Weapons · Italy · 1934-1945
Beretta M1934
service pistol
The Beretta M1934 was a compact blowback-operated semi-automatic pistol that became the standard sidearm of the Royal Italian Army from 1935, manufactured by Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta. It replaced a mix of older revolvers and pistols with a simpler, open-slide design that proved reliable and easy to maintain in the field, and it was carried by Italian officers and troops across North Africa, the Balkans and the Eastern Front. Roughly 1,080,000 were produced, and captured or war-trophy examples circulated well beyond Italian service, including one used in the 1948 assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
| caliber | 9mm Corto (.380 ACP) |
|---|---|
| weight | 0.7 kg (empty) |
| effective range | 40 m |
| produced | ~1,080,000 |
Mediterranean and North Africa, Balkans, Eastern Front
.jpg){kind=link}