Italian Army Weapons in World War II

Italian Army Weapons in World War II
See U in History
#SeeUinHistory #History

[@fieldpictures1306]

My grandfather fought on the allied side in the South African infantry in North Africa. I remember him telling me about them taunting Italian troops in the opposing trenches. They'd open fire on their machine gun and inevitably it would jam because I presume the desert sand in the feed mechanism. He told me they'd hear the machine gun open up, jam, and then a tirade of swearing in Italian, every night.

[@johnlenin830]

Сommand did not count on such a complete failure of the Allied armies as was later discovered. In any case, the Romanian formations, which continued to be the best of our allies, fought exactly as could be expected after the experience of the Crimean campaign. As to the fighting ability of the Italians, however, any illusion was superfluous." Erich von Manstein "Lost Victories"

[@KrunoBaraba]

That was Breda . Story goes that assistant needed brush to clean the gun .

[@dusk6159]

​@@johnlenin830 The funny thing about lying self-serving german generals is that Rommel was the one that especially couldn't hold any attempt of his. Considering that in North Africa his allies (Italy) made him and his corps' successes, in many branches.

[@giudicedredd9195]

​@@johnlenin830von Manstein never said that. Then von Manstein who was beaten by unarmed Soviet soldiers and civilians. The victories in Africa were obtained by the Italians. And it was thanks to the sacrifice of the Italians that the Heeresgruppe B (which made up 50% of the Wehrmacht troops in Russia) is manged to escape from Russia. Find out what Scottish writer Compton Mackenzie or General Wavell saying about the Italian. "The soldiers of San Marco are the best soldiers I’ve ever seen" General von Arnim. Or find out how the Red Army called the Alpini

[@giudicedredd9195]

​@@johnlenin830now delete your comment and go to study history before you write nonsense

[@TheBizziniss]

The Italian weapons were good enough. Some were very good. Italian logistics were the problem with the Italian military. Not the weapons. Italy just wasn’t ready for the war they ultimately found themselves involved in.

[@giudicedredd9195]

The victories in Africa were obtained by the Italians and not from the Germans. And then it was thanks to the sacrifice of the Italians that Heresgruppen B (which made up 50 % of the Wehrmacht troops in Russia) managed to escape from Russia. Then Italy together with Japan were the only nations to con. quer English territory

[@steffenrosmus9177]

​Well, the Italians attacked Egypt and found themselves back Lybia 3 weeks later. The victories started when the Germans arrived.😂😂😂 get a good history book and clean up your mind. ​@@giudicedredd9195

[@adambane1719]

@@giudicedredd9195 The Germans had to divert key logistics to assist the Italians who had no strategic awareness at all and weakened the Germans severely. The Italians were so ineffective to the point of being assets to the Allies

[@LemonHead-sq5ws]

“Found themselves involved” like they didn’t instigate and create fascism in Europe 😅

[@AB-bg7os]

Who wrote this script? "It had a seven round magazine, offering a quick reload. A good trait during fighting conditions" its a pistol....

[@brooksbrown580]

I know these guys have no clue what they are talking about, goofy video for sure.

[@LAOSmnagiva809]

I live near a military museum here in Italy. During one of my visits a guide told me the Breda 30 was called "La puttana" (B*tch) or "La Giuda" (Jude) by its users for his unreliability. In Russia it used to freeze, in Lybia it jammed because of the sand.

[@RealKull]

Cartridge lubrication was a 'carryover feature' from WWI which had no sense in WW2, but italian metalworking industries were averse to modifications to their machine tools since they meant expense and investments...

[@Heylanda-fb9xb]

Ironically, the Modello 30 was actually a very excellent weapon during the home defense battle inside Italy. With faster supply line and better secured ammunition depot from nearby friendly bases. Breda 30 was among the most reliable machine gun in terms of availability to be used in an emergency against the Allies.

[@RealKull]

Starts speaking of the rifle...shows the shortened carabine version

[@LemonHead-sq5ws]

I caught like 15 things wrong in this video and then I looked at his subs expecting like 10,000 but he has 2 million !? so no excuse for such horrible misinformation !!

[@dloviisa]

Jokes aside, Italy had no reason to go to war. They had no territorial disputes and they were not threatened by neighboring countries. The Italian society was comfortable and the economy stable. The Italian army had poor command, many who held high ranking positions because of their social status rather than their military ability. The average Italian soldier had no motivation to fight. They weren't going to die for their country, but rather on some foreign land without reason. After their poor preformance in Ethiopia, Count Ciano advised "Il Duce" that the Italian army wouldn't be ready until 1942. His advise was ignored. The foolish and unnecessary invations of France and Greece further exposed the deficiencies and poor training of the Italian army. Yet, Italian engineers designed some of the finest aircraft of the war. They also had the first successful jet aircraft with which further development was scrapped by Mussolini. In hindsight, Italy could have (and should have) sat out WW2, much in the same way Turkey did. Thoughts?

[@RealKull]

They had plenty of reasons, a burgeoning population and no access to natural resources or foreign markets

[@Heylanda-fb9xb]

Oh, they had PLENTY of reason to go to war. So many that it make people want to start it as quickly as possible. - To get revenge on Britain and France for their betrayal over deals during WW1. As well to replace them as the most dominant ruler of the Mediterranean. - Expanding Italian influence and territory to match those of other European powers. Gaining more resources and land to nurture their country. - Avenge the mistakes of the past Italian kingdom/empires. To reestablish Italy as the proper descendant to the Roman Empire.

[@MrNaKillshots]

I agree. Mussolini was a fool.

[@brooksbrown580]

I'm impressed you have a good working knowledge of Italy before and during WW2, Yes indeed Italy should of never been involved in WW2, The Country suffered massive casualties during WW1 and it's economy shattered, however they quickly recovered, and were doing well , Mussolini proved to be Italy's down fall,

[@reddevilparatrooper]

The Beretta M38 submachine guns is one of the smoothest weapons I have ever fired. Much better than the MP 38 or 40, there is hardly any recoil felt other than the gun cycling very smoothly.

[@RealKull]

Because it was mostly hand made

[@Heylanda-fb9xb]

It was the best SMG of WW2. Unfortunately, the reason why it was such a masterpiece was because it was handcraft at Beretta factory. Which mean not a lot of them is available and they're very expensive to produce. When a mass-produce, economy-friendly M38/42 version was introduced, the quality drop significantly.

[@brooksbrown580]

Yes they were one of the best Sub Guns of WW2, The Germans wanted all they could get, and would trade, steal, or borrow to get them, they rarely misfired, or jammed, and were usable in all weather conditions. I have fired them as well and yes they are amazing weapons.

[@falcondmp]

Who wrote the text for this ? The machinegun was outstanding… followed by a long list of deficiencies….

[@brooksbrown580]

Who ever wrote this nonsense needs to learn how to write script and text.

[@albertourrutia5090]

Las submetralladoras Beretta eran de excelente calidad...

[@Makeyourselfbig]

The Italian weapons were average. Their real problem was lack of them. The Italian arms industry simply couldn't keep up with demand under wartime conditions.

[@user-yx9jr9jb9z]

Today Italian manufacture of weapons is quite outstanding.due to better access to/ of materials,and there past experiments which has yielded rewards.

[@Snuffy03]

The Italians concentrated on pasta production, not arms.

[@user-yx9jr9jb9z]

Correct,let alone raw materials were difficult to get to manufacture a more efficient weapon/s.sufficed with the lesser.

[@cerruch]

partially false, even ian mccollum said that smg’s like the italian MAB and suomi smg’s were the best of the period

[@romsebrell710]

Non è così!!! Armi. Italiane nei grandi numeri Qualitativamente SCADENTI.

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video 👍🏻

[@MrCombatmedic00]

I’ve heard two different results of shooting a flamethrower tank. 1: it just hisses loudly and sends the wearer propelling forward as the pressurized tanks emptied. It’s only explosive/flammable if the two chemicals in its tank mix and are exposed to open flame. 2: they explode immediately and you’re dead bbq

[@nowhereman7813]

Italian tanks had two forward gears and five reverse gears. They carried paint to change insignia at half time

[@yates667]

Italy lacked a lot of raw materials. Slow production rates aren’t as important if you only have one pound of steel. For example, making 5 guns in 3 days vs 5 guns in 5 days. If the 5 day guns are twice as good, go with quality vs speed.

[@arthurneddysmith]

1:43 "With a 9mm calibre ... ." There are at least 25 different 9mm pistol cartridges, but normally it means 9x19mm (9mm Parabellum/Luger/NATO). In this case, the Beretta 1934 fires .380ACP though.

[@Gungho1a]

The australian defence of tobruk used a lot of Italian gear, which they took with them after the siege (except for the artillery). When 9th Aust div went into the desert for alamein, they had 50% over establishment in auto weapons, thanks to the italians and poor british stockpile security (also had near enough stolen trucks to lift itself in one go).

[@seanlander9321]

Unlike the British the Australians were adept with diesel engines which the Italians favoured. One of the more famous Australian thefts of Italian gear though was 3000 leather suits and wire cutters that they used to get through the wire at Bardia before handing out the worst defeat the Italian army had seen.

[@petergray2712]

One thing the diggers used a lot at Tobruk were Italian hand grenades. The Italians had put impact fuses on their grenades, which made them highly unrelaible at exploding (the angle of descent and the impact force has to be just right for the fuse to operate). And the Italian grenades were painted red (hence their Commonwealth nickname of "Red Devils) making easily stand out on the ground. Thus, Aussie troops could easily find and find and collect large quantities of unexpended grenades, and because many of them had played cricket, they could toss them back at the Italians with much more success.

[@Gungho1a]

@@seanlander9321 2/3 Pioneers lifted a captured Italian semitrailer machinist workshop truck from a brit vehicle park near cairo. The transport officer took a crew in, falsified the documentation, painted over and dirtied out the Italian markings, slapped on faded metal cutouts of 9th div markings, drove up to the clerical building and got processed, and drove out. They used to joke years later whether a certain non-pioneer south australian infantry battalion ever got asked where the mobile workshop was.

[@xray86delta]

Original holsters for the Italian Beretta model 1934's are extremely hard to find! It's easier to find the pistol in surplus!

[@Geoduck.]

A friend owns that Beretta and we've compared it to my 1911A1 and my Luger P08. I like my 1911 best but we both thought the Beretta was a great hand gun. The Luger came in last as a battle field weapon although very nice looking and handling.

[@brooksbrown580]

I have 2 Beretta Mod 1934's I bought them at an Estate Sale, all original early production guns with holsters and belts, I paid $ 100 per gun, for them in 1988 think they are worth a tad more now.

[@bobbypugh2666]

Beretta 1934 was .32 auto (7mm) the model 1935 was .380 (9mm)

[@riklangham6739]

. 380 is 10 mm , . 357 is 9 mm .

[@richardstephens5570]

Italian grenades were unreliable. They didn't have a timed fuse, they were designed to explode on contact. But sometimes they wouldn't land hard enough, so they often remained unexploded on the battlefield. In North Africa British soldiers nicknamed them "Red Devils" because sometimes they would explode after the fact if they were picked up or disturbed.

[@owensthilaire8189]

Those Italian grenades were nicknamed " red devils ". They were anything but effective. In fact they frequently failed to detonate. It was said they painted them red so they could be easily seen on the ground, unexploded so as not to kick one by accident and possibly detonate it. After the narrator mentioned that they were effective the third time I stopped watching.

[@brooksbrown580]

This Video is as Goofy as it gets.

[@fus149hammer5]

I thought in WW2 the standard Italian weapon was a white flag however, genuine Italian WW2 era weapons are expensive to buy as they are usually in perfect condition that is, never been fired and only dropped once.

[@pennydunwell7005]

Good content ,enjoyed that thank you.

[@SeeUinHistory]

😊👍

[@adambane1719]

@@SeeUinHistory He was obviously joking

[@betterwithtime9395]

Massive re-sale value yeah? One previous owner, hardly used, abandoned

[@alexvisser5913]

1:02 1 more then most counterparts lad

[@matthewgallagher8491]

This channel needs to see Forgotten Weapons, pdq

[@soteriamediaproductions6165]

The Italian grenade was, in its own way, similar to American grenades. The problem with them was in the training, or lack of. As the Italian army held their line, bravely throwing their grenades at the enemy, the allied forces promptly pulled the pins and threw them back.

[@lupoalberto8384]

no, that's not correct. the SRCM bomb had a protection that engaged if it did not explode, making the enemy's attempt to relaunch it in vain.

[@stefanopassa7027]

the Italian hand grenades had a percussion fuze, as soon as they touched the ground they exploded

[@soteriamediaproductions6165]

It was a joke…not pulling the pins?…get it? Aww, never mind

[@mitchellculberson9336]

The pistol.

[@schizoidboy]

Didn't the Beretta Company also end up arming the Italian Resistance as well?

[@MysticChronicles712]

Wow, this video is a captivating exploration of Italian Army weapons during World War II! The detailed breakdown of the firearms and their historical significance is truly impressive. It's fascinating to learn about the arsenal used by the Italian forces during such a pivotal time in history. Great job on this informative and well-researched content!

[@sailor67duilio27]

The hand grande was rub is, it was only used during an attack and it had a lethal range of 10m. Out of the time due to its construction if landed uncapped and therefore unexploded. Used it.

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

They always said the first thing the Germans did when Italy surrendered was loot the Baretta factory.

[@Heylanda-fb9xb]

Not exactly. The first thing they loot was the Italian military base for the already available weapon as well to disarm their owner.

[@blue-skyuniform]

The carcano weapons had 6 in the rifles and carbines, most bolt action rifles had only 5, only the Lee enfield 10 and lebel had 8 in the rifles, the 6.5 was ball ammo, was not like the 6.5 from Sweden or even Japan, they also use 6.5 and some better points then the carcano 6.5, could be better yes, but i would still go with the carcano in battle, the submachine was one of the best mad model of world war 2. The Italian army was way ahead of submachine in use then anyone else, olny Italian and the German armys used some submachine in world war 1

[@RealKull]

Ppsh-41 anyone?

[@centaureacyanus7675]

Fast trainers?😂

[@steventhorson4487]

The Beretta pistol was the absolute 💯 finest 👌 sidearm in WW2!! Any questions?? Forza 🇮🇹 Italia!!

[@johnjankowski3260]

M1911

[@wimmeraparanormal6581]

The dialog regarding the Caracano is rather confusing because you're dumping all the various Carcano models together. The 1891 model was an overly long, unwieldy WW1 era clunker. The widely issued M38 version is excellent, widely regarded as one of the top WW2 bolt action rifles. ONLY the Lee Enfield had a higher ammo capacity @ 10 rounds. All other B/A rifles of the era were only 5 rounds. I own an M38 and can't speak more highly of it.

[@brooksbrown580]

I own 6 Italian Rifles WW1 and WW2 Guns Love them!

[@RobertKorn-fb6zw]

Do you know, which one was called "moschetto"?

[@cerruch]

generic name for the Carcano

[@whatever-pw3tj]

Lol, of course, bolt actions are reliable. You cycle it yourself. What do you expect unless it was made so badly that the bolt won't move.

[@hunterrandolph2036]

I have an enfield that is only about 50% reliable. But its a bolt gun? One side of the feed ramp has a pretty deep gouge that catches the point of the bullets when trying to cycle so it locks up unless you baby it out using both hands. Simply because it is bolt action does not make it reliable

[@ApolloPerez-gt9ft]

Beretta 1934 did not have much power.

[@guyh.4553]

Very interesting how Beretta pistols were popular then in the military and how it became the main sidearm in the US for a long time. Personally, I preferred the 1911 over the 9 mm. Qualified on both, thought that the 9 mm was more wimpy, no stopping power

[@ironseabeelost1140]

Yep!

[@dsan8742]

9mm is generally better? Far more forgiving to shoot, higher mag capacity etc.

[@rogerrms2180]

Depends where you hit your target

[@giusepperossi680]

Grand father, 😅.

[@gujaratigaming8172]

Why do italian smg looks so similar to japanese type 100 smg

[@Jamestruin]

10:53 No Italian weapon was " decisive " unless the Italian army's desired outcome was capitulation and changing sides when they realised they were close to defeat. Ps some of the images you show are the short magazine lee Enfield mark 3 rifle, and the Bren light machine gun......and yes I know its a Czech design that's the reason its called the Br....En.

[@charliemcternan8190]

So sus

[@petersclafani4370]

They lack proper training. 2nd there commanders were not well trained themselves..

[@brooksbrown580]

Correct Italian Soldiers were poorly trained, as well as supplied.

[@nicolaijeppesen1528]

But everyone knew. Including the officer-staff. The only one Who was delusional was il duce.

[@chrisdubois7688]

Snap, summed up in under 11 minutes.

[@paulyost6849]

Good video

[@sleepingbendy4984]

Tru

[@johnlenin830]

"Сommand did not count on such a complete failure of the Allied armies as was later discovered. In any case, the Romanian formations, which continued to be the best of our allies, fought exactly as could be expected after the experience of the Crimean campaign. As to the fighting ability of the Italians, however, any illusion was superfluous." Erich von Manstein "Lost Victories"

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

still, the italians fell after the romanians and after the germans, and also one division managed to broke out of the encirclement while on foot

[@giudicedredd9195]

But where do you study history? On Mickey Mouse? The book Lost Victories are just excuse by von Manstein who does not admit he was beaten by unarmed Soviet civilians and soldiers. In fact, even many famous German historians admit that what von Manstein says in Lost Victories are just excuses. Learn about how German historian Volker Rolf Berghahn critic izes your beloved book Lost Victories. He admits that the loss of the Germans was due to generals like von Manstein

[@giudicedredd9195]

But where do you study history? On Mickey Mouse? The book Lost Victories are just excuse by von Manstein who does not admit he was be* ten by unarmed Soviet civilians and soldiers. In fact, even many famous German historians admit that what von Manstein says in Lost Victories are just excuses. Learn about how German historian Volker Rolf Berghahn critic izes your beloved book Lost Vuctories. He admits that the loss of the Germans was due to generals like von Manstein

[@giudicedredd9195]

But where do you study history? On Mickey Mouse? The book Lost Victories are just excuse by von Manstein who does not admit he was wiped out by unarmed Soviet civilians and soldiers. In fact, even many famous German historians admit that what von Manstein says in Lost Victories are just excuses. Learn about how German historian Volker Rolf Berghahn critic izes your beloved book Lost Vuctories. He admits that the loss of the Germans was due to generals like von Manstein

[@giudicedredd9195]

But where do you study history? On Mickey Mouse? The book Lost Victories are just excuse by von Manstein. In fact, even many famous German historians admit that what von Manstein says in Lost Victories are just excuses. Learn about how German historian Volker Rolf Berghahn heavily criticizes your beloved book Lost Victories. And he admits that the loss of the Germans was due to generals like von Manstein

[@peaceraybob]

The problem, as I see it, is that this channel has spent so much of its efforts on trying to understand and explain inherently illogical mythology, that reporting on actual history without getting confused appears to be beyond them. A lot of this video sounds like someone reading from an especially poorly curated Wikipedia article.

[@jettz8571]

Breda 30 was garbage

[@drunkenfinnpeltsi5968]

Finnish firearms of ww2🤔

[@carbonara2144]

Italian industries and political system was corrupted. Manufacturers pocketed the money and produced sub-par gear. Starting from boots that did not last for long when marching and uniforms made out of poor quality cloth that did not keep you warm when it was cold. Hand grenades often failed to explode. Armor plate was of poor quality. It was brittle and you would have needed more of it to get the same protection that others had. On the contrary italian tanks had less armor in millimeters. Low caliber carbines lacked power. The fascist system betrayed its soldiers. These are only some of the shortcomings. In the beginning of the war there was some equipment that was up to date, like the smg and 47mm AT-gun but the numbers of those in reality were pathetic. Manufacturers just lied about how much they produced. Italian srmy was a chaotic mess without organization. Italian officer famously said that had the albanians had an armed fire-brigade they would have kicked the italian invasion back to the sea. Greek army first defended well against italians who took huge casualties. Then greeks pushed the italians back to Albania and threatened to crush them. Only germans arriving to the balkans saved Mussolini's forces.

[@zillsburyy1]

very good SMG everything else was junk

[@Heylanda-fb9xb]

What about Beretta M1934 pistol? It's among the highest quality pistol in the European front. The Allies want it, the German wants it.

[@adambane1719]

"Italian made" mechanics, is another term for "laughable". Sauces, suits and shoes yes.... weapons, aircraft and cars.... no

[@swampfox1776.]

Lololol...never been fired and only dropped once

[@lance8080]

🤣😅😂

[@ronhall9039]

Commenting on reliability at 0.33 and proceeds to show SMLE's - reliable? supremely so, Italian? indubitably not.

[@fingerinalightsocket2309]

Carcano? Accurate? Thumbs down on this video immediately

[@JeepWrangler1957]

Never used and only dropped once

[@ulpiotraiano3374]

Change your name , it belong to FIAT .

[@pb68slab18]

If my country sent me to war with the Carcano against the M1 Garand, I'd switch sides too!

[@claverhouse1]

Whereas most US weapons were only used for friendly fire

[@ulpiotraiano3374]

JeepWrangler belong to Fiat

[@user-ci1kj1vy9g]

تاريخ ضنانت أنكم قناة اساطير

[@johnhedley866]

I heard the Italian soldier only carried one item into battle a flag with a white cross on with a full white background

[@concretephill8509]

Cabonara

[@lupoalberto8384]

E una CocaCola

[@stuartmorrissey6661]

I always thought the Italians faired poorly because all their Fiat's broke down.

[@hughzapretti-boyden9187]

Did you know that Italian tanks had 12 gears?!? One forward & eleven reverse!

[@Snuffy03]

The Italians had weapons? Whoda thunk it?

[@seanlander9321]

A few thousand Australians armed with rifles, grenades and two machine guns took out 45000 Italians at Bardia who were entrenched and in forts behind miles of barbed wire and mine fields. Their weapon at one fort? Swearing. Yep, the Italians surrendered because their ears were offended. No matter what weapons the Italians had, the man holding it was usually a cowardly peasant who didn’t want to be there.

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

This is so untrue it hurts lol

[@seanlander9321]

@@brainyskeletonofdoom7824 Too true, the Italians are much like the French, humiliated by their past so they rewrite their history.

[@salempoor678]

Italian tanks: 3 gears in forward, 7 gears in reverse

[@alanmacpherson3225]

I've heard 3 gears ,surrender, reverse and get the f..k out of here.

[@occhiodisauron25]

if the yenkee says so which touched some of the Viet Cong in slippers, the Taliban in slippers and the Iraqis in slippers. and I can assure you that the loser American soldiers in Vietnam cried like frightened children when they were captured by the Viet Cong in slippers. Like real cowards with stars and stripes.

[@ItaloGallese]

A level of shameful ignorance. Do you realise the pitiful imbalance with opposing tanks double the weight and firepower ?Given this the Ariete provided an example of courage and durability against overwhelming odds. You simply regurgitate wartime propaganda

[@hughzapretti-boyden9187]

​@@ItaloGallesewhat's the thinnest book in the world??? Italian book of war heroes!👍

[@salempoor678]

@@ItaloGallese A little ranch with that word salad?

[@Kidraver555]

There are some WW2 italian rifles listed on ebay atm, condition is never used and only dropped once.

[@adambane1719]

Thats very interesting... do you have a link you could post here maybe?

[@user-wh1dm6bc9k]

Sorry it just always makes me laugh when I hear the words Italian and Army in the same sentence it's like trying very hard to give respect to the Russian, N Korean and Chinese "Armies" lol

[@robertbaker782]

Not me as I studied ancient Rome which had the best army in history.

[@LordOmnissiah]

You sir need to read more history then.

[@dsan8742]

The Chinese armies fought the UN ones to a standstill in Korea, right after a civil war and lacking heavy industry. The Russian ones have shown to suffer from corruption, but have prevailed impressively over very strong adversaries. You sound uneducated

[@raymondridgway5217]

Ignorance is no excuse for stupidity.

[@blue-skyuniform]

​@raymondridgway5217 every army has it problems.