FUCILE MODELLO 1891
DEVELOPMENT
After France revealed to the world the M1886 Lebel rifle and its smokeless ammunition, there was a world-wide race to get this new technology as soon as possible. Italy decided to invest in a whole new rifle system built around a brand new cartridge, and so they started researching both ammo and powder before moving to the rifle itself. They were helped reaching this goal by Alfred Nobel, inventor of Dynamite, that in 1887 invented his own smokeless powder Known as Balistite. Since the french government refused to use Balistite, Nobel offered it to the Italian Kingdom, that accepted and started production in 1889. Italy at that time was in an alliance with Austria and Germany, so technically a possible enemy for France: that's why Nobel was accused of treason for selling an important technology to enemy forces and essentially exiled, living his last years in Italy.
So, while the research for the new cartridge and rifle kept ongoing, the Italian Army decided to adopt Balistite in their old Vetterli rifles as a stopgap measure, converting most of them to the new M.° 90 ammo.
Meanwhile the new rifle commission, lead by Brigadier General Gustavo Parravicino managed to adopt a new cartridge, 6,5x52 (rimmed at first), that was promising in terms of ballistics and final penetration but showed two issues in regular barrels: Balistite was pretty demanding in temperatures and pressures, eroding barrels at a fast rate, while bullets, probably not manufactured to proper specs, lost their jacket along the barrel, creating terrible precision and fouling. This was solved by adopting a Gaining twist barrel, that was supposed to reduce the stress upon the exiting bullet, spinning it at a slower pace on its way out.​​​​
Once they found the right bullet and rifling, they experimented with several iterations of long guns, offered by national arsenals, factories and foreign designers (Mauser and Mannlicher being the most promising) ending up with an action developed by Salvatore Carcano (Skilled and experienced engineer and chief technician at the Torino Arsenal), inspired by early Mauser designs, and by using a licensed produced Mannlicher Magazine (paying 300.000 liras of royalties, today that would be about $1,350,000 today), inspired by the german Kommissiongewehr M1888 loading system.
The rifle was formally adopted in March 1892 and production started soon after.
PRODUCTION AND USE
Manufacture began in 1892 in Terni (Producing A-N prefix) and Torino (O-V), followed soon by Brescia (1893) and Torre Annunziata (1893, producing W-Z prefix). Early production helped understand production bottlenecks and issues:
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Early rifles had front and rear sight bases milled out of the barrel, shorter handguard and an exposed reinforcing lug, going side by side of the stock.
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​These minuteries were simplified by mounting the sight bases on rings, by creating a space in the stock for an internal reinforcing lug and by adopting a slightly longer handguard that held sturdier onto the barrel band (the latter was introduced in 1906, with Act n.88 of April 10th)
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With all these issues solved, main production kicked off in 1895, with a bigger batch ordered to replace all the old Vetterli ordnance.​After this big effort, at the turning of the century most of the old production arsenals (Fabbriche d'armi of Torino and Torre Annunziata) were dismissed from production, leaving only Terni to cover national production and replacements, and Brescia to produce Carbines.​​
All mod.91 guns until 1912 were manufactured with the extractor passing through the bolt lug.Two extractors passing through the log were issued:
- The Early type (nicknamed Vecchio tipo after it got updsted), smaller and with sharp corner
- The New type (nicknamed Nuovo Tipo when introduced sometimes around 1902-1903), slightly longer than the early model and with smoother, more gently curved surfaces.
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After 1912 all extractor (and thus bolts) produced passed from the outside of the bolt and ran down from above the lug (Circolare n.40 28 gennaio 1913).
Extractors evolution
Fucile mod. 91 per truppe cicliste
Around 1913 Cyclist troops (Mostly Bersaglieri, but also other Army units had them) had their moschettos swapped to the long rifle the other Bersaglieri units were using.
Since Cyclists needed to carry their rifles sideways on their back while riding, they got their guns updated by removing their bottom sling swivels and inlay the holes in the stock, while giving them side sling swivels similar to the ones on moschettos.
After a while the Rifle sling was swapped to the carbine sling, far more suited to carry rifles sideways on the back.
This conversion was made at the Regimental armories and workshops (so mostly by Direzioni di Artiglieria), with parts sent from the arsenals.
First World War
During WW1 the Fucile mod.91 production skyrocketed, and the heavy toll that modern trench warfare asked to materials and industries was a heavy burden for the Italian Kingdom industrial and logistical system.
​The Terni Arsenal basically made around 2 million guns during 1915-1919 (almost 2000 guns per day made by 1918), but monthly production wasn't enough to keep up, so subcontractors were needed to keep the frontlines armed, espcially in 1916-17.
​As a first stopgap measure, a new production line was installed in the Rome Arsenal, built in 1916, that started production of barrels in 1917 (about 240k made, OR-A to OR-Z), most probably receiving other parts from other subcontractors and arsenals.
​Then also private industry MIDA (Manifattura Italiana di Armi) was involved, producing about 140k rifles through several Army contracts.
Austrian captured guns - AZF
During the First World War, hundreds of thousands of mod.91 rifles were captured by the Imperial Royal Army (commonly defined as Austro-Hungarian), both during the 11 battles of the Isonzo and, above all, after the Italian defeat of Caporetto.
The Austrians, constantly seeking armament for their second-line armed forces, recycled tens of thousands of these rifles.
In particular, not having access to a sufficient number of Italian 6.5x52 ammunition before November 1917, they proceeded with the conversion of approximately 60,000 rifles to the 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schonauer caliber, produced by Austrian factories for the Greek army up until 1914.
​These rifles were converted by the Artillerie Zeug Fabrik, the Austrian State Arsenal, which placed its mark, AZF, on the barrels of the inspected and modified rifles. Sometimes a 7 (or an upside down L) and some circular dents appear, these last ones a standard indicator of re-arsenalisations on the weapons of the Imperial Royal Army.
Thus modified and ready for use, these rifles were distributed to various secondary units of the Imperial Royal Army: we can see them in the hands of engineers, gendarmes and other support units operating near the front lines, therefore exposed to possible enemy incursions.
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It is not yet certain whether all AZF marked rifles were actually converted to the 6.5x54MS, especially given the quantity of ammunition and weapons captured after Caporetto.
Interwar period and WW2
After this tremendous effort and crippled by international debt, Italy cut its arms production, focusing on refurbishments, like the Tubata barrels and the 91/24 development.
With a huge stash of rifles capable of covering most country needs, production of long rifles was suspended.
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​Even when rearmament was seen as a necessity for colonial wars in Libya and Ethiopia, the Army focused on TS production first (1928 onward). This was mostly due to the TS being short, easy to carry by the fast moving motorized columns in the harsh environments of the Lybian desert and of the Ethiopian Heights.
Fucile mod.91 were often given to support troops, especially to Askari.
Second World War
When production restarted in 1933, it was a really slow batch of 260k rifles produced over 3 years (2A-2Z).
Another issue that WW1 and the colonial clashes brought up, was the 6,5x52 torpedo bullet lack of terminal ballistics on living targets.
After about a decade of research and development (with weird torpedo/conical experiments with 6,5x52), the Italian Army settled for the infamous 7.35x51, developing the mod.38 Carcano family and the Armaguerra mod.39 rifle around it.
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Despite the desires of the Italian Army to replace entirely the Fucile mod.91 with the Fucile mod.38 (and subsequent mod. 91/38 in 6.5x52) and with the semiautomatic Armaguerra mod.39 in 7,35, the Fucile mod. 1891 was still the most widespread issued individual rifle at the beginning of WW2, arming most of the frontline infantry units up until the Italian Armstice in September 1943.
German captured guns
German soldier posing with a Fucile mod. 91 (courtesy of Danny from Milsurpworld)
Italian Partisans
Volkssturm unit training
German soldier posing with a Fucile mod. 91 (courtesy of Danny from Milsurpworld)
Guns captured by the germans after invading Italy in September 1943 can be seen all around: these were issued both to Italian collaborationist forces, re-captured by Italian partisans but also are often seen in the hands of German units in Italy and in Germany itself.
​Many of these rifles in fact ended up arming several Volkssturm units.
You can see regularly the Fucile mod.91 popping up from the piles of surrendered guns by german forces in the last desperate days of WW2.
No Fucile mod.91 seems to have been converted in 8x57JS, probably for its bulkiness and overall age.
