| Breda PG | |
| Origin: | Kingdom of Italy |
| Type: | Battle Rifle |
| Is Ranged: | YES |
| Used By: | Kingdom of Italy Costa Rica |
| Wars: | World War II Costa Rican Civil War |
| Designer: | Sestilio Fiorini |
| Design Date: | 1931 |
| Manufacturer: | Breda |
| Production Date: | 1935 |
| Cartridge: | 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano 7×57mm Mauser |
| Caliber: | 6.5mm (Italian variant) 7.57mm (Costa Rican variant) |
| Action: | Gas-operated, Open bolt |
| Rate: | 600 RPM |
| Feed: | 20 Round Box Magazine |
| Sights: | Iron sights |
The Breda PG (Italian: Presa Gas, "gas operated") was a prototype automatic rifle manufactured by Breda.
The PG was a gas-operated rifle fed from a 20-round magazine. It was trialled by the Italian government and sold to the Costa Rican government. The Italian models were semi-automatic only and chambered in 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano, while the Costa Rican models were chambered in 7x57mm Mauser and had an automatic fire mode with a four-round burst limiter. This makes the PG the world's first burst-firing automatic rifle.[1] [2]
Around 400 Breda PG rifles were issued to the Costa Rican military, which was disbanded in 1948.[3]
At least one Breda PG rifle was used at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds to help develop the burst-firing function on the M16 rifle.[4]