Breda M-1931
Notes: This is a
large, heavy-caliber machinegun, similar in concept (but not form) to the
Russian KPV. It was designed
primarily for antiaircraft use, but also used as a heavy support weapon.
Operation is by long-stroke gas piston and, very different from most
pre-World War 2 Italian automatic weapons designs, has a straightforward and
simple operation. The M-1931 fires
from an open bolt, and the M-1931 was used only from a tripod.
The heavy 43.3-inch barrel is finned for the last two-thirds of the
length to aid in cooling, and is tipped with a rather small flash suppressor
considering the size of the weapon.
Firing is automatic only, but the slow cyclic rate (450 rpm) makes single shots
possible for a good gunner. The
M-1931 uses spade grips and a butterfly thumb trigger.
The weakness of the M-1931 is its feed method – by box magazines instead
of belts.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
M-1931 |
13.2mm Hotchkiss |
47.5 kg |
20, 30 |
$10560 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
M-1931 |
5 |
10 |
2-2-3 |
12 |
1 |
3 |
377 |
Brixia M-1923
Notes: Another
weird pre-World War 2 Italian weapon, the M-1923 it fitted with a bipod and a
sling for hip-firing – even though it has no shoulder stock and is fired with
spade grips. Luckily, there is also
provision for mounting it on a tripod, and that is how it was normally used.
(Firing from the hip or bipod is, in game terms, one level more difficult
than normal.) The action is based
on the Fiat-Revelli M-1914, but uses a different-shaped locking wedge that helps
mitigate recoil to an extent, and also serves as a sort of passive trigger
safety. It has a two-stage trigger;
the trigger is pushed all the way in to fire semiautomatic shots, and halfway to
fire on automatic. The cyclic rate
of fire is a mere 350 rpm. The
short 18.1-inch barrel is tipped with a conical flash suppressor, and does not
lend the M-1923 to long-range fire.
A selector switch may also be used; this is better than trying to fire with
thumb pressure, as trying to push a butterfly trigger only halfway in in the
heat of battle is a real feat of skill.
The M-1923 is fed by box magazines mounted on the right side; these
magazines have large slots in the side to check ammunition levels; this also
lets a lot of dirt into the magazines, duplicating the mistake the designers of
the Chauchat did when they designed magazines for their gun.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
M-1923 |
6.5mm Carcano |
11.5 kg |
35 |
$1809 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
M-1923 |
3 |
3 |
2-Nil |
5 |
2 |
4 |
49 |
With Bipod |
3 |
3 |
2-Nil |
5 |
1 |
2 |
63 |
With Tripod |
3 |
3 |
2-Nil |
5 |
1 |
1 |
97 |
Fiat-Revelli M-1914
Notes:
This was the first domestically-designed machinegun to appear in Italy.
Like must Italian designs of the period, it is a mechanically strange
weapon. It is fed from a 50-round
“ammunition cage” that was itself loaded from 5-round clips of rifle ammunition.
It has an external buffer rod that jumps up out of the receiver when
firing; this is right in front of the spade grips and was said to be alarming
when the weapon is fired, particularly when the gunner is aiming.
It has an operation so strange that firearms experts are split on whether
it is short-stroke recoil or delayed blowback.
The M-1914 also has an oil tank to lubricate the rounds; without the oil,
feeding and extraction is not a certain thing.
Despite all this, the M-1914 served until 1945, when it was sold off to
various countries around the world.
The M-1935 is an
improved M-1914; in fact, many M-1935s were rebuilt M-1914s.
The water jacket was removed and replaced with an air-cooling jacket with
a quick-change capability; the caliber was changed to 8mm Breda; the lubrication
system for the rounds was made unnecessary by improvements to the feed system;
and the ammunition cage was replaced by a conventional belt feed.
Unfortunately, the feed system that supposedly made lubrication of the
cartridges unnecessary didn’t work, and a lubrication mechanism had to be added
back into the weapon. The M-1935
also had an alarming tendency to cook off, due to its firing from a closed bolt.
The 23-kilogram tripod was quite a piece of equipment to lug around. The
Italians used them until 1945, and then destroyed most of them.
The Breda M-1937
was a further development of the M-1935.
In addition to the screwy operation of the M-1914 and M-1935, the M-1937
was saddled with small-capacity strip feeding.
The entire feed strip moves though the M-1937, with empty cases being
replaced in the feed strip after firing.
Not only could these strips not be linked; no reloading is possible until
the spent feed strip is removed.
Firing is from an open bolt and on automatic fire only, but the low cyclic rate
of fire (450 rpm) means that squeezing off single shots is possible with a
minimum of practice. The barrel is
also of heavier profile and longer (30.7 inches vs. 25.7 inches for the M-1935),
but there is no flash suppressor of muzzle brake on the barrel.
The M-1937 was accompanied by a new 19-kilogram tripod.
The M-1938 was a vehicle-mounted version, designed as a coaxial weapon or
for other internal vehicle mounts.
It has no provisions for mounting on a tripod, and uses a shorter 26.8-inch
barrel. Instead of spade grips, the
M-1938 uses a pistol grip and trigger.
It is also fed by a top-mounted box magazine, with downward extraction
and provisions for mounting a case collection bag.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
M-1914 |
6.5mm Carcano |
17 kg |
50 Strip-Feed Box |
$2071 |
M-1935 |
8mm Breda |
18.1 kg |
50 Belt |
$2939 |
M-1937 |
8mm Breda |
19.4 kg |
20 Strip |
$3080 |
M-1938 |
8mm Breda |
19 kg |
20 |
|
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
M-1914 |
5 |
4 |
2-Nil |
7 |
1 |
1 |
163 |
M-1935 |
5 |
5 |
2-3-Nil |
8 |
1 |
1 |
177 |
M-1937 |
5 |
5 |
2-4-Nil |
8 |
1 |
2 |
225 |
M-1938 |
5 |
5 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
* |
* |
188 |
*This machinegun is always
mounted in internal vehicle mounts, and has no recoil in game terms.
MG-42/59
Notes: This is
for all intents and purposes a World War 2-era MG-42 that has been given a
change in caliber with as little other changes as possible.
The 7.62mm NATO version is also used by Nigeria, Chile, Mozambique,
Portugal, and Denmark. As
deliveries of the Minimi to Italian troops have been greatly slowed for
budgetary reasons, a version of the MG-42/59 has also been manufactured using
5.56mm NATO ammunition.
Twilight 2000
Notes: The 5.56mm NATO version became the standard squad automatic weapon as
sources for the Minimi quickly dried up.
Merc 2000 Notes:
The 5.56mm NATO version became a speedbump in the arms road as shipments of the
Minimi were accelerated.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
MG-42/59 |
7.62mm NATO |
12 kg |
50 Belt, 100 Belt |
$2370 |
MG-42/59 |
5.56mm NATO |
12 kg |
50 Belt, 100 Belt |
$1506 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
MG-42/59 (7.62mm) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
8 |
2 |
6 |
73 |
MG-42/59 (7.62mm, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
8 |
1 |
3 |
95 |
MG-42/59 (7.62mm, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
8 |
1 |
2 |
146 |
MG-42/59 (5.56mm) |
5 |
3 |
1-Nil |
8 |
1 |
4 |
65 |
MG-42/59 (5.56mm, Bipod) |
5 |
3 |
1-Nil |
8 |
1 |
2 |
84 |
MG-42/59 (5.56mm, Tripod) |
4 |
3 |
1-Nil |
8 |
1 |
1 |
129 |