Carcano Rifle Series

The "Royal Infantry Musket" Mannlicher-Carcano-Parravicino Rifle series is a group of Italian made bolt-action rifles and carbines that began with the Infantry Model 1891 and continued with rifles like the M1938, M91/38 and M91/41 until the end of the Second World War. It was the ordinance rifle used by Italian Soldiers in the First Italo-Ethiopian War (1896-1898) through to the Second World War.

The M91/38 Short Rifle for cavalry with a six-round magazine and scope, became infamous as the rifle that Lee Harvey Oswald used to assassinate JFK.

List of Carcano rifle variants.:

• Carcano M91 / Fucile di Fanteria Mod. 91 - standard infantry rifle (barrel length 780 mm).
• Carcano M91 Carbine / Moschetto da Cavalleria Mod. 91 - a carbine designed for cavalry, with an integrated folding bayonet. (barrel length 450 mm).
• Carcano M91 TS / Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mod. 91 - a carbine designed for special units (incl. Truppe Speciali): heavy weapons and motorcycle troops. (barrel length 450 mm).
• Carcano M91/24 / Moschetto di Fanteria Mod. 91/24 - (barrel length 450 mm).
• Carcano M91/28 TS Modificato / Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mod. 91/28 Modificato - (barrel length 450 mm).
• Carcano M91/28 TS Tromboncino / Moschetto per Truppe Speciali con Tromboncino Mod. 91/28 - rifle-grenade launcher.
• Carcano M91/38 7.35 mm / Fucile di Fanteria Mod. 38 - a short rifle designed to fire 7.35x51 mm ammunition (barrel length 531 mm).
• Carcano M91/38 Carbine / Moschetto Mod. 38 - carbine (shorter version of Mod. 38) caliber 7.35x51 mm, with an integrated folding bayonet (barrel length 450 mm). Later reverted to 6.5x52 mm.
• Carcano M91/38 TS / Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mod. 38 - carbine (shorter version of Mod. 38) caliber 7.35x51 mm, with a detachable bayonet (barrel length 450 mm). Later reverted to 6.5x52 mm.
• Carcano M91/38 6.5 mm / Fucile di Fanteria Mod. 91/38 - rebuilt versions of Mod. 38, back to 6.5x52mm ammunition. (barrel length 450 mm)
• Carcano M91/41 / Fucile di Fanteria Mod. 91/41 - short rifle 6.5x52 mm (barrel length 691 mm)
• Carcano Type I / Arisaka Type I - export version produced for Japan, caliber 6.5 x 50mm SR

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The Carcano Rifle Series and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Carcano M91 Rifle

Carcano M91 Long Rifle - 6.5x52mm

Scoped Carcano M1891 Rifle with French Scheibler/Amigues scope - 6.5x52mm

Moschetto Modello 1891 - 6.5x52mm

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Mountains on Fire		Italian sniper	with a French APX Mle 1917 scope	1931
Attention! Bandits! (Achtung! Banditi!)	Unknown	Young partisan		1951
A Farewell to Arms		Italian soldiers		1957
The Great War (La grande guerra)	Alberto Sordi	Oreste Jacovacci		1959
	Vittorio Gassman	Giovanni Busacca
	Folco Lulli	Bordin
		Italian soldiers
The Four Days of Naples		Italian Resistance fighters		1962
The Shortest Day (Il giorno più corto)		Italian soldiers		1963
55 Days at Peking		Italian soldiers		1963
The Battle of Neretva		Italian soldiers		1969
Many Wars Ago		Italian troops		1970
Novecento	Gérard Depardieu	Olmo		1976
Blood Feud		Fascists Blackshirts		1978
Lion of the Desert		Fascists Blackshirts		1981
Time to Kill (Tempo di uccidere)		Italian soldiers		1989
Mediterraneo		Italian soldiers		1991
In Love and War		Italian soldiers		1996
Up at the Villa		Italian soldiers		2000
Captain Corelli's Mandolin		Italian troops		2001
El Alamein - The Line of Fire	Paolo Briguglia	Pvt. Serra		2002
		Italian troops
Gallipoli: End of the Road	Gürkan Uygun	Mushin	mocked as Mosin Nagant M1891 with scope	2013
	Fikret Yildirim Urag	Capt. Ibrahim Adil
The Silent Mountain		Italian soldiers		2014

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Mino	Pierre Cosso	Rico Girardet		1986
	Calogero Buttà	Americano
	Giampaolo Saccarola	Bloz
	Antonello Peleggi	Sopranzi
	Gianni Bersanetti	Andrea
	Delio Chittò	Giuseppe
	Nicola Di Pinto	Coringrato
	Silvio Anselmo	Sergente Terenzi
	Oreste Rotundo	Nicola Cirasola
	Franco Castellano	Fontolan
	Vittorio Amandola	Rignani
		Italian Carabinieri and soldiers
Davos 1917	Ruben Brinkman	Van de Velde		2023
	David Kross	Dr. Mangold
		Mayor General Taylor's henchmen

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Forgotten Hope				2003
Battlefield: 1918				2004
Forgotten Hope 2	"Carcano M91"	W/o bayonet		2007
Mare Nostrum	"Carcano M91 Rifle"			2008
Battle of Empires: 1914-1918	"Carcano m.91"			2015
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades				2016
Enlisted	"Carcano M1891"	w/ bayonet		2021
	"Carcano M91 with scope mount"	w/ Scheibler/Amigues scope
Isonzo	"Fucile da Fanteria Mo. 1891 'Carcano'"			2022

Carcano M91 TS

Carcano M91 TS (Truppe Speciale; Special Troops) - 6.5x52mm. This was the first type heavily adopted by artillery and military engineering units, after about fifteen years of exterior modifications. Note the cross-type bayonet lug, standard sling loop and smaller rear sight.

Carcano M91 TS Modificato (Modified) - 6.5x52mm. Note the standard bayonet lug. The modified 91 has an additional left side back sling loop for a more comfortable carry on the back (specifically requested by artillery and engineering troops, who did a large amount of manual labor).

Carcano M91TS Carbine with Tromboncino Modello 28 grenade launcher - 6.5x52mm Carcano/38.5mm grenade

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Mountains on Fire		Italian soldier		1931
A Farewell to Arms		Italian military police	TS M	1957
The Four Days of Naples	Frank Wolff	Salvatore	TS M	1962
		Italian Resistance fighters	TS M
Illustrious Corpses (Cadaveri eccellenti)		Italian police	TS M	1976
Blood Feud		Fascist	TS M	1978
Senso '45		An Italian partisan	TS M	2002
The Roses of the Desert		Italian Troops	TS M	2006
The Silent Mountain		Italian soldiers		2014

Anime

Title	Character	Note	Date
Violet Evergarden	Isidor	E12; M91 TS with Tromboncino M28 grenade launcher	2018

Video Games

Game Title	Referred as	Note	Release Date
Men of War	"Carabine Carcano"	added with Red Tide expansion pack	2009
Battlefield V	"M28 con Tromboncino"	with Tromboncino M28 grenade launcher, added in 2019 update	2018
Isonzo	"Moschetto Per Truppe Speciali Mo.91"		2022

Carcano M91/24

Moschetto di Fanteria Modello 91/24 - 6.5x52mm Carcano. This rifle does not come from Special Troops series, as is often mistakenly considered. In reality the M91/24 is a shortened M91 long rifle, as can be seen from the standard rear sight.

The Carcano M91/24 is a short rifle used by the Italian military during the interwar period and into World War II. It is a variant of the earlier Carcano M91 bolt-action rifle, which had been the standard infantry weapon for Italy since the late 19th century. The M91/24 was designed to meet the need for a more compact and maneuverable rifle for specialized troops, including those in urban or close-quarters combat, as well as for use by non-frontline units such as paratroopers. The M91/24 was developed in the mid-1920s by modifying the existing Carcano M91 rifle. The most noticeable difference is the shorter barrel, which reduced the overall length of the weapon. This was achieved by cutting down the M91's 6.5mm caliber barrel to a more manageable length, which made the rifle more suitable for close combat, while maintaining the performance of the Carcano's bolt-action mechanism.

The M91/24 was primarily issued to Italian infantry and specialized units. Due to its shortened length, it became a favored weapon for troops requiring increased portability, such as paratroopers and engineers, though it was not as widely issued as the full-length M91. The M91/24 was also used by police units and in various auxiliary roles, making it versatile.

The Carcano M91/24 saw service during World War II, although it was largely replaced by more modern firearms in later years. After the war, many of the M91/24 rifles were either repurposed or decommissioned as Italy modernized its military.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notes	Date
The Four Days of Naples	Franco Sportelli	Prof. Rosati		1962
		Italian Resistance fighters
Kill Rommel!		Italian Troops		1969
Free Hand for a Tough Cop	Claudio Cassinelli	Commissioner Antonio Sarti	Fitted with rifle grenade launcher	1976
I Am the Law (Il prefetto di ferro)		Carabinieri		1977
Mediterraneo		Boy		1991
The Roses of the Desert		Italian Troops		2006

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Notes / Episode	Date
Front Without Mercy (Front ohne Gnade)		Italian troops and Spanish Republicans	Ep.5-6	1984
Mino		An Italian customs officer	Ep. 01	1986
	Delio Chittò	Giuseppe	Ep. 06

Video Games

Title	Appears as	Mods	Notes	Date
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle	"Carcano"			2024

Carcano M91/38 Short Rifle

Carcano M91/38 - 6.5x52mm. The Model 38 (Fucile di Fanteria Mod. 1938) in 7.35x51mm caliber is very similar.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?		German and Soviet soldiers		1959
The Bridge		German soldiers		1959
Bandits of Orgosolo (Banditi a Orgosolo)		A carabinier		1961
The Battle of Neretva		Italian Soldiers		1969
Executive Action	Paul Carr	Assassination conspirator		1973
The Boss	Henry Silva	Nicola Lanzetta	With rifle grenade launcher	1973
We Want the Colonels (Vogliamo i colonnelli)		Paramilitaries		1973
Shriek of the Mutilated	Tawm Ellis	Dr. Karl Werner		1974
The Last Four Days		Italian partisans		1974
Silent Action		Terrorists		1975
Young, Violent, Dangerous (Liberi armati pericolosi)		A forest ranger		1976
I Am the Law (Il prefetto di ferro)		Italian Carabinieri		1977
Sahara'	Lambert Wilson	Jaffar		1983
	Brooke Shields	Dale Gordon
		Nomadic tribes fighters
Flashpoint			Found in old car	1984
Time to Kill (Tempo di uccidere)		Abyssinian partisans		1989
JFK	Gary Oldman	Lee Harvey Oswald		1991
	Frank Whaley	Fake Oswald
	Kevin Costner	Jim Garrison
Up at the Villa		Italian soldiers		2000
El Alamein - The Line of Fire	Paolo Briguglia	Pvt. Serra		2002
	Pierfrancesco Favino	Sgt. Rizzo
		Italian troops
In Her Line of Fire		The rebels		2006
The Roses of the Desert		Italian Troops		2006
Watchmen	Jeffrey Dean Morgan	The Comedian/Edward Blake		2009
Running Against Time	James DiStefano	Lee Harvey Oswald
Gallipoli: End of the Road	Ben Warwick	Cpl. William Eagle	modified, with a scope	2013
		Australian soldiers	mocked as Lee-Enfield No.1 Mk.III*

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
Quantum Leap	Scott Bakula	Lee Harvey Oswald	Season 5, Episode 1 & 2: "Lee Harvey Oswald - Oct 5, 1957-Nov 22, 1963: Part 2"	1989-1993
Red Dwarf	Toby Aspin	Lee Harvey Oswald		1992-1999
Penn & Teller: Bullshit!	Teller	Himself	"Conspiracy Theories" (S3E3)	2005
The Kennedys	Ryan Blakely	Lee Harvey Oswald		2011
Level 9		An assassin	Ep. "Wetware"

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault				2002
Forgotten Hope				2003
Forgotten Hope 2			W/o bayonet	2007
Red Dead Redemption	"Carcano Rifle"		anachronistic	2010
Red Dead Redemption II	"Carcano Rifle"		anachronistic	2018
Enlisted			M91/38 6.5 mm	2021
	"Carcano Mod. 38 (7.35mm)"	w/ bayonet	M91/38 7.35 mm
	"Sniper Carcano Mod. 38 (7.35mm)"	w/ scope mod.38	M91/38 7.35 mm

Carcano M91/38 Cavalry Carbine

Carcano M91/38 Cavalry Carbine with folded bayonet - 6.5x52mm

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Last Chance		Italian soldiers		1945
Rome, Open City (Roma città aperta)		Italian soldiers and carabiniers		1945
In the Name of the Law		Carabiniers		1949
Spy for Germany		German soldiers		1956
A Farewell to Arms		Italian military police		1957
The Law Is the Law		French policeman		1958
The Great War (La grande guerra)		Carabinieri		1959
Everybody Go Home! (Tutti a casa)		Italian troops		1960
Divorce Italian Style	Leopoldo Trieste	Carmelo Patanè		1961
		Italian soldiers
Bandits of Orgosolo (Banditi a Orgosolo)		Carabiniers and bandits		1961
Operation Caviar		A German soldier		1961
Salvatore Giuliano		Carabinieri, Italian soldiers		1962
The Four Days of Naples	Luigi De Filippo	Cicillo		1962
		Italian Resistance fighters
The Organizer (I compagni)		Italian Army cavalrymen		1963
The Camp Followers (Le soldatesse)	Mario Adorf	Sgt. Castagnoli		1965
	Tomas Milian	Lt. Gaetano Martino
	Aleksandar Gavric	Maj. Alessi
		Italian soldiers
After the Fox		prison guards	bayonet removed	1966
Anzio		Italian Soldiers		1968
The Battle of Neretva		Italian soldiers and partisans		1969
Five for Hell		An Italian Carabinier		1969
The Eighth (Osmiyat)		A resistance fighter		1969
Confessions of a Police Captain		Carabinieri		1971
Blood Brothers (I guappi)		Carabinieri		1974
The Last Four Days		Italian partisans		1974
Libera, My Love (Libera, amore mio ...)		Carabinieri, Italian soldiers		1975
Rocky	Sylvester Stallone	Rocky Balboa	Seen behind a radiator in apartment	1976
I Am the Law (Il prefetto di ferro)		Prisoner guards		1977
Night Riders (Nocní jazdci)	Jozef Adamovic	Smuggler Imro Jakuvec		1981
The Fall of Italy (Pad Italije)		Italian occupation forces, partisans, and chetniks		1981
The Sicilian		Carabiniers and soldiers		1987
The Godfather Part III	Mario Donatone	Mosca		1990
Up at the Villa		Fascist		2000
Captain Corelli's Mandolin	Nicolas Cage	Captain Antonio Corelli		2001
	Italian artillery troops
El Alamein - The Line of Fire		Italian Troops		2002
The Roses of the Desert		Italian Troops		2006
The Expendables 2		Bulgarian villagers	without the bayonet	2012
The Silent Mountain		Italian soldiers		2014
Tenet			seen in a warehouse	2020

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
Front Without Mercy (Front ohne Gnade)		Italian troops	Ep.5	1984
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Triangle at Rhodes		Italian soldiers and carabiniers		1989
Mythbusters			"Exploding Toilet" (S01E04); "Myths Revisited" (S02E01); "Seasickness - Kill or Cure" (S03E19); "Shredded Plane" (S04E02); "Firearms Folklore" (S04E25)	2003-Present

Video Game

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One	"Carcano M38"			2005
Karma Online	"Carcano M91"			2011
Enlisted	"Moschetto M91"	w/ permanently fixed bayonet		2021

Carcano M91/41

Carcano M91/41 Rifle - 6.5x52mm

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Jaws		Fisherman/Shark Hunting Party		1975
Mediterraneo			Seen in a hidden armory	1991

Video Games

Game Title	Referred as	Note	Release Date
Sniper Elite III	"Carcano"		2014
Sniper Elite 4	"Carcano"		2017
Strange Brigade	"Gehrig-Delgane S1"	Semi-automatic	2018
Enlisted	"Carcano M41"	w/ bayonet	2021