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Classic Weapons of World War II

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Heavy weapons

Modello 30 (Italy)

Length 123cm / 48in
Weight 10.30kg / 22.75lb
Muzzle velocity 629m / 2,065ft per second
Cartridge 6.5mm
Magazine 20 rounds
Rate of fire 500 rounds per minute

Following earlier Fiat-designed weapons, the Modello 30 was produced by the Breda company as a result of a trial to find a new heavy machine gun for the Italian army. Probably one of the most unspectacular looking machine guns, the Modello 30 proved unreliable and over complicated to maintain.

In what at first appeared a good idea, the gun was fed via a fixed reservoir, rather than a magazine. This effectively meant that the same magazine was constantly used on the gun and that it could be loaded up with the same rounds that the rest of the infantry unit were carrying. However, instead of finding that the gun could be fed universally and therefore more productively, it transpired that if anything damaged the delicate feeding mechanism the gun wouldn't work. In a similar way to the Japanese Type 96, an oil feed was also required to stop the gun jamming.

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