Tales of the Terni Carcanos

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

From "The Gun" by Henry S Bloomgarden (can be had at Amazon.com)

That same year, at the Royal Arms Works, in Terni, seven thousand men, divided into three round-the-clock shifts, produced 2,500 91's in 24 hours. Although coming from identical outpourings of a mass production process, each weapon was stamped with it's own numbers and markings; together, these markings would brand each gun as a unique entity. One such entity was identified thus:

- "CAL. 6.5" gave the bore, the inside diameter of the barrel, expressed in millimeters;

-"RE TERNI" indicated the place of manufacture, "RE" signifying Regio Esercito ("Royal Army");

-The crown as a proof mark, and "TNI," together attested to an inspection of the barrel by an official of the Royal Arms Works in Terni;

-"PG" The initials of the designer who furnished the bolt handle;

-"SD" the initials of the inspector of the rifle;

-"ROCCA" for Giuseppe Rocca, owner of a Machine Shop in a northern province, and manufacturer and supplier of the bolt cocking piece.

- a serial number and letter, in combination, were stamped into the metal, giving a particular unit identity; no other gun would be so marked. One was branded forever "C2766".

And finally, the year of manufacture was impressed. For C2766, it was 1940. C2766 was indeed identifiable, with all the above marks, meanings, signs, and signatures. Clearly born in Terni, in 1940.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

And more.....

Sandy Richardson thought it was forever. He lay on the Italian hillside thinking he was dead, then gradually realized he was only wounded. His helmet had been taken off and his scalp creased by a German sniper's bullet. His head bleeding, he was running down the slope, seeking safety, and had kicked a landmine with his foot. It had tossed him in the air with it's explosive force. It should have blown him to shreds. If he hadn't been stumbling downhill, falling forward, it might have. Instead, he had a broken back and a broken leg.

Unable to move, he lay there while another GI kept calling for a Medic. At last, after 8 hours, some "very beautiful guys" came along with a jeep, placed him on a stretcher, lifted him off the hillside to the hood, and took him to a field hospital.

During some of the 8 long hours, Private Sandy Richardson heard the sound of German 88's, 120mm Mortars, American M1's, and Mannlicher-Carcanos. The Carcano was used by Italian partisans fighting there, alongside the Americans, in the mountains near Plan d'Ontani, in the province of Pistoia, far north of Rome. This was the third time Richardson had been conscious of the peculiar sound of these rifles.

Weeks earlier, he had seen other partisans unearth a cache of Carcanos and decide that day to settle old scores. Collaborators were taken from their homes and shot.

Then there was the time the partisans, armed with their Carcanos, accompanied Richardson's company on patrol, early one morning, before first light. Richardson heard the sound of the M1's firing at the Germans, ".........a loud 'chunk', solid, definitive there". In contrast, the Carcano, with it's smaller bore, and seemingly underpowered cartridges, sounded much like a firecracker "........I couldn't believe they were serious.......I thought the bullets would poop out and drop harmlessly.....no trajectory.....................it sounded like the Fourth of July".

Three times then, he had heard the Carcanos. The day the collaborators were shot. The morning on patrol with the partisans. And the day - April 9, 1945 he was shot and blown up and lay on the hillside while the battle went on. Fifteen and more years later, he could still hear that firecracker sound.

On November 22, 1963, Sandy Richardson, then Vice president of a publishing company, was having lunch with Richard Johnston, executive editor of Sports Illustrated, in the restaurant atop the Time-Life Building in new York City. The waiter came to the table quietly, almost apologetically, very unsure: "Mr Johnson, I beg your pardon, the President has been assassinated".

"What!"
"In Dallas"

They left the table and went to Johnston's office. In the hours that followed, Richardson was stunned not just by the news, but by reports of people on the scene. Some believed the shots had been automobile backfire. Some said they sounded like firecrackers. And Richardson, heaing this, remembered, and thought of the Mannlicher-Carcano. "It was the first thing that came to my mind......across all those years.........a Carcano".

[neilwest]

1. Ive converted a couple of our C&R buddies over to the Carcano collection. Ive still got a couple more to go.

2. Seems to me I was very skeptical of them until you posted a thread concerning one and convinced me to buy one and give it a go. Now I have the entire collection. Every variant and then some. Im still collecting waiting on my M-41 Rifle to show up from Springfield Sportster(Man they are slow).

3. Thanks. Chow Bono.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

Originally posted by neilwest
1. Ive converted a couple of our C&R buddies over to the Carcano collection. Ive still got a couple more to go.

2. Seems to me I was very skeptical of them until you posted a thread concerning one and convinced me to buy one and give it a go. Now I have the entire collection. Every variant and then some. Im still collecting waiting on my M-41 Rifle to show up from Springfield Sportster(Man they are slow).

3. Thanks. Chow Bono.

Have you shot them all yet? I've gone through about 7 boxes of Prvi Partizan 139 grain, and two boxes of Norma 156 grain! Plus a box of Remington 8mm for my M38S. They are fun to shoot!

Next, I want to try rapid firing them for accuracy.

I think you still need a Model 91 to complete your collection - the long rifle with the gain twist rifling. So far, I have every Carcano variant made in WWII, except the 91/38 TS Carbine. I want to get a 7.35mm M38, as well.

http://www.eldred.demon.co.uk/reme-museum/arms/rifles/armisrc.jpg