6.5 Carcano Rifle
Lajuana Paling
Carcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action, internal box magazine fed, repeating military rifles and carbines. Introduced in 1891, the rifle was chambered for the rimless 6.552mm Carcano round (Cartuccia Modello 1895). It was developed by the chief technician Salvatore Carcano at the Turin Army Arsenal in 1890, and was originally called the Modello (model) 91 or simply M91. Successively replacing the previous Vetterli-Vitali rifles and carbines in 10.3547mmR, it was produced from 1891 to 1945. The M91 was used in both rifle (fucile) and shorter-barreled carbine (moschetto) form by most Italian troops during World War I and by Italian and some German forces during World War II. The rifle was also used during the Winter War by Finland, and again by regular and irregular forces in Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria during various postwar conflicts in those countries.
The Type I Carcano rifle was produced by Italy for the Japanese Empire prior to World War II. After the invasion of China, all Arisaka production was required for use of the Imperial Army, so the Imperial Navy contracted with Italy for this weapon in 1937. The Type I is based on the Type 38 rifle and retains the Carcano action, but uses the Arisaka/Mauser type 5-round internal box magazine. The Type I was used primarily by Japanese Imperial Naval Forces and was chambered for the Japanese 6.550mm Arisaka cartridge. Approximately 60,000 Type I rifles were produced by Italian arsenals for the Japanese military.
However, the Italian government was unable to successfully mass-produce the new arms in adequate quantities before the onset of war, and in 1940, all rifle and ammunition production reverted to 6.5 mm, but no 7.35 mm Mod. 38 rifles nor carbines were ever re-barrelled to the old 6.552mm caliber. Some Italian troops serving on the Russian front were armed with 7.35 mm Mod. 1938 rifles, but exchanged them in 1942 for 6.552 mm arms.[5]
In 1941, the Italian military returned to a long-barrelled infantry rifle once again (slightly shorter than the original M91), the Carcano M91/41.[8] True sniper versions never existed, but in World War I a few rifles were fitted with telescopic lenses and issued for service use (World War II scoped rifles were strictly prototypes).
Several lots of Moschetti M91/38 TS (special troops' carbines) were chambered for the German 857mm Mauser sS heavy ball round. This modification entered service in 1943, just before the Italian capitulation.[8] Two small batches of Moschetti M91/38 TS carbines shows barrels marked 1938 and 1941, but they were not used at these times with any Italian forces, and their peculiar serial numbering suggests that these might just be rebored unused surplus barrels that were converted with other ones after 1945. Many 7.92 mm Carcano carbines were apparently exported to Egypt after World War II, where they served as drill and training carbines. Several also bear Israeli armed forces markings. The occasionally used model moniker "Model 1943 (M43)" for these converted 7.92mm rifles is wrong, as they were never so designated by the Italian military.[citation needed]
German forces captured large quantities of Carcanos after Italy's capitulation in September 1943. It was the most commonly issued rifle to the German Volkssturm ("People's Militia") units in late 1944 and 1945.[9]
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.[10][11] 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.[12]
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.[13][14] 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.
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.
When he was 21, Salvatore joined the military in 1848. After four years of service, his enlistment ended, and the Royal Arms factory in Turin hired him as a gunsmith. It was there that the young Carcano was able to show his true talents as an arms designer.
During that time, a staggering array of different variations emerged to fill specialized roles as needs arose. These included M91s in the shorter musketoon length with integral folding bayonets or side-mounted bayonets for special troops and the M91/24 musketoon with a longer adjustable rear sight.
The M91 modified musketoon saw multiple modifications to the bayonet and sling attachment methods: the M91/28 grenade launcher; the M91/38 with folding and detachable bayonets in longer infantry and shorter musketoon lengths; and finally, the M91/41 that finished out the evolution through its retirement.
The Carcano rifles, in all of their various configurations, were used worldwide by more than a dozen different countries. Ethiopia used the guns they had captured in 1896; Austria-Hungary converted rifles they had captured during World War I.
Germany issued them to Bulgarian troops after Italy surrendered; Japan and China had purchased them on contract; England sent captured ones to the Netherlands, which in turn sent them to troops in Indonesia. The list goes on and on.
At first glance, the two guns are identical, but with a closer look, differences appear: The M91/38 had a trapdoor in the buttstock for the cleaning rod, whereas the M91 TS had the cleaning rod mounted under the barrel, the M91/38 had a groove on each side of the grip for ergonomics, whereas the M91 TS had no such groove, and the stock on the M91/38 terminated far back from the muzzle, whereas the M91 TS went all the way to the muzzle.
The gun reached its first level of fame in 1963 when the public first saw the iconic photo of Lt. J.C. Day (at the top of this story), who held the firearm over his head in a crowded room for all to see not long after it had been recovered in Dallas.
T. Logan Metesh is a historian with a focus on firearms history and development. He founded and runs High Caliber History LLC and has more than a decade of experience working for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Park Service, and the NRA Museums. His ability to present history and research in an engaging manner has made him a sought-after consultant, writer, and museum professional.
THE PRECEDING chapter has established that the bullets which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired from the southeast corner window of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building and that the weapon which fired these bullets was a Mannlicher-Carcano 6.5-millimeter Italian rifle bearing the serial number C2766. In this chapter the Commission evaluates the evidence upon which it has based its conclusion concerning the identity of the assassin. This evidence includes (1) the ownership and possession of the weapon used to commit the assassination, (2) the means by which the weapon was brought into the Depository Building, (3) the identity of the person present at the window from which the shots were fired, (4) the killing of Dallas Patrolman J. D. Tippit within 45 minutes after the assassination, (5) the resistance to arrest and the attempted shooting of another police officer by the man (Lee Harvey Oswald) subsequently accused of assassinating President Kennedy and killing Patrolman Tippit, (6) the lies told to the police by Oswald, (7) the evidence linking Oswald to the attempted killing of Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker (Resigned, U.S. Army) on April 10, 1963, and (8) Oswald's capability with a rifle.
Why Oswald chose to mail-order the Italian rifle rather than the British Enfield, the German K98 Mauser or even the Russian Mosin Nagant, I have no idea. All are better rifles that use superior ammunition.
About 15 years ago, I was deer hunting with a Ruger Model 77 .270-caliber bolt action rifle with a Tasco 3x9x50 scope. This is monumentally better equipment than Oswald was, and I was shooting ammunition that I had loaded myself, weighing each powder charge individually for greater accuracy.
As light was fading, a fox stepped out and started walking toward me. I misidentified it, thinking it was a coyote. I fired at it and missed it at about 40 yards. The fox sprang into the air and fled, going straight away from me. I bolted a new round into the chamber, found the fox in my scope and quickly pulled the trigger.
But what convinced me in the end was a documentary I watched recently; I believe it was on A&E. Using materials that closely mimicked skull and skin, a group of researchers reconstructed several model human heads using known measurements and dimensions from Kennedy. Researchers filled them with soft material to simulate brain matter.
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