The Rossignol ENT B1 was a French automatic rifle that was manufactured by the École Nationale de Tir (ENT) and designed by a Mr. Rossignol.
History[]
The experimental rifle was a part of a project initiated by the French army in 1890, to find a semi-automatic rifle to replace the aging Lebel Model 1886. At least 5 variants of the rifle were made, the A1, A2, A4 and A5. The ENT A5 emerged as offering industrial potential due to its direct impingement system. However, the ENT lost out to the Meunier rifle, which was later adopted from 1910.
Design[]
The rifle was the first weapon to use the direct gas impingement system; this system would later be incorporated into the Ljungman rifle and the MAS 49.