Cei-Rigotti
| Cei-Rigotti | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| general information | |
| Country of operation: | Italy |
| Production time: | since 1890 |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1000 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 4.3 kg |
| Barrel length : | 483 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 7.65 x 53.5 mm |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 5–25 cartridges |
| Ammunition supply : | Fixed box / curve magazine |
| Cadence : | 800 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Single, continuous fire |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | right |
| Visor : | open sights |
| Closure : | Turret lock |
| Charging principle: | Gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Cei-Rigotti was an Italian self-loading rifle that was developed by the Italian officer Amerigo Cei-Rigotti before 1900 . Although the weapon was never included in the armament of an army, it is of great military-historical importance, as it was the first real rapid-fire rifle in the world, i.e. a weapon with the dimensions, mass and appearance of a rifle, but with the possibility of Shoot continuous fire .
history
The French magazine Le Petit Parisien reported on April 15, 1895 of the attempts of an "Italian captain" ( un capitaine italien ) with a self-loading rifle, with a rate of fire of twenty rounds (corresponding to a magazine) was achieved in two seconds.
The system was tested in Italy , later in Switzerland , Austria and Russia . It turned out to be very unreliable and was not introduced anywhere.
technology
The Cei-Rigotti uses some parts of the orderly rifle of the Italian army at that time, the M91 Carcano rifle . This applies to the stock (from the carabiner), the sliding visor and various small parts. The system, on the other hand, has been completely redesigned and manufactured.
The Cei-Rigotti is a gas pressure charger with a rotating head lock in 6.5 mm Carcano caliber . The short return gas piston is located under the barrel. After the shot, the gases push the piston backwards, which actuates the long repeating lever that runs along the outside of the barrel. Inside is the closing spring. A cam on the cylindrical part of the repeating lever engages in the control link of the rotary head lock and unlocks the two locking lugs by turning them a quarter to the left. Then the repeating lever and slide slide back together, the ejector ejects the case and the recoil spring pushes the repeating lever and slide forward again. A new cartridge is fed from the magazine into the chamber, the firing pin is cocked and the weapon is ready to fire again.
The fire selector lever is located on the rear left on the breech. The sliding chimney is divided up to a distance of 2000 m.
According to unconfirmed information, there were 25-round magazines and the rate of fire is said to have been 900 rounds per minute. The magazines were not intended as interchangeable magazines and were loaded from above with loading strips or frames from the Carcano rifle. The bolt catch button is located on the top of the bolt housing, which holds the bolt in the open position so that the weapon can be reloaded. Basically it was possible to exchange the magazine for another, but the weapon had to be completely dismantled.
In addition to the 6.5 Carcano version, there are said to have been versions for the Austrian 8 × 56 mm R and Russian 7.62 × 54 mm R cartridges. The few examples of the weapon still in existence, however, were all made in caliber 7.65 × 53.5 mm .
literature
- US Office of Naval Intelligence (Ed.): Notes on Naval progress . Information from abroad (= General Information Series . Volume XX ). July 1901, The Cei-Rigotti rifle, p. 212–213 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
- John Walter: Rifles of the World . 3. Edition. Krause, Iola WI 2006, ISBN 978-0-89689-241-5 , pp. 554 .
Web links
- Fusil d'infanterie CEI-RIGOTTI history of development, dates, picture (French)
- Ian McCollum: Cei-Rigotti. In: Forgotten Weapons. Retrieved October 2, 2016 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Westwood: Rifles: An Illustrated History Of Their Impact . ABC-CLIO, 2005, ISBN 978-1-85109-401-1 , p. 364 ( Google Books ).
- ↑ See Annuario militare del Regno d'Italia. Anno 1899. Vol. 1, Enrico Voghera, Rom 1899, p. 382 ( online ).
- ↑ Le Petit Parisien. Journal quotidien du soir. 20th volume, No. 6744 (April 15, 1895), p. 2 ( online ).
- ↑ Before The Assault Rifle: Assault Rifle Developments Prior to 1942. thefirearmblog.com, accessed on October 2, 2016 (English).