Lebel Model 1886 rifle
Mle 1886-M93R35, a shortened variant of the original rifle
Type	Service rifle
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1887 to 1940
Used by	France
Wars	Boxer Rebellion, French colonial expeditions, First World War, Second World War
Production history
Designed	1886
Produced	1887 to 1920
Number built	2,880,000
Specifications
Weight	9.73 lb (4.41 kg) (loaded with 10 rounds) 9.21 lb (4.18 kg) (unloaded)
Length	4.28 ft (1.3 m)
Barrel length	2.62 ft (0.8 m)
Caliber	8 mm Lebel 4 grooves, right to left twist
Action	Bolt-action
Muzzle velocity	2,000 to 2,300 ft/s (610 to 700 m/s)
Maximum range	3,500 to 4,500 yd (3,200 to 4,100 m)
Feed system	10 round tube magazine

The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: Fusil d'Infanterie Modèle 1886) is a French bolt action rifle which has the distinction of being the first military rifle designed to use smokeless powder-based cartridges. Furthermore the Lebel featured , for the first time in a military rifle, a bolt head which locked into the receiver with two opposed front locking lugs. The Lebel rifle was adopted as a standard infantry weapon by France in April 1887, and remained in official service until the Second World War. The Lebel M1886 rifle had a 10-round capacity (comprising eight rounds in the forestock tube magazine, one round in the transporter, and one round in the chamber) and also mounted a bayonet. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1139x253, 48 KB) Source:http://www. ... The service rifle (also known as standard-issue rifle) of a given army or armed force is that which it issues as standard to its soldiers. ... Combatants Eight-Nation Alliance (ordered by contribution): Empire of Japan Russian Empire British Empire France United States German Empire Kingdom of Italy Austro-Hungarian Empire Righteous Harmony Society Qing Dynasty (China) Commanders Edward Seymour Alfred Graf von Waldersee Ci Xi Strength 20,000 initially 49,000 total 50,000-100... For the French colonial postage stamps, see French Colonies. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... “Calibre” redirects here. ... The 8x50R French (8mm Lebel) rifle cartridge was the first smokeless gunpowder cartridge to be made and adopted by a country, introduced by France in 1886. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... Half opened bolt on a Winchester Model 70. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... A bolt-action firearm is one that is manually operated (i. ... For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation). ... Smokeless powder Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of gunpowder-like propellants used in firearms which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older black powder which it replaced. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... For other uses, see bayonet (disambiguation). ...

Development

The Lebel rifle was developed as a result of the first successful smokeless gunpowder, invented by French chemist Paul Vieille in 1884. The nitrocellulose-based Poudre B (Powder B) was three times more powerful than black powder for the same weight and left no residue after firing. In January 1886 the War Minister, General Boulanger, requested the urgent application of this breakthrough to the design of a new infantry rifle. He instructed General Tramond to complete the project within less than a year. It was decided to redesign the Gras cartridge case into an 8 mm case, a transformation which was carried out by Captain Desaleux. The bolt was designed by Col. Bonnet to include dual opposed front locking lugs. The base of the bolt handle also functions as an additional third lug. The overall appearance and design of the new rifle was proposed by Col. Gras and some of the details, such as a magazine cutoff, were designed by Controllers Close and Verdin at the Chatellerault arsenal. The 8mm full-metal-jacket projectile for the new cartridge was designed by Lt. Colonel Nicolas Lebel, who led the infantry's marksmanship school, and after whom the rifle (and the calibre) are named. Smokeless powder is the name given to any number of gunpowder-like propellants used in firearms which produce neglegible smoke when fired, unlike the older black powder which it replaced. ... Paul Marie Eugène Vieille (2 September 1854-14 January 1934) was a French chemist and the inventor of smokeless gunpowder in 1886. ... Skeletal formula of nitrocellulose Ball-and-stick model of a section of nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also: cellulose nitrate, flash paper) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through, for example, exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. ... Ch tellerault is a commune in the Vienne d partement, in the Poitou-Charentes France. ... This article is about armaments factories. ... Colonel Nicolas Lebel, after whom the French militarys Lebel rifle was named. ...

Colonel Lebel protested during his lifetime that Gras bore more responsibility than he did in the new rifle, but to no avail- his name, which was used to designate the bullet (Balle Lebel), stuck to the entire weapon. Later, in 1893, the Lebel rifle's bolt was improved for ruptured case gas venting, and the designation of the Mle 1886 rifle was changed to Fusil Mle 1886-M93. The Lebel rifle followed the 11mm Mle 1874 Gras rifle and the 11 mm Mle 1878 French Naval Kropatschek rifle designed by an Austrian, Alfred von Kropatschek, and shared the latter's tubular magazine in the forend. This same tube magazine placement was also widely used at the time in lever action hunting rifles made by Winchester, Marlin and others. Two transitional repeating infantry rifles, still chambered for the 11mm Gras black powder cartridge, followed after the Mle 1878 (Kropatschek): the Mle 1884 and the Mle 1885. The latter already incorporated the two piece stock and a massive steel receiver and thus closely resembles the Mle 1886 Lebel rifle that followed. Over 20,000 Mle 1884 rifles had already been issued when the decision to adopt the Mle 1886 Lebel rifle closed down their production line. The Gras rifle of 1874 used by the French Army was an adaptation to metallic cartridge of the Chassepot by general (then captain) Basile Gras. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

The Lebel rifle was manufactured by three government arsenals: St-Etienne, Chatellerault and Tulle, and featured a two piece stock and a massive receiver to accommodate the higher pressures developed by the new smokeless powder-based cartridges. The latter arsenal continued to produce Lebel rifles during WWI and closed the last Lebel assembly line in May 1920. A limited-run version made by shortening surplus Lebel rifles to carbine size was introduced in 1935: the "Mle 1886-M93R35". The total number of Lebel rifles produced between 1887 and 1920 exceeds 2.8 million units. The Chatellerault arsenal alone produced 906,760 Lebel rifles.

When it first appeared, the Lebel's smokeless ammunition allied to its longer range and flatter trajectory brought a revolution in infantry armament. A soldier equipped with a Lebel could outrange troops with black powder rifles and could carry more, lighter ammunition. The early full-metal-jacket, flat-nosed, lead-cored, Balle M bullet (231 grains) had a maximum range of 3,500 yards and a muzzle velocity of 2,000 ft/s. The flat nose of "Balle M" precluded any possibility of accidental ignition of the preceding rounds in the Lebel's tube magazine. However, at a later date, the solid brass spitzer, boat-tailed, Balle D bullet (197 gr) was adopted for the Lebel rifle in 1898 and placed in generalized service after 1901. Desaleux's "Balle D" had an extreme range of 4,500 yards with a muzzle velocity of 2,300 ft/s and necessitated a re-calibration of the Lebel's sights. It also became the first boat-tailed bullet adopted for infantry service by any army. “Brazen” redirects here. ...

In order to avoid accidental ignition of sharply pointed "Balle D " ammunition in the tubular magazine of the Lebel rifle, a large circular groove was formed on each case head, around the primer pocket, in order to receive the bullet tip of the cartridge which followed. The spring loaded follower inside the tube magazine was also redesigned in 1898 to accommodate the new "Balle D" pointed bullets. Lastly the primer itself, on each round of "Balle D" ammunition, was protected against accidental percussion by a thick, convex primer cover that was also crimped in after 1912 (Balle D "a.m."). This disposition provided in effect a double primer cup ( Huon,1988). The letters "a.m." stand for "amorcage modifie", meaning "modified primer". There is no military record that accidental firings ever took place inside a Lebel's tube magazine because of Balle D "a.m." French military issue ammunition or other French Army issued Lebel ammunition, despite beliefs to the contrary by some. Nevertheless, commercial ammunition once made by Remington as well as all commercially available modern Lebel brass cases, should never be loaded with pointed bullets inside a Lebel's tube magazine so as to avoid the risk of an internal explosion and thus of a very grave accident. The last type of Lebel ammunition to be introduced was the Cartouche Mle 1932N—using a cupro-nickel-jacketed, lead-cored, spitzer boat-tailed bullet—which was only suitable for Lebel and Berthier rifles marked "N" on top of the receiver. Manufacture of this ammunition, which had originally been designed to increase the range of the Hotchkiss machine gun, ceased in France in the late 1960s. The Hotchkiss machine gun was the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was made by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which was set up by American engineer Benjamin B. Hotchkiss after he moved to France in the 1860s. ...

Following the adoption of the Lebel rifle by the French Army, most other nations switched to small bore infantry rifles using smokeless ammunition. Germany and Austria adopted new 8 mm infantry rifles in 1888; Italy and Russia, in 1891; the U.S., in 1892 with the Krag rifle. The British upgraded their .303 Lee-Metford with smokeless cartridges in 1895, resulting in the .303 Lee-Enfield. The Lebel was not dispersed by the French Government onto foreign surplus markets, until the old rifle was finally declassified as a service weapon after WWII. On the other hand , brand new military issue 1886 and 1886-93 Lebels are featured on catalogs of the French mail-order firm Manufrance printed until 1939. A sporting version of the Lebel was also offered by Manufrance during the pre-WWII years. This sporting version featured a shorter barrel,a turned down bolt handle and a slimmer, better finished stock . Finally a Belgian firm even transformed surplus Lebel rifles into shotguns under the brand name of "Centaur". The Lee-Metford rifle was a breech-loading British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lees rear-locking bolt system and ten-round magazine with a seven groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford. ... Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 with bayonet, scabbard attached The Lee-Enfield was the British armys standard bolt action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle from 1895 until 1956. ...

Service use

The Lebel was a reliable and sturdy, if rather heavy, service rifle assembled from oversized parts showing a high degree of finish. The Lebel's durability served as a pretext to keep it in service far too long, well into the late 1930s . For instance, it remained the rifle of the French Foreign Legion, rather than the Berthier rifle, until the adoption of the MAS 1936 rifle. During World War I, it became the preferred weapon for firing the VB rifle grenades. It was also quite accurate at long distances with standard "Balle D" ammunition. The APX Mle 1916 and Mle 1917 telescopic sights issued in quantities ( 1 for each infantry squad ) at the end of WWI were designed to fit mostly the Lebel rifles. Conversely the small iron sights, while being accurate for target practice or sniping, left much to be desired for assault situations . The Lebel rifle was slow to reload as a repeater because of its tube magazine. Therefore, in terms of rapid fire capability in combat, the Lebel was widely outclassed by rifles like the British Lee-Enfield and the German Mauser of 1898. One could say that its tube magazine had made the Lebel rifle obsolete by 1900. The negative legacy of the Lebel was, above all, the shape of its rimmed bottle-necked ammunition which adversely affected functioning in vertically stacked magazine firearms (first the Berthier rifles, and later the Chauchat machine rifle). The problem was well known to French ordnance as early as 1900, and consequently, at the eve of the First World War, the French military was planning to replace the Lebel rifle and its ammunition by an entirely new 7x59mm semi-automatic rifle, the "Meunier Rifle" or "Fusil A6". It was officially adopted in 1910 but its manufacture was placed on hold because of impending rumors of war. Later, during WWI, a small series (1,000 units) of the Meunier rifle was manufactured in 1916 at Tulle arsenal. However, French ordnance finally chose to adopt in 1917 a "modification" of the Lebel rifle (actually utilizing only the stock, foregrip,trigger guard and barrel of the Lebel) into a gas operated semi-automatic rifle: the Fusil Mle 1917 RSC, in 8mm Lebel calibre, which was issued during 1918 but was far from being entirely satisfactory. Its improved and shortened version, the Mle 1918 RSC,finally gave excellent service. Legionnaire redirects here. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... A rifle grenade is a form of grenade that utilizes a rifle as a launch mechanism to increase the effective range of the grenade. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The Chauchat (pronounced show-shah) was a light machine gun used mainly by the French Army but also by seven other nations, including the USA, during and after World War I. Its formal designation in the French Army was Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG. It was also known as the... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Meunier Rifle evolved as a part of the program initiated in 1909 by the French military to develop a semi-automatic infantry rifle that would eventually replace the Mle 1886-93 Lebel rifle. ...

Replacement

The slow pace of the French Army to modernize its infantry rifles persisted after WWI: the 7.5x54 French bolt action MAS-36 rifle was adopted a full seven years after the official switch (in 1929) to rimless 7.5mm ammunition. Furthermore, a modern and thoroughly tested 7.5 mm semi-automatic rifle (the MAS 38-40) was ready for mass production just before the German invasion of France in June 1940. It should otherwise have entered field service in 1941, but France fell under German Occupation . The MAS 38-40 semi-automatic rifle was then shelved but eventually returned to production at St Etienne immediately after World War II, albeit in a modified form with a detachable 10 round magazine. The French Navy adopted it under the name of MAS 44, while the French Army finally adopted it as the MAS 49, which remained in service with the French Army and French Foreign Legion until 1979. 7. ... The MAS Modèle 36 was the last bolt-action rifle to be standard in adopted by any large army. ... Combatants  France  United Kingdom  Canada  Czechoslovakia  Poland  Belgium  Netherlands  Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) Leopold III H.G. Winkelman Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... Location of Vichy France (green). ... The French Navy, officially called the National Navy (French: Marine Nationale) is the maritime arm of the French military. ... The MAS-49 is a French designed semiautomatic infantry rifle that was intended to replace the motley collection of aging French bolt-action rifles and captured German rifles after the end of WWII. // Background The MAS (which stands for Manufacture dArmes St. ...

See also

• Chauchat
• Infantry Weapons Of WWI

The Chauchat (pronounced show-shah) was a light machine gun used mainly by the French Army but also by seven other nations, including the USA, during and after World War I. Its formal designation in the French Army was Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG. It was also known as the... World War I started on 28th of July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. ...

References

1. "French autoloading rifles. 1898-1979 (Proud promise), by Jean Huon ,1995,Collector Grade Publications. ISBN 0-88935-186-4.This volume ( in English )contains a detailed technical chapter describing the Lebel rifle and its ammunition. This volume primarily describes all French semi-automatic rifles since 1898, notably the Mle 1917 and Mle 1918 semi-automatic rifles, the Meunier (A6) rifle as well as the MAS 38-40 to MAS49 and 49/56 series.
2. "La Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Chatellerault(1819-1968)", Claude Lombard,1987,Brissaud,162 Grande Rue, Poitiers,ISBN 2-902170-55-6 . This illustrated volume ( in French ) contains the production statistics for the Lebel rifle as well as complete technical accounts on the Gras, Kropatschek, Lebel and Berthier weapons and how they came to be designed and manufactured. This is regarded as the fundamental research volume on the subject.The author is a retired armament engineer who spent most of his career at Chatellerault and had full access to all the archives and the prototypes.
3. "Military rifle and machine gun cartridges", Jean Huon,1988,Ironside International Publishers,Alexandria,VA,ISBN 093555405X . This volume ( in English ) provides a detailed description of all the types of 8mm Lebel ammunition,including the Balle D (a.m.). The 7 X 59 mm Meunier cartridge ( for the semi-automatic A6 Meunier rifle ) is also illustrated and described in detail.
4. "Standard Catalog of Military Firearms",Ned Schwing,2003,Krause Publications,ISBN 0-87349-525-X. Contains an informative and detailed page dedicated to the Lebel rifle ( by David Fortier).
5. "The Chauchat Machine Rifle (Honour Bound) , Gerard Demaison and Yves Buffetaut,1995,Collector Grade Publications,ISBN 0-88935-190-2, The 10 pages illustrated appendix at the end of this volume ( in English) exhaustively describes all the 8mm Lebel ball ammunition types, plus the less well-known blank,tracer,armor-piercing,incendiary,dummy and proof rounds. This appendix was documented and authored by internationally-known cartridge expert Dr Ph.Regenstreif.
6. Bolt Action Rifles,Frank de Haas and Wayne Van Zwoll,2003,Krause Publications,ISBN 0-87349-660-4. An illustrated chapter in this volume reviews in depth the Lebel and Berthier rifles (and carbines).