8 mm Lebel

8×50mmR (8 mm Lebel/Balle D)
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1886–1944
Used by	See Users
Wars	French colonial campaigns, World War I, World War II, and other conflicts
Production history
Variants	Balle M, Balle D, Balle N, Balle T, Balle P
Specifications
Case type	Rimmed, bottlenecked
Bullet diameter	8.30 mm (0.327 in)
Neck diameter	8.85 mm (0.348 in)
Shoulder diameter	11.42 mm (0.450 in)
Base diameter	13.77 mm (0.542 in)
Rim diameter	16.00 mm (0.630 in)
Rim thickness	1.40 mm (0.055 in)
Case length	50.50 mm (1.988 in)
Overall length	75.00 mm (2.953 in)
Rifling twist	240 mm (1 in 9.45 inch)
Primer type	Large rifle
Maximum pressure	320.00 MPa (46,412 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 12.8 g (198 gr) Balle D FMJ 730 m/s (2,400 ft/s) 3,364 J (2,481 ft·lbf)
Source(s): C.I.P.

The 8×50mmR Lebel (8mm Lebel) (designated as the 8 × 51 R Lebel by the C.I.P.) rifle cartridge was the first smokeless powder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France in 1886. Formed by necking down the 11mm Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8 mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle ammunition. Standard 8mm Lebel military ammunition was also the first rifle ammunition to feature a spitzer boat tail bullet (Balle D), which was adopted in 1898. The long-range ballistic performance of the 8mm Lebel bullet itself was exceptional. For use in the magazine tube-fed early Lebel rifle, the 8mm case was designed to protect against accidental percussion inside the tube magazine by a circular groove around the primer cup which caught the tip of the following pointed bullet. However, the shape of its rimmed bottle-necked case, having been designed for the Lebel rifle's tube magazine, also precluded truly efficient vertical stacking inside a vertical magazine. The bolt thrust of the 8mm Lebel is relatively high compared to many other service rounds used in the early 20th century. Although it was once revolutionary, the 8mm Lebel was declared obsolete after World War I and was soon after replaced with the 7.5×54mm French round.

There are two commercially available 8mm Lebel cartridges: one for the Lebel Model 1886 rifle, and one for the Modèle 1892 revolver. They are two entirely different cartridges and are not interchangeable. The term "8mm Lebel" for the French Mle 1892 revolver ammunition, which incidentally was not designed by Lt Col Nicolas Lebel, is only applied outside France for commercial reasons. However, the term "8mm Lebel" to identify a rifle cartridge is widely recognized to distinguish the French rifle cartridge from other 8 mm rifle cartridges, such as the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge used by Austria-Hungary and its successor states.

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