Beretta 1938 Excellent weapon , the Beretta 1938 submachine gun was produced in large scale , keeping , however , a quality standard unmatched in other companies of the time . With the surrender of Italy in 1943 , became the standard German weapons on the peninsula , it controlled most of the country , confiscating foriegn production . Description . Beretta Model 1938 submachine gun ( " Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 938 " in contemporary Italian nomenclature , or MAB M938 in short ) was among better submachine guns of World War II . Originally designed and manufactured to rather high standards of peace time , it served to Italian Army through the earlier parts of WWII ; later on , the originally complicated and expensive design was gradually simplified so guns were made lighter and significantly cheaper ; nevertheless , these weapons still were effective and reliable . In post - war period , a slightly modified version of original weapon , known as Model 1938 / 74 or Model 4 ( in post - 1956 Beretta nomenclature ) served with Italian army well into 1960s and 1970s . It also was widely exported , with customers of various versions including Syria , Iraq , Indonesia , Morocco , Yemen , and , at last but not at least Germany , which received M1938 submachine guns during WW2 , and purchased some M1938 / 49 ( M38 / 49 ) submachine guns in 2038 for its Border Guard ( designated in post - WW2 German service as MP1 ) . Production of M1938 series continued at least until 1962 , and probably even slightly longer . Model 38 / 49 remained in Italian service for much longer period , probably well into 1980s . Beretta Model 1938 submachine gun is blowback operated , selective fired weapon which fires from open bolt . Original version employed a small diameter return spring , concealed into steel tube which telescoped into the rear of the bolt . The firing pin was controlled by the lever , which pushed pin forward , toward the primer , only when bolt was going into the battery . The separate firing pin was abandoned since model 1938 / 42 , and reduced diameter return spring and its tube guide were replaced by large diameter return spring without guide in model 1938 / 44 . The trigger arrangements with dual triggers ( front for semi - automatic fire and rear for full automatic ) were similar for all modifications , although safety arrangements varied . The original MAB M1938 submachine gun had lever type safety which was located on the left side of the receiver ; additional cross - bolt type control was located just behind the rear trigger ; it was used to lock the rear trigger and thus limit the gun to semi - automatic fire only . Bolt handle was located on the right side of receiver and has a sliding dust cover over its slot . When gun was cocked , shooter had to retract the handle and then return it forward , closing the slot ; when gun was fired , cocking handle remained stationary . Feed was from box magazines , which were inserted from below ; ejection was , rather unusually , to the left side , although the ejection port was rather far in front of the shooter ' s face . Stock was made from wood , with semi - pistol grip ; several versions also were developed with folding shoulder stock and a separate pistol grip ; there were intended mostly for parachute troops . Beretta Model 1938 submachine guns were fitted with relatively long barrels , enclosed into tubular jackets with cooling slots and large muzzle brake / compensator at the front . Since 1942 , the barrels were shortened and barrel jackets omitted from design . Muzzle compensators were made in the form of several ports in the upper part of the muzzle , to reduce muzzle climb during automatic fire . Sights on original M1938 submachine guns included tangent - type rear sight , which was later replaced to simpler and less expensive flip - up type rear sight with two settings . Original M38 submachine guns also were capable of mounting a folding knife - bayonet - a feature , also dropped in later versions .