6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano
| 6.5×52mm Carcano | ||||||||||||
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| Type | Rifle | |||||||||||
| Place of origin |
 Kingdom of Italy
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| Service history | ||||||||||||
| In service | 1891–1970 | |||||||||||
| Used by | Italy, Finland, Nazi Germany | |||||||||||
| Wars | First Italo-Ethiopian War, Italo-Turkish War, World War I, Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Spanish Civil War, World War II | |||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||
| Designed | 1889–1891 | |||||||||||
| Produced | 1891–present | |||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||
| Case type | Rimless, bottleneck | |||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | 6.80 mm (0.268 in) | |||||||||||
| Neck diameter | 7.52 mm (0.296 in) | |||||||||||
| Shoulder diameter | 10.85 mm (0.427 in) | |||||||||||
| Base diameter | 11.42 mm (0.450 in) | |||||||||||
| Rim diameter | 11.42 mm (0.450 in) | |||||||||||
| Case length | 52.5 mm (2.07 in) | |||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||
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| Test barrel length: above 780 mm; below 445 mm. | ||||||||||||
The 6.5×52mm Carcano, also known as the 6.5×52mm Parravicini–Carcano or 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano, is an Italian military 6.5 mm (.268 cal, actually 0.2675 inches) rimless bottle-necked rifle cartridge, developed from 1889 to 1891 and used in the Carcano 1891 rifle and many of its successors. A common synonym in American gun literature is "6.5mm Italian." In American parlance, "Carcano" is frequently added to better distinguish it from the rimmed hunting cartridge 6.5×52mmR (U.S. version: .25-35 Winchester). Ballistically, its performance is very similar to that of the 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer.
Under the direction of the "Commissione delle Armi Portatili" (Commission for Portable Weapons), instituted in 1888 to develop a smokeless-powder rifle for the Italian Army, the "Reale Laboratorio Pirotecnico di Bologna" (Royal Pyrotechnical Laboratory of Bologna) developed and tried several different cartridge designs, with a bullet diameter from 8 mm to 6 mm. Finally, due also to the influence of Major Antonio Benedetti, of the Brescia Arsenal, Secretary of the Commission and strong supporter of the advantages of smallbore cartridges, the 6.5×52 cartridge was adopted in March 1890, prior to the adoption of the rifle that used it (the Model 1891 Carcano rifle).
After the adoption of the cartridge, the arsenals technicians worried about the characteristics of the original ballistite load, since that propellant was considered too erosive (flame temperature of 3000-3500 °C) and not stable under severe climatic conditions. Several other loads were tested, including the British cordite but without good results, until the Reale Polverificio del Liri (Royal Explosives Factory of Liri) developed a new propellant called "Solenite," composed of trinitrocellulose (40%), dinitrocellulose (21%), nitroglycerine (36%), mineral oil (3%), and shaped in large tube-like grains. The new propellant, that reduced the flame temperature to 2600 °C and proved to be very stable, was adopted in 1896 and never changed until the end of the military production of the cartridge.
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