Vol. IX No. 2

The First Sub-machine Gun: The Officine di Villar Perosa Machine Gun of 1915

(Part II)

Frederick Clifford

Abstract

This article aims to present a detailed and more nuanced examination of the development, production, and military application of the Pistola Mitragliatrice OVP (‘OVP Machine Pistol’), a unique and unusual twin-barrelled, pistol-calibre machine gun introduced in Italy during the First World War. The design process which led to the OVP machine gun is first described, followed by an assessment of its rapid adoption by the Italian Army and subsequent deployment as both an infantry support weapon and an aerial weapon fitted to military aircraft. Its efficacy in combat and impact on infantry tactics of the period are reviewed, in addition to its influence on the design of similar Austro-Hungarian small arms, and finally, its evolution into both a single-barrelled automatic carbine and a rifle-calibre light machine gun are described, along with its post-war legacy.

 

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Issue: Vol. IX No. 2
Published: 31 December, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52357/armax97407
Peer-reviewed?: Yes

Keywords: Fiat, Revelli, Italy, sub-machine guns, light machine guns, First World War

Bibliographic Information

Frederick Clifford, ‘The First Sub-machine Gun: The Officine di Villar Perosa Machine Gun of 1915 (Part II)’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. IX № 2 (2023), pp. 1–20, <https://doi.org/10.52357/armax97407>.

About the Author

Frederick Clifford is an independent researcher specialising in historical small arms. His current research interests are the design and production of automatic rifles and sub-machine guns. He has contributed to a number of books, including The People’s Army in the Spanish Civil War (Barnsley: Pen & Sword Publishing, 2020) and has written for Small Arms Review. Mr. Clifford is the author of the upcoming book, Submachine Guns of the Second World War (Pen & Sword Publishing, in press). He maintains a blog at augfc.tumblr.com and a website at firearms.96.it, and is currently working for Museums Northumberland.