Beretta Model 38
| Beretta Modello 38 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Submachine Gun |
| Place of origin |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Italy, Germany, Romania, Costa Rica[1] |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1935 |
| Variants | 1938/42, 1938/44, 1938/49 (MP1) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.3 kg |
| Length | 800 mm |
| Barrel length | 315 mm |
| Cartridge | 9x19mm Parabellum / Cartuccia Modello 38 |
| Action | Blowback |
| Rate of fire | 600 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 429 m/s (1,407.12 ft/s) (9x19mm Parabellum) |
| Effective firing range | 250 m |
| Feed system | 10, 20, 30 or 40 round box magazine |
The Model 38 and its variants were the official submachine guns of the Italian Army during World War II. The MAB 38A (Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938A), or Modello 38A, was introduced in 1938. The guns were also used by German, Romanian, and Argentine armies of the period.
History
Originally designed by Tullio Marengoni in 1935, the Modello 38A (M38) was developed from the Beretta Modello 18, itself derived from the Villar Perosa light machine gun of World War I fame. It is widely acknowledged as the most successful and effective Italian small arm of World War II.
Italy's limited industrial base in WW2 was no real barrier toward the development of advanced and effective firearms since at the time weapons did require large amounts of artisanal and semi-artisanal man-hours to be fine-tuned and made reliable. At this Italian specialised workers excelled and, oddly, the initial slow production ratio meant that the SMG only became available in numbers around 1943, when the fascist regime was toppled and Italy split between allied-aligned co-belligerent forces and German collaborationists of the RSI.
The 1938 series was extremely robust and proved very popular with both Axis forces as well as Allied troops, who utilized captured examples.[2] Many German soldiers, including elite forces such as the Waffen-SS and paratroop forces, actually preferred to use the Beretta 38 in combat.[3][4][5] Firing a powerfully-loaded Italian version of the widely distributed 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, the Cartuccia Modello 38, the Beretta was accurate at longer ranges than most other submachine guns.[6] Fully-automatic or single-shot fire was selectable by the use of two triggers. The Model 38 had a wooden stock, was about 800 millimeters in length, and weighed about 3.3 kilograms when loaded, with an effective range of about 200 meters.
The Model 1938A can be recognized by its fine craftsmanship and finish, and by the perforated cooling jacket over the barrel. It was produced from 1938 to 1950. It had 10, 20, 30, or 40-round magazines and fired at a rate of 600 rounds per minute. The short 10-round magazine, when used in conjunction with the fixed bayonet, was popular with both Allied and Axis forces for guarding prisoners or internal security details.[6][7]
Despite its undeniable effectiveness, the Beretta Modello 38 proved too time-consuming and expensive to produce during wartime. Marengoni designed a simplified model in which the cooling jacket and bayonet mount were eliminated, and the separate firing pin mechanism deleted in favor of a firing pin machined on the face of the bolt.[8] The new model was designated the Modello 38/42, and was produced in two versions from late 1942 to 1945. Originally equipped with a fluted barrel to save weight, the fluting was later eliminated to save time in production, with the smooth-barrel version receiving the designation Modello 38/43.[8] The Modello 38/42 and 38/43 fired the 9x19 mm cartridge at a rate of 550 rounds per minute. The MAB 38/42 and 38/43 were quickly adopted by the German army as the MP.738.[8]
The 38/44 Model, despite its designation, was actually produced from late 1945 to 1949.[9] It was a minor revision of the 38/42, in which the bolt was simplified and a large-diameter recoil spring utilized in place of the operating spring guide in order to speed production.[8] The 38/44 was also adopted by the German army as the MP.739. A variant of the Modello 38/44 was fitted with an MP40-style folding stock, and given the designation Modello 38/44 Speciale aka the Modello 2.[8] After Germany's defeat in World War II, the 38/44 continued in production in slightly revised form as the Modello 4.[8] After Marengoni's death, Beretta engineer Domenico Salza revised the safety system of the Modello 4, resulting in the Modello 5.[10] The Modello 5 was produced for the Italian Army and police, as well as the armed forces of several other nations until 1961, when production ceased in favor of the compact, modern Beretta Modello M12.[10]
References
- ^ Jones, Richard (2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009-2010. Jane's Information Group. p. 894. ISBN 0710628692.
- ^ Dunlap, Roy F., Ordnance Went Up Front, Samworth Press, (1948), p. 58
- ^ Miller, David, Fighting Men of World War II: Axis Forces : Uniforms, Equipment and Weapons, Stackpole Books (2007), ISBN 0811702774, 9780811702775, p. 139
- ^ Quarrie, Bruce, Fallschirmjäger: German Paratrooper, 1935-45, Osprey Publishing (2001), ISBN 1841763268, 9781841763262, p. 59
- ^ Ordnance Went Up Front, p. 58: "No one ever bothered with any other kind of submachine gun if he could get hold of a Beretta M38, and keep it. The New Zealand boys especially loved them. Even the Germans liked it, and they hated to admit anything was good except their own stuff."
- ^ a b Ordnance Went Up Front, p. 58
- ^ Smith, Joseph E., Small Arms of the World, 9th ed., Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Company (1969), pp. 482-483
- ^ a b c d e f Small Arms of the World, pp. 544-546
- ^ Hogg, Ian V. and Weeks, John, Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, 6th ed. DBI Books, Inc. (1991), pp. 224-225
- ^ a b Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, pp. 224-225
Bibliography
- Dunlap, Roy F., Ordnance Went Up Front, Samworth Press, (1948) ISBN 1884849091
- Hogg, Ian V. and Weeks, John, Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, 6th ed. DBI Books, Inc. (1991), ISBN 0873491203
- Smith, Joseph E., Small Arms of the World, 9th ed., Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Company (1969), ISBN 0811715663