Several years ago, a close friend was given a Beretta 1934 .380/9mm Corto pistol. The gentleman who gave it to my friend was eighty something years old. He explained that he shot an Italian officer during WWII and took this pistol and its shoulder holster from him.



He further stated that when on leave in Paris in full uniform, the American soldiers were forbidden from having their 1911 pistols on their hip so he brought this Beretta stuck inside the rear of his waistband.



He said he and a friend were mugged by several French boys with knives that demanded their money. He pulled out the Beretta and fired three shots in the air and then pointed the pistol at the boys. They ran away and he kept his money.

I was there when he told these stories. I had to ask him if he cleaned the pistol after firing those shots and he said that he had not. The 1934 pistol has been in the grayish colored shoulder holster every since. He kept the extra magazine with the gun and holster even though the holster doesn't have a pocket to hold the extra mag.

He gave the gun to my good friend. I've been trying to buy it from my friend ever since but he just wouldn't part with it. We both really enjoyed the stories then went with the gun.

Yesterday I finally talked my friend out of the pistol by trading him a watch that he really wanted.

Last night I broke the Beretta down and it is in excellent condition on the outide with some holster wear and light pitting. The inside is excellent mechanically and it works perfectly. The workmanship is outstanding. The slide to frame fit is fantastic and the sound when cocking the hammer manually just echoes the quality of the fit and finish. The bore is not perfect, but not horrible either. I'm sure it will shoot just fine. I cleaned and lubed everything and I think I heard the gun sigh, "Ahhhhh, that feels so good! Thank you!"



I think the gun will enjoy being shot on Friday too (two days away!).

From online research I have figured out that the serial number dates the pistol to 1943-45 and the RE stamp on the left side behind the grip means it was an Army issued pistol. On the left side behind the grip is what appears to be a crown over FAG and that is over a 29. I have no idea what these mean. There is also a stamp on the right side of the trigger guard that appears to be the number 20. Not exactly sure what these other markings are but I think they may be acceptance stamps.

The shoulder holster is really neat. I've never seen one before. I know a guy that has two Beretta 1934 pistols in the gray hip holsters. They have the extra magazine pouch and are the flap style. But I've never seen the shoulder rig before. I wonder if they're common or rare and I wonder if the shoulder rig bring more money to collectors than the hip holster?



I won't be selling this gun or the shoulder holster (I would never break them up), I'm not even sure exactly how it goes together with the leather straps or how it would be worn. The guy who wore it sure must have been rather small with the length of the leather straps.

There's no way it'll every be fitting me!

-Steve

Neat gun with neat story. You might be able to find another barrel for shooting. And you can keep the original for collecting.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Thanks for this very interesting post.

Just a guess, but I wonder if this shoulder holster was issued to Italian tankers or airmen? The air force and navy used the .32 version of the gun, called the M-35, but the same holster would have fit.

The leather color is the same that I've seen on Italian flap holsters. The holster has evidently been well cared for and shows little signs of extensive use.

If the gun wasn't cleaned after the Paris incident, the corrosive ammo would have probably done the bore no good at all. What is your feeling about that, after cleaning the gun?

I had an M-34 years ago, and with Remington commercial ammo, it was good for groups about the size of my hand at 25 yards. The very heavy trigger pull no doubt affected accuracy. But even that poor accuracy would easily have placed every shot in the magazine in a man's chest at most combat distances.

The popularity of the M-34 on both sides of that war is easily understandable.

Very interesting post...

T-Star

Thanks T-Star! I don't think the barrel is too bad. I've come across guns of this vintage with bores that cleaned up perfect and looked shiny and brand new. This one didn't do that but it's not bad at all. Still strong lands and grooves, just a bit dark. I'll find out Friday how it shoots!

Holding this gun and shaking produces only complete silence. The fit of the slide to the frame is amazing. We talk about tolerances on 1911 pistols and how tight the custom guns are. This little Beretta's slide feels amazing in my hands when I work it back and forth on the frame. It's extremely well made. I'm excited to shoot it a little bit. I'll save the targets and then clean the 1934 again, oil it and put it away in a nice zippered case in my safe. It deserves to be shot again and then relished. I'm really good at relishing neat old guns! I've got a bit of practice!

I'll post pics from Friday when I shoot it. I'm also going to shoot my MAS M1892 French 8mm revolver on Friday. A guy in Wisconsin custom made me 50 rounds of the obsolete ammo so I'm excited to shoot the 117 year old revolver. It's built like a tank and is a truly futuristic design. I can't believe how ergonomic it feels in my hands. Will be interesting to see how it shoots as well....

I got one from 1944 or 45. You're right about the quality of these little guys. I didn't get such great accuracy because of the tiny sights but will try again. That's a great story with your gun. Musta been a nice watch!

What a great post!

My Dad brought one home from Italy, too. I lusted after that gun during my formative years, then he traded it for an ironically named Remington Speedmaster .22 rifle.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

My Father-in-Law who is of Italian decent and who is fluent in the Italian language, served with the Military Police (7th Army) during the Italian Campaign of WWII. While escorting POW's he overheard an Italian Sergeant telling another prisoner that he had hidden a pistol in his waistband and the stupid Americans missed it during their search. My Father-in-Law got a couple other GI's to take these two aside and "liberated" the hidden pistol and holster. He kept it wrapped in an oil cloth until giving it to me in 1997. Its in very good shape and after qualifying with it, I carried it as a backup before retiring from my department in 1999. The gun was manufactured in 1936 and had Italian military markings.

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SEMPER-FI

mm6mm6: Fiocci makes ammo for that French mle 92 revolver. I think they call it '8mm Lebel'. It'sBoxer primed and reloadable.

mm6mm6...May I respectfully suggest that you need to write that story down, document as much as possible and keep it with a photo and of course the pistol itself. Stories get lost as we pass on and that gun deserves to have its story told. Each owner should chime in with added notes. Thanks for the opportunity!

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Term limits!

Cyrano: I wish Fiocchi still made it. It was discontinued some time ago. I called several online vendors who had it listed as backordered and one that had it listed as available. Turns out none of them could get any (it had been "backordered" for over a year and a half) and the one with the online site that said they had it, didn't actually have it at all.

This custom ammo was less expensive than the half boxes of Fiocchi I found on Gunbroker too.

Oldfed: It's been written down and printed out!