S.A., is a manufacturer of both air guns and conventional firearms, based in Mexico. It was founded in 1911 by Rafael Mendoza Blanco. Initially, Productos Mendoza manufactured firearms for troops under General Francisco Villa ...

, he also created the Mendoza rifle, machine guns used by the United States, along with a clothes washing machine, a corn sheller and a fountain pen. He participated in the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

as one of

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

's gilds.

Early life

Rafael Mendoza Blanco was born in Santo Tomas, Chihuahua on October 24, 1885. From a very young age he showed a concern for devising tools, utensils and various objects.

Career

As a young age he joined Pancho Villa`s army called Villistas`. As a horseman he excelled in using weapons, since he was appointed escort of Pancho Villa. He participated in two fights in the revolution in Perdenales, Chihuahua and in Agua Prieta, Sonora. It is said that Pancho Villa had asked Mendoza to make cannons in order to burn grenades he obtained in one of his conquests. Since this was said, it is also believed he created his company

in 1911 for this reason. In 1914 he was in charge of the weapons workshop of the Northern Division in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

, where he perfected weapons and developed others such as the hand grenade and the Mexico rifle to replace the

Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...

. That's where the company that today is called Productos Mendoza was born, which manufactures precision air weapons. This was announced by the historian Manuel Vicente Guzmán. The Mendoza air rifle for Olympic competition is the most accurate and powerful in the entire world. He continued manufacturing until he placed the Mendoza machine gun as a regulation rifle in the Mexican Army during the presidency of

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

. At the time, when guns began selling in Mexico, Mendoza rifles came to occupy a prominent place in the preference of firearms enthusiasts. For a brief time, its manufacture was prohibited, although as of now, the product is practically unknown in the country, despite the fact that in the field of competition air rifles used in the Olympic pentathlon, it has come to be considered as the most accurate and powerful in the entire world.

Death

He died in Mexico City in 1966.

Inventions

Mendoza`s most famous inventions have been a machine gun and a machine for sowing corn. In 1934, Mendoza created the world-famous Mendoza Model 1934-C Machine Gun, that was used for many years by the Mexican Navy. He also created a multiple machine for sowing corn that could be pulled by animals or by tractor and that in each turn sowed three or four rows.

References

Sources

* MEXICO REPORTS ISLAM, 24 July 2021,
RAFAEL MENDOZA BLANCO. Inventor chihuahuense del Rifle Mendoza
, Mexico Informa Islam. * Meza Rivera, Froilan, May 2011,

, La Cronica de Chihuahua. * ''The Chihuahua Chronicle'', 19 November 2015,
Ametralladoras Mendoza surgieron en Madera
, VozenRed.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza Blanco, Rafael 1885 births 1966 deaths People from Chihuahua (state) Mexican inventors