Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914
The Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914 was an Italian water-cooled medium machine gun produced from 1914 to 1918. It was the standard machine-gun of the Italian Army in World War I, and was used in limited numbers into World War II.[2]
| Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Medium machine gun |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1914–1945 |
| Used by | Italy, Austria-Hungary |
| Wars | World War I Vlora War Second Italo-Abyssinian War Spanish Civil War[1] World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Abiel Revelli |
| Manufacturer | Fiat |
| Produced | 1914-1918 |
| No. built | ~47,500 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 17 kg gun (without water) + 22.4 kg tripod |
| Length | 1180 mm |
| Barrel length | 654 mm |
| Cartridge | 6.5×52mm Carcano |
| Action | blowback |
| Rate of fire | 400–500 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 800 metres per second (2,600 ft/s) |
| Feed system | 50-round or 100-round "strip-feed box" magazine |
| Sights | Iron |
Overview
It was very similar to the Maxim in appearance (in fact it had the same air-cooling jacket and tripod), even though its internal workings were completely different.
Some sources claim that it had a cartridge-oiling system, but the weapon manual does not mention its presence, and it seems that only a 1930 version briefly incorporated such a system.[3] It was fed from a 50-round or 100-round magazine referred to as a "strip-feed box" which was divided into in ten or twenty compartments, each fed from a rifle clip, an arrangement that made it rather slow to reload, prone to malfunction and very uncomfortable in sustained-fire role because of this magazine arrangement.
It was chambered for the 6.5×52mm Carcano, which eased logistics (as it was the same cartridge of the Carcano rifle, though it could not be loaded using the 6-round en-bloc clips issued for rifles) but made it somewhat underpowered compared to higher-calibre weapons, weighed 17 kg (37 lb) (the tripod weighed 21.5 kg (47 lb)) and had a firing rate of 400-500 rpm (rounds-per-minute), rather low for this type of machine gun.[4]
One feature was the presence of select-fire, which allowed for the choice between single shot, "normal" fire and full automatic fire.
It was developed into the Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935.
References
- Esdaile, Charles J. (10 October 2018). The Spanish Civil War: A Military History. ISBN 9780429859298.
- Popenker 2015
- Segal 2012
- Big set N°20 Armi della fanteria (infantry weapons) by John Weeks
Sources
- Popenker, Maxim (2015). "Modern Firearms: FIAT-Revelli M1914 and M1914/35 machine gun (Italy)". World Guns.
- Segal, Robert G. (10 January 2012). "FIAT Revelli Modello 1914". Small Arms Defense Journal. 3 (2).