Page 93 - GUNS Issue n.01

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1_ This bayonet, mounted on a 1942 Fna carbine, bears
the logo of Ausonia, a knife company from Maniago that
produced some components during World War II.

This 1941 Fna carbine bears the “crowned king”
marking, certifying the fact that it was delivered to the
3
Italian Royal Army before being issued to the police.
3_ Refurbishment cartouche on to the stock of an Fna
carbine, stamped by the Terni arsenal probably soon
after second world war: the army remained “royal” until
June 2, 1946.

4_ The stock of this Fna “PS series” carbine retains the
original manufacturer’s marking.
5_Another Fna “PS series” with a different
manufacturer’s marking, which only bears the acronym
Fna-B instead of the full manufacturer name.

the fna production since 1940
More than half of this lot of carbines is
composed of Fna models made after 1940.
As is known, in 1938 the 7.35 mm Moschetto 4
38 was adopted, equipped with a fixed
rear sight. With Italy joining the war, it
was decided to revert to 6.5 mm and,
consequently, the factories converted the
production of the Moschetto 38 to the old
caliber, creating the Moschetto 91/38.
On their own, Fna decided to continue to
produce the Moschetto 1891 in the pre-
1938 configuration, therefore with an
adjustable rear sight. Many of these
carbines are still equipped with
original stocks with the Fna marking,
while others have had their stocks
replaced immediately after the war
and show interesting markings of the
Terni arsenal. Between 1940 and 1943,
almost 400,000 carbines were produced,
with serial number prefixes ranging
from “XF” to “XZ” until 1942 and, from
that year until the second half of 1943,
from “YA” to “YQ”. It is interesting to note
that, for unknown reasons, between 1941 5
and 1942 Fna put into production a batch
of 10 thousand carbines characterized by a
completely different serial number prefix: “PS”. It is significant that in those years the State Police was
called “PS agents police force”, just as it is significant that many (but not all...) carbines of this “special”
batch are not marked on the chamber with the “crowned king” marking, which characterizes the carbines
for the royal army. In TFC’s lot of 150 carbines, there are five or six samples with this “unique” serial
number. Probably, this special serial number was created precisely for the police, which was mobilized in
the main war zones (mostly, outside of Italy, in Albania and the Balkans) to maintain public order.

Moschetto 1891 cavalry carbine_Military rifles 91