Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935

The Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935 was an Italian machine gun, a modified version of the Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914, which had equipped the Italian Army of World War I.^[2] It was a vast improvement on the early model, offering superior penetration power due to the adoption of belt fed 8mm (8×59) rounds. The Modello 35 also omitted the oil reservoir found on the earlier Modello 14. Later it was found that the new chamber still jammed and rounds had to be lubricated before use. Despite its faults the Modello 35 saw extensive action during World War II.^[4]

Key Information

Mitragliatrice Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935
A Fiat-Revelli 35, mounted on its tripod.
Type	Medium machine gun
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
In service	1937 – 1945
Used by	Italy
Wars	Spanish Civil War[1] World War II
Production history
Designed	1934
Manufacturer	Società Metallurgica Bresciana
Developed from	Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914
Produced	1935 – 1943
Specifications
Mass	41.1 kg (90.61 lb) (Total weight) Gun: 18.1 kg (39.90 lb)[2][3] Tripod: 23 kg (50.71 lb)[2]
Length	1,270 mm (50 in)
Barrel length	653 mm (25.71 in)
Shell	8×59mm Rb Breda
Action	Delayed blowback
Carriage	Tripod
Rate of fire	500 rounds/min[2][3]
Muzzle velocity	750 m/s (2,460 ft/s)
Effective firing range	1,000 m (1,090 yd)[3][4]
Maximum firing range	5,200 m (5,690 yd)
Feed system	50-round belt[2][3]
Sights	Front Blade[4] Adjustable Rear Leaf[4]
Show more

The Modello 1914 had seen widespread use during the World War I, but its flaws^{[note 1]} became more and more apparent as time passed. While the Italian Army was beginning to develop the new Breda M37, it was seen convenient to modernize the many Modello 1914s still existent, and readopting them as the Modello 1914/35 (or Modello 1935).

The Modello 35 opted for a more conventional belt feed, air-cooling, rechambering for the 8x59mm RB Breda and, after an unsuccessful attempt, discarding an oil pump to lubricate the bullets as on the Breda 30 light machine gun^[5] (but some sources claim that, as the Modello 1914, this weapon still featured this troublesome design, which is not mentioned in any of the technical manuals). Also, the machine gun was prone to the cook-off of the chambered rounds during the pauses of firing.^[6]

The gun has an overall length of 1700 mm, including its 650 mm barrel. Unloaded, the gun weighs 17 kg, while the tripod weighed 23 kg. Like the Modello 1914, the Modello 35 is a complete weapon system made up of the machine gun unit, the tripod mounting assembly and ammunition supply, and therefore required a multi-person crew to operate.^[7]

The rechambering to the 8mm calibre and the adoption of a belt feed succeeded in improving both the stopping power and the rate of fire of the machine-gun; however, it reportedly suffered from jammings rather often.

• Breda M37

Citations

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiat-Revelli M1935.

• Fiat-Revelli 1935 Manual (Italian, 1941)

This article relating to machine guns is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e