September 5-7, 2023 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/5/2023
Ask any knowledgeable collector of World War II machine guns about the Italian Breda Model 37 and they will tell you two things: first, that they are an interesting, well-designed, and fun gun to load & shoot, and second that these are quite rare as a fully transferable machine gun. Not more than 5 or perhaps 6 fully transferable specimens are in the registry, and this particular gun is almost certainly the most desirable of them all. Consider the following facts: This has a known provenance of discerning notable owners including Dolf Goldsmith, Robert Faris, and Robert Segal. The method and details of its capture during World War II has been preserved. It has absolutely been established as a good running gun, and this may be observed on YouTube, where the serial number is clearly visible in the video. It is setup to shoot 8mm Mauser, which remains a plentiful and obtainable cartridge. It has a tremendous number and variety of accessories, spare parts, and feed strips. This gun was built in Rome in 1942 in original 8mm x 59mm Italian, and visible parts match except the barrel, which is in 8mm x 57mm Mauser (the standard German WWII rifle and machine gun cartridge). There are 4 spare barrels total included, all of them in 8mm Mauser. Other accessories include the tripod, gunner's transit chest with anti-aircraft sight, leather gunner's box with barrel wrench and oiler, AA shoulder loop, 2 oil lube tin cans, and also a complete anti-aircraft setup kit in original box which includes AA shoulder loop, AA leg for tripod, and AA front and rear sight. Other accessories include: a feed strip loading/unloading machine, gunner's smaller part kit in original wooden crate, nearly complete except that the small parts tin is empty, but these small parts have been painstakingly segregated into a plastic compartmented boxes to facilitate ease of observing and finding the part one may need. Clearly more than one gunner's kit worth of parts is included here. Beyond what is in the wooden box, notably 5 bolt faces (one adapted to 8 mm Mauser, the others in original 8mm Italian), 5 extractors, 4 parts tin boxes, broken case extractor, 2 spanners, 3 top cover latches, numerous springs, pins, and punches. Major spare components include: 2 blank firing adapters, 2 spare top cover assemblies, 1 spare backplate, 1 large AA spider sight, 2 op rods, 2 sets of feed strip trays (right and left make a set), 2 charging handles, 3 mainspring assemblies, 17 original feed strip boxes each holding up to 12 feed strips, some of the boxes with Nazi Eagle stenciled onto the outside to alert user that the feed strips contain 8mm Mauser instead of 8mm Italian. There are 10 additional feed strips not in the boxes to fill in any compartments not full, and some spare feed strip "fins" to repair any feed strip which may become damaged. The potential buyer will be interested to know that this gun removes, chambers, and fires each round, and, as part of the cycle of the action, then emplaces the empty cartridge case back into the feed strip. This design and function was intended to keep troublesome brass out of sensitive areas of vehicles or aircraft. The loading/unloading machine is almost a requirement to remove the spent cases from the feed strips and then insert new live rounds. Electronic NFA registry indicates “BREDA” as the manufacturer. CONDITION: Overall appearance and finish is extremely fine original blue thinning to a gray patina with traces of original black enamel finish on the body of the receiver with much more original black enamel on the barrel, and dust covers of the feed strip trays on the receiver. Bores of all the barrels are extremely fine, shiny, and bright. All the bolt faces are extremely fine to near excellent, some are as mint. Tripod and boxes are in original green paint. Some of the strip boxes have splits yet remain serviceable. Gun mechanics are crisp, and potential buyer should review the video of this gun shooting on YouTube. Just search, "Italian Breda M37 HMG". This is a full-auto-only (nice slow firing) machine gun. Several discerning collectors have approached this cataloger over the years, asking me to, "Find a transferable Breda Model 37 HMG for me." This is a rare opportunity to acquire one. If a potential buyer desires to consign some machine gun(s) they have in order to finance the purchase of this specimen, or other machine guns in this auction, contact John Keene through Morphy Auctions. We may have an attractive option for you. This gun has it all for the World War II machine gun collector as well as the recreational machine gun shooter. THIS IS A NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT ITEM AND REQUIRES BATF APPROVAL PRIOR TO TRANSFER. THIS ITEM IS FULLY TRANSFERABLE ON AN ATF FORM 3 OR 4 AS CURIO AND RELIC ELIGIBLE. JWK 2023-9-58
This is not a standard shippable item and will require 3rd party shipping or pickup arrangements to be made.Accessories
Numerous accessories