7 X 44 DANISH WEIBEL XPL

During the post WW1 years, most military powers were searching for a new type of semi-auto infantry weapon to replace their old bolt action rifles. Around 1933 a new cartridge was developed Mr Weibel, a Danish engineer together with two other (Lanz and Fontana) although it is not clear if they were employees of The Danish Rekylriffel Syndiakt, Copenhagen or private contractors. The rifle was called the DANRIF (DANish RIFle) and was chambered for an intermediate 7mm bottlenecked case. Their design was presented to the French Army who had experience using the 351 WSL and 401 WSL rifles in their airforce during the war. Trials took place on the 17th of January 1936 at the French Commission d’Expériences Techniques de Versailles, the main small arms testing facility. Two different rifles were tested but results were unsatisfactory and the cartridge faded into obscurity. See also IAA Journal Issue 444, Jul/Aug ‘05