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Post by Hardrada55 on Sept 13, 2008 13:50:13 GMT -5
I had never seen a picture of this one. A French Model 1918 Ribeyrolle 8x35SR with 25 shot magazine. Blowback operated. Selector switch for automatic or semi-automatic fire. 8x35SR was .351 WSL necked down to 8mm and used the same bullet as the 8mm Lebel rifle cartridge. 11 pounds in weight. 17.7in barrel. The French developed an early version of what later became known as, the assault rifle.
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Post by avtomat1916 on Jul 16, 2009 8:53:55 GMT -5
I know France and Russia were allies before the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, did Federov's Avtomat project have any influence here?
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Post by Hardrada55 on Jul 16, 2009 10:36:41 GMT -5
I wouldn't' be surprised if there was at the very least an influence conceptually. I have no idea about the internal workings of the two guns so I can't speak to any similarities in the way the guns were constructed. They look very different though. I would bet it worked similarly to the RSC Mle 1917 gun.
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Post by avtomat1916 on Jul 16, 2009 21:51:09 GMT -5
What if the French had adopted thisd frifle, but in .25 Remington rimless? Might the German blitzkrieg of 1940 taken so many casualties, WWII fizzled to a Cold War-like stalemate?
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Post by Hardrada55 on Jul 17, 2009 8:09:51 GMT -5
I kind of like the original 8mm Ribeyrolle cartridge for this gun myself. Though this gun could have benefited from some further development, I think of it as sort of an "expedient" weapon. From what I have read, the French didn't like the Ribeyrolle Mle 1918 because of issues with it's accuracy at 400 meters! Doesn't this betray a fundamental misunderstanding of what this type of weapon is for? I think .25 Remington may have lengthened the action and increased the weight, which is already 11 pounds, too much. I don't think any country in the world in 1918 had generals or leaders who knew what to do with such a weapon. But, I think combat troops of any army in the trenches of the Western Front in 1918 would have loved the thing.
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