Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28
- Category
- Carbine
- Barrel
- 450 mm
- Weight, empty
- Not recorded
- Introduced
- 1928
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 is an Italian bolt-action grenade-launcher carbine built on the Model 91 TS (Truppe Speciali) carbine chambered in 6.5x52mm Carcano. Its defining feature is an integral 'tromboncino' (little trombone) grenade discharger mounted on the right side of the barrel that launched a 38.5mm rifle grenade. Uniquely, the launcher was propelled by a standard ball cartridge rather than a blank: to fire a grenade the soldier removed the rifle's bolt and transferred it to the launcher's breech, which left him unable to fire the carbine itself. The design proved heavy and impractical and was withdrawn from service, replaced by the Brixia Model 35 light mortar.
The 'tromboncino' launcher fired live 6.5mm ball rounds rather than blanks, so a grenadier had to unbolt his carbine and reinstall the bolt on the launcher's breech to shoot a grenade, leaving him with a useless rifle in one hand and a grenade launcher in the other.
Also designated Model 91/28 Tromboncino. Because the single bolt had to be swapped between the rifle and the grenade launcher, the operator could not use the weapon as a rifle while it was configured to launch grenades, a major tactical drawback that limited its adoption and service life.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone)
- Category
- Carbine
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1928 to 1934
- Variant of
- Grenade launcher carbine
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 450 mm
- Overall length
- 920 mm
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Rotating bolt
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- En bloc clip
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 630 m/s
- Effective range
- 200 m
- Maximum range
- 1500 m
- Rate of fire
- 12 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Integral side mounted grenade launcher- Tromboncino 38mm grenade discharger
Folding bayonet
En bloc clip feed
Bent bolt handle
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall lengthAmong 407 carbines | 920 mm | 895 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 423 carbines | 450 mm | 406 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 423 carbines | 6 | 21 | Holds fewer rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28
What caliber is the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28?
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 is chambered in 6.5x52mm Carcano.
How many rounds does the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 hold?
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 holds 6 rounds, fed from an en bloc clip.
How long is the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28?
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 is 920 mm (36.2 in) long overall, with a 450 mm (17.7 in) barrel.
Who makes the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28?
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 is made by Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone) (Italy). It was designed by Salvatore Carcano.
When was the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 introduced?
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 was introduced in 1928 and discontinued in 1934.
How does the Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 operate?
The Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28 uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is rotating bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Royal Italian Army (Regio Esercito)
- 1928
Provenance
Confidence in this record
62%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/carcano-moschetto-con-tromboncino-mod-28' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "carcano-moschetto-con-tromboncino-mod-28", "name": "Carcano Moschetto con Tromboncino Mod. 28", "manufacturer": { "id": "regio-esercito-arsenals", "name": "Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone)", "countryCode": "IT", "foundedYear": 1875, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "6de7e72b4412acb112d424e900f74c649ff4787b994443b6f6b3ef1ed7848d26" }, "category": { "id": "carbine", "name": "Carbine", "description": "Shortened rifles for close-quarters use" }, "country_of_origin": "IT", "year_introduced": 1928, "barrel_length_mm": 450, "weight_empty_g": null, "action_type": "bolt_action"}