Design of the Modello 1918 was attributed to Giovanni Agnelli. The firearm was chambered for the 6.5x52mm rimmed Mannlicher-Carcano rifle cartridge. Overall weight of the complete system was 10 to 15 kilograms. The internal firing operation was full-automatic-only with an impact mechanism in place and rate-of-fire reached 500 to 700 rounds-per-minute. Effective range was out to 900 meters with an absolute range of 3,000 meters. Air-cooling was required to keep the barrel from fracturing due to overheating and, to aid in this, cooling fins were added for most of the length of the barrel. A conical flash hider was fitted to the gun's "business end". The receiver was of a decidedly slim, rectangular shape and spade grips were added to the rear for the operator to control the gun.
For its role as a light machine gun, a support assembly was typically fitted as a base for the weapon on which to sit on.
Its late entry into World War 1 meant that the Modello 1918 held little impact in the conflict - production was handled under the Ansaldo-Armstrong brand label. After a period of some practical use (as both a land-based and aircraft weapon), deficiencies were soon noticed: the skeletal nature of the magazine allowed all manner of debris into the action and extraction issues from the quick-closing breech were ever present - leading Agnelli to address these issues in subsequent years. For the latter, the chamber was fluted to improve extraction of the bottle-necked cartridges and this seems to have fixed the issue. The feature proved common to many guns since.
On the whole, the Modello 1918 was never a long term answer and its true value never fully realized - relegating it to limited production numbers and a training role within the Italian Army (it was not exported). It soldiered on, more or less, throughout the interwar period before taking its final bow during World War 2 - though by this time it appeared in very limited circulation, outdone by more modern and effective types.
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