Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. Included in this set is a fabulous BATF approved non-firing display Italian WWII Breda M37 display machine gun, marked ROMA 1939 - XVII / No. 135 on the left side of the receiver. The top cover has the Royal Italian coat of arms over a 1938 date on the front, and the rear is marked M. P. BREDA 7.9 / No. 1431. During the war, parts swapping was common, and the other parts of the gun are also non matching.
It comes with the correct and complete original tripod, feed strip loader in its original case, and feed strip chest with 12 strips inside (omitted if sent where prohibited). Everything you could possibly need to complete a fabulous WWII MG collection.
A VERY impressive display piece, ready to add to any collection!
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 Royal Italian Army during World War II. The M37 was meant as company/battalion support as compared to the more troublesome M1930 meant for squad/platoon support, and proved far more effective in combat.
The Breda M37 was a gas-operated, air-cooled heavy machine gun. The Breda used a larger cartridge than its rivals, the 8 mm x59RB Breda. Unlike other infantry machine guns, the Breda lacked a camming mechanism for initial extraction of the cartridge case after firing, and this meant that each cartridge had to be oiled via an oiling mechanism before being fed into the chamber. This attracted dust and debris, particularly in desert environments such as found in the Royal Italian Army's World War II campaigns in Libya and the Western Desert.
Another drawback was that the gun was fed by 20-round strips of cartridges. This limited continuous fire, as the gun could only be fired rapidly when a second crewmember fed in one ammunition strip after another. The rounds still had to be oiled to stop the cases sticking in the chamber, with all the disadvantages this entailed. Another peculiarity of the design is that the spent cases were reinserted in the strip as each round was fired. The mechanical energy required to perform this function substantially reduced the rate of fire, and the weapon tended to jam whenever a case was reinserted even slightly out of line. It also meant that in the event the metal clips had to be reused, the gunner's assistant had to first remove the empty cases from the strips.
In service, the M-37 Breda proved to be a fairly reliable heavy machine gun. 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 M37 Breda's slow rate of fire helped prevent overheating during continuous fire, and its powerful, heavy-bullet cartridge had excellent range and penetration. The weapon remained in first-line service with Italian forces throughout the war as well as by German infantry troops in North Africa, while captured examples were used in combat by British and Commonwealth forces, including units of the SAS.
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey, and Washington
This product is not available for international shipping.
- This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America. Every display machinegun and machine gun parts set and gun sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF). Please note that the requirements for each display gun are decided on a per case basis by the BATF, and may require deactivation of omission of some internal components. For more information on this display gun, please contact us. Not available for Export.
Deactivated magazine will be sent if shipped to the following states due to high capacity magazine restrictions:
California - 10 round maximum for all magazines.
Colorado - 15 round maximum for all magazines.
Connecticut - 10 round maximum for all magazines.
Hawaii - 10 round maximum for all magazines.
Maryland - 20 round maximum for all magazines.
Massachusetts - 10 round maximum for all magazines
New Jersey - 15 round maximum for all magazines.
New York- 7 round maximum for all magazines.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
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