Lebel model 1886

The Lebel model 1886 is a rifle French Army adopted in 1887 and which was largely used until the shortly after the First World War and until the Second world war. He was baptized name of one of the Members of the Commission which contributed to its creation: the colonel Nicolas Lebel. Of Gauge 8 mm, Lebel rifle can contain ten cartridges, including eight which is placed in the barrel located under the gun, plus one in the conveyer and one in the room. On the historical level, Lebel rifle was the first armament of infantry in the world to replace the blasting powder by the powder without smoke containing nitrocellulose (Powder B).

History

Design of the weapon

Future Lebel rifle was put in order by the Général Baker, Ministre for the War, in January 1886. Indeed it had become imperative to replace rifle model 1874 " Gras" with a blow, exceeded since the appearance beyond the rhine of the new model of Mauser, Miss 1871-84 with repetition. By addition the French Navy had already taken lead on the army by adopting a repeating rifle of 11 mm with tubular store, Rifle Miss 1878 known as rifle " Kropatschek" , followed by the rifle of navy Miss 1884 and finally the rifle of test Miss 1885 which is the direct ancestor of Lebel rifle. In order to make up for these lost times the Boulanger general required, in January 1886, that new French rifle with repetition envisaged for the Army be presented on May 1st, 1886. This completely unrealistic time was not respected and the official adoption of the new weapon dates indeed of April 22nd, 1887. Finally and especially, the invention of the powder " B" by Paul Old woman, in 1884, had been the deciding factor explaining the haste with which the Boulanger general had required the development accelerated of the new weapon. Contrary to the blasting powder, the new powder " B" containing Nitrocellulose was without smoke and did not leave any residue of combustion. This remarkable innovation for the time made it possible to reduce the gauge of 11 mm to 8 mm and spectacularly to improve initial speeds with the new lined balls. The advance taken on other rifles of infantry of the time, which still used the blasting powder and the lead bullets with note-book, was considerable.

The development of the weapon was carried out by the Commission of the Repeating rifles chaired by the Tramond general. The case of the news cartridge of 8 mm was developed by colonel Gras and the Desaleux captain. The ball " M" , lined in Copper nickel zinc alloy, was developed by the lieutenant-colonel Lebel, principal Normal of Shooting, the mobile cylinder head with double tenons by colonel Bonnet. Colonel Gras and especially the Controllers of Weapons Albert Close and Louis Verdin, in Chatellerault, were responsible for the detailed architecture of the weapon and his machining. The lieutenant-colonel Nicolas Lebel always insisted of alive sound which it was about a collective creation which had to colonel Gras especially. The startup of the industrial productions was entrusted to three great manufactures of State: Chatellerault, Saint-Etienne and Tulle. Thanks to an accelerated manufacture, these manufactures could deliver more than two million Lebel rifles in six years. The mobile cylinder head of the Lebel rifle was slightly modified in 1893 from where the lawful name of Lebel rifle: " Rifle Miss 1886M93" . Rifle Lebel Miss 1886 pure, not modified 1893, are extremely rare. Lebel rifle was a robust and precise weapon whose only weakness, for the time, was its tubular store under the gun which did not allow a fast recharging for the shooting repetition.

Theaters of operation

Lebel rifle was used before 1914 in the French colonies of Africa, but also for the repression of some working strikes: Lebel knew its baptism of fire at the time of the Fusillade of Fourmies the 1 {{er}} May 1891 (ten died among the demonstrators). One can read in the Illustration of May 9th: It is the Lebel rifle which has just entered in scene for the first time… It comes out from this new fact in the active of the Lebel ball which it can doubtless cross three or four people after from/to each other and to kill them.

Lebel was also useful at the time of the Révolte of the Boxers in China, in 1900-1901. During the First World War, it equipped to it quasi totality with the French Army but was gradually replaced by the Berthier weapons with charger of the type Mannlicher which knew many alternatives (snap hooks of cavalry, of artillery, rifle Miss 1907-15 and rifle Miss 1916 with charger of 5 cartridges). Nevertheless Lebel rifle continued to be repaired and even manufactured, of decreasing number, until May 1920. There is undeniable that Lebel rifle became and will remain the weapon symbolic system of the French infantry during the Great War (1914-18).

Although having started a revolution in the armament of the infantry, with the powder without smoke, and although it rendered services priceless in 1914-18, this rifle was very quickly exceeded by the Mauser German Gewehr 98 with charger going back to 1898, was followed very near by the Russian Mosin-Nagant and the Lee-Enfield Mark III English. The truncated case with pad of the Lebel cartouche was especially the restrictive factor of this weapon. Only excellent ballistic performances of the " D" ball; , shaped out of massive brass, adopted in 1898 and the enormous number of rifles and snap hooks in stock in 1918, gave pretext not immediately not to replace the weapons Lebel and Berthier after the First World War. It will be necessary to wait nearly 20 years so that a modern weapon for the French infantry is finally adopted: rifle FARMHOUSE 1936. By addition, since 1938, the Munitions factory of Saint-Etienne had developed a semi-automatic rifle which functioned perfectly, but it will be necessary to wait 10 years more to adopt its slightly modified version: the FARMHOUSE 1949. As an epilog, the French Army with always have evil to get rid of weapons having made their time and Lebel rifle will be used to equip certain territorial lasting the Second world war. It was also delivered by it to Greece, then with the Spanish Republicans during the years 1930. It finishes its military career with the hands of the Harkis at the time of the Guerre of Algeria.

Arms with collection?

Lebel rifle, arms more than centenary (120 years!) belonging to the national historical heritage and whose untraceable ammunition does not exist any more in the deposits, is always classified, in France at the beginning of the 21e century, in 1st category (weapon of war). To obviate this classification which does not facilitate the conservation by the collectors and the museums in France, a certain number of Lebel rifles were legally rechambrés in civil gauge during the last years. These Lebels whose room is slightly widened accept a ammunition of 8mm made starting from the case of 348 Winchester (the " 8mm Barrellier " ) and thus fall into the 5ère category (drives out and sporting shooting).

Rifle Miss 1886 and Miss 1886-M93

Length of the weapon: 1307mm
Length of the weapon with bayonet: 1825mm
Length of the gun: 800mm
Empty weight: 4,180 kg
Masse arm charged with 8 cartridges: 4,415 kg
initial Speed: 700 m/sec

The snap hook Miss 1886-M93-R35

Length of the weapon: 960 mm
Length of the weapon with bayonet: 1310 mm
Length of the gun: 450 mm
Empty weight: 3,760 kg
Masse arm charged: 3,842 kg (arms supplied with 3 cartridges)
Contenance of the store: 3 cartridges (5 with a cartridge in the trough and possibly one in room)

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