Armaguerra Model 39
Notes: The
designer of this weapon is Gino Revelli, who also designed the Fiat-Revelli
machinegun and the Glisenti pistol.
This should give you some idea what kind of mechanical nightmare this weapon is.
When fired, the entire barrel of the weapon slides back 10 millimeters to
allow the bolt to unlock. The
barrel was kept in its track by large retaining bolts, and the charging handle
had to be pulled back by pulling on the front of the sling.
Luckily, only about 500 of these rifles were built and forced into the
hands of unlucky Italian soldiers during World War 2, with a change in caliber
helping to ensure the slowness of their manufacture by requiring a tooling
change soon after the beginning of its manufacture.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
Model 39 |
6.5mm Carcano |
2.79 kg |
6 Clip |
$859 |
Model 39 |
7.35mm Carcano |
2.99 kg |
6 Clip |
$1002 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
Model 39 (6.5mm) |
SA |
4 |
2-Nil |
7 |
5 |
Nil |
72 |
Model 39 (7.35mm) |
SA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
5 |
Nil |
79 |
Beretta BM-59
Notes: Shortly
after World War 2, Beretta began to manufacture the M-1 Garand rifle for the
Italian, Indonesian, and Danish armies.
As years went by, the need for a more modern weapon became apparent, and
the M-1 Garand was modified into a selective fire weapon chambered for the
then-new 7.62mm NATO cartridge and feed from a detachable box magazine.
Beretta’s first
BM-59s were produced in 1958; they were essentially M-1 Garands with a minimum
of modifications. The barrel was
shortened to 19.35 inches, a lighter weight of wood was used for the furniture,
the rifle was given selective-fire capability, and of course the chambering was
changed and a box-feed ability was added (in addition to the ability to top off
the magazine from the top of the receiver using chargers).
For about a year, this was the
BM-59. The BM-59D, introduced in
1959, was essentially the same weapon, but with a deeper pistol grip wrist.
The original cyclic rate, about 800 rpm, was then judged to be too high;
this resulted in the BM-59R later that year, with a cyclic rate reducer.
(In game terms, however, this has no effect, and the BM-59, BM-59D, and
BM-59R are identical for game purposes.)
A bit later that year, the BM-59GL was also introduced, with a muzzle
device added allowing for the firing of rifle grenades.
At this point,
variations of the BM-59 proliferated wildly.
1960’s BM-59 Mk I had a trigger with a somewhat lighter pull and a barrel
tipped with what Beretta called a “tri-compensator” – it served as a flash
suppressor, could fit NATO-pattern rifle grenades, and also functioned as a
low-grade compensator. A
modification of the Mk I designed with an extra selector setting for three-round
bursts (the BM-59 CB) was also built, but never put into even low-level
production. 1961’s BM-59 Mk II had
an altered stock with a true pistol grip, a winter trigger guard, and a folding
bipod attached under the gas block.
At about the same time as the Mk II, the Mk III was introduced; this version had
a folding tubular triangular-shaped stock with a well-made buttplate, in
addition to a foregrip under the handguard and the bipod deleted.
In 1962, the Mk IV version was introduced; it was designed to be a light
support version a la the M-14A1, and had a plastic stock similar in shape to
that of the M-14A1 as well as a hinged shoulder support, a heavy barrel, and a
folding bipod.
In 1962, the
BM-59 Mk Ital was introduced, and it became the standard BM-59 for most of the
rifle’s service. It is essentially
a conventionally-stocked rifle made of weatherproofed walnut, a folding bipod
with a mount that wrapped around the gas tube, and a special folding sight for
rifle grenades behind the standard front sight.
(When this sight is raised into position, the gas tube is virtually
closed to allow grenade firing.) A
folding-stock version, the Mk Ital A, was also designed, and is identical to the
Mk Ital except for that stock.
The BM-59 Ital
Alpini was based on the Mk III; it had the same folding stock, foregrip, absence
of a bipod, and also had a winter trigger guard and trigger group.
The Ital Paracudisti has shorter 18.21-inch barrel, a detachable muzzle
device, and no winter trigger group or guard, but was otherwise similar to the
Ital Alpini. Finally, a civilian
model, the BM-59 SL, was also put on the market; it is essentially a BM-59D
restricted to semiautomatic fire and with no bayonet lug.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
BM-59/BM-59D/BM-59R |
7.62mm NATO |
4.1 kg |
20 |
$1007 |
BM-59GL |
7.62mm NATO |
4.22 kg |
20 |
$1031 |
BM-59 Mk I |
7.62mm NATO |
4.1 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1032 |
BM-59 CB |
7.62mm NATO |
4.1 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1424 |
BM-59 Mk II |
7.62mm NATO |
4.3 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1516 |
BM-59 Mk III |
7.62mm NATO |
4.3 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1057 |
BM-59 Mk IV |
7.62mm NATO |
5.5 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1513 |
BM-59 Mk Ital |
7.62mm NATO |
4.4 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1492 |
BM-59 Mk Ital A |
7.62mm NATO |
4.5 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1517 |
BM-59 Ital Alpini |
7.62mm NATO |
4.5 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1057 |
BM-59 Ital Para |
7.62mm NATO |
4.6 kg |
15, 20, 25 |
$1045 |
BM-59SL |
7.62mm NATO |
4.6 kg |
10, 15, 20, 25 |
$1007 |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
|
BM-59/BM-59D/BM-59R/BM-59GL |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
8 |
59 |
BM-59 Mk I |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
9 |
59 |
BM-59 CB |
3/5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
5/9 |
59 |
BM-59 Mk II |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
8 |
59 |
(With Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
2 |
4 |
77 |
BM-59 Mk III |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
5/7 |
3 |
8 |
59 |
BM-59 Mk IV |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
61 |
(With Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
80 |
BM-59 Mk Ital |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
8 |
59 |
(With Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
2 |
4 |
77 |
BM-59 Mk Ital A |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
5/7 |
3 |
8 |
59 |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
5/7 |
2 |
4 |
77 |
|
BM-59 Ital Alpini |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
5/7 |
3 |
8 |
59 |
BM-59 Ital Para |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
5/7 |
3 |
8 |
54 |
BM-59SL |
SA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
Nil |
59 |
Beretta BM-931
This weapon was
one of several tried out by the Italian Army and used in the inter-war years and
during World War 2. It is an
entirely ordinary gas-operated semiautomatic rifle with a straight wrist stock
instead of having any sort of pistol grip.
This could make it uncomfortable to fire, and production costs also
tended to run a bit high. As a
result, it was not adopted in any large numbers.
The bottom of the integral magazine also pivoted forward to load it, a
somewhat unusual feature. The
BM-937 was a short rifle version of the BM-931, and was also chambered for
different ammunition. This rifle
was top-loaded in a conventional manner, dispensing with the forward-pivoting
magazine housing.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
BM-931 |
6.5mm Carcano |
4.07 kg |
6
Clip |
$859 |
BM-937 |
7.35mm Carcano |
3.94 kg |
6
Clip |
$956 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
BM-931 |
SA |
4 |
2-Nil |
7 |
4 |
Nil |
72 |
BM-937 |
SA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
4 |
Nil |
58 |
Breda PG
Notes: Despite
the cartridge it fires, the PG is sometimes cited as an early ancestor of
assault rifle development. It was
produced in small numbers between 1935 and 1936 (when about 850 were built), and
it had modern features such as a high-capacity magazine, short barrel, gas
operation, sights calibrated for short range, burst firing capability, and other
such modern design features.
However it was not without its faults, the chief of which being that it is a
beastly heavy weapon despite its small dimensions.
It also has a very complicated firing mechanism, particularly in the
burst mechanism. The only known
sales were to Costa Rica.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
PG |
7mm
Mauser |
5.25 kg |
20 |
$946 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
PG |
4 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
6 |
3 |
6 |
47 |
Mannlicher-Carcano
M-1891
Notes:
These rifles were some of the Italian Army’s primary service weapons from
1891 to 1945. The
Mannlicher-Cacanos were based on the basic Mannlicher design, with the primary
difference being the chambering. Trials included the German Gew. 88, rifles
submitted by Vitali, Bertoldo, Mauser, and Lee as well 45 other rifles.
These rifles were all chambered or re-chambered for the 6.5mm Carcano
round, and trials were remarkably fast considering the sheer amount of rifles
tested – in only two years.
The first
version of this series was the Fucile di
Fantera M-1891, adopted in 1891, but not issued until 1894.
The FF M-1891 had a straight-wrist stock with a magazine that was made in
one-piece with the trigger guard. A
quadrant sight with a perhaps overly-hopeful range of 2000 meters was mounted at
the rear. The FF M-1891 used a long 30.7-inch barrel, with the rifle having an
overall length of more than 1.28 meters.
The next version
was the Moschetto per Cavallaria M-1891
– the Cavalry Carbine. The MC
M-1891 has a permanently-attached, folding bayonet; in fact, nine different
variations of the attachments and folding devices for the bayonet.
The MC M-1891 was primarily issued to cavalry (horse-mounted, that is),
Carabinieri (mountain troops), and bicycle-mounted troops.
During World War 2, it was issued to almost anyone.
The early form of the MC M-1891 had no top part of the handguard, and had
a (largely-ineffective) recoil lug in the stock; the recoil lug was later
removed and a top handguard fitted.
The barrel of the MC M-1891 is 17 inches; mostly due to the folding bayonet, it
is almost as heavy as the TS M-1891, despite lighter construction.
The TS (Truppe
Special; the full designation being the
Moshetto per Truppe Speciale) carbine
is the most common version of the M-1891 system.
It is basically a Mauser-type rifle, with a Mannlicher-type magazine, and
a new bolt safety system. The
bayonet mounting system is especially strange, using a special rod projecting
from below the barrel and a transverse locking lug.
The barrel is 17.69 inches.
These carbines were mostly sold off in large numbers after World War 2, an act
from which its greatest infamy came: it was the weapon Lee Harvey Oswald used to
shoot John F. Kennedy.
A version of the
he M-1891TS had mounted to its right side the MOD.28 Tromboncino (“little
trombone”) -- a grenade launcher. The grenade launcher is 38.5millimeters in
diameter, when loaded, the grenade was kept in place by an elastic O-Ring.
The barrel is slightly tapered, to keep the shell from exiting the barrel
with the grenade. The rifle with
grenade launcher has forward center of gravity which is also shifted to the
right. There are no dedicated
sights for the MOD.28; the rifle’s leaf and blade sights are used with the
MOD.28. The firing process for the
grenade launcher was cumbersome – the bolt of the rifle had to be swung over the
MOD.28, a ballistite cartridge inserted in the action, then the grenade launcher
could be fired. In 1943 the M1891TS with the MOD.28 was declared obsolete,
replaces by light mortars such as the Brixia 1935, and the rifles converted back
to standard M1891TSs, and the MOD.28’s discarded.
Some MOD.28-equipped rifles saw partisan use, but most were destroyed
during and after World War 2. There
are few MOD.28-equipped rifles in existence today, and they are almost totally
museum pieces.
The M-1940 rifle
is basically an improved version of the M-1891, officially adopted by the
Italian Army in 1940 but never actually built in large quantities.
It used a much longer 27.15-inch barrel (the carbine had a 17.75-inch
barrel) and used modified sights to match the increase in range, but is
otherwise the
same as the TS Carbine, using the same action and taking the same M-1891 sword
bayonet. The M-1940 can still be
found on the War Surplus market.
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
|
FF
Rifle M-1891 |
6.5mm Carcano |
3.78 kg |
6
Clip |
$1237 |
MC
Carbine M-1891 |
6.5mm Carcano |
3.12 kg |
6
Clip |
$1098 |
TS
Carbine M-1891 |
6.5mm Carcano |
3.13 kg |
6
Clip |
$1128 |
TS
Carbine M-1891 w/MOD.28 |
6.5mm Carcano |
6.47 kg |
6
Clip |
$1939 |
M-1940 |
6.5mm Carcano |
3.71 kg |
6
Clip |
$1192 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
FF Rifle M-1891 |
BA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
8 |
4 |
Nil |
108 |
MC Carbine M-1891 |
BA |
3 |
2-Nil |
6 |
3 |
Nil |
48 |
TS Carbine M-1891 |
BA |
3 |
2-Nil |
6 |
4 |
Nil |
51 |
TS Carbine M-1891 w/MOD.28 |
BA |
3 |
2-Nil |
6 |
3 |
Nil |
46 |
M-1940 |
BA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
8 |
4 |
Nil |
95 |
Mannlicher-Carcano
M-1938
Notes:
World War 1 suggested to the Italians that the 6.5mm Carcano cartridge
did not have the punch that the ammunition used by the rest of the world did.
North Africa and Abyssinia reinforced this.
It was not, however, until 1938 that a new cartridge was devised.
This cartridge was placed into a modified TS M-1891 Carbine, and the new
weapon was called the M-1938 Short Rifle.
Unfortunately, the pressures of World War 2 meant that the cartridge and
the weapon were produced in only a limited amount, since there were already a
huge number of M-1891s and their ammunition available.
The M-1938
Carbine, like the Short Rifle, is basically a modified M-1891 design; it is a
shorter version of the Short Rifle, with 17.75-inch barrel (as opposed to the
Short Rifle’s 22.15-inch barrel).
The Carbine used the same folding bayonet as the M-1891.
The M-1938 TS Carbine is similar, has a barrel band, nose cap for the
fore-end, and used the M-1891 sword bayonet.
The M-1938-43
Short Rifle is an M-1938 Short Rifle modified to fire 8mm Mauser ammunition,
specifically for Italian troops fighting alongside Nazi troops.
Other than the modifications necessary for the new cartridge, the
clip-fed magazine was replaced by a 5-round internal magazine into which rounds
had to be fed one at a time. The
modifications to caliber, unfortunately, turned the M-1938 into a somewhat
dangerous weapon for the user, because the M-1938’s action simply wasn’t
designed to fire ammunition of the power of the 8mm Mauser.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
M-1938 Short Rifle |
7.35mm Carcano |
3.4
kg |
6
Clip |
$1342 |
M-1938 Carbine |
7.35mm Carcano |
3.33 kg |
6
Clip |
$1310 |
M-1938-43 Short Rifle |
8mm
Mauser |
3.61 kg |
5
Internal |
$1697 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
M-1938 Short Rifle |
BA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
6 |
4 |
Nil |
73 |
M-1838 Carbine |
BA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
6 |
4 |
Nil |
57 |
M-1938-43 Short Rifle |
BA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
6 |
5 |
Nil |
80 |