Place of origin France Wars World War I Produced 1916 to 1920 | Used by French Army Designed 1916 | |
Type Automatic Rifle/Light Machine Gun | ||
The Ribeyrolles 1918 was an attempt to manufacture an automatic rifle for the French forces. It was chambered in the experimental 8×35 mm round, used straight blow-back, was fed from a 25 round magazine and had an effective range of 400 m. The cartridge, arguably the first purpose-built intermediate cartridge, was obtained by necking it down the .351 Winchester Self-Loading. Another source indicates that it was chambered in a cartridge designated 8×32 mmSR.
Its official name was Carabine Mitrailleuse 1918 (Machine Carbine 1918 in English); in a 2007 book it appears as "fusil automatique Ribeyrolles 1918". The Ribeyrolles had the distinction of being fitted with a lightweight bipod on the front (which would be meant to be used as a support weapon for a group of soldiers) and a rifle bayonet identical to that of Berthier Model 1907/15.