Beretta M1935
Encyclopedia
.32 ACP
.32 ACP , also known as the .32 Automatic is a 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 pistol...
caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
blowback pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
that was manufactured by Beretta
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
.
History
In the early 1930s, the ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
army was impressed by the Walther PP pistol, Beretta did not want to lose a big Italian military contract and designed the compact M1934
Beretta M1934
The Beretta model 1934 is a compact, semi-automatic pistol which was issued as a standard service firearm to the Italian armed forces beginning in 1934...
for the Italian army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
which accepted it in 1937. The M1935 is simply an M1934 modified to fire .32ACP ammunition.
Specifications
The M1935 is a single-action semi-automatic blowback pistol that fires the .32 ACP ammunitionAmmunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
. It is made out of carbon steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
with plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
grips. It is fitted with a manual safety
Safety
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
and when the last shot has been fired the slide
Pistol slide
The slide is the part of the weapon on a majority of semi-automatic pistols that moves during the operating cycle and generally houses the firing pin or striker and the extractor, and serves as the bolt...
is retained open by the empty magazine
Magazine (firearm)
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable . The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action...
. 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 .32 ACP ammunition is somewhat under-powered for combat use. The magazine capacity of only 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.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 IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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, Australia, New Zealand, France and in the United Kingdom. The M1935 is compact and easy to hide, with ammunition available for it.