Breda PG
The Breda Modello PG was a family of guns, composed both by semi-automatic rifles and carbines and select fire carbines manufactured by Breda in the first half of the 1930s.
History
In the first half of the 1930s the General Staff of the Regio Esercito was looking for a semi-automatic rifle to replace the old Carcano Mod. 91. Various Italian automatic weapons date back to that period such as the Scotti mod. T.S., the Scotti mod. IX, the Scotti Mod. X, the Beretta mod.1931, the MBT mod.1926, mod.1931 and the Breda PG.The weapon was built and presented to the Regio Esercito in three different models:
- Fucile semiautomatico Breda PG : 6.5 mm caliber, fed by the standard 6-round en bloc clip used with the Carcano Mod. 91, exclusively semi-automatic fire.
- Moschetto semiautomatico Breda PG : like the aforementioned rifle but with a shorter barrel.
- Moschetto automatico Breda PG : also in 6.5 mm caliber, short barrel, select fire, fed by detachable 20-round magazines.
In 1935, approximately 800 Moschetti automatici Breda PG in 7×57 mm Mauser caliber were produced for Costa Rica.
At least one Moschetto automatico Breda PG carbine was used at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds to help develop the burst-firing function on the M16 rifle.
Design
All the Breda PG variants were gas-operated, open bolt guns.The Moschetto automatico Breda PG variant was a carbine fed from a 20-round magazine. The Moschetto automatico Breda PG is considered the first burst-firing automatic rifle due its four-round burst limiter.