Sistar Light Machine Gun
Last Updated on Sat, 13 Aug 2022 | Machine Gun V1 Repeating
Sistar Light Machine Gun, 6.5 mm. The Operator Io Loading the Magazine.
A built-in oil pump on the left side Nof tli receiver sprayed a small jet of oil on the incotv ing rounds as each was positioned for chamber ing. This device was actuated by the reroi1
n i counter-recoil movement of the barrel e> sion.
The heavy machine gun had ident ical opera-ing parts, but most certainly did not resembi the lighter gun in anv other wav. Its cooling was o n / / O
bv air, but the barrel housing resembled rhe con-
volitional water-cooled jacket. I .ong aluminum tubes grouped around the barrel were supposed to dissipate heat more efficiently. The 7.92-mm ammunition was fed to the weapon in a belt using push-out-type links, also originated and patented by the inventor of the gun. A clumsy looking handle with unprotected trigger was used on this heavy Sistar machine gun.
Both versions appeared only it) prototype form. While many of the principles have later been proved sound, especially the locking method, apparently nothing was ever done to develop either one. There is no record of any extensive test conducted either by the factory or
the government. Consequently, it had a very! short-lived competitive existence.
To fire the lightweight 6.5-mm gun, the operator first assumes the prone position and with his right hand releases the catch allowing the n o swinging magazine to pivot forward. This leaves version held 20 rounds, while the other utilized a semi-rigid metal belt holding 250 rounds wound on a drum.
The light machine gun, while having only a 20-sho! magazine, did have a feature that the company made great effort to demonstrate on every occasion. The gunner, without rising, could pivot the swinging magazine forward from the prone position and insert in a matter of seconds a fresh supply of loaded rounds directly from the cardboard container into the feed svs-
tem. By this ease and speed in loading he could keep up practically uninterrupted fire.
The weapon was recoil operated, the barrel having an open jacket that gave it support and a bearing for “floating” the recoiling parts. The barrel return spring was housed inside this skeletonized jacket. A large charging and carrying handle was located on the left side considerably j forward of the usual placement of retracting assemblies. The trigger was placed underneath and slightly to the right. However, the customary guard, to protecL it from accidentally striking some object and discharging the piece unintentionally, was omitted. /
The recoiling pans were housed completely in a boxlike receiver on the top of which was a graduated sight. Air cooling was provided by circular fins machined along the barrel to give greater surface for heat radiation.
Breda Machine Guns
Last Updated on Wed, 05 Oct 2022 | Machine Gun V1 Repeating
The locomotive works known as the Società Italiana Finest o Breda of Brescia, Italy, during the emergency created by World War I, com-menccd production of machine guns lor the Italian Government. Plans and specifications were furnished the Breda firm by order of the military authorities. The first automatic weapon so made was the water-cooled Revel I i, Model 1914. the manufacturing drawings being farmed out to it by the Fiat Co… holder of the patents. Breda built a separate plant adjacent to its locomotive works which, during the war and immediately thereafter, engaged in manufacturing and delivering thousands of the above-mentioned Revel I i guns.
Following the Armistice, as with other arms companies in Italy, work came to a near halt with only enough government orders for modifications on existing models to keep a skeleton force active. However, all service branches were in need of an Italian-designed lightweight machine gun for infantry and a heavy one that could be used both as a heavy ground machine gun and with a modified mechanism for aircraft installation. Such a weapon could be mounted both as a synchronized fixed gun for forward firing and as a free one for observers.
The first Breda a:tempts at securing the lucrative government contracts, then being offered as an inducement by General Buffi, the assistant director general of all machine gun experimental work, was the production of the Breda 1924^model. 1 lie weapon introduced at this time was chambered for the (Lr>-mm caliber cartridge and weighed slightly under 20 pounds. The rate of fire was officially credited as being 500 rounds a minute. The feed system had an oddly designed magazine that pivoted for charging. The barrel could be changed instantly as it connected to the barrel extension by means of heavy interrupted threads. The rear of the receiver was round while the center part over the feed way was flat, giving the weapon an unusual silhouette.
A skeletonized barrel jacket gave the necessary support for recoil of the moving parts and also served as a base for the front sight. Large flanges on the upper part of the barrel body actcd as guides, while a flash hider was attached to the muzzle end. A graduated rear sight was placed on the receiver. It could be either elevated or depressed without need for the gunner to rise from the prone position generally taken when this weapon was fired. A large oil reservoir was built into the top of the receiver, directly over the
Breda Machine Gun… Model 1924, 6.5 mm. The Operator if Loading the Weapon.
Continue reading here: Breda Model 1931 Machine Gun
Confidential Esq
Last Updated on Fri, 07 Jan 2022 | Machine Gun V3
Figure 24-6. Krieghoff Experimental Aircraft Machine Gun, 7.92-mm Model 1940. Right side view.
Figure 24-7. Krieghoff Experimental Aircraft Machine Gunr 7.92-mm Model 1940. Left side view.
