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
TypeMedium machine gun
Place of originItaly
Service history
In service1914–1945
Used byItaly, Austria-Hungary
WarsWorld War I
Vlora War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Spanish Civil War[1]
World War II
Production history
DesignerAbiel Revelli
ManufacturerFiat
Produced1914-1918
No. built~47,500
Specifications
Mass17 kg gun (without water) + 22.4 kg tripod
Length1180 mm
Barrel length654 mm
Cartridge6.5×52mm Carcano
Actionblowback
Rate of fire400–500 rpm
Muzzle velocity800 metres per second (2,600 ft/s)
Feed system50-round or 100-round "strip-feed box" magazine
SightsIron

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.

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References
  1. Esdaile, Charles J. (10 October 2018). The Spanish Civil War: A Military History. ISBN 9780429859298.
  2. Popenker 2015
  3. Segal 2012
  4. Big set N°20 Armi della fanteria (infantry weapons) by John Weeks

Sources

Further reading


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