Breda · Rifle
Breda PG Model 1935
Gas operated long stroke · 7x57mm Mauser · introduced 1935
Also known as Breda Modello 1935 PG, Moschetto Automatico Breda PG, Fucile Mitragliatore Breda PG
About the Breda PG Model 1935
The Breda PG Model 1935 was a rare Italian interwar gas-operated select-fire rifle designed by Sestilio Fiorini and built by Breda in Rome. Its best-known form was a 7x57mm Mauser export model sold to Costa Rica in 1935, which fired from an open bolt and offered semi-automatic, full-automatic and a novel four-round burst mode. It is widely credited as the first service rifle ever fitted with a burst-limiting mechanism, decades before that feature became mainstream. An Italian-trials version was chambered in 6.5x52mm Carcano, fired from a closed bolt and was semi-automatic only.
The Costa Rican Breda PG is cited as the first service rifle ever fitted with a burst-limiting device, cutting automatic fire after four rounds. Despite showing hints of the coming assault-rifle concept, its full-power 7x57mm cartridge and open-bolt design negated most practical advantages, and it was judged heavy, complicated and expensive, leaving it a rare curiosity.
Breda PG Model 1935 specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Gas operated long stroke
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Calibres
- 7x57mm Mauser
- Magazine capacity
- 20 rounds
- Magazine
- Detachable box magazine
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 457 mm (18.0 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 5.20 kg (11.46 lb)
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
History
- Introduced
- 1935
- Discontinued
- 1935
- Production status
- Out of production
- Country of origin
- IT
- Designer
- Sestilio Fiorini
Features
- Select fire
- Four round burst limiter
- Open bolt operation
- Bayonet lug
- Adjustable iron sights
Safety
- Burst limiting cutoff
Burst is four rounds (not three). Overall length, muzzle velocity, effective/max range and rifling for this specific rifle were not found in accessible sources and are left null. Production estimates vary: ~800 ordered for Costa Rica per Wikipedia/Forgotten Weapons, ~400 delivered per Modern Firearms.
