Breda Model 38 Calibre 8mm Heavy Machine Gun and Tripod

~ Breda Model 38 Calibre 8mm Heavy Machine Gun and Tripod ~

The Mitragliatrice Breda calibro 8 modello 37 was an Italian Medium machine gun produced by Breda and adopted in 1937 by the Royal Italian Army. It was the standard heavy machine gun for the Royal Italian Army during World War II, and continued to be used by the Italian Army after the conflict. The Breda 37 was meant as company/battalion support as compared to the more troublesome Breda 30 meant for squad/platoon support, and proved far more effective in combat, though possessing some of the same problematic features of the Breda 30.

In service, the Breda 37 and 38 proved to be fairly reliable heavy machine guns. Perhaps because the heavy support weapons received more attention from their crews, field reports were generally positive except for jams caused by desert sand and dust, which in the Western Desert affected all infantry machine guns to some extent. The Breda 37's slow rate of fire helped prevent overheating during prolonged fire, and its powerful, heavy-bullet cartridge had excellent range and penetration. Still, this machine gun was almost twice as heavy as the German machine guns and heavier than weapons like the M1919. In fact, it was the heaviest World War II rifle-caliber machine gun, and unnecessarily complex to use and deploy. This was another issue for Italians, whose mobility was limited by their weak truck fleet. The tripod added around 20 kg to the complex, putting it at around 40 kilograms.

Our example comes with its tripod and is serial numbered 351922 PS.

The tripod is serial numbered 355574.

~ Condition ~

The piece is in good condition for its age and well oiled.

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