Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Fabbrica D' Armi Pietro Beretta SpA More Info

About the Gun

Compact blowback pocket pistol with an open-top slide and an enclosed hammer. Blued steel, vertically scored wood panels, and a manual safety. No grip safety. Single-stack magazine with a heel release. Fixed sights. Round trigger guard.

Production

Production ran from 1915 through 1918.

Market value

No MSRP in the modern sense. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $1,200–$2,500.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.32 Automatic
Alias:	7.65 mm Browning
More Info

Analysis

Marengoni scaled the Model 1915 down for .32 Auto after the Italian 9 mm Glisenti chambered gun was already in army service. The War Ministry accepted the 1915/17 in September 1917 and ordered 10,000 the next month, two magazines each. Military deliveries ran through March 1919, the last at serial 60183. Civilian sales, including banks and town councils, continued to August 1921, the last at serial 71744. About 56,000 were made if the series opened near 15600. The changes from the 1915 are the smaller frame, the round guard, the scored panels, and the dropped grip safety. The firing pin does the ejecting. The 1919 replaced it, same cartridge, with a revised slide opening. Italian military guns carry acceptance marks. A plain gun from the same serial range is a civilian sale. Magazines and the wood panels are the usual missing pieces.