mondragon m1908

The Mondragón Modelo 1908 was a gas-operated rifle with a rotating bolt using a cylinder and piston arrangement, a design considered unusual at the time. The bolt and the locking lugs was very similar to the bolt-action rifle. A switch, located on the charging handle, would disengage the bolt from the gas system, allowing the firearm to effectively operate as a straight-pull bolt-action rifle.

Designed by the Mexican General Mondragon, they saw limited use in Mexico and during WW1, as an observer's weapon in an aircraft.

While mostly unsuccessful in combat, the Mondragon directly influenced the work of a young John Garand, who incorporated many of its ideas into his M1_garand design.