Carcano Modello 1891 (M91)

History

The Carcano Modello 1891 (Model 1891) was the standard service rifle of the Italian Army in both World Wars. The design originated between 1890 and 1891 by Colonel Paravicino of the Italian Army - in charge of arms procurement - and Salvatore Carcano - then chief inspector of the Real Fabricca d'Armi in Turin - adopted by the Italian Army on 29 March 1892" Carcano Modello 1891" (or "M91").

Throughout its long service life, the Model 1891 performed well until it was superseded by the development of other service rifles around the world.

NOTE: The Carcano Modello 1891 is often (and incorrectly) collectively referred to as the "Mannlicher Carcano" rifle. This is a reference to the origin of the weapon in Ferdinand von Mannlicher's Mauser-based Austro-Hungarian rifle design (it's worth noting that many bolt-action rifles at the time featured the excellent German Mauser rifle).

Another well-known generic name for the 1891 model is "Mannlicher-Paravicino-Carcano".

After developing the new 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano cartridge, the Italians set out to develop a rifle to support it. This led Carcano to modify the basic Mannlicher design, modifying the internals, including a folding bolt handle mounted forward along the receiver. Carcano has developed a safety mechanism that is added to the bolt sleeve.

One of the key qualities that Mannlicher retains is Mannlicher's patented clip-on internal magazine facility. Clip-on ammunition allows operators to quickly reload their weapons via a prefabricated "loader" that contains cartridges attached to a "clip" along its base. While eliminating the need for the operator to load one cartridge at a time, the feature suffers from the operator's inability to "fill" a partially full magazine.

However, the faster reload process proved to be trivial.

The basic Modello 1891 rifle issued to the Italian Army features a full-length wooden stock with an integral pistol grip, forestock and stock, while the metal parts are inlaid in a typical fashion. The bolt handle turned down on the right side of the fuselage, and the iron sight was located on top of the receiver (tangential), usually behind the muzzle. Sling loops allow the use of shoulder straps for marching and transport (these slings are located under and in front of the stock). A small piece of wood was added above the front end as a handguard above the barrel base plate - the handguard was placed between the rear sight and the first barrel strap.

The rest of the barrel is only slightly exposed forward. The curved assembly is located in a trigger ring attached to the front magazine. The gun is loaded by a "loader" or "stripping clip" through the opening in the top of the receiver - insert and thumb down until it clicks into place.

The bolt lever is then operated in the usual way to insert a new cartridge into the chamber (the cartridge is "pushed" out of its clip), while ejecting any spent cartridge casings in it. Robust and reliable, the Italian Modello 1891 was a great addition to the bolt-action rifle range of its time.

The weapon is designed for a six-round 6.5 x 52 mm Mannlicher Carcano rimless cartridge - a cartridge developed for the new Italian military rifle. Like other military rifles around the world, the Modello 1891 had the option to mount a field bayonet under the muzzle for hand-to-hand combat, when field bayonet combat was still an accepted part of warfare.

The biggest change to the Carcano Model 1891 line of rifles is the switch to the 7.35x51mm Carcano cartridge, which is slightly shorter than the German 7.92mm Mauser cartridge, with a tapered neck and tapered bullet. It is about the same length as the less powerful 6.5mm cartridge it is intended to replace with a rounder bullet. The Italian army was basically forced to switch to the 7.35mm cartridge when it was discovered that their 6.5mm Carcanos were not providing stopping power throughout the range of operations in Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia). In order to take full advantage of the existing stock of 6.5mm rifles, the Italians decided to simply convert the rifles to the new 7.35mm specification.

New internals would work with a longer 21-inch barrel for improved accuracy, and the culmination of the project would be the production of the "Carcano Model 1938 Short Rifle" introduced in 1938. The only other major improvement compared to the original 1891 model is in the aft field of view, which is now fixed at 300 meters.

As one might guess, the switch to the 7.35mm cartridge also produced the standard M1891/38TS and M1891/38 Para (short carbine) forms, caliber 7.35mm.

Despite the switch to the 7.35mm cartridge, the main Italian rifle stock going into WWII was still the 6.5mm version, as the conversion was never as good as expected and the more powerful 7, 35mm cartridges were never fully adapted to the aging Model 1891 rifle. Of course, this put the Italian infantry at a significant tactical disadvantage compared to their contemporaries in the conflict - the Italians lacked a really powerful short-, medium- or long-range service rifle. As a result, Italian authorities ordered the cessation of production of 7.35mm rifles and a switch back to the tried and tested 6.5mm rifles (these became the "Fucile di Fanteria Modello 1891/38" and slightly modified versions of the "Fucile di Fanteria Modello 1891/41"). As such, this created a logistical nightmare and exacerbated an already unfavorable situation.

A shift in production during the war meant that both versions served concurrently in WWII. In some cases, front-line 7.35mm rifles were brought back home and replaced with tried-and-true but less effective 6.5mm rifles.

The Model 38 Short Rifle naturally produces the desired carbine shape in the "Carcano Model 1938 Calvary Carbine". Like other carbines before it, this type of carbine has a folding bayonet and fixed sights for a range of up to 200 meters.

The Model 1938 Cavalry Carbine is simply made from existing stock of earlier release carbines, only redesigned for the newer 7.35mm cartridge.

The development of the Model 1891 Carbine was not complete, as in an interesting step caused by wartime pressures, the Model 1938 Carbine was further modified to accept the German 1944 Mauser 7.92mm rifle cartridge. By 1944, the war was over, and Axis aspirations had gotten worse. In order for the Italian army to remain loyal to the Axis in the game, a larger turn needs to be turned.

Only one Italian factory was involved in the retrofit process, and the interior of the Model 1938 carbine was redesigned to accommodate the new cartridge. However, the change did eliminate the use of rechargeable ammunition, forcing the operator to manually reload the rifle one round at a time.

In addition, the larger German cartridge resulted in a significant increase in recoil and excessive action loads. The plan was nothing more than a desperate attempt to arm the Italians who continued to fight alongside the Germans after September 1943 (the official surrender of Italy).

Modello 1891 was only officially adopted by the Italian army. However, this did not limit its unofficial use in other parts of the world. Operators include Albania, Bulgaria and Finland (in the Winter War with the Soviet Union).

Due to their wartime ties, it was not uncommon for German soldiers to stock up on Carcano rifles during World War II, when standard stocks proved to be limited. In 1905, Imperial Japan received Carcano rifles from Italy, suitably modified to fire the local 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge.

About 60,000 of them are believed to have been produced.

The Mannlicher-Carcano rifle was in steady production from 1892 to 1945, and served as the standard Italian long gun in both world wars and the skirmishes in between. Many private hands try to obtain rifles for sport hunting.

As such, the rifle was not used by rebel fighters until the Libyan civil war in 2011.

The Carcano Model 1891 rifle played an auxiliary role in American history as Lee Harvey Oswald (Fucile di Fanteria Modello 1891/38 mail order under a pseudonym) used to shoot US President John F. Kennedy November 22, 1963.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes