Carcano Modello 91
Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone) · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1891
Also known as: Fucile Modello 1891, Mannlicher-Carcano, Mod. 91, M91
Overview
The Carcano Modello 91 (Fucile Modello 1891) was the standard service rifle of the Kingdom of Italy from 1892 until 1945. Designed at the Turin Army Arsenal under chief technician Salvatore Carcano, it was the world's first military service rifle adopted in a small-bore (6.5mm) smokeless cartridge. The action uses a Mauser-style rotating bolt with two front locking lugs combined with a Mannlicher-pattern en-bloc clip feeding a 6-round integral magazine. Numerous shortened carbine and rifle variants were produced over its 53-year service life.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3800 g (134.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1295 mm (50.98") |
| Barrel Length | 780 mm (30.71") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | En Bloc Clip |
| Muzzle Velocity | 701 m/s (2300 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2557 J (1886 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 600 m (656 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2000 m (2187 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 15 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 6.5x52mm Carcano · primary — also known as 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano, 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano, 6.5 Italian
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: En Bloc Clip
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Rotating Bolt Lock
- Features: En Bloc Clip Loading, Tangent Rear Sight, Fixed Blade Bayonet Lug, Two Lug Rotating Bolt
Variants
- Moschetto M91 Cavalleria — Cavalry Carbine
- Moschetto M91 TS (Truppe Speciali) — Special Troops Carbine
- Carcano M91/38 — Shortened Service Rifle
Service history
Operators
- Royal Italian Army (Regio Esercito) · adopted 1892 · as Fucile Modello 1891
- Imperial Japanese Navy · adopted 1937 · as Type I
- Finnish Army · adopted 1940
- Wehrmacht · adopted 1943 · as Gewehr 214(i)
Conflicts
- Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912)
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1936)
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- World War II (1939-1945)
- JFK assassination (single-incident) (1963)
- Libyan conflicts (2011)
Production
Estimated total produced: 3,000,000 · Production years: 1892-1945
Estimates across all Modello 91 variants (long rifles, cavalry carbines, TS carbines, M91/38, M91/41) exceed three million; produced at Terni, Brescia, Gardone Val Trompia, Torino, Torre Annunziata, and FNA Beretta.
Origin
Country of origin: Italy
Designer: Salvatore Carcano
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
Famously the rifle (a 1940-dated M91/38 short rifle, serial C2766) used by Lee Harvey Oswald in the November 22, 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The Carcano family retained its reputation in some quarters as outdated, but the underlying action design was sound and conversions in Mosin-Nagant 7.62x54R and other calibers were attempted into the late 20th century.
Background
When Carcanos captured by Austria-Hungary during WWI were tested against contemporary rifles, Habsburg ordnance officers were reportedly unimpressed by build quality but startled by accuracy - Italian gunmakers had quietly produced one of the flatter-shooting service rifles of the era, a fact eclipsed in popular memory by the rifle's later association with the Kennedy assassination.