Beretta Model 38

Lore & Background

Originally designed by Beretta's chief engineer Tullio Marengoni in 1935, the Moschetto Automatico Beretta 38, or MAB 38, was developed from the Beretta Modello 18 and 18/30, derived from the Villar Perosa light machine gun of World War I. It is widely acknowledged as the most successful and effective Italian small arm of World War II and was produced in large numbers in several variants. Italy's limited industrial base in World War II was no real barrier toward the development of advanced and effective small arms since most weapons of the time required large amounts of artisan and semi-artisan man-hours to be fine-tuned anyway. Italian specialized workers excelled at this, but the initial slow rate of production meant that the MAB 38 only became available in large numbers in 1943 when the fascist regime was toppled and Italy split between the Allied-aligned co-belligerent forces in the south and the German-aligned collaborators of the Italian Social Republic in the north.

The MAB 38 was developed by Beretta to compete in the sub-machine gun market and to take part with the Semiauto rifle and submachinegun Italian Army trials that were held during the 1930s; it was a well-made and sturdy weapon, introduced several advanced features, and was suitable for police and special army units. Presented to Italian authorities in 1938, its first customer was the Italian Ministry of Colonies, which purchased 500 MABs in October 1938 to be issued as the standard firearm of the Polizia dell'Africa Italiana (Italian Africa Constabulary), the government colonial police force. Army orders were slow to come; although impressed by the excellent qualities and firepower of the weapon, the Italian military did not feel the MAB was suitable for standard infantry combat. It was judged ideal for police and assault units. Small orders were placed by the 1st Mobile Battalion of the Guardie di Pubblica Sicurezza (national state police) in May 1939. Once Italy entered war, PAI had to donate some of their MABs to the Libyan Paratrooper units. Within November 1941 the Italian Army requested 10,527 MABs with minor changes to reduce production costs, notably changing the muzzle brake and the removal of the bayonet lug to create the MAB 38A. This was the standard army variant, used throughout the war and issued to commissioned officers and to elite Italian units, like motorcyclists, paratroopers, the Alpini 'Monte Cervino' skiers assault battalion, 10th Arditi Regiment, 'M' Battalions of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN, Blackshirts) and military police. By December 1941, seeing the good results on the field, another 20,000 guns were ordered.

The Italian Royal Navy also purchased the weapon and MAB 38As were given to the 'San Marco' Marine Regiment and naval security troops; the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) issued the MAB 38A to its crack A.D.R.A. Regiment. Orders were still small and the Carcano M1891 rifle remained the standard weapon even in elite units. Until 1943, the MAB 38A (and since mid 1943, the MAB 38/42) was available almost exclusively to commissioned officers, paratroopers, motorcyclists, skiers and other elite or police units, given their need for high volumes of firepower in prolonged actions or to maintain close-quarters combat superiority. The paratroopers of the 185th Infantry Division 'Folgore' had their NCOs armed with the weapon, while the rest of the unit used either the Moschetto mod. 91/38 Carcano or the Breda Mod.30 LMG, along other firearms.

Reader's Guide

After the Italian armistice of September 8, 1943, the Italian armed forces melted away and an Italian army was reconstructed in northern Italy under German control, the Beretta MAB equipping many units. The Italian Social Republic (R.S.I.) army and militia units fought a counterinsurgency war against partisans from its inception, as well as against the Allies. For assault and counterinsurgency units, where firepower at close range was a vital asset, it was the ideal weapon. Production of the MAB became priority and it was supplied in great numbers to R.S.I. formations, especially elite units, and it became an iconic weapon symbolizing the Italian soldier in popular culture. Later in the war, a simplified variant known as the MAB 38/44 was introduced. Regardless of the tables of organization and equipment of a unit, the Beretta 38 was a popular weapon that could eventually find its way into the hands of virtually any soldier, especially among officers and senior non-commissioned officers, in any type of unit.

A magazine-carrying vest was designed for elite troops (Battaglioni M, paratroopers, marines) armed with the Beretta 38; these were dubbed 'Samurai' due to the similarity of the stacked magazines to the feudal Japanese warriors' body armour. A special canvas holster was issued with the MAB with two magazine-carrier pouches sewn on, to be worn as a belt but only came into use during the brief life of the R.S.I. and by then could be seen in the employ of many different units whose 'elite' status could have been reasonably questioned (such as Black Brigades and other militias). The Beretta MAB was highly praised by Italian resistance movement fighters as well, being far more accurate and powerful than the British Sten which was common-issue in partisan units, although the smaller Sten was more suited for clandestine operations. German soldiers also liked the Beretta MAB, judging it as large and heavy, but reliable and well-made. The 1938 series was extremely robust and proved very popular with Axis forces as well as Allied troops, who used captured examples. Many German soldiers, including the Waffen-SS and Fallschirmjäger forces, preferred the Beretta 38. Germany manufactured 231,193 Beretta M38s in 1944 and 1945. Firing a more powerful Italian version of the widely distributed 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, the Cartuccia 9 mm M38, the Beretta was accurate at longer ranges than most other submachine guns. The MAB could deliver impressive firepower at close range, and at longer distances its size and weight was an advantage, making the weapon stable and easy to control. In expert hands, the Beretta MAB allowed accurate short-burst shooting up to 100 m (110 yd) and its effective range with Italian M38 ammunition was 200 m (220 yd), an impressive result for a 9mm submachine gun.

Did You Know?

• The Beretta Model 38 was first issued to Italian police units in Africa's colonies.
• A magazine-carrying vest for elite troops was nicknamed 'Samurai' due to its resemblance to Japanese armor.
• The MAB 38/43 was a collapsible stock variant designed for tank crews but saw very limited production.