Breda-SAFAT machine gun
| Breda-SAFAT | |
|---|---|
| Type | Aircraft machine gun |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Italy |
| Wars | WW2 |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1935 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 12.5 kg (7.7 mm) 29 kg (12.7 mm) |
| Cartridge | 7.7x56R (10.1 g) 12.7x81SR (36.7 g) |
| Caliber | 7.7 mm (0.303 in) 12.7 mm (0.50 in) |
| Rate of fire | 800-900 rounds/min (7.7 mm) 700 rounds/min (575 rounds/min synchronized) (12.7 mm) |
| Muzzle velocity | 730 m/s (7.7 mm) 765 m/s (12.7 mm) |
Breda-SAFAT was a series of machine guns used on Italian aircraft during World War 2. It was the result of a collaboration between Breda Meccanica Bresciana and Società Anonima Fabbrica Armi Torino (SAFAT). The machine gun came in 7.7 mm (0.303 in) and 12.7 mm (0.50 in) variants. The 7.7 mm variant was similar to the M1919 Browning machine gun and could use some types of .303 British ammunition. The 12.7 mm version could fire a high-explosive/incendiary/tracing (HEIT) round with 0.8 grams of PETN.
Those machine-gun were problably a sort of copy of Browning, both light and heavy version, but utilized a different ammunitions and atleast a part of different mechanic. They were quite less powerful than american mg. So the weight was not different, but the ROF of ligher version, and the ammunition of the heavier were much less impressive.
Energy of Breda 12,7mm., because ammunition 12,7x81mm. and not 12,7x99mm. was lower, only 10.000 joules vs 16000-17000. Breda were reliable, but the worst as power-weight of all machine guns of WWII aircrafts. Ho-103 of Japan, based on M2 and Vickers ammunition standard (X81mm.) and then, quite similar, was 6-7 kg lighter and with a ROF of 900 c.min. atleast 20% better, and still reliable. Scotti-Fraschini tryed to stressed the performances, but its 12,7mm. was almost light as Oh-103 but with lower ROF and totally unreliable as armament of fighter.
So Ho-103 could given 1800 c.min ROF with 45kg. while the 2 mtg. of italians fighters were 1400-1500 c.min and 58-60kg heavy. Then, Ki-43 Hayabusa had less weight and more firepower of MC 202s. More important, Breda were unable to be fitted in the wings of fighter because their heavy weight and recoil. So Ki-61 Hien with the same type of engine of Macchi 202 was fitted with 4 Oh-103 with 3600 r./min (minus the syncronizer). Using the HE shells was not much helping, because it fired less than a gram of explosive. 20mm. gun had 10 gram or so of HE, but also many heavy mg had 2-3 grams of useful charge (chemical or explosive). Drag of ammunition of these machine-gun was high, the bullet was less strealined than M2 or Berezin heavy mg. So not only Breda and all the 'short' bullets like these have less energy, but they did loose much more energy with the trajectory goes on.
On WWII war, subsequently Italy didn't had a machine gun for aircraft having both high rate of fire and reliability, while russians, german, USA and Japanises had them (as Berezin, Mg 131, M2, and Oh-103). The final evolution was adopt the MG 151/20 mauser, first in two examples (MC.205V) with 2 Breda. Then 1 Mauser with 4 Bredas like G.55/0, then 3 Mauser with 2 Breda and finally 3 Mauser only, both in G.56 and G.55S. Macchi MC 207 had to have, if was built, 4 MG 151 in wings.
So it was concluded the parabole of Breda mg, expecially the 12,7mm. version. Started as excellent weapon in 1935, over the second series of C.R.32, that had a very good firepower for its time, 5 years later was not so good, and the same number as C.R. was fitted also on Series 0 fighter like C.200. So these fighters were totally obsolescent as firepower with the same weaponry but very different target than fabric covered biplanes of '30s. In 1941 MC 202 had still 2 Breda 12,7mm. , cleary pathetic weaponry at the time, and finally, in 1943 the pair of Breda was accomplished by 1, 2 or 3 Mauser MG 151. In the meantime 1200 C.R 32, 1300 MC.200, 700 G.50, 1.200 MC.202, 250 MC.205, 1800 C.R 42, 300 Re.2000, 250 Re.201, 250 Re. 2002 and thousands of bombers were built, used as standard by R.Aeronautica. Istallations on bomber were 3 for S.M.79, included the strange weapon fixed onward, and pratically useless. Breda light mg were used with several type of fighter, bmber, recce aircrafts. Maximum was 5-6 on S.M.81. Often were used in turret powered, expecial in bined combination. But possibly, the 2 mg. were sobstituted by a single 1,27 mg. considered more effective despite 750 and not 1800 c.min. of ROF.
Nervethless thousands of Breda were built from '30 onward for the next 10 years, sobstituing the previus arms like Vickers guns, cleary inadeguate for aircraft flyng at more than 300kmh. (500 c.min.). Many of these reliable weapons were adapted also for a.a. role, and taken in service until '70s as reserve weapons, even if all the aircraft that they were equipped were phased out by time. The last HMG used for italians aircrafts were M3 Browning, as example on G.91R.