Berthier Model 1907 15
Fusil Mle 1907/15
Manufactured by Remington
Calibre: 8mm
Serial No: No Visible Number

Price: £Sold

*** SOLD ***

Exceptional Condition

The Berthier was originally introduced as a partial replacement for the French 1886 Lebel rifle.

The Lebel, a revolutionary concept at the time of its introduction because of its smokeless high-velocity, small-caliber cartridge, still used a tube-fed magazine and other details carried over from black-powder designs. By 1900, the Lebel was already obsolete in comparison to other newer magazine-fed rifles

Named after its inventor, Andre Berthier, a French civilian engineer in the Algerian railways, the Berthier's three-shot vertical-feed Mannlicher-type en bloc magazine could be loaded by clips, greatly increasing reloading speed, a particular convenience for cavalry and other mounted troops.

At the outbreak of World War I, the Model 1907 Berthier rifle was modified for mass production, resulting in the Model 07/15. The sights, barrel band, and stacking hook were simplified to increase the rate of production. While the original 1907 rifle incorporated a cruciform bayonet, the 07/15 was modified to take the same bayonet as the Lebel, simplifying supply. The turned-down bolt handle was changed to a simpler straight bolt.

Remington UMC also contracted to produce a French Army order for 250,000 Mle 1907/15 rifles.

The contract between French government & Remington was signed in the spring of 1915, it specified Remington would supply 250,000 Berthier Rifles & Bayonets
at a production rate of 200 per day. The first delivery of 1000 rifles was due June 12th 1916

Remington had difficulty meeting the scheduled production rates for the M1907-1915 contract.
Machinery required for large scale production wasn’t in place forcing much slower production processes to be used.
Production rate should have been 200 rifles per day, Remington was only achieving 18 complete rifles per day.

Slow deliveries, lack of interchangeability & the French adoption of the Model 1916 rifle were the main reason that the French cancelled the contract later in1916,
by this time production at Remington was between 10,000 & 20,000 rifles.

Not all of these Remington manufactured rifles were received by the French, the arsenal at Chatellerault only received 9,440 rifles.

A small number were purchased by the US government to be used as training or second line weapons, others were sold in the 1930s.

During WWI Remington had taken on far too many contracts that its production plant just couldn’t meet.
In Summary:

Great Britain ordered 1,000,000 P14 Rifles – Only 403,117 were delivered.
Russia ordered 1,500,00 Mosin Nagant Rifle – Only 508,000 were delivered.
France Ordered 250,00 Berthier Rifles – Estimated production somewhere between 10,000 – 20,000 Rifles of which only 9,440 were actually delivered.

This example does not have a serial number which is correct, serial numbers were applied when inspected & accepted at the French Ordnance Depot.
No Serial Number means it was not issued or accepted in to French service

This example is in Excepetional Unissued Condition