Riccio, R. Italian Small Arms of the First and Second World Wars

This is the first comprehensive work, in either English or Italian, to address Italian small arms used during World War I and World War II. It describes each weapon and covers the developmental history and use of all Italian designed and produced pistols, rifles, submachine guns and machine guns used during both conflicts, as well as prototype weapons and foreign weapons used by the Italians. Other appendices cover bayonets, accoutrements, markings, ammunition, small arms manufacturing facilities, Italian small arms designers, production summaries, and collectors notes. It includes many previously unpublished photographs and background information on small arms producers, ammunition production facilities, and designers. In addition to the new material, it also corrects previously published errors about Italian weapons.

Ralph Riccio has authored several books dealing with Italian and Irish military subjects. Previous works have focused on larger equipment such as armored vehicles and artillery; the author capitalizes on his knowledge of Italian military history and equipment with this latest offering.

Contents:

CHAPTER 1: PISTOLS
Prototype and experimental pistols
CHAPTER 2: RIFLES
Rifle mounted grenade launchers
Prototype and experimental rifles
Non-standard or modified rifles in foreign service
CHAPTER 3: SUBMACHINE GUNS
CHAPTER 4: MACHINE GUNS
Light Machine Guns
Medium Machine Guns
APPENDIX 1: FOREIGN WEAPONS USED BY THE ITALIAN ARMY IN WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II
APPENDIX 2: CARCANO BARREL, BOLT, RECEIVER AND SMALL PARTS MARKINGS
APPENDIX 3: CARCANO STOCK MARKINGS
APPENDIX 4: BAYONETS
APPENDIX 5: ACCESSORIES AND ACCOUTREMENTS
APPENDIX 6: AMMUNITION
APPENDIX 7: ITALIAN SMALL ARMS MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
APPENDIX 8: ITALIAN SMALL ARMS DESIGNERS
APPENDIX 9: CARCANO PRODUCTION SUMMARY TABLE
APPENDIX 10: COLLECTORS NOTES