Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935

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Mitragliatrice Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935
A Fiat-Revelli 35, mounted on its tripod.
TypeMedium machine gun
Place of originItaly
Service history
In service1937–1945
Used byKingdom of Italy
Wars
Production history
Designed1934
ManufacturerSocietà Metallurgica Bresciana
Developed fromFiat–Revelli Modello 1914
Produced1935–1943
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]
Length1,270 mm (50 in)
Barrel length653 mm (25.71 in)
Shell8×59mm Rb Breda
ActionShort recoil[4][page needed]
CarriageTripod
Rate of fire500 rounds/min[2][3]
Muzzle velocity750 m/s (2,460 ft/s)
Effective firing range1,000 m (1,090 yd)[3][5]
Maximum firing range5,200 m (5,690 yd)
Feed system50-round belt[2][3]
Sights
  • Front Blade[5]
  • Adjustable Rear Leaf[5]

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.[5]

Overview

[edit]
Italian soldiers firing a Fiat-Revelli 35.

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).

Italian soldiers aiming a Fiat-Revelli 35.

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[6] (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.[7]

The gun has an overall length of 1270 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.[8]

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.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The Fiat–Revelli Modello 14 was heavy and cumbersome, being a water-cooled machine gun and its use of the underpowered 6.5×52mm Carcano.

References

[edit]
Citations
  1. ^ Esdaile 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e Popenker 2010
  3. ^ a b c d Poggiaroni 2020.
  4. ^ Ispettorato dell'Arma di Fanteria 1942.
  5. ^ a b c d "MITRAGLIATRICE MODELLO 35". quartermastersection.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "Fiat-Revelli M1935". forgottenweapons.com. 21 September 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  7. ^ Jowett 2000, p. 13.
  8. ^ "FIAT-Revelli Modello 1935 Heavy Machine Gun (1935)". Military Factory. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
Sources
[edit]
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