alternatehistory.com

Ferdinand Mannlicher developed several innovations in firearms design, including a straight-pull rifle action, en-bloc firearm clip, and a rotary magazine for the bolt-action Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle, which also fired the intermediate 6.5 mm × 54 mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridge. Mannlicher also experimented with semi-automatic rifles in the 1880s and there are claims that Russia and Romania later tried to develop semi-automatic rifles based off straight-pull Mannlicher designs due to the simplified action.

Many of Mannlicher's innovations went on to be used decades later, but what prevented them from seeing more widespread adoption in the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially compared to the Mauser System? Might the Mannlicher System have seen adoption by the United States if the Spanish had adopted rifles using it instead of the Mauser System? Also, could the Mannlicher System have formed the basis for semi-automatic rifles akin to the Gewehr 41 design, featuring a straight-pull bolt to enable manual operation in the event of malfunction?
Top