Italy - Forgotten Weapons

Italian Trials Czech ZK-391 Semiauto Rifle

December 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 31

The ZK-391 is one in a series of Czech developmental semiautomatic rifles designed by Josef Koucký. It was developed initially in 1939 (hence the “39” in the designation), and was tested by the Italian military […]

BM59: The Italian M14

October 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

After World War Two, both the Beretta and Breda companies in Italy began manufacturing M1 Garand rifles. When Italy decided that they wanted a more modern selective-fire, magazine-fed rifle, they chose to adapt the M1 […]

Arsenal AF2011: A Double Barreled 1911 Monster Pistol

September 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

The Arsenal AF2011 began as a manufacturing proof of concept, to showcase the technical ability of the company making it (their prior experience was largely in exquisite miniature firearms). It was introduced to the public […]

The Italian Last-Ditch TZ-45 Submachine Gun

August 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 28

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 […]