This is where the Breda M37 enters the picture.
This caused the first complications for the Italian military.
This explains the six-year gap.
The Breda Model 1937 was widely employed with the Royal Italian Army in North Africa. It proved reasonably well-suited to the terrain. Image: Author’s photo
That fact likely helped address the issue of the barrel overheating a common problem with many air-cooled machine guns.
The gas-operated weapon was also noted for its modern appearance, but that also helped conceal its design flaws.
As noted, it utilized just four moving parts.
Italian marines with a Breda Model 1937 at Sitia on May 27, 1941 during the Battle of Crete in May 1941.
The assistant gunner could insert a new strip and the process repeated.
In practice, gunners and assistants didnt likely think of what would happen to the spent casings.
Even worse, it meant that ammunition in boxes couldnt be loaded into empty strips.
A view of the metal strip that fed the Model 1937. This slowed its rate of fire. Image: Author’s photo
Soldiers in combat dont like extra steps of any kind.
However, the Breda M37 medium machine gun performed reasonably well.
At the same time, its heavy round offered excellent range and penetration against British and Allied vehicles.
Ammunition was actually on the bottom of the strip clips — note that the weapon didn’t feature an oiler. Image: Author’s photo
The tripod was also noted for being able to be adapted to an anti-aircraft mount.
Production of the Breda-designed weapon continued until Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943.
Germany designated the gun the Kampfwagen-Maschinengewehr 350(i).
The Breda 37 featured space grips that were less common with WWII-era machine guns. Image: Author’s photo
It was fed by a top-mounted box magazine and employed a pistol-style grip.
It featured a special basket that could catch spent cases.
It was simply the Italian militarys way of doing things.
These are some of the accessories that could transform the tripod into an anti-aircraft gun. Don’t lose any pieces! Image: Author’s photo
Soldiers training with Breda M37 machine gun during World War II. Image: Polish National Archives
Australian soldiers examine a captured Breda M37 in Tel El Eisa, Egypt during August 1942.
The tripod of the Model 1937 weighed about 41 pounds, just two pounds lighter than the actual weapon. Image:International Military Antiques
Australian soldiers captured this Breda M37 machine gun after an assault on a German position along a railway in Egypt.
A captured Breda 38 machine gun that had been used by the Italian armed forces in the Second World War. Image: AWM
