8×59mm Rb Breda

8×59mmRb Breda
8x59 Breda.jpg A Breda cartridge discovered buried in the ground
Type	Machine gun
Place of origin	Italy, Kingdom of Italy
Service history
In service	1935–1960s
Used by	Italy, Portugal
Wars	World War II, Portuguese Colonial War
Production history
Designed	1935
Produced	1935–1960s
Specifications
Parent cartridge	unknown
Case type	rebated rim, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	8.36 mm (0.329 in)
Neck diameter	9.14 mm (0.360 in)
Shoulder diameter	10.80 mm (0.425 in)
Base diameter	12.49 mm (0.492 in)
Rim diameter	11.92 mm (0.469 in)
Rim thickness	1.40 mm (0.055 in)
Case length	58.84 mm (2.317 in)
Overall length	80.44 mm (3.167 in)
Primer type	large rifle
Ballistic performance Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy 208 gr (13 g) 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) 2,994 ft·lbf (4,059 J)
Source(s):

8×59mmRB Breda was an Italian heavy arms cartridge. It is unusual in that it is one of the small number of cartridges designed with a rebated rim, meaning the rim of the cartridge is smaller in diameter than the body of the cartridge. The "RB" in the designation stands for "rebated rim".

History and Usage

8×59mmRB Breda was a caliber created for use by the Royal Italian Army in World War II. The cartridge was originally designed for use in anti-aircraft heavy machine guns like the Breda M37, Breda M38, and Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935. It was introduced in 1935 but is no longer in production today.

Italy Italy manufactured ammunition during the brief period the Breda machineguns were in Italian service.

Albania Albania manufactured ammunition after World War Two to use in Italian machineguns they captured during World War 2.

References

• "8×59mm Breda, Italian Machine Gun Cartridge". ammo-one.com. http://www.ammo-one.com/8mmBredaItalianMachinegun.html. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
• "8x59 mm. / 8 mm.Breda/ 8mm. FIAT/8 mm. Modelo 35/ DWM 591". municion.org. http://www.municion.org/8x59/8x59.htm. Retrieved February 14, 2013.