French rifles

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 27. Chapters: Berthier carbine, Berthier rifle, Carabine à tige, Chassepot, FA-MAS Type 62, FAMAS, FR F1, FR F2 sniper rifle, Fusil Automatique Modèle 1917, Fusil Gras mle 1874, Lebel Model 1886 rifle, MAS-36 rifle, MAS-49 rifle, Meunier rifle, Minié rifle, PGM 338, PGM Ultima Ratio, Ribeyrolle 1918 automatic carbine, Tabatière rifle. Excerpt: The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel") is also known as the "Fusil Mle 1886 M93", after a bolt modification was added in 1893. It is an 8mm bolt action infantry rifle which entered service in the French Army in April 1887. It is a repeating rifle that can hold eight rounds in its forestock tube magazine plus one round in the transporter. The Lebel rifle had the distinction of being the first military firearm to use smokeless powder ammunition. The new gunpowder, "Poudre B", was nitrocellulose-based and had been invented in 1884 by French chemist Paul Vieille. . Lt. Colonel Nicolas Lebel contributed the flat nosed 8mm full metal jacket bullet ("Balle M", or "Balle Lebel"). The first practical full metal jacket rifle bullets had just been developed in 1881 by a Lt. Colonel (then Captain) Eduard Rubin (Swiss Army). Somewhat later, in 1898, a ballistically superior pointed (spitzer) and boat-tail bullet was adopted for the Lebel rifle. It was made of solid brass and called "Balle D". Featuring an oversized bolt with front locking lugs and a massive receiver, the Lebel rifle was a durable design capable of effective long range performance . In spite of outdated features, such as its tube magazine and the sharply tapered case of 8mm Lebel ammunition, the Lebel rifle remained the basic weapon of French infantry during World War I (1914-18). Altogether two million eight hundred and eighty thousand ( 2,880,000 ) Lebel rifles were produced by the three French State manufactures. In operation, the bolt is turned up to the vertical position until the two front locking lugs are released from the receiver. At the end of the bolt's opening phase, a ramp on the receiver bridge forces the bolt to the rear thus providing leveraged extraction of the fired case. The rifle is fitted with a two-piece wood stock, and features a spring-loaded tubular magazine in the forend. Taking aim at intermediate distances is done with a ramp sight graduated between 40