History
While Beretta dates to 1526, the company has only been making handguns since the early 20th century. During the First World War, Italy issued the brand-new Model 1915 Beretta, the first semi-automatic pistol developed by the company. The 1915 Beretta replaced several revolvers and another earlier semi-automatic design manufactured by a different company.
After WWI, Italy saw the rise of fascism with Benito Mussolini coming into power in 1922. During the 1930s, it was clear that this new Italian regime needed to upgrade several military service firearms, including the standard-issue handgun. While the Walther PP started to gain traction in the other fascist state (Germany), Italy set out to find a new service handgun that was built and designed in Italy.
Related: Tradition Meets Innovation – Factory Tour of Beretta in Italy
This handgun has quite the history. Adopted by the Italians in 1934, it served in the Italian Army until it was replaced by the Beretta 92FS in the early 1990s. The M1934 was popular in European law enforcement and saw service in several African nations, along with Yugoslavia. It’s one of the more obscure standard-issue handguns from the major Axis powers during WWII.
It was also the handgun used in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The handgun was often used by factions rebelling against British rule and became a trophy item for British soldiers in India. Gandhi’s assassin acquired his M1934 from a British officer.
All in all, over 1 million Beretta M1934s were manufactured. Production began in 1934 and did not cease until 1991.
Design
The Beretta M1934 is chambered for .380 ACP, or 9mm Corto (Spanish for short), like the 9mm Kurz (German for “short”) chambering of the Walther PP. The handgun features the open slide concept common for all early Beretta handguns, which aids in reliable cycling. This handgun feeds from a seven-round magazine with a heel magazine release and has a 1/2x28 threaded barrel, although the threads are too short for anything modern. The sights are simple notch and post and difficult to pick up.
This set of handguns are traded in from Italian police use, with manufacture dates ranging from the 1940s to the 1970s. They have inventory marks from police armories and show heavy wear on the finish from use and holster wear.
Summary
This is not a typical law enforcement trade-in. While Glocks and SIGs are great, few handguns are as packed with history as the M1934. While there is some cosmetic wear, this handgun has lots of stories to tell. It’s not often that you find an LE trade-in that is both this historical and this affordable. While this may be one of the more obscure handguns from the 20th century, it is certainly not insignificant.
