Italy - Forgotten Weapons

The Italian Last-Ditch TZ-45 Submachine Gun

August 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

The TZ-45 is a late-war (some might say last ditch) Italian submachine gun made in small numbers and notable primarily for being the first SMG to use a grip safety on the magazine well. The […]

Costa Rican Breda PG: The First Burst-Fire Rifle

August 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

The Breda PG (“Presa Gas” – Gas Operated) was developed by Sestilio Fiorini in 1931 and put into production at Breda’s factory in Rome. It was offered as a weapon for commercial sale and export, […]

Finnish militiamen being issued 7.35mm Carcano rifles

M38 TS Carcano Carbine: Brilliant or Rubbish?

August 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 76

I would like to propose that the M38 TS Carcano carbine was, despite the poor reputation of the Carcano series of rifles, one of the best thought out bolt action weapons of World War 2. […]

Italy’s Worst Machine Gun: The Breda Modello 30

July 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 112

The Breda Model 30 was the standard Italian light machine gun of World War II, and is a serious contender for “worst machine gun ever”. Yes, given the choice we would prefer to have a […]

Modello 1928 Tromboncino Grenade Launcher

May 29, 2017 Ian McCollum 54

In 1928, the Italian army adopted a rifle-mounted grenade launcher. It was a potentially interesting weapon which wound up being fatally handicapped by the use of ineffective grenades. The basic idea was to mount a […]

Beretta AR-70

May 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 71

After failing to acquire a license to produce the M16 rifle, Beretta worked with SIG from 1963 through 1968 to develop 5.56mm infantry rifles. When the companies parted ways, SIG went on to produce the […]

The Beretta PM-12S Submachine Gun

April 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 43

For several decades, the Beretta company’s handguns and submachine guns were nearly all designed by the very talented Tulio Marengoni…but nothing can last forever. After World War 2, Beretta engineer Domenico Salza began working on […]

Book Review: The Italian Vetterli Rifle by Robert Wilsey

March 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 36

Here in the United States, the Italian Vetterli is overwhelmingly found in the 1870/87/15 guise, and considered unsafe to shoot. However, this is simply the final transformation of a rifle which saw substantial military service […]

Sosso 1941 Italian Prototype Pistol (Video)

March 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

The Model 1941 Sosso is a huge Italian experimental semiauto pistol designed by Giulio Sosso. It uses a short recoil locking mechanism and is chambered for standard 9x19mm Parabellum ammunition, but its more unusual feature […]

Benelli MR-1 (Video)

January 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 29

The MR-1 is a recently introduced 5.56mm tactical black rifle from Benelli, which is remarkably not an AR15 or AR18 in disguise. Instead, Benelli took the gas system from the M4 Super 90 shotgun and […]