Breda Model 37 heavy machinegun
Official wording
Italian, Breda, model 1937, heavy machinegun, cal. 8mm.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1937–1945.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
ItalyBasis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Società Italiana Ernesto BredaBasis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- 8×59mm BredaBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- c. 1937–1945production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ²
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 85 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Breda M37” ↗, maker: infobox manufacturer Società Italiana Ernesto Breda
- 2. Wikipedia, “Breda M37” ↗, years: infobox production date 1937−1945
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “BREDA 1937 machine gun at Athens War Museum on 22 November 2022.jpg” by George E. Koronaios, CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Breda M37”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Mitragliatrice Breda calibro 8 modello 37 was an Italian heavy machine gun produced by Breda and adopted in 1937 by the Royal Italian Army. It was the standard heavy machine gun for the Royal Italian Army during World War II, and continued to be used by the Italian Army after the conflict. Post-war, it was also used during the early stages of the Portuguese Colonial War until it was replaced by the MG42/59. The M37 remained in service or kept in strategic storage with a handful of African countries until the late 1980s.