The Beretta M1935 is a compact

.32 ACP .32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

blowback

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

that was manufactured by Italian firm

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...

History

In the early 1930s, the Italian army was impressed by the

Walther PP The Walther PP (german: Polizeipistole, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It features an exposed hammer, a traditional double-ac ...

pistol. Beretta did not want to lose a big Italian military contract and designed the compact M1934 for the Italian

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, which accepted it in 1937. The M1935 is simply an M1934, modified to fire .32ACP ammunition.

Specifications

The M1935 is a

single-action A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap, a ...

semi-automatic blowback pistol that fires .32 ACP

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. It is constructed from carbon

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

with

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

grips and is equipped with a frame safety that also acts as a take down lever and slide hold open. When the last shot has been fired the

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

is retained open by the empty

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and must be held open manually by the safety lever to reload the pistol. The magazine capacity is 8 rounds. As this pistol was built for the Italian army, all parts were interchangeable, which simplified maintenance and manufacturing: a first at the time.

Intended market

The M1935 was purpose built and designed for the Italian armed forces; however, it was also sold to the civilian market and issued to the German forces in 1944 and 1945.

Design advantages

Fitted with the Beretta-style open slide, the M1935 has a very reliable feeding and extraction cycle. It was made with few parts and is very simple to maintain. The M1935 is a very robust construction with long service life if properly maintained.

Limitations

The low magazine capacity of 8 rounds and short effective range reduces the M1935 to a last resort self-defense weapon. The slide is not of the self-catching type; the magazine retains the action to the rear. When the magazine is removed the action returns forward on an empty chamber. This slows down reloading of the pistol. However, if the safety is thumbed into the safe position it also acts as a slide catch, the magazine can then be released and a full magazine can be inserted, the slide release / safety can then be released, loading a round, then the pistol can now be fired in single action.

Production

*From 1935 to 1967, about 525,000 units. *Mod. 1935 cal. 7.65 / .32ACP *Start / end of production from 1935 to 1967 **Quantity produced about 525,000 *Start - End -Serial numbers **1935 - 1959 from about 410000 to 923048 **1962 - 1963 from A10001 to A14130 **1966 - 1967 from H14131 to H14673

World War II prize guns

The Beretta M1935 was captured in huge numbers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from Italian and German armed forces by allied soldiers, who liked it because of its small size, rugged design and good construction. Many of these captured pistols are operational to this day and widespread in the US,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The M1935 is compact and easy to hide, with ammunition available for it.

References

External links

Beretta 1935 pictures and information
{{WWIIItalianInfWeapons M1935 World War II infantry weapons of Italy .32 ACP semi-automatic pistols Military equipment introduced in the 1930s