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Battle Rifle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Breda PG (Italian: Presa Gas, "gas operated") was a prototype automatic rifle manufactured by Breda.
| Breda PG | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Battle Rifle |
| Place of origin | Kingdom of Italy |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Kingdom of Italy Costa Rica |
| Wars | World War II Costa Rican Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Sestilio Fiorini |
| Designed | 1931 |
| Manufacturer | Breda |
| Produced | 1935 |
| Specifications | |
| Cartridge | 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano 7×57mm Mauser |
| Caliber | 6.5mm (Italian variant) 7.57mm (Costa Rican variant) |
| Action | Gas-operated, Open bolt |
| Rate of fire | 600 RPM |
| Feed system | 20 Round Box Magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights |
The PG was a gas-operated rifle fed from a 20-round magazine. It was trialled by the Italian government and sold to the Costa Rican government. The Italian models were semi-automatic only and chambered in 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano, while the Costa Rican models were chambered in 7x57mm Mauser and had an automatic fire mode with a four-round burst limiter. This makes the PG the world's first burst-firing automatic rifle.[1][2]
Around 400 Breda PG rifles were issued to the Costa Rican military, which was disbanded in 1948.[3]
At least one Breda PG rifle was used at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds to help develop the burst-firing function on the M16 rifle.[4]
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