Self-loading rifle Mondragona (Mexico): description, history and interesting facts

At the beginning of the last century, Mexico became one of the progressive developers of firearms - the first self-loading Mondragon rifle was patented in the country, which in its characteristics was not inferior to many European carbines. The development of advanced automatic weapons was carried out by General of the Artillery Forces Manuel Mondragon. He visited Europe and got acquainted with the armament of the advanced countries, came to the conclusion that the fatherland needs its own automatic weapons. Thus began the history of the famous Mondragon rifle.

Project development

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 that was recognized in the USA, Belgium and France. But this project was not stopped - the Mondragon rifle continued to improve.

The main feature of the new firearm was to be automatic, which would operate on the energy of powder gases. At that time, this technology was considered "unprofitable", since it was practically impossible to create a truly reliable mechanism. The general took up solving this problem. During the development of the project, the rifle has undergone significant changes. One such change is the type of cartridges with 6.5 x 48 mm by 7 x 57 mm. In addition, the developer had plans to create his own ammunition. But the only direction in which the work was constantly carried out was the creation of a reliable automatic mechanism for reloading.

Mechanism of automation

For those times the Mondragon rifle was equipped with a reliable enough automatic recharging mechanism, which operated on the energy of the powder gases. The main element of the gas engine was a tube-casing, inside of which there was a piston and a return spring. The piston had special fasteners for connection with the bolt. The gas tube-casing was located under the trunk - another feature of the weapon. Together with him, she was fastened to the receiver. It had special protrusions, which were necessary for removing the sleeves and locking the barrel bore. In addition, inside the box there were special ledges - resting against them, the bolt was rotating.

Directly the shutter was a cylindrical piece with projections, cut-outs and spiral channels, which made it rotate during movement. Inside the shutter, the Mondragon self-loading rifle had a small channel in which the drummer was located.

Shutter frame and shock-trigger mechanism

On the lateral side of the receiver there was a special cut-out, which was necessary for placing the movable cover with the handle. The handle, in turn, was equipped with a swinging key and connected with an internal stupor. The movement of the handle back caused a disengagement of the shutter frame and the gas tube. At the same time, the return spring was also "uncoupled", which facilitated manual recharging. The trigger-type trigger mechanism was located under the rear part of the receiver, on the tilting frame. The first versions of the model could only fire single shots, they were equipped with slider fuses that blocked the movement of the trigger.

Subsequently, the Mondragon rifle changed significantly, resulting in the possibility of automatic fire. The fuse was also improved - it got a switch that included a burst mode of bursts. Before the USM was a store with a capacity of 10 rounds. It was loaded with clips.

The action of automation

When the trigger was pressed, the trigger hit the drummer, exploding the primer and igniting the gunpowder. Rapidly forming powder gases through a special channel in the trunk got into the gas tube and acted on the piston, forcing it to move back. During the movement, the piston squeezed the return spring and pushed the bolt in the rear position - there was extraction and ejection of the sleeve.

After reducing the pressure of the powder gases, the return spring straightened, pushing the piston in front of it and leading the bolt. He, moving forward and spinning, sent a cartridge into the chamber and locked the trunk channel. Immediately after this, it was possible to produce the next shot. The Mexican Mondragon rifle was infected by taking the bolt back. At the same time, a window was opened for ejecting the cartridge cases, after which the magazine was filled with clips. Reverse movement of the bolt in the chamber sent ammunition.

Some features of the rifle

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

Another feature of the rifle is the availability of an improved model, known as the self-loading rifle Mondragon M1908 (Switzerland). The thing is that after the completion of the development - in 1893 - none of the countries of the world decided to launch the production of new automatic weapons. And only after a time the contract for the production of the first 50 rifles was signed by Switzerland.

Becoming a Swiss rifle Mondragon M1908

As soon as the armourers from Switzerland got acquainted with the new automatic weapons, they began to improve it. To begin with, a new cartridge, 5.2 × 48 mm, was produced, which differed from the standard ammunition (6.5 × 48 mm) with better sealing of the barrel and the presence of special washers that gave the bullet the right position.

After that, with the cooperation of both powers, the development of rifles for the cartridges of 7.5x55 mm, .30-30 and 7x57 mm "Mauser" began. The first option attracted the Swiss government. Rifles with the caliber of 7x57 mm like the Mexicans - so there were two versions of the first automatic weapon: the Mondragon rifle arr. 1908, operated in Mexico, and Mondragon M1908 in Switzerland.

The further destiny

The further fate of automatic weapons was not successful. Because of the high cost, the Swiss government was unable to realize all the products produced. Purchases could not even master Mexico. Moreover, in 1911 a revolution occurred in the exporting country (Switzerland), and several hundred samples remained to collect dust in the warehouse.

The revolutionary government attempted to sell weapons. And by the beginning of the First World War, a contract was signed for the supply of rifles in Germany. Here it was armed with pilots. Subsequently, after significant changes, more than 1.7 million weapons were sold. Countries that needed a self-loading rifle of M. Mondragon - Mexico, Chile, Peru, China and Japan. The release of automatic carbines ceased in 1950. During its existence, the rifle managed to take part in several major armed conflicts and became one of the most massive types of weapons.