Comments by "" (@neutronalchemist3241) on "Pavesi 1942 Prototype Italian Semiauto Rifle" video.

At the end of WWI the studies of the Italian Army concluded that the bolt action rifle was obsolete and almost useless. The submachinaguns demonstrated to be much more useful in trench warfare, so the suggestion was to replace the bolt action rifles with "moschetti automatici" ("automatic carabines") as soon as possible. They first started to design a real assault rifle (Terni mod 21, 7.65X40mm intermediate cartridge, select fire, 25 round magazine), but the commission that tested it, probably mainly composed by traditionalists, found it unsaticfactory ("this weapon has all the inconvenient of the automatic weapons without having their advantages"). At that point they thought the semiauto rifle to be a good compromise between the bolt action and the automatic, so made the first concourse for a semiauto rifle, in the early '30 (Beretta M.31, MBT 29 and Scotti Mod. X). The Scotti Mod X won that, but, first that it could be officially adopted, the army decided to switch cartridge, from the 6.5X52 to the 7.35X51. Then they decided to have another concourse (Scotti Mod X, Beretta M37, Breda 1935 PG and Armaguerra 39) this time won by the Armaguerra. At that point the war had already started, and it was too late to adopt a new main battle rifle (even the Soviets had to stop to produce the optmal SVT 40 and revert to the Moisin). "Better is the enemy of good."
3
chrisloUSA It's a classic case of "the better is the enemy of the good". Adopting the rifle in 1933, and even counting a further year to better adapt it to the Army's needs, the Italians would have had all the time to field it for the entire Army first than the war (also cause the rifle was very simple to produce). Then they decided to adopt a better anti-personel round than the 6.5 (and the 7.35 was. It tumbled more easily in the body, and had a flatter trajectory in the first 300m). Then they decided to give to the other designers a chance to submit better weapons than the Scotti (and both the Armaguerra 39 and the Breda PG probably were, but, by then it was too late), but, searching for the better, they lost the chance to have the good.
2
They hadn't any requirement like that. The Scotti Mod X, that won the early '30s concourse for the semiauto rifle of the Italian Army and the Breda 1935 PG, that participated tho the late '30s one, were both gas operated. Simply the other designers were more comfortable with recoil operated weapons.
1
chrisloUSA Yeah, but that's true for the Germans, and for the Americans too (the M1 Garand had the muzzle gas-trap assembly until trhree years after it's adoption, and the rifles already produced had to be retrofitted lately). But the Scotti Mod. X had a perfectly normal gas port under the barrel and, as said, it won the early '30s' competition. It wasn't adopted only cause the Army first decided to change the service round, and then to redo the competition.
1