Development
The Fedorov Avtomat is a short recoil operated, locked-breech weapon which fires from a closed bolt. The bolt locking is achieved by two dumbbell-shaped locking plates, mounted at either side of the breech, latching barrel and bolt together through lugs on the bolt. Those plates are allowed to tilt slightly down after about 10 mm of free recoil, unlocking the bolt. A bolt hold-open device is fitted and the firing mechanism is of hammer type.
Captain V. Fedorov began a prototype of a semi-automatic rifle in 1906, working with future small arms designer Vasily Degtyaryov as his assistant. A model was submitted to the Rifle Commission of the Russian army in 1911, which eventually ordered 150 more rifles for testing. In 1913, Fedorov submitted a prototype automatic rifle with a stripper clip-fed fixed magazine, chambered for his own experimental rimless 6.5 mm cartridge, called the 6.5mm Fedorov. This new rimless ammunition was more compact than the rimmed Russian 7.62x54mmR, better suited for automatic weapons and produced less recoil. This experimental cartridge fired a pointed jacketed bullet weighting 8.5 grams at an initial velocity of 860 m/s with a muzzle energy of 3,140 J (as opposed to the 3,600-4,000 J muzzle energy of 7.62x54mmR ammunition).
6.5mm Fedorov rifles were tested late in 1913 with favorable results. Since production of a new cartridge was not feasible, the decision was made to convert 6.5mm Fedorov rifles to use the Japanese 6.5x50mm Arisaka ammunition, in this particular firearm's case having a muzzle velocity of only 654 m/s because of constrained barrel length. The ammunition was also produced in Great Britain, which had purchased Arisaka rifles for the Royal Navy during World War I. The fixed magazine was replaced by a detachable, curved 25-round box magazine.
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