Breda PG

The Breda PG (Italian: Presa Gas, "gas operated") was a prototype automatic rifle manufactured by Breda.

Breda PG
Type	Semi-automatic rifle (Italian variant) Automatic Rifle/Battle Rifle (Costa Rican variant)
Place of origin	Kingdom of Italy
Service history
Used by	Kingdom of Italy Costa Rica
Wars	World War II Costa Rican Civil War
Production history
Designer	Sestilio Fiorini
Designed	1931
Manufacturer	Breda
Produced	1935-1940
Specifications
Cartridge	6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano (Italian variant) 7×57mm Mauser (Costa Rican Variant)
Caliber	6.5mm (Italian variant) 7.57mm (Costa Rican variant)
Action	Gas-operated, Open bolt
Rate of fire	600 RPM
Feed system	20 Round Box Magazine
Sights	Iron sights

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]