Page 91 - GUNS Issue n.01

side they also have the two locking slots for the lever. In some cases, it was preferred to replace the whole bayonet
joint with another one produced from scratch, always with a push-button release. There were also some old first
world war slider joints that ended up on carbines “born” with the lever joint. In short, a great confusion!
the barrel top cover

Among the Moschettos in service when Italy joined World War I, the 1891 was the only one designed without a
barrel top cover. After firing, however, the barrel rapidly heated up and it was soon realized that a wooden barrel
cover, even if short, would have been very useful to the soldiers. Thus, with the same order no. 400 of 30 June 1916
that commanded the change of the bayonet joint, a top cover was added to the carbines. This process required the
modification of the rear sight (to hold the barrel cover, two lateral notches were made in the front part) and of the
front band, with the addition of an integrated “beak” to hold the barrel cover in place. The addition of the barrel
cover was retroactive (even if it was not applied to older carbines and some remained in their original configuration)
and, to reuse some of the old-style front bands, a modification was designed: a small milling, in the internal upper
part of the band, that allowed the attachment of a plate
that performed the function of the beak. There are small
differences in the conformation of the added beaks,
probably imputable to the factory worker who had made
them: some beaks could be removed from the band, while
others were welded in order (perhaps) to prevent them
A beautiful Beretta from 1938, already with a round from being lost during disassembly.
chamber and “crossed rifles” marking, which was stamped On older carbines, the rear sight was generally kept in
on 10% of the production as proof that the carbines passed its original form, without lateral notches: by shaping the
the minimum accuracy test. barrel cover appropriately, it was still possible to obtain
a good fit. These transitional components were mostly
replaced with the definitive parts during the refurbishing
processes that took place in the period between the two
World Wars; in fact, in the lot that we are examining there
are many WW1 carbines that have definitive front bands,
rear sights and barrel covers. However, two carbines of the
lot have remained in their original configuration, without
barrel covers. Not coincidentally, their stocks are also
original and have not been replaced.

1 2

3 4

1_Among the 150 carbines there is a large number of Fna post-1940 models. After 1940, Fna was the only company to put back into
production the cavalry carbine with an adjustable rear sight. The reason is unclear.

2_Fna late 1943 carbine, with the factory marking but without the manufacturing date marking.

3_Rare Fna variant from 1942 that does not even have the manufacturer marking, it only has the serial number. It is a rare case, but not unique.
4_Between 1941 and 1942, Fna put into production a batch of carbines characterized by the “PS” serial number prefix. Many of them
Moschetto 1891 cavalry carbine_Military rifles
(but not all...) do not have the typical marking of the Italian Royal Army; therefore, they could have been produced for the police (Polizia 89
di Stato), as the acronym would suggest.