FUCILE MODELLO 91/38
NOTE: On June 1st 1942 the total number of Mod. 91/38 short rifles in 6,5 in inventory was about 810k
DEVELOPMENT
In December 1939,[1] when the Italian Army saw the inevitability of entering WW2 before they could complete the mod.38 production for the whole army, they reverted thw whole ongoing mod.38 production (Fucile corto, Moschetto and Moschetto T.S.) to 6.5x52.
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The Fucile and the Moschetto mod. 38 got formally adopted in August 1940 [2], but production was already ongoing since spring.
It was a pretty easy production conversion, since factories weren't converting old mod.91 guns anymore but producing brand new mod.38 ones. So they just started drilling the barrels for .256 and rifling them at .268, with a constant twist rifling instead of the previous gain twist one of mod. 91 rifles. They kept the Mod. 38 fixed sights, but 6.5 guns were zeroed for 300m, as the old combat sights in the previous adjustable rear sights.
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Only way to tell apart a 6.5 mod.38 from a 7.35 one is the marking on the fixed sight, saying Cal. 6.5 or Cal. 7.35, along with the pretty noticeable "CAL. 7.35" cartouche applied in 1940 to mod.38 guns.
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PRODUCTION AND USE
Having completely ditched the semiautomatic rifle project (despite a small batch of about 200 rifles produced in 6.5mm by Armaguerra), the Italian army intended -at least on paper- for the new Fucile Corto Mod. 91/38 in 6.5x52mm to become the standard-issue rifle of the infantry. In reality, the long-standing Mod. 91 rifle remained the most widespread rifle throughout the 1940–1943 period.
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Terni, Gardone V.T., Beretta, and FNA began production in late spring 1940, reaching a total output of 820,000 rifles by mid-to-late 1941.
As soon as they rolled off the production lines, these rifles were shipped to Italian war theaters across the Balkans, North Africa, and Russia.
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For an army where the most widely issued weapon for the infantry squad remained the long and cumbersome Fucile Mod. 91, the Fucile Corto Mod. 91/38 proved to be a practical and highly sought-after workhorse.
Simple, sturdy, handy, and reliable, it certainly played its role in World War II, despite never being produced in anywhere near the numbers required to re-equip the entire army (or even all infantry squads).
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However, a major drawback of the Mod. 91/38 was its 535mm barrel: it did not perform as well with the 6.5×52mm cartridge as it did with the 7.35×51mm, particularly over long distances.
Given that the Royal Army frequently found itself fighting at extended ranges—across the Epirus mountains, Libyan deserts, and Russian plains—the Italian High Command viewed this as a serious potential issue, since before its adoption, but kept producing it until the specs of a new, morre ideal rifle, wouldn't be ready for mass production. this conundrum would only be resolved with the later adoption of the Fucile Mod. 41.
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Some 1941-manufactured Mod. 91/38 short rifles feature a dual sling system (combining the standard side mount with a bottom swivel), similar to the configuration later used on the Mod. 41.
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Following the Italian Armistice of September 8, 1943, thousands of these rifles fell into German hands. In the final months of the war, they were issued to various Volkssturm detachments and other German rear-echelon units.
[1] Notizie sulle principali questioni in studio od in esperimento, Ministero della Guerra - Comando del Corpo di Stato Maggiore - Ufficio Addestramento, Fascicolo V, January 1st 1940.
[2] Disposizioni speciali, Circolare n. 107, August 16th 1940