I remembered some were railing the Breda as the "Chauchat WW2" but it looks fairly 'normal' though.

ezekill said:

I remembered some were railing the Breda as the "Chauchat WW2" but it looks fairly 'normal' though.

I've actually carried one for three days in the field. It's quite the bizarre weapon. It comes with only one magazine. You attach it unloaded and then flip it forward (as pictured here). You then feed it with a giant stripper clip and pull the magazine horizontal to fire. It's heavy as crap and rather off balance when carrying. Oh, and it oils every round individually as it chambers so dirt and sand gob it up quickly (great for North Africa...). Changing the barrel is easy though.

After a while you get used to it's quirkiness and begin to see the method to the madness, but it should have stayed a prototype. Very over-engineered for an expeditionary weapon. A symptom of the period for the Italians I've noticed.