Fiat-Revelli Modello 1935

• Name — Mitragliatrice Fiat Mod.1935 • Type — Medium machine gun • Origin — Italy • Is Ranged — yes • Is Artillery — yes • Service — 1935–1945 • Used By — Kingdom of Italy • Wars — * Spanish Civil War • World War II • Design Date — 1934 • Manufacturer — M.B.T. (Metallurgica Bresciana già Tempini) • Developed From — Fiat Mod.14 • Production Date — 1935–1943 • Mass — Tripod: • Cartridge — 8×59mm Rb Breda • Action — Short recoil • Rate — Theoretical: 600 rounds/min • Feed — 50-round belt • Sights — * Front Blade • Adjustable Rear Leaf • Carriage — Tripod

• Illustration — Italian soldiers firing a Fiat Mod.35. The Fiat Mod. 1914 had seen widespread use during World War I, but its flaws became more and more apparent as time passed. Since 1926 the Italian Army felt the need for a machine gun with a caliber larger than the 6.5 mm and since 1928 started experimentations with Fiat Mod.14 machine guns modified in various calibers: 8 mm, 7.92 mm and 7.65 mm. In the meantime (1931) the Army started also a competition for a completely new machine gun in 8-7.92 mm caliber. After the final adoption of the new 8 mm cartridge in 1933 the Regio Esercito pursued both with the experimentation of modified Fiat Mod.14 and with the competition for the new machine gun, these came to an end in 1935 with the adoption of the Fiat Mod.35 for the modified gun and in 1937 with the Breda Mod.37 for the new gun. • Illustration — Italian soldiers aiming a Fiat Mod.35. The Mod.35 opted for a more conventional belt feed, air-cooling, rechambering for the 8x59mm RB Breda. Also, the machine gun was prone to the cook-off of the chambered rounds during the pauses of firing. The gun has an overall length of 1650 mm, including its 650 mm barrel. Unloaded, the gun weighs 17.8 kg, while the tripod weighed 23 kg. Like the Mod.14, the Mod.35 is a complete weapon system made up of the machine gun unit, the tripod mounting assembly and ammunition supply, and therefore required a multi-person crew to operate. The rechambering to the 8mm calibre and the adoption of a belt feed succeeded in improving both the stopping power and the rate of fire of the machine-gun; however, it reportedly suffered from jammings rather often. There is unsubstantiated data (frequently reported in English-language texts and websites) about the Mod.35 using an integrated oil pump to lube the ammo, and that such device was inherited by the previous Fiat Mod.14. Such a device was never implemented in either machinegun, but it was recommended in the gun manuals to slightly lube each round before inserting it in the Mod.14 box magazine or in the Mod.35 belts, in order to facilitate extraction and cycling.

• Lancia 1ZM • Installed on some units to replace the previous Fiat Mod.14. • Fiat-Terni Tripoli • Installed for a short time to replace the previous Fiat Mod.14. • Fiat 3000 • Installed in a twin mount to replace the previous SIA Mod.18. • CV 33 • Installed in a twin mount to replace the previous Fiat Mod.14 Avio. • CV 35 • Installed in a twin mount. • Fiat 1100 C.M. • Installed in a twin anti-aircraft mount. • T17E1 Staghound • On the Staghounds used by the Italian Police the Browning M1919 placed in the hull was replaced with a Fiat Mod.35.