The Italians were the first to field a traditional submachine gun design, the Beretta 1918, in 1918. The design was a follow on from the earlier Villar Perosa, which is often regarded as the first submachine gun. The Villar Perosa was somewhat odd, and had sort of a heavy double automatic pistol configuration, with two 25 round box magazines feeding each barrel at 300 rounds per minute for each barrel. It was originally intended as an aircraft weapon, but saw some limited use on the ground; it also aided development of the next Italian submachine gun. The Beretta 1918 came next, beating the Bergman MP18 by a couple of months to introduction in 1918. It had a traditional wooden stock, a 25 round box magazine, and fired at a rate of 900 rounds per minute.

• Villar Perosa (1915)
• OVP Submachine Gun (1920s, developed from Villar Perosa)
• Beretta Model 1918 (1918)
• Beretta Model 1938A (1938, based on earlier 1935 model)
• Beretta Model 38/42 (1940s, formed basis for model 3)
• TZ-45 Submachine Gun (1940s, later produced as BA-52 for the Burmese Army)
• FNAB 43 Submachine Gun (1943)
• Franchi LF57 (1957) (original production ended in the 1980s)
• Beretta Model 3 (1950s)
• Beretta M12 (1960s), Beretta Model 12S (1983)
• Spectre M4 (1980s)
• Socimi Type 821 (1980s, later produced as LF821 by Franchi)

Machine pistols:

• Beretta M1951R (1950s)
• Beretta 93R (1970s)

Other Italian automatic firearms

• Breda 30 (6.5mm)
• Mitragliatrice Breda MOD.37
• Beretta MOD.34 Automatic Pistol
• MAB 38 (Moschetto Automatico Beretta 1938)

See also

• List of submachine guns
• List of firearms

Weapons of Italy | Submachine guns