Italy - Forgotten Weapons

Beretta Model 1931 & 1937 Prototype Semiauto Rifles

July 1, 2016 Ian McCollum 42

In the 1930s, the Italian military (like all major military forces at the time) was investigating options for a semiautomatic service rifle. Beretta’s Tulio Marengoni developed one such rifle, and submitted it in two forms. […]

Italian Scout Bicycle

June 30, 2016 Ian McCollum 48

So, this is a bit off our normal subject matter, but it appealed to the mechanical nerd in me, and I figured at least a few of my readers would have the same reaction. If […]

GunSpotting in Rome

June 29, 2016 Ian McCollum 71

About a month ago I spent some time in Italy, and noticed a few things that I thought would be interesting. The biggest thing that stood out to me (on the matter of firearms, I […]

RIA: Beretta 1915 – the First of the Beretta Pistols

June 22, 2016 Ian McCollum 32

The Italian military went into WWI having already adopted a semiautomatic sidearm – the Model 1910 Glisenti (and its somewhat simplified Brixia cousin). However, the 1910 Glisenti was a very complex design, and much too […]

Four Italian WWI soldiers of the Regia Guardia di Finanza (Royal Finance Police)

Vintage Saturday: Royal Finance Police

May 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 39

From left to right: The soldier without a hat is a sergeant holding a Beretta Model 1915 pistol chambered in 9mm Glisenti. He is resting his shooting arm on a folded coat with a […]

Prototype Italian MBT 1925 Straight-Pull Rifle (Video)

January 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 34

Note: This video was filmed over a year ago, but I have been holding it in anticipation of the rifle going to auction. That doesn’t seem to be happening, so I’m posting the video now. […]

Scotti Model X – Shooting, History, & Disassembly (Video)

January 11, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

The Scotti Model X (the X standing for the 10th year of the Italian Fascist era, or 1932) was one of several semiauto rifles tested by the Italian military during the late 1920s and early […]

Franchi SPAS-12 at RIA

November 9, 2015 Ian McCollum 23

The Franchi SPAS-12 (Sporting Purpose Automatic Shotgun) is a dual-action police shotgun produced in Italy between 1979 and 2000, and imported into the US until 1994. It can be operated either as a semiautomatic or […]

Beretta M1918 SMG Photos

October 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

The Beretta M1918 was one of two simultaneous efforts to turn the M1915 Villar-Perosa machine gun into a more practical weapon. The Officine Villar Perosa (who had manufactured the 1915 gun in the first place) […]

Slow Motion: Egyptian Helwan (Video)

October 22, 2015 Ian McCollum 16

The Helwan is a licensed copy of the Beretta 1951, made in Egypt. It is a single-stack, single-action 9mm pistol using the same basic locking system as the German P38. This design would later be […]