In the primary extraction phase of automatic firearms cycling, the initial small rearward movement of the hot expanded cartridge case away from the chamber's walls should be powerful but not too rapid, otherwise reliability problems may arise.

Separated cases resulting in jamming of the Breda were usually the consequence of poor primary extraction, and this was often difficult to remedy in the field.

The Breda 30 inherently lacked good primary extraction in its design, and thus utilized a small lubrication device that oiled each cartridge as it entered the chamber.

[citation needed] An infantry platoon was divided into two large sections, each of twenty men, which were further split into rifle and light machine gun squads.

[citation needed] As individual weapons, pistols were issued to each corporal gunner, a carbine for the sergeant-major, and rifles for all others.

[5] Because of its highly frequent jamming and stoppages, the Breda, despite being a machine gun, was more comparable to a semi-automatic rifle in terms of fire output.

[5] Low magazine capacity, frequent jamming and the complicated barrel change made firing and reloading a slow and laborious process, resulting in the Breda 30 being a weapon only capable of laying down a diminutive amount of firepower and making it a very modest contributor to a firefight.

[citation needed] The Breda 30 along with the Carcano rifle made up the backbone of the Italian infantry armament during the Second World War.

[2] Careful polishing was also carried out frequently with extra attention being paid to the Breda's lubrication system and ammunition availability.