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Arditi was the proud owner of a late 20s/early 30s grenade launcher or Tromboncino for the Carcano TS carbine/rifle. It fires a 35mm grenade, akin to what we would call a "flash bang" grenade today. The rifle bolt is removed and placed in the launcher for use; a normal ball round is used to launch the grenade. The device is designed to allow the bullet to travel only a short distance to be free of the case, then the gases are vented into the launcher barrel.
He was kind enough to send it to me for inspection as I had ideas of making a few reproduction copies; the complicated nature of the the device completely stopped any thoughts of making a reproduction, too bad for me.
The launcher had been mounted to a Cavalry carbine when Arditi got it, not the proper TS. I agreed to mount it to a TS if he would send one along, which he did.
Many hours of trial/fit/error/fit/trial again; it is done. I did it for him for free, but would not do another one for $500! It is a bear.
Had to modify the stock and the handguard; not to mention inletting for the fitting of the trombocino into the stock itself. The TS stock had been slathered with polyurethane and was ugly, took two days to get that crap off; but the wood underneath was protected and in good shape, even the cartouche is clear!
The original had a small sight added to the barrel and projected to the left, just ahead of the second band; the rear sight had an auxillary rear v notch added to the left. These are missing from this restoration, as I had nothing to go by to make them; however the TS that Arditi sent at one time did have a trombocino attached. One can see the 1, 1.5, and 2 markings on the left side of the rear sight, these indicated the range of the launcher 100, 150, or 200 meters!
Here is the finished product; not "exactly" as the Italians did them, but passable and useable; even down to the link that connects the rifle trigger to the trombocino trigger mechanism, thanks to my friend Steve who is a great machinist.
Check out the pictures. A special thank you goes to Antonio, he was kind enough to send me pictures and original document copies that made it possible to do a reasonable job!
This device is a truly ingenious and beautiful piece of work; it would take thousands of $$ to produce it today. Even though the receiver "looks" like the rifle receiver, it is extensively different.
Enjoy! Oh, and yes Arditi, I will send it back to you - soon!:laugh:
He was kind enough to send it to me for inspection as I had ideas of making a few reproduction copies; the complicated nature of the the device completely stopped any thoughts of making a reproduction, too bad for me.
The launcher had been mounted to a Cavalry carbine when Arditi got it, not the proper TS. I agreed to mount it to a TS if he would send one along, which he did.
Many hours of trial/fit/error/fit/trial again; it is done. I did it for him for free, but would not do another one for $500! It is a bear.
Had to modify the stock and the handguard; not to mention inletting for the fitting of the trombocino into the stock itself. The TS stock had been slathered with polyurethane and was ugly, took two days to get that crap off; but the wood underneath was protected and in good shape, even the cartouche is clear!
The original had a small sight added to the barrel and projected to the left, just ahead of the second band; the rear sight had an auxillary rear v notch added to the left. These are missing from this restoration, as I had nothing to go by to make them; however the TS that Arditi sent at one time did have a trombocino attached. One can see the 1, 1.5, and 2 markings on the left side of the rear sight, these indicated the range of the launcher 100, 150, or 200 meters!
Here is the finished product; not "exactly" as the Italians did them, but passable and useable; even down to the link that connects the rifle trigger to the trombocino trigger mechanism, thanks to my friend Steve who is a great machinist.
Check out the pictures. A special thank you goes to Antonio, he was kind enough to send me pictures and original document copies that made it possible to do a reasonable job!
This device is a truly ingenious and beautiful piece of work; it would take thousands of $$ to produce it today. Even though the receiver "looks" like the rifle receiver, it is extensively different.
Enjoy! Oh, and yes Arditi, I will send it back to you - soon!:laugh:
It's the grail piece for a Carcano collection as far as I am concerned.
