Breda 30

Lore & Background

After World War One, the Regio Esercito sought a replacement for the SIA Mod.18. In a competition beginning in the early 1920s, candidates included the Fiat Mod. 26, Breda 5C, and later the Fiat Mod.28 against the Breda 5GF. The Army chose an improved version of the Breda, simpler to build, which was refined into the Mod. 30. Testing of other designs continued after adoption.

The Breda 30 used a fixed magazine on the right side, loaded with brass or steel 20-round stripper clips. Damage to the magazine or its hinge/latch rendered the weapon unusable. Its action resembled the Solothurn gun, employing a locking ring at the barrel end. The bolt, barrel, and ring moved forward, rotating the ring to lock the bolt and fire. Short recoil then unlocked the bolt, with chamber pressure ejecting the case. The bolt did not rotate on release, causing violent ejection without primary extraction. To aid extraction, an oiler on the receiver oiled each cartridge, but oiled rounds attracted dust and sand, causing jams. The gun could be fitted with a quick-change barrel, a novelty in the early 1920s. Firing from a closed bolt prevented full air circulation cooling, making cook-offs a realistic hazard.

Most Breda 30s were chambered for 6.5×52mm Carcano; export versions used 7×57mm Mauser (sold to South American countries) and 7.92×57mm Mauser (bought by Baltic countries). In 1938, the Italian Army introduced the 7.35×51mm Carcano cartridge, but only a few guns were converted. According to Italian military historian Nicola Pignato, it was well-built despite delicate magazines, and required extensive machining, making it more expensive than other World War II LMGs.

Reader's Guide

The Breda 30 was the standard squad-level light machine gun of the Royal Italian Army throughout World War II, issued one per squad (later two per squad from 1938). An infantry company had about twelve Breda 30s, four per platoon. Each platoon was divided into two large squads of eighteen men, split into rifle and light machine gun sections. Each LMG section had one Breda 30 manned by a section leader, gunner, and two ammunition bearers. The weapon was often given to the squad's most reliable soldier, sometimes an NCO.

First used in the late stages of the Second Italo-Senussi War, it was deployed in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II. After the Italian armistice of 1943, the Wehrmacht adopted it as the MG 099(i). Production continued in the Italian Social Republic under German control, with 150 guns delivered in April 1944 alone; German records show 351 in October and 92 in November 1944, ending production.

Combat performance was poor by modern standards. Low magazine capacity and frequent stoppages, especially in dusty climates, made firing and reloading slow. The oiled cartridges attracted dust and sand, though U.S. Military Intelligence Service reported the gun was 'mechanically superior to the British Bren Gun under dusty conditions.' In the Balkans and Eastern Front it achieved better results. The practical rate of fire could be comparable to a semi-automatic weapon like the M1 Garand. Despite its flaws, the Breda 30 was considered the deadliest weapon in the standard Italian infantryman's arsenal, as heavy machine guns were at company level and submachine guns were rare.

Did You Know?

• The Breda 30 had an oiler on the receiver that oiled each cartridge to aid extraction, but this attracted dust and sand, causing jams.
• The Wehrmacht adopted the Breda 30 as the MG 099(i) after the Italian armistice of 1943.
• The Breda 30 was fed from a fixed 20-round magazine loaded with stripper clips; damage to the magazine hinge or latch made the gun unusable.