Mondragon self-loading rifle (Mexico): description, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

At the beginning of the last century, Mexico unexpectedly entered the ranks of progressive firearms developers - the country's first self-loading Mondragon rifle was patented, which in its characteristics was not inferior to many European types of carbines.

The development of advanced automatic weapons was carried out by General of the Artillery Troops Manuel Mondragon. Having visited Europe and having familiarized himself with the weapons of the advanced countries, he came to the conclusion that the fatherland needs its own automatic weapons. Thus began the story of the famous Mondragon rifle.

Project development

The development of the project started in 1892. In a short time, the general was able to formulate a general concept, and by 1896 he had patented a new design, which was recognized in the USA, Belgium and France. But the project did not stop there - the Mondragon rifle continued to improve.

The main feature of the new firearms was to be automatic, which would work on the energy of powder gases. In itAt the time, this technology was considered “unprofitable”, since it was almost impossible to create a truly reliable mechanism. The General took care of this problem.

During the development of the project, the rifle has undergone significant changes. One of these is the change in the type of cartridges from 6.5 x 48 mm to 7 x 57 mm. In addition, the developer's plans included the idea of creating their own ammunition. But the only direction in which work was constantly carried out was the creation of a reliable automatic reloading mechanism.

Automatic mechanism

At that time, the Mondragon rifle was equipped with a fairly reliable automatic reloading mechanism, which worked on the energy of powder gases. The main element of the gas engine was a casing tube, inside of which a piston and a return spring were located. The piston had special fasteners for connection with the shutter.

The gas tube-casing was located under the barrel - another feature of the weapon. Together with him, she was attached to the receiver. It had special protrusions that were necessary to extract the sleeves and lock the bore. In addition, special protrusions were located inside the box - resting against them, the shutter rotated.

The shutter itself was a cylindrical part with protrusions, cutouts and spiral channels that made it rotate as it moved. Inside the shutter, Mondragon's self-loading rifle had a small channel, inwhere the drummer was.

Screw frame and trigger mechanism

There was a special cutout on the side of the receiver, which was necessary to accommodate the movable cover with a handle. The handle, in turn, was equipped with a rocker key and connected to an internal stupor. By moving the handle back, the bolt carrier and gas tube were disengaged. At the same time, the return spring was also "unhooked", which facilitated manual reloading.

The trigger mechanism of the trigger type was located under the rear of the receiver, on a folding frame. The first versions of the model could fire only single shots, were equipped with slide fuses that blocked the movement of the trigger.

Subsequently, the Mondragon rifle was significantly changed, as a result of which it became possible to conduct automatic fire. The fuse has also been improved - he got a switch that turned on the burst firing mode. In front of the USM there was a magazine with a capacity of 10 rounds. It was loaded with clips.

Automatic action

When the trigger was pressed, the hammer hit the drummer, exploding the primer and igniting the gunpowder. Fast-forming powder gases through a special channel in the barrel fell into the gas tube and acted on the piston, forcing it to move backward. During movement, the piston compresses the return spring and pushes the bolt to the rear position - the cartridge case is removed and ejected.

After the declinepressure of powder gases, the return spring straightened, pushing the piston in front of it and taking the bolt behind it. He, moving forward and rotating, sent a cartridge into the chamber and locked the bore. Immediately after that, the next shot could be fired.

The Mexican Mondragon rifle was infected by pulling the bolt back. At the same time, a window was opened for ejection of shells, after which the store was filled with clips. Ammunition was sent into the chamber by the reverse movement of the bolt.

Some features of the rifle

The main feature of the rifle is the reloading mechanism. The fact is that its design allowed it to work in manual and automatic mode. This guaranteed the functioning of the weapon even if the gas tube was contaminated. A special key was provided on the bolt carrier, which disconnected the return spring from the bolt, thereby putting the rifle into manual reloading mode.

Another feature of the rifle is the presence of an improved model known as the Mondragon M1908 self-loading rifle (Switzerland). The thing is that after the completion of the development - in 1893 - not a single country in the world dared to launch the production of new automatic weapons. And only after a while the contract for the production of the first 50 rifles was signed by Switzerland.

The formation of the Swiss rifle Mondragon M1908

As soon as gunsmiths from Switzerland got acquainted with the new automatic weapon, they began to improve it. For a start there wasa new cartridge was released - 5.2x48 mm, which differed from the standard ammunition (6.5x48 mm) by better sealing of the barrel and the presence of special washers that gave the bullet the correct position.

After that, with the cooperation of both powers, the development of rifles chambered for 7, 5x55 mm,.30-30 and 7x57 mm Mauser began. The Swiss government liked the first option. The Mexicans liked the rifles with a caliber of 7x57 mm - this is how two variants of the first automatic weapon appeared: the Mondragon rifle arr. 1908 operated in Mexico and Mondragon M1908 in Switzerland.

Further destiny

The further fate of automatic weapons was not successful. Due to the high cost, the Swiss government was unable to sell all of the manufactured products. Procurement could not overpower even Mexico. Moreover, in 1911, a revolution took place in the exporting country (Switzerland), and several hundred samples were left gathering dust in the warehouse.

The revolutionary government made attempts to sell weapons. And by the beginning of the First World War, a contract was signed for the supply of rifles to Germany. Pilots were armed with it here.

Subsequently, after significant changes, more than 1.7 million weapons were sold. Countries that needed a self-loading rifle M. Mondragon - Mexico, Chile, Peru, China and Japan. The production of automatic carbines ceased in 1950. During its existence, the rifle managed to take part in several major armed conflicts and became one ofthe most massive types of weapons.