MOSCHETTO MODELLO 91/38
PER TRUPPE SPECIALI
DEVELOPMENT
When the Italian Army HQ saw the inevitability of Italy entering WW2 before they could complete the mod.38 production for the whole army,they reverted all ongoing mod.38 production (Fucile corto, Moschetto and Moschetto T.S.) to 6.5.
It was a really easy production conversion, since factories weren't converting old mod.91 guns anymore but producing brand new mod.38 ones. So they just started drilling the barrels for .256 and rifling them at .268, keeping the constant twist rifling they were using in 1936-38 and in the 7.35 production. They kept the fixed sights (Except for a short FNA productions), but for the 6.5 guns they zeroed them for 300m, as the old combat sights in the adjustable rear sights.
Only way to tell apart a 6.5 mod.38 from a 735 one is the marking on the fixed sight, saying Cal. 6.5 or Cal. 7.35, along with the pretty noticeable "CAL. 7.35" cartouche on mod.38 guns.
PRODUCTION AND USE
91/38 T.S. production was kept by Beretta and FNA, while Terni focused on the Fucile corto production and Gardone on the fucile corto and Moschetto.
FNA made in 1939 a small batch of about 10k T.S. with adjustable sights for the Italian Navy, with all the mod.91/38 features except the fixed sights.
The Moschetto T.S. mod. 91/38 served on all Italian fronts (Balkans, Russia, North Africa), often seen in the hands of Artillery crews, Alpini, infantry squads and patrols.
1943 Production
Some time into 1943 (allegedly around April), Italian manufacturers got the order to discontinue the barrel shank markings indicating the year of production and, if possible, even the ones indicating the manufacturer itself.
These guns were kept in productions until September 8th 1943, when the armstice with the allied was signed and the Germans swiftly occupied the country.
A distinctive feature of these weapons, in addition to the frequent lack of the aforementioned marks, is the mere presence of the serial number and the Savoy shield indicating the forced proof of the barrel.
The quickest and most effective way to trace the manufacturer is to consult the serial number tables and see which manufacturer was using that prefix.
