This autorifle was designed by russian weapon desinger Fedorov in 1912-1914.
Most popular idea about this rifle - is it “first assault rifle in the World”…
Okay, let’s look at it a bit closer…
Autorifle was designed for 6.5x57 Arisaka Type 38 cartrige.
It wasn’t “middle cartrige” such as a 0.30 M1 Carbine or StG44 7.92x33 cartriges… just weaker, but standard bolt-action rifle cartrige. It shows pretty well - Fedorov tought in right way, he understand - for full auto rifle needed cartrige more weaker than standard rifle cartrige, but more powerfull than pistol cartrige… Right idea, very right. And Arisaka 6.5 was easly available in Russia (a lot of Arisakas was as service rifles and England maked cartriges for Arisakas specially for Russia).
He started designing he’s wn kind of firearms (he was first, who try do such kind of weapon, don’t forget it, please).
With cartrige things was well. But with autorifle all going wrong from start (it’s my opinion only). Why ?
So, for this autorifle was used automatic based on bolt recoil with short barrel recoil (simular with Mauser C-96 pistol, Shaushat LMG, Remington M92, M1911A2 and etc.). This shema used for a lots of pstols and LMGs, was most popular at end of XIX - start XX century. Only Browning hawe seen clear all problem with it ad started experiments with gas-based automatic (and patented this idea someday in 1890s).
Anyway, this automatic worked well in semy-auto mode and got a lot of problems in full-auto. Only one weapon was great with this automatic - finnish Lahti - Saloranta 26, but in LH-26 this kind of automatic wasn’t clear “bolt recoil with short barrel recoil”, it was something different…
During design Fedorov expirienced a lot of problems, from quality of metall to problems with presented at these times tecnology.
Anyway, he done design and:
Weight - 4.4 kg empty, 5.2 loaded
Dimensions - 1045 mm long, barrel 520 mm
Detachable magazine with 25 rounds.
Bullet velocity (9gr) - 660m/s
Effective range of fire - about 600 meters
Fire rate - 20- 25 p/minute in semy-auto, 100 p/minute if full auto mode.
Looks not bad for 1912, yeah ?
Few examples was designed for standard 7.62x53R Mosin-Nagant, specially by orger of russian goverment. It was wrong idea - automatic for this cartrige - nonsense, if you don’t meand Maxim MG or sniper semy-auto rifle as SVD… great recoil, very great (i, about 100 kg man can’t shoot more than 40-50 times from Mosin-Nagant for one time - got pain in shoulder). But stupid goverment - famous thing, common for all goverments… about 10 examples was created and sended to army…
First combat usage of first 45 Fedorov’s auto-rifles, with 8 same rifles, rebuilded for 7.62x53 was in december 1916.
On paper is it really look good, but in reality Fedorovs autorifle got a lot of troubles.
First rifles got uncomatible magazines - is it meand - you can’t use mags from other same rifle. Magazines btw was wery tiny and if you try put rifle on magazine - you damage it immidiatelly.
Problems with rounds - each rifle was complected with special brush - and shooter should oil with it first few rounds in mag… otherwise jams and crossloads…
Any dirt in mechanism caused delays and jams.
Mechanicall part was very complex and very untecnological. Rifle got deterioration in very short time after regular use.
So, i sure - this rifle wasn’t good weapon for battle use, but good as first example of russian auto-rifle, probably first assault (or battle) rifle, officially adopted by goverment army.
Why russian army adopted this rifle ? It was a 1914, start of Big War, and Russia don’t hawe enough weapons. Russia boght a lot of Arisakas, Winchesters, Remingtons, Lewis (ore than 11 000), Shaushat (more than 6 500) LMGs… Shaushat was really pice of sh**t, this scrap unscrew himself during fire - but something better wasn’t available… and Shaushat was cheap and in large quantity… Even USA troops used this LMG during WWI…
Fedorov’s auto rifle was produced since 1915 till 1925.
Totally only about 3200 Fedorov’s rifles was produced durng this time.
Last combat use of this weapon was in Winter War 1939-1940, some goups got these old, refused from official army autorifles, with AVS-36 and SVT 40 selfloaders. Because in these war USSR army got shortage of automatic weapons, usable for close combats (PPD SMG was adopted in 1934 but refused in 1938 by reason of changed army conception… idiots rules. After Winter War SMGs was adopted again, probably because army got expirience of good close combat’s effect of finnish Suomy SMG).
Anybody with questions - welcome.
