Mannlicher Berthier

The Berthier carbine was a French Bolt-action 8mm carbine which saw service with the French army during the First World War and limited action during the Second World War in all branches of French service other than the infantry. The occasional use, outside of France, of the term "Mannlicher" to designate weapons of the Berthier system is due to the "en bloc" clip disposition which was borrowed from the real Mannlicher rifles and carbines. Otherwise the Berthier weapons, and particularly their bolts, are not derived from Mannlicher rifles or carbines but rather from the Lebel rifle system.

History

The first Berthier carbine came into production as the "Carabine de Cavalerie Modèle 1890", which was officially adopted for service on March 14, 1890. The main production facilities were the Manufacture d'Armes de St Etienne or MAS and the Manufacture d'Armes de Chatellerault or MAC. It was designed for the Cavalry and Gendarmerie branches of the French army and used the 8mm Lebel Cartridge which was loaded with smokeless powder (Poudre B) since its inception in 1886 for use in the Lebel rifle. As the high Command appreciated the performance of the Mle 1890 Berthier carbine, a second version was specifically produced for artillery service, the " Mousqueton Mle 1892" which could mount a short blade bayonet and thus had a re-designed forend stock. However it continued to feature the 3-round En-bloc clip of the Model 1890 carbine. During the First World War it became obvious that the 3-round clip was a handicap compared to German short weapons such as the German Kar 98k which had a 5-round clip. A re-designed magazine well was installed on the Berthiers which now could hold "en-bloc" clips with a 5-round capacity. The new 5-rounds clip Berthier carbines were named the "Mousqueton Modele 1916" or "Mousqueton Mle 1892M16" and saw service in various branches of the French army mostly after 1918. They were still used by Compagnies Republicaines de Securite or C.R.S. until the 1960s for law enforcement purposes.