The Fucile Mitragliatore Breda modello 30 was the standard light machine gun of the Italian army during World War II

The Breda 30 is widely regarded as a poor weapon. It had fragile clips, a slow rate of fire, used the underpowered 6.5x52mm cartridge and was prone to jamming.

It was clip fed from the right side. The clip was attached to the gun, and was loaded using brass or steel 20 round strippers.

This weapon is interesting in that it fired from a closed bolt, and had a small lubing device that sprayed lube on each cartridge as it entered the chamber. This system allowed the chamber and barrel to heat rapidly, which caused rounds to cook off before they were fully in the chamber. The oil from the lubrication also quickly picked up dust and debris, making the weapon highly prone to jamming during the North African Campaign.

Some Bredas were retooled as the M38 to take the 7.35mm cartridge the Italians were attempting to adopt, but that was short-lived as production never allowed full adoption of the new calibre.

External links

• Comando Supremo
• SPWAW article