Beretta MAB 38
Beretta · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1938
Also known as: Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938, Modello 1938A, MAB 38A, MP 738(i), MP 739(i), Beretta Model 38
Overview
The Beretta MAB 38 (Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938) is a submachine gun chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, designed by Tullio Marengoni and introduced by Beretta in 1938. Widely regarded by veterans and small-arms historians as among the finest submachine guns of the Second World War, the MAB 38 combined rifle-like accuracy with exceptional build quality, setting it apart from contemporaries such as the German MP40, British Sten, and American Thompson. Uniquely, the MAB 38 employs a closed-bolt, hammer-fired operating system rather than the simpler open-bolt design typical of WWII submachine guns - a deliberate engineering choice that dramatically improved first-round accuracy. Its most distinctive feature is the dual-trigger system: the forward trigger fires in semi-automatic, while the rear trigger engages full-automatic fire, allowing instant mode selection without the shooter breaking their sight picture or removing a hand from the firing position. Fed by detachable box magazines in 10, 20, 30, or 40-round capacities and firing the Italian-loaded 'Cartuccia 9 M38' (a hotter 9mm Parabellum variant), the MAB 38 delivered high muzzle velocity and consistently defeated soft cover at ranges well beyond what other SMGs could manage. Italian Alpini troops operating in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Soviet Union consistently preferred the MAB 38 to captured enemy weapons, and German Wehrmacht units who received production from occupied Italian factories adopted it under the designation MP 739(i).
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4180 g (147.4 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4700 g (165.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 946 mm (37.24") |
| Barrel Length | 315 mm (12.40") |
| Height | 210 mm (8.27") |
| Width | 60 mm (2.36") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 40 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 420 m/s (1378 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 657 J (485 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 300 m (328 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 600 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 250 mm (9.84") |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm, 9mm M38 (Italian high-pressure variant)
- 9mm Glisenti — also known as 9x19mm Glisenti
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Magazine Safety, Dust Cover
- Features: Dual Trigger System, Closed Bolt Firing, Hammer Fired, Finned Barrel, Compensator Cuts, Folding Bayonet Early Models, Fixed Wood Stock, Tangent Rear Sight, Hooded Front Sight, Machined Receiver Original, Stamped Steel Receiver Later Variants
Variants
- MAB 38 (Modello 1938A) — Original Production
- MAB 38/42 — Simplified Wartime
- MAB 38/44 — Simplified Wartime
- MAB 38/49 (Modello 4) — Postwar Production
- Beretta Modello 5 — Postwar Simplified
- Beretta M12 — Successor
Service history
Operators
- Royal Italian Army · adopted 1938 · as Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938
- Italian Social Republic Armed Forces · adopted 1943 · as MAB 38/42
- Wehrmacht · adopted 1943 · as MP 738(i) / MP 739(i)
- Waffen-SS · adopted 1943 · as MP 739(i)
- Romanian Armed Forces · adopted 1941 · as MAB 38
- Yugoslav Partisans · adopted 1943 · as MAB 38 (captured)
- Argentine Naval Infantry · adopted 1949 · as MAB 38/49
- Egyptian Armed Forces · adopted 1951 · as MAB 38/49
- Pakistan Armed Forces · adopted 1950 · as MAB 38/49
- Italian Armed Forces (Post-War) · adopted 1949 · as MAB 38/49
- Carabinieri · adopted 1949 · as MAB 38/49
Conflicts
- World War II (1939-1945)
- 1948 Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949)
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Algerian War (1954-1962)
- Six-Day War (1967)
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (1965)
Production
Estimated total produced: 500,000 · Production years: 1938-1975
Includes all MAB 38 family variants (38A, 38/42, 38/44, 38/49, Modello 4, Modello 5). Over 500,000 produced across Beretta Gardone Val Trompia and licensed production sites. Approximately 150,000 delivered to German forces under the designation MP 738(i)/MP 739(i).
Origin
Country of origin: Italy
Designer: Tullio Marengoni
Discontinued: 1975
Notes
The MAB 38 was produced in multiple evolving variants: the original Modello 1938A featured a finely machined receiver, a folding bayonet, and a cooling-finned barrel; the 38/42 simplified production using a smoother barrel and stamped components for wartime economy; the 38/44 further streamlined the bolt and recoil system. Post-war variants (38/49, Modello 4, Modello 5, and eventually the Beretta M12) continued the lineage into the late 20th century. Total production of the MAB 38 family exceeded 500,000 units. The weapon's closed-bolt, hammer-fired design and 315mm barrel gave it a flat trajectory and first-round hit probability more commonly associated with carbines than SMGs of the era.
Background
Italian Alpini troops in North Africa are documented as preferring the MAB 38 over captured British Stens and American Thompsons, citing its rifle-grade accuracy and the instant, intuitive fire-mode selection offered by the dual-trigger system - a feature that is vanishingly rare in submachine gun design. German paratroopers and Waffen-SS units who received them via occupied Italian factories were so impressed that the Wehrmacht formally adopted the weapon as the MP 738(i), one of only a handful of foreign SMGs given a standard German military designation. Designer Tullio Marengoni, Beretta's chief engineer, held the technical patent for the closed-bolt SMG mechanism, and he chose the closed-bolt approach specifically so a submachine gun could be fired like a rifle - an idea most WWII designers dismissed as over-engineered until the MAB 38 proved it on the battlefield.