8 mm Lebel
Encyclopedia
The 8×50mmR French rifle cartridge
was the first smokeless gunpowder
cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France
in 1886. Formed by necking down
the 11 mm Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8 mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle ammunition. Standard 8mm Lebel ammunition was also the first to feature a Boat tail bullet (Balle D) which was adopted in 1898.
and one for the Modèle 1892 revolver
. They are entirely different cartridges and are not interchangeable. The use of the term "Lebel" for the French Mle 1892 revolver and its ammunition was never applied by the French military but has become informally accepted outside of France without any real justification .
. The flat point (flat nose) of the Balle M bullet had been designed to be totally safe inside the Lebel's tube magazine. It was propelled by the first practical smokeless, nitrocellulose
based, (Poudre B
) gunpowder as developed by Paul Vieille in 1884. The ballistic performance and range of Balle M eclipsed all the previous military ammunitions in existence at the time (1886). The Balle M was replaced in 1898 by a 12.8 g (198 grains) solid
90/100 brass
, pointed (spitzer) boat-tail bullet called "Balle D" which provided a flatter trajectory and improved long range performance. Designed at APX (Atelier de Puteaux) by a captain Desaleux, Balle D was the first boat-tail bullet to be placed into service by any army. Later on, in 1912 Balle D ammunition was improved into "Balle D am" ("am" stands for "amorcage modifié" or modified primer) by crimping the primer in to prevent primer expulsions when fired in machine guns. Balle D am ammunition was in near universal service during World War I (1914–1918) in all Lebel caliber weapons. Somewhat later, Balle D am ammunition was followed in 1932 by "Balle N" ammunition which featured a lead-cored, cupro-nickel over steel jacketed, spitzer boat-tail bullet weighing 15.0 g (232 grains). It was held into a case which had a slightly larger neck diameter than the older Balle D am ammunition. Balle N was heavier than Balle D am and had been designed to improve the long range performance of the Hotchkiss machine gun
. Converting most Lebel caliber rifles and carbines to the "N" ammunition was carried out during the 1930s. "Balle T" tracer
and "Balle P" armor-piercing rounds were also produced along with blank and reduced charge ammunition.
In order to safely accommodate pointed (spitzer) bullets inside the Lebel's tube magazine, a circular groove was machined around each primer cup on both Balle D am and Balle N ammunitions. The role of that circular groove is to receive the tip of the pointed bullet that follows when loaded inside the Lebel's tube magazine. Furthermore, all Balle M and Balle D French military ammunitions feature convex primer covers which are crimped in over the primer itself. Those small convex primer covers are not noticeable but do provide a second effective protection against accidental primer percussion inside the Lebel's tube magazine. Wartime experiences (1914–1918) involving hundreds of millions of Lebel rounds fired in combat, have entirely confirmed the effectiveness of these protections.
While revolutionary for its time in terms of ballistic performance, the 8mm Lebel cartridge had its drawbacks. It was an odd design, with a thick rim and a rapid double taper. This made it more difficult to feed from standard magazine firearms such as the Berthier rifles and the Chauchat machine rifle. The rifles from which it was fired (Lebel, Berthier, etc.) were also nearly obsolete by the time Balle D, let alone the Balle N, came along.
Balle N ammo should never be fired from any Lebel or Berthier rifle unless it has had the chamber reamed to accept the larger neck of the N cartridge. Such weapons are stamped N on top of the barrel, just in front of the receiver and behind the rear sight. Balle N ammo is identifiable by the fact that the bullet, while pointed like the solid brass Balle D, is lead cored and jacketed with soft steel.
While ammunition is scarce for the US recreational shooter, reloadable cartridge cases can be easily produced by reforming .348" Winchester brass. Furthermore, Prvi Partizan
has also brought onto the market recently both fully loaded Lebel cartridges and reloadable Lebel brass. While they are of excellent quality, the brass lacks the circular groove around the primer cup so the reloader must be careful to use only round-nosed or flat-nosed bullets when producing handloads for tube-magazine Lebel rifles. Spitzer bullets will of course be perfectly safe in the box-magazine of the Berthier rifle
.
In 1929 the 7.5×54mm MAS mod. 1929 (7.5 French) cartridge was introduced. This made the 8mm Lebel cartridge obsolete overnight but, due to post World War I financial constraints and political neglect, it was not introduced as a rifle cartridge until the adoption, just before World War II, of the MAS-36 rifle.
Balle D
: Lebel rifles obtained from France were used by Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War
.: Hotchkiss machine gun and Chauchat machine-rifle in 1917–18
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
was the first smokeless gunpowder
Smokeless powder
Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...
cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1886. Formed by necking down
Wildcat cartridge
A wildcat cartridge, or wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and firearms are not mass produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge.Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not...
the 11 mm Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8 mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle ammunition. Standard 8mm Lebel ammunition was also the first to feature a Boat tail bullet (Balle D) which was adopted in 1898.
Note
There are two 8 mm Lebel cartridges, one for the Lebel Model 1886 rifleLebel Model 1886 rifle
The Lebel Model 1886 rifle 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...
and one for the Modèle 1892 revolver
Modele 1892 revolver
The Model 1892 Revolver was a French service revolver produced by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne as a replacement for the MAS 1873 revolver...
. They are entirely different cartridges and are not interchangeable. The use of the term "Lebel" for the French Mle 1892 revolver and its ammunition was never applied by the French military but has become informally accepted outside of France without any real justification .
8mm Lebel rifle ammunition
It was originally loaded with a 15.0 g (232 grains) cupro-nickel jacketed lead-cored flat nosed wadcutter-style bullet ("Balle M") which had been designed by lieutenant colonel Nicolas LebelNicolas Lebel
Colonel Nicolas Lebel , after whom the French military's Lebel rifle was named.-Biography:Nicolas Lebel was born in Saint-Mihiel near Verdun. Interested by the prospects of a military career he enrolled in the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in 1855.In 1857, he joined the 58th Infantry Regiment as a...
. The flat point (flat nose) of the Balle M bullet had been designed to be totally safe inside the Lebel's tube magazine. It was propelled by the first practical smokeless, nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...
based, (Poudre B
Poudre B
Poudre B : was the first practical smokeless gunpowder. Originally called "Poudre V" from the name of the inventor, Paul Vieille, it was later renamed "Poudre B" to distract German espionage...
) gunpowder as developed by Paul Vieille in 1884. The ballistic performance and range of Balle M eclipsed all the previous military ammunitions in existence at the time (1886). The Balle M was replaced in 1898 by a 12.8 g (198 grains) solid
Solid
Solid is one of the three classical states of matter . It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume available to it like a...
90/100 brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, pointed (spitzer) boat-tail bullet called "Balle D" which provided a flatter trajectory and improved long range performance. Designed at APX (Atelier de Puteaux) by a captain Desaleux, Balle D was the first boat-tail bullet to be placed into service by any army. Later on, in 1912 Balle D ammunition was improved into "Balle D am" ("am" stands for "amorcage modifié" or modified primer) by crimping the primer in to prevent primer expulsions when fired in machine guns. Balle D am ammunition was in near universal service during World War I (1914–1918) in all Lebel caliber weapons. Somewhat later, Balle D am ammunition was followed in 1932 by "Balle N" ammunition which featured a lead-cored, cupro-nickel over steel jacketed, spitzer boat-tail bullet weighing 15.0 g (232 grains). It was held into a case which had a slightly larger neck diameter than the older Balle D am ammunition. Balle N was heavier than Balle D am and had been designed to improve the long range performance of the Hotchkiss machine gun
Hotchkiss machine gun
Hotchkiss machine gun:*Hotchkiss M1909, light machine gun also known as the "Hotchkiss Mark I" in British service*Hotchkiss M1914, medium machine gun*Hotchkiss M1922, light machine gun*13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, heavy machine gun...
. Converting most Lebel caliber rifles and carbines to the "N" ammunition was carried out during the 1930s. "Balle T" tracer
Tracer ammunition
Tracer ammunition are bullets that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the phosphorus tail burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye...
and "Balle P" armor-piercing rounds were also produced along with blank and reduced charge ammunition.
In order to safely accommodate pointed (spitzer) bullets inside the Lebel's tube magazine, a circular groove was machined around each primer cup on both Balle D am and Balle N ammunitions. The role of that circular groove is to receive the tip of the pointed bullet that follows when loaded inside the Lebel's tube magazine. Furthermore, all Balle M and Balle D French military ammunitions feature convex primer covers which are crimped in over the primer itself. Those small convex primer covers are not noticeable but do provide a second effective protection against accidental primer percussion inside the Lebel's tube magazine. Wartime experiences (1914–1918) involving hundreds of millions of Lebel rounds fired in combat, have entirely confirmed the effectiveness of these protections.
While revolutionary for its time in terms of ballistic performance, the 8mm Lebel cartridge had its drawbacks. It was an odd design, with a thick rim and a rapid double taper. This made it more difficult to feed from standard magazine firearms such as the Berthier rifles and the Chauchat machine rifle. The rifles from which it was fired (Lebel, Berthier, etc.) were also nearly obsolete by the time Balle D, let alone the Balle N, came along.
Balle N ammo should never be fired from any Lebel or Berthier rifle unless it has had the chamber reamed to accept the larger neck of the N cartridge. Such weapons are stamped N on top of the barrel, just in front of the receiver and behind the rear sight. Balle N ammo is identifiable by the fact that the bullet, while pointed like the solid brass Balle D, is lead cored and jacketed with soft steel.
While ammunition is scarce for the US recreational shooter, reloadable cartridge cases can be easily produced by reforming .348" Winchester brass. Furthermore, Prvi Partizan
Prvi Partizan
Prvi Partizan is an ammunition manufacturer, located in Užice, Serbia. Founded in 1928 as FOMU - Fabrika Oružje Municija Užice. The company produces ammunition for civilian and military consumers in a variety of calibers in various loadings. Their products are available worldwide...
has also brought onto the market recently both fully loaded Lebel cartridges and reloadable Lebel brass. While they are of excellent quality, the brass lacks the circular groove around the primer cup so the reloader must be careful to use only round-nosed or flat-nosed bullets when producing handloads for tube-magazine Lebel rifles. Spitzer bullets will of course be perfectly safe in the box-magazine of the Berthier rifle
Berthier rifle
The Berthier rifles and carbines were a family of bolt-action small arms in 8mm Lebel, used in the French Army from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II...
.
In 1929 the 7.5×54mm MAS mod. 1929 (7.5 French) cartridge was introduced. This made the 8mm Lebel cartridge obsolete overnight but, due to post World War I financial constraints and political neglect, it was not introduced as a rifle cartridge until the adoption, just before World War II, of the MAS-36 rifle.
Performance
Balle M| Distance (m) | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 | 1500 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trajectory (m) | 0.14 | 0.81 | 2.39 | 5.27 | 9.83 | 31.71 | 75.61 |
| Velocity (m/s) | 488 | 397 | 335 | 290 | 255 | 197 | 160 |
Balle D
| Distance (m) | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 | 1500 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trajectory (m) | 0.12 | 0.54 | 1.43 | 3.01 | 5.60 | 18.30 | 44.0 |
| Velocity (m/s) | 607 | 521 | 448 | 388 | 342 | 278 | 240 |
Rifles
- Lebel Model 1886 rifleLebel Model 1886 rifleThe Lebel Model 1886 rifle 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...
- Berthier carbineBerthier carbineThe Berthier carbine was a French service rifle adopted in 1892, which was widely used during the First and Second World War....
- Berthier rifleBerthier rifleThe Berthier rifles and carbines were a family of bolt-action small arms in 8mm Lebel, used in the French Army from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II...
- Model 1917 semi-automatic rifleFusil Automatique Modele 1917The Fusil Automatique Modele 1917 was a semi-automatic, gas-operated, infantry rifle that was placed in service in the French Army during the latter part of World War I. It was chambered in the then-standard 8mm Lebel rimmed cartridge used in other French Army infantry weapons of the time...
- Gras rifle M80 M14
Machine Guns
- Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gunHotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gunThe Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie....
- Hotchkiss M1914 machine gunHotchkiss M1914 machine gunThe Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss...
- Chauchat light machine gunChauchatThe Chauchat , was the standard light machine gun of the French Army during World War I. Under the leadership of General Joseph Joffre, it was commissioned into the French Army in 1916. It was also widely used by the US Army in 1917-1918 and by six other nations: Belgium, Greece, Poland, Russia,...
- Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gunChauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gunIn 1917 the French Army adopted the Mle. 1917 semi-automatic rifle made by Ribeyrolles, Sutter and Chauchat , who already developed the "Chauchat" Mle. 1915 LMG....
Users
Saint Etienne machine gun in 1917–1940: Saint Etienne machine gun in 1917–18 Second Spanish RepublicSecond Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
: Lebel rifles obtained from France were used by Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.: Hotchkiss machine gun and Chauchat machine-rifle in 1917–18