Villar-Perosa aircraft machine gun
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| Villar-Perosa | |
|---|---|
| Image:VP Meroka SMG.JPG |
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| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Italian army |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1914 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 6.5 kg (loaded short barreled version) |
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| Cartridge | 9 mm Parabellum |
| Caliber | 9 mm |
| Action | Blowback |
| Rate of fire | 3,000 round/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,050 ft/s (320 m/s)[citation needed] |
| Effective range | 1,800 m (2,200 yd)[citation needed] |
| Feed system | Magazine |
The Villar-Perosa aircraft machine gun was an Italian double barreled machine gun designed by Bethel Abiel Revelli, a Major in the Italian Army in 1914. The weapon fired pistol calibre 9 mm Glisenti ammunition at the extremely high rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minutes, or 1,500 rounds per minute per barrel. It was arguably the first sub-machine gun.
Contents |
[edit] History
Revelli applied for patents for the design on 8 April 1914, and subsequently assigned the patents to the Villar-Persosa company. The weapon was used by the Italian airforce and army during the First World War. Reportedly it was more successful in the ground role, as the pistol calibre bullets did not have sufficient striking power for bringing down aircraft.
A large number of the ground version of the weapon fell into the hands of German and Austrian forces following the Italian defeat at the Battle of Caporetto.
[edit] Description
The weapon consisted of two identical barrels and breech blocks linked by a connecting cross bar. It was a simple air-cooled retarded blow-back design with the bolt and striker weighing only ten ounces (280 grams). The total recoil travel was only 1.75 inches (4.5 cm), which combined with the light breech block resulted in an extremely high rate of fire. The weapon was fed from two curved magazines that could hold either 25 or 50 rounds each.
The weapon was relatively light with a loaded short barreled gun weighing just 14 pounds and 4 ounces (6.5 kg).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- [1]
- George M. Chinn, The Machine Gun. History, Evolution, and Development of Manual, Automatic, and Airborne Repeating Weapons, Volume I.
