Cei-Rigotti
Encyclopedia
The Cei-Rigotti is an early automatic rifle created by Amerigo Cei-Rigotti, an officer
in the Italian Army
, in 1890, and extensively modified until its final form circa 1900.
It had selective fire capabilities (single shots or burst) and was a gas operated
rifle. Over the next few years (1903 and 1911) there were improvements to its internal functions, such as its gas operation. The rifle fired 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano ammunition fed from a 25-round detachable box magazine. The rifle, although not actually used by any army (possibly because of its extreme unreliability), was produced in limited quantities and tested in Switzerland
, Russia
and Austria
. These variations fired 8x56mmR
(Austria) and 7.62x54mmR (Russian) ammunition.
The Cei-Rigotti was tested by the British Small Arms Committee and was also tested by the Royal Navy
. The rifles experienced difficult ejection and had high rates of misfires. According to the illustrated directory of 20th century guns, it was also unpopular with troops who used it because of the distance the bolt traveled backwards in operation.
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
in the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
, in 1890, and extensively modified until its final form circa 1900.
It had selective fire capabilities (single shots or burst) and was a gas operated
Gas-operated reloading
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case and chamber a new cartridge. Energy from the gas is harnessed...
rifle. Over the next few years (1903 and 1911) there were improvements to its internal functions, such as its gas operation. The rifle fired 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano ammunition fed from a 25-round detachable box magazine. The rifle, although not actually used by any army (possibly because of its extreme unreliability), was produced in limited quantities and tested in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. These variations fired 8x56mmR
8x56mmR
The 8x56mmR or 8 x 56 R M30S cartridge was adopted in the 1930s by both Austria and Hungary as a replacement for the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. It was originally created for the Steyr-Solothurn light machine gun as the M30. Later the cartridge was adopted for use in rifles in 1931 as the M31 to...
(Austria) and 7.62x54mmR (Russian) ammunition.
The Cei-Rigotti was tested by the British Small Arms Committee and was also tested by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. The rifles experienced difficult ejection and had high rates of misfires. According to the illustrated directory of 20th century guns, it was also unpopular with troops who used it because of the distance the bolt traveled backwards in operation.
See also
- Fedorov AvtomatFedorov AvtomatThe Fedorov Avtomat was an early assault rifle designed by Vladimir Grigoryevich Fedorov and produced in Russia in 1916. It was the first practical assault rifle to be adopted, and this concept would later become the basis for the first assault rifle to incorporate a modern layout, the StG 44...
- Farquhar-Hill RifleFarquhar-Hill RifleThe British Farquhar-Hill Rifle was one of the first automatic rifles designed in the early 20th century. It was first tested in May 1908, but had many failures. Design was by Major H J Farquhar-Hill, who produced several improved designs none of which completely satisfied the Small Arms Committee...
- Furrer M25Furrer M25The Furrer M25 is a Swiss recoil operated light machine-gun designed by Colonel Furrer of the Swiss Arsenal in the 1920s and produced since 1925. It takes the 7.5 mm Swiss Service cartridge from a 30-round box magazine and has a cyclic rate of fire of 450 rounds-per-minute...
- Charlton machine gun
- Huot automatic rifleHuot automatic rifleThe Huot was a Canadian World War I light machine gun project.-Design and development:In 1916, the Canadian Expeditionary Force was desperately short of light machine guns. Since the Ross rifle had finally been taken out of service, there were large numbers of surplus rifles.That year, Joseph Huot,...
- Browning Automatic RifleBrowning Automatic RifleThe Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...