Breda M37
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| Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1937 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Heavy machine gun |
| Place of origin | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946).svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1937 to 1960's |
| Used by | Italy |
| Wars | World War II, current regional conflicts |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1936 |
| Manufacturer | Breda Meccanica Bresciana |
| Produced | 1937 to 1943 |
| Number built | not known |
| Variants | Modello 38 vehicle mounted |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 17.5 kg |
| Length | 1270 mm |
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|
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| Cartridge | 8x59mm RB Breda |
| Action | gas-operated |
| Rate of fire | 460 round/min maximum, 250 rounds/min sustained |
| Muzzle velocity | 900 m/s |
| Effective range | 1000 m |
| Feed system | 20 round strip |
The Breda Modello 37 was an Italian heavy machine gun (Mitragliatrice Breda MOD.37) adopted in 1937. It was the standard machine gun for the Italian Army during World War II. The M37 was meant as a replacement for the more troublesome M1930, and it proved by far more effective in combat. It still had many of the same problems of its predecessor. It used a larger cartridge than its rivals, the 8x59mm Breda. One of its drawbacks was that it was fed by 20-round strips, it could only be fired rapidly when a second crew member put in one strip after another. The rounds still had to be oiled to stop the casings sticking in the chamber, with all the disadvantages this entailed. Another peculiarity of the design is that the spent casings were reinserted into the strip as each round was fired; this substantially reduced the rate of fire and the weapon jammed whenever a casing was reinserted even slightly out of line.
A vehicle mounted version, the Modello 38 was fed from a top mounted magazine and used a pistol style grip rather than the twin firing handles of the Modello 37. This was the main vehicle mounted machine gun used by the Italian army.
Production ended in 1943. It was still used as a standard machine gun after the war, until it was replaced by more modern machine guns.
Today, it may be encountered in some battle zones. It is still produced, as a paintball machine gun.
[edit] External Links
| Italian firearms and light weapons of World War II |
|---|
| Side arms |
| Beretta M1934 | Beretta M1935 | Glisente M1910 |
| Rifles & carbines |
| Fucile di Fanteria Mo.1891 Moschetto Mo.91 da Cavalleria | Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mo.91 | Mo. 1938 |
| Submachine guns |
| Beretta 1918 | MAB 38 | OVP | FNAB-43 | TZ-45 |
| Machine guns & other larger weapons |
| Fiat-Revelli M1914 | Fiat Revelli M1935 | Breda M1930 | Breda M1937 Breda M1938 | Brixia M1935 |
| Cartridges used by the Italian Army during World War II |
| .32 ACP | .380 ACP | 6.5 x 52 Mannlicher-Carcano | 7.92x57 mm Mauser | 9 mm |
