Weapons from all over the world. Tell me, what can an ordinary soldier bring with him from the war? Not ours, of course, but, say, American? Of course, something is not very big, because there is no place for him to collect junk in a bag. However, if we asked the American military police about this, we would get an interesting answer. After the end of World War II, the Beretta pistol of the 1934 and 1937 model became the main memorable souvenir for soldiers returning from the South European theater of operations. And obviously there was some reason for that, right?
And it so happened that the company "Beretta" began to produce pistols during the First World War. Then the army entered service with the 1915 model of the year, designed by Tulio Marengoni, 9-mm caliber. In 1917, it was supplemented by a sample chambered for the Browning 7.65 mm cartridge and finally a 1922 model with an enlarged cutout on the frame above the barrel for ejection of casings, which made it different from all other pistols of that time. So at the end of the 1920s, the company had as many as three pistol models in its lineup. The newest model was the M1923 pistol, but it was not accepted into service by the Italian army. The main difference between this model and the previous ones is the open trigger with a hole on it. As a result, the company decided to start developing a completely new pistol that would attract the attention of the military and would allow it to get a lucrative military order.
And I must say that the work was crowned with success: the 1931 model appeared, which had all the combat characteristics of the 23rd model, but had a more compact design, and was lighter than its predecessor. The new pistol was developed for the classic Browning cartridge 7.65, which was distinguished by its high combat characteristics. And this pistol became the basis for the creation of the next model M 1934, from which the previous model differed only in three features: the line of inclination of the handle; wooden overlays for the handle; and some changes in the trigger.
No special documentary evidence of the production of these pistols remained, although we know that it was rather limited and ceased by 1935 with the appearance of the 1935 model of the same caliber. A number of 1931 models were acquired by the Navy, while a number, presumably a very small number, were sold on the civilian market. For some reason, the serial numbers of these pistols start with 400,000. So one copy of the 1933 civilian model, for example, had the number 402,000, and the other in 1934 had a number higher than 406,000.
Weapons made for the Navy are easily recognizable by the medallion on the grips with RM inscribed and an anchor between the two letters. Civilian models have a classic medallion with the PB monogram.
Several samples of M 1932 have survived, where the number 2 is clearly engraved on top of the number l. Based on this, it can be assumed that this pistol was not mass-produced, but was manufactured in small quantities as an experimental prototype or sample for delivery to the military commissions, which at that time were looking for a new pistol for the Italian armed forces. In fact, the 1932 model is identical to the future 1934 model, which was officially adopted by the royal army. The only difference was, again, in the handles, which initially had "cheeks" made of wood, not Bakelite, but this design seems to be quite normal for an experimental sample.
In addition to the already classic 7.65 caliber, the 1932 model first used the.380 ACP (9x17 mm) Colt Automatic cartridge, which was also one of the many creations of J. M. Browning. The cartridge in Italy was renamed 9 "corto" (short), apparently to avoid confusion with the 9mm Glisenti cartridge, which had a few millimeters longer casing and was therefore nicknamed the 9mm "lungo" (long) - all that led to noticeable confusion among 9mm caliber cartridges intended for use in Italian automatic pistols.
In the first half of the 30s, the new Beretta pistols were subjected to a series of comprehensive tests in the Italian army and the police. The pistols were compared with the German "Walter" PP, but in the end I liked my own pistol more and was accepted into service under the name "Modello 1934 calibro 9 corto".
The adoption of this new 9mm pistol by the army did not prevent, however, the development of a caliber 7.65 version of the 1935 model, the pistols of which were supplied to the Navy and the Air Force and were produced independently of the production of the larger caliber model.
It is interesting to note that these two pistols, which are almost identical, are nevertheless designed in such a way that it is impossible to replace components such as barrels or magazines in them.
It is also interesting that although the Model 34 was considered a completely new model and was numbered separately (numbers start at 500,000), the Model 35 was still considered a new version of the 1931 model and was numbered in the same series as its predecessor, as indicated by an analysis of their serial numbers. It should be added that there is also a "Model of 1937" but in fact it is quite rare. This is nothing more than a commercial version of 1934, differing only in the inscription on the side surface of the bolt casing and the absence of military markings.
In the late 1930s, Beretta also began experimenting with alloy frames for its pistols. In the post-war years, this version of the 7.65 caliber pistol had some commercial success, while the 9mm version with a new frame turned out to be completely unsatisfactory and its production was continued exclusively from steel.
Experts note that the Beretta M1934 (like the 35 model) was a high-quality weapon and had practically no competitors in its functional class. Despite the import ban, or perhaps just because of it, this automatic pistol became an attractive war trophy for soldiers of all armies who crossed the Italian soil during the Second World War. By the way, the Italians write about this, but among the memoirs of Americans, there is evidence of this.
Its advantages include high reliability and good mobility, qualities that are necessary for any weapon on which human life depends in an extreme situation.
Added to this is the minimal cost and simplicity of any repair needed by this gun, which was required only on rare occasions. In addition, he did not need high-power ammunition, which made it easier to learn how to shoot from it. And it is very significant that all Beretta models are still in demand many years after they were discontinued, and the market quickly swallowed up the masses of these pistols.
The production of M1934 and M1935 continued throughout the war, although its total character on the quality of the weapons produced in Italy, and not only in Italy, was strongly influenced for the worse during the war, especially with regard to weapons released in 1944 and 1945. Fortunately for these pistols, they were so simple that any manufacturing defect only affected their exterior finish, not their "performance" or safety.
The 1945 pistol, produced in the final months of World War II, lacks a neat exterior and looks rough. The serial number and caliber designation are the only markings on these pistols, and they are printed on the frame just above the trigger guard.
Interestingly, during the time when the production of pistols fell into the hands of the Germans, the criteria for serial numbers changed. They replaced the simple progressive numbers that Beretta had always used with a mixed code of letters - usually German - and numbers. In any case, there are several samples with the inscription “Pistola Beretta Cal 7.65 M35 S. A. Armaguerra-Cremona 1944 along with German numbering.
I personally managed to get to know this pistol and hold it in my hands. Although the tilt of the handle is not so great, it is very comfortable to hold in your hands. The "spur" on his store plays an important role in the convenience of holding. Thanks to the "spur" and the handle fits comfortably in the hand, and the magazine is removed without much difficulty. True, in the tradition of their time, the designers supplied the pistol with a magazine latch at the base of the handle. The spring is tight and it is not very convenient to move it. But then there is no danger of losing the store.
The magazine feeder is at the same time a slide stop. As soon as the cartridges are used up, the bolt abuts against the protrusion of the feeder and remains in the rear position. Only when the empty magazine is removed does the bolt go forward, but only if it has not been fixed in the rear position with a safety catch for a recess in the bolt. Such locking of the bolt, in particular, is necessary in case of incomplete disassembly of the pistol. Also on the left of the bolt there is a hairpin - an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber. Of course, it would be necessary to shoot from it in order to finally say whether it is convenient or not, but what is not - that is not. So you have to be satisfied with at least that.
