In 95% all matching condition we have a scarce early 1936 production Beretta Model 1935 Pistol in 7.65mm (.32 auto) that bears the property and inspection marking of the Royal Fascist Italian Airforce. The pistol is all matching with an excellent bore. It is marked with the early circle TP Airforce Inspection stamp and the Crown/Flying Eagle.
The Beretta Model 1934 & 35 Pistols were elegant, compact and extremely well made and totally reliable. The Army preferred the Model 1934 in .380 auto, while the Navy and Airforce went with the Model 1935 which was in .32 auto. This pistol certainly saw much use during Italy’s Fascist Colonial Adventures in Abyssinia and Libya, and certainly against the British in the Mediterranean Theater during WWII. Many 0f these pistols are sitting on the bottom near Malta and many more are buried in plane crashes in the North African Desert so not many have survived. Although these pistols have not been collected a great deal until recently there is a lot of interest in them and a good assortment should be in any advanced military pistol collection.
