Lebel Model 1886 rifle

Lebel Model 1886 rifle Fusil Modèle 1886/M93
Lebel M1886. From the Swedish Army Museum.
Type	Bolt-action rifle
Place of origin	French Third Republic
Service history
In service	1887–1945 (France) 1945–present (Limited usage)
Used by	See Users
Wars	Boxer Rebellion French colonial expeditions First Italo-Ethiopian War Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Monegasque Revolution World War I Franco-Turkish War Polish–Soviet War Spanish Civil War Second Italo-Ethiopian War World War II First Indochina War Algerian War (limited) War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)[1] Iraq War (limited)
Production history
Designer	Team led by Gen. Baptiste Tramond [fr] (Gras, Lebel, Vieille, Bonnet, Desaleux, Close, Verdin).
Designed	1885–1886
Manufacturer	Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle
Unit cost	40 francs (1891)[2]
Produced	1887–1920
No. built	3,450,000
Specifications
Mass	4.41 kg (9.7 lb) (loaded with 8 rounds) 4.18 kg (9.2 lb) (unloaded)
Length	130 cm (51.2 in)
Barrel length	80 cm (31.5 in)
Cartridge	8×50mmR Lebel
Caliber	8mm 4 grooves, right to left twist
Action	Bolt-action
Rate of fire	43 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	610 to 700 m/s (2,000 to 2,300 ft/s)
Effective firing range	400 m (438 yards) (individual targets)
Maximum firing range	1,800 m (1,968 yards) (volley fire at massed area targets)
Feed system	8-round tube magazine +1 in the elevator +1 in the chamber (unsafe)
Sights	U-notch and front post

The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel") also known as the "Fusil Mle 1886 M93", after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French Army in 1887. It is a repeating rifle that can hold eight rounds in its fore-stock tube magazine, one round in the elevator plus one round in the chamber; equaling a total of ten rounds held. The Lebel rifle has the distinction of being the first military firearm to use smokeless powder ammunition. The new propellant powder, "Poudre B," was nitrocellulose-based and had been invented in 1884 by French chemist Paul Vieille. Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas Lebel contributed a flat nosed 8 mm full metal jacket bullet ("Balle M," or "Balle Lebel"). Twelve years later, in 1898, a solid brass pointed (spitzer) and boat-tail bullet called "Balle D" was retained for all 8mm Lebel ammunition. Each case was protected against accidental percussion inside the tube magazine by a primer cover and by a circular groove around the primer cup which caught the tip of the following pointed bullet. Featuring an oversized bolt with front locking lugs and a massive receiver, the Lebel rifle was a durable design capable of long range performance. In spite of early obsolete features, such as its tube magazine and the shape of 8mm Lebel rimmed ammunition, the Lebel rifle remained the basic weapon of French infantry during World War I (1914–1918). Altogether, 3.45 million Lebel rifles were produced by the three French state factories between 1887 and 1916.^[3]