Breda-SAFAT machine gun

Breda-SAFAT
A 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Breda-SAFAT machine gun on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
TypeMachine-gun
Place of originItaly
Service history
In serviceLate 1930s and 1940s
Used byRegia Aeronautica
Royal Hungarian Air Force
Syrian Army
WarsSpanish Civil War
World War II
Six Day War
Production history
Designed1935
ManufacturerBreda-SAFAT (Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche / Breda Meccanica Bresciana / Società Italiana Ernesto Breda - Società Anonima Fabbrica Armi Torino)
VariantsBreda-SAFAT 20mm cannon
Specifications
Mass12.5 kg (28 lb) (7.7 mm)
29 kg (64 lb) (12.7 mm)[1]
Length109 cm (43 in) (7.7 mm)
139 cm (55 in) (12.7 mm)[1]
Barrel length64 cm (25 in) (7.7 mm)
80 cm (31 in) (12.7 mm)[1]

Cartridge7.7x56mmR light, 12.7x81mmSR heavy
Caliber7.7 mm (0.303 in)
12.7 mm (0.50 in)[1]
Barrels1
ActionShort recoil[1]
Rate of fire800–900 rounds/min (7.7 mm)
700 rounds/min (575 rounds/min synchronized) (12.7 mm)[1]
Muzzle velocity730 metres per second (2,400 ft/s) (7.7 mm)
765 metres per second (2,510 ft/s) (12.7 mm)[1]
Feed systemBelt-fed[1]

Breda-SAFAT (Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche / Breda Meccanica Bresciana - Società Anonima Fabbrica Armi Torino) was an Italian weapons manufacturer of the 1930s and 1940s that designed and produced a range of machine-guns and cannon primarily for use in aircraft. Based on the M1919 Browning machine gun, the Italian guns were chambered to fire indigenous ammunition with 7.7 mm (0.303 in) and 12.7 mm (0.500 in) calibres, predominantly ball, tracer for the 7.7mm, including high explosive incendiary tracer (HEI-T) (filled with 0.8 grams of PETN), or armour-piercing (AP) for the 12.7mm.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, Anthony G.; Gustin, Dr. Emmanuel. Flying Guns of World War II.