Miniature Guns for the Fascist Youth: Italian Balilla Carbines
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
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As part of his effort to imbue Italy with a fascist culture, Mussolini formed the ONB, or National Balilla Organization as a replacement for all other youth organizations in Italy in 1926. It was intended for boys aged 6 to 18, and included military training. Older boys practiced shooting and drill with real rifles, but the younger boys were given Balilla carbines - blank-firing scaled-down versions of the Modelo 1891 Carcano carbine, named after an 18th century folk hero who sparked a revolt in Genoa at the age of 10 in 1746. Over 100,000 of these Balilla carbines were made between 1931 and 1943.
The most prolific manufacturer was Fratelli Grazian of Verona, and we have both an early and later type example of Grazian carbines today. They made extensive use of bronze parts, and the early model has a distinctive bulge to the magazine well. Grazian made some 57,000 of these carbines in total.
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They're realistically rifled so that besides learning how to aim and fire their rifle, the kids could also learn how to properly clean a rifled barrel.
At that point they could have made live cartridges for them as well. That would've been a good start to practicing marksmanship.
@@hardlylivin6602 and they would have done target prscticethe other indisciplined Kids, good idea
@@thecommissaruk i think that was the intention
Man, the kids who snuck a few of those home after the war would have had about the coolest toy you could imagine.
Imagine if they did a nerf war lol
I bet it was great... until you run out of blank ammo
@@grzegorzbrzeczyszykiewic3338 Thats what the bayonet was for. lol
@@Brunozamp If only all the world's conflicts could be done as so...
@@billd.iniowa2263 Moom!!! The German kid hit me in the shin! It says in the rules he can’t do that!! Kids having a say over global politics? Sure why not, can’t fuck it up any more then the adults have.
Putting a bayonet on a kid's training rifle is pretty metal
yo misspelled Mental
Or did he mean the bayonet is pretty and its metal ! Lol 😆
The bayonet was blunt on Balillas so it couldn't harm
@@Jargolf86 yea,it requires a lot of force to pierce though,and the bayonet was never used since the carbine was for training/weapon aknowledge purposes only
Literally metal
Italian kid asks his grandpa how to deal with bullies.
*grandpa pulls out a kid sized Balilla with sharpened bayonet*
I only wish Ian had held it in a firing position, would have been funny to see a grown man holding a 2/3rds size gun!
Looks like it would fit in your hand like a daisy red Ryder would
Indeed. The Carcanos are pretty small to begin with.
"I'm you but smol!" Balilla upon being confronted by a Carcano for the first time
In comes huge German man with K98
"Higly politicized boy scouts"
I was looking for this words every time some regime-time buildings had brought up to me "Opera Nazionale Balilla" ensigns
It can be argued they are not affiliated with the Scouts idea given it violates its core tenet: being nonpolitical
Look up USA's Young Marines
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 boyscouts are so non political that they're not even boys anymore lol, maybe scouts should be about what it's really about, war.
@@nnniiiggg more so frontiersmanship than war, i wish they did more with hunting and also that less troops focused on merit badges lol
@@nnniiiggg I argue on the merit of Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell's original vision: a nonpolitical, civic youth organization aimed at making kids at least be patriotic and prepared. If you have issues with current Scouts, that is your problem. Honestly, having the Scouts divided along gender lines is stupid...
When you realize too late that your rifle is "Dry Clean Only"
Reminds me of the scaled down Mosin that the Tzar's son got.
"Operator, there's been an accident on the range"
"What happened, can we get a location"
"He cut his finger on the bayonet! He won't stop bleeding!"
@@grugg3108
- Got it. Paramedics are coming with a Rasputin.
@@kino_61 "Instructions unclear, fucked the Tsar's wife.
-sincerely,
Rasputin"
His fired actual ammo
@@grugg3108 and now some military guys are offering me strange wine
New Fun-sized Carcano™. Now with folding bayonet!
Two carbines, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene
Well done to this man, well done indeed
@@tsoliot5913
I bite my thumb, Sir.
@@tsoliot5913 quarrel sir? No sir
@@tsoliot5913 no better?
"Balilla" threw a rock at an occupying Austrian official. He basically started a riot, but that was "The shot heard round the world" that eventually lead to the 1764 revolt. It's basically Genoese for "Little boy." The wikipedia lists his name as Giovanni Battista Perasso. IDK how much of this is true, but it lines up with what little I know about the story. I'm not Italian, I just had Italian friends growing up.
is also quoted in italian national anthem
Mom can we have Carcano?
We have Carcano at home
Carcano at home:
F. M. B. stands for Fucile Modello Balilla (rifle Balilla model), cheers!
I was looking for this comment! Also GIL probably stand for Gioventù Italiana Littorio (littorio's italian youth) which is kinda the italian hitler youth
I fascinates me that even in 1941, they were still using labour and tool time to manufacture these when some of that capacity could have been used for war work. Those barrels could have been real barrels and the stocks, real stocks.
Well while we are talking about Italy, at the time it is likely that they had more rifles then trained men on the ground, I wish I had the exact numbers tho and it's not like they were losing many rifles when all of their fronts, at the time, were basically stalemates.
Its fascist Italy so it wouldnt surprise me if they were considering swapping them out with live ammo as a last ditch defense.
@@vectorgeist why would they be preparing for a last ditch defense in 1941? That doesn't seem to make much sense? Edit, or in fact in 1926?
@@kenbrown2808 I was wondering same thing, but since they were in organisation till age of 18 why not make rifle to be able for using in target practice. I'm thinking that they might have been issued to kids same as soldiers one rifle through service time until they grew out of miniatyre model or moved on
@@arozin6773 Actually they did not have enough equipment for their army. Just before the invasion of Greece Italy reduced the number of troops to be able to equip the remaining men. Thats completely bizarre, but even then the campaign had catastrophic results: started on the southern border of Albania, some time later the front was in the middle of Albania...
It's a shame it's not in .22LR.
They exist in .22 short, but they are really rare
"And the bayonet is fully functional "
I was so hoping Ian would say..... "it will Keel"
I mean, it won't since it's been rounded off, so perhaps "it will _not_ keal"?
@@gohunt001-5 well if you poke someone hard enough with it, it probably will. but it's not good at it.
@@Talon3000 but if your goal is to hurt people, it is better.
Only if Doug Marcada stand next to him
Not quite so stabby!
"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands ..."
- some olde English dude.
May be noted that those are the high quality ones.
Families had to buy the uniform and the rifle, so a wide variety of items were on the market.
The usual effect is that the rich kids had a proper uniform in heavyweight fabrics, this rifle, all the shabangs. And they were in the front of any parade.
The poor boys got a cotton or autarchica erzatz fabric suit, brown shoes from the elder brother brushed in black polish and toy rifles that were just chunk of wood with a thin sheet metal barrel, crude accessories and some system to single-load a bursting cap, if any.
A battalion of 10 year olds with rifles is one of the scariest things I think I’ve ever imagined.
have you watched Lord of War? plenty of real ones exist in Africa with full auto ak47s.
We gotta Number 1 Victory Royale, Yea Balila we about to get down.
Ten kills on the board right now, Just wiped out pepperoni town.
@@PlakeFilmmaker oh no, my childhood friend just gone down. I mercy kill him then I head south bound
Oh yes, sadly yes, the use of minors as soldiers really does bring results, as youngsters DO NOT have a measure of their cruelty.......they revel on it.
@@Oob144 now we're in Medici, look at square, there's Mussolini!
The first versions of these rifles had real rounds but later they were discountinued, that's why they were so high quality built for blank rifles for kids
I can see Othais getting emails about these: "You won't believe this, but I got Mussolini's personal mini-Carcano carbine!"
These are the fruits of the Carnano Tree, picked too early. Not ripe yet.
They're so cute!!!
Mom, can we have one?
It followed me home!
Yes, you just have to become a fascist first
@@startedtech Where do I sign up?
Funny enough,here in italy some of them are still avaible lmao
@@giarenella Can you get me one? Just throw it over Switzerland
Both Gun Jesus and Jingles talking about Italian stuff....
I like it!
Indeed. Although I have to say that Ian's Italian is much, much better than Jingles'. Best of all, he doesn't try to pronounce everything with a strong Supermario-ish accent.
Verona is probably better know for being where Romeo and Juliet is set.
Mussolini Italy: Can't give 12 yr olds acutal guns
US Countryside: 8th grade Hunters Safety Course, here is your 22!
Mussolini Italy: 12 year olds are too young for guns yet we encourage them to join the military
America: 12 year Olds can have guns but they can't join the military until they're adults
I think I'd pick america
Carcano: Who are you?
This toy: I'm you but smaller
It's because of channels like this that I don't miss the _History Channel_ (or what it used to be). Outstanding and informative presentation.
I suggested this on a Ravenfield mod server yesterday,and just now,this video got released lmfao
Btw,if someone's wondering,some Balilla carbines are still avaible on online stores here in italy,too bad they cost a lot,or ill actually buyed one of them
Let me guess, WW2 Collection with Mell-however you spell it
@@TheWhoamaters exactly that one,also u can just call him Mella
Reminds me of Alexi Romanov's "Half size" Mosin-Nagant though I believe that fires actual half sized ammo as well.
Yea,the size was like the real carcano catdriges,just smaller,as this video shows:
ruclips.net/video/rY9yvElTpFo/видео.html
I wish we had scaled rifles when I started out in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. As a 13 year old, doing drill with a full sized Lee-Enfield No. 4 was difficult.
I used to be in the air cadets here in the UK when I was a kid. I know what you mean lol
I had the chance to buy one of these back in 1989. Guy wanted a hundred bucks. But that was when I was taking home 329.00 a week and carcanos were selling for $ 40.
"Allegedly, according to legend" = Allegendly
“Fischia il Sasso” (whistle the stone) is a song about a kid who threw a rock against Austro-Hungarian soldiers, his nickname was Balilla
What a perfect title for a punk album
Damn, now that you mention it.
Perfect breakfast vidja
Was not expecting you here. What’s up man.
Most indeed
Oh hey S1ap. Wasn't expecting to see you here. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
@@afilleduptaco he isn’t verified tho definitely a fake
@@DelGTAGrndrs a fake with over 100 thousand followers?
Miniature Guns for the Fascist Youth sounds like a name of 80's cold-wave band.
"You're going to shoot someone's eye out!" into "You're going to shoot someone's eye out."
0:22 So these are the accurate guns for Romeo + Juliet.
child: mom, can we have rifle?
mom: we have carcano at home
carcano at home:
When I was a little kid back in the 70s, I had a toy M1 Garand. I discovered my 1917 Enfield WWI bayonet fit it about perfectly. My father's rule was, I could mount the bayonet only if I was playing alone. So I'd stick this family heirloom short-sword of a bayonet onto my toy rifle and go kill thousands of imaginary Axis soldiers in the woods and around the house.
I'm starting to think I had a pretty darn cool childhood. ;)
The Keystone Mini Mosin’s dark past revealed
Gee whiz Ian, as soon as I think you have exhausted the list of neat stuff that I either never heard of, or considered rumors, there you go. Keep it up, I'm an old man who like to learn new/old knowledge.
I love how even the regular size Carcano carbine still looks like a kid's rifle...and somehow now I want a wall full of half-size service rifle replicas at home.
The grip is annoyingly oversized on what would otherwise be a handy cheap little carbine to train kids/youth/women with.
Would love to see an episode on something along the lines of "rarest ammos" people still want to use.
In theory the ones with rifled or unrifled barrel could mount a small lead or wood projectile in front of the blank and be fired. There are blank firing only ones with partially plugged barrels. Also, if the owner of the rifle had a close relative that died as a soldier he would have been given a named plaque to put on the stock.
WW2 in Real Time, literally at the same time as Ian, uploaded a video on the rise and cooption of youth movements in greater depth if anyone is interested. "On the Homefront 008"
I just love these background. These „ randomly“ placed 3 MG . (M60,50.cal and a MG42😍)
When I was a kid back in the 1960s, we all had a Daisy Winchester 94 BB gun to train with. Many a NAZI starlin birds were felled from the mighty Daisy.
Verona, you know. Where we lay our scene.
On the rifled barrel, I'm guessing they were teaching the kids proper gun maintainence too. That would include cleaning the rifling. Just a guess though.
Most likely, or maybe whoever made them was just obsessed with all the small details.
Other posters have said that the original plan was to have them full rifles. Some were also made in .22 Short.
My great grandpa brought one of these back, late pattern. It's in rough shape though. Rust on the barrel and receiver. Receiver screws and upper hand guard missing. Sling has riveted leather tabs, but it's snapped in the middle. At least the stock is relatively unblemished, with legible stampings.
This is adorable and disturbing at the same time...
those were my exact thoughts seeing these.
I mean sure, you don't want fascists handing your kids a gun. It's a issue of motive. You teaching your kid gun safety and how to use a gun is good. Letting a fascist teach your kid to be a soldier and shoot is not good.
@@lordhefman now there are liberals handing your kids puberty blockers.
@@lordhefman I mean for those of us who grew up with the military channel we weren't being groomed to be some fascist militants but it did make me want to join the military so I'm not so sure it's very different. I guess it's more optional lol
@@riccardo7352 based
Nice little rifles. Needs to be seen with Othais for scale
Having one of these in 22lr would be so much fun.
I currently have a Carcano that was left to me from my grandfather when he passed in 93. 6.5 Carcano.
Seems good enough for a weapons familiarization course tool, to teach those damn kids the controls, the handling... and also get used to the "bang".
"Minature Guns for the Fascist Youth" sounds like an alternative rock band
There had been in Germany , mostly for training , central fire cartridges 4 mm M20, and rimfire 4mm Randzünder ( two variations) for competion Zimmerstutzen. As far as i know, 4mm M20 is no more in production, but 4mm Randzünder seems to be still produced.
I've seen several of these at the 45th infantry division in Oklahoma City.
I'm thinking if my brothers and I were in the OMB or GIL and were issued these we would have sharpened the bayonets razor sharp.
I think you would have been punished for that. I don't believe there was much joking around allowed when dealing with (even blank firing) guns.
@@alkestos We've taken beatings for less - LOL
This sounds cool. Except the whole facist thing.
I suspect that the bayonets were for parade drill only, i.e. honour guards for VIPs and cenotaph guard duties. The Sea Cadets near our old camp had drill rifles that they used on ANZAC day.
There are indeed popaganda photos of 10yo in full balilla uniform and this mini-rifles, bayonect erect, posing as guards to the unknown soldier sacell or other monuments - and they did all the marching corehography and change of the guard ceromonies, salutes and what not.
These things were pretty common around the world at the time: besides Italy guns like this also existed in Japan and Germany, but also in various other countries. They were built akin to the typical bolt-action rifle of the respective country, but fired blanks or at most some very low-powered rounds.
I remember the brothers of my grandma telling me about those rifles that they had to use during school, it may look silly now, but it was just another way for a brutal government to control the next generation, nobody was smiling when i was told about the Balilla youth organization
E poi ci stanno gli stupidi che dicono che bellino
Those kids were basically raised to be soldiers. Its kind of sad.
@@vectorgeist I would have thought it was cool as a kid
@@alkestos up until you got sent to a meat grinder to hold some bridge on a supply-line, sure.
@@shoopusdawhoopus Then again, for a kid it is an interesting idea. Which is what groups like these capitalize on...
In those years they invented also balilla soccer (calcio balilla). Not many outside italy know the original name of this super famous game
They're legit awesome little rifle replicas.
Love his technical descriptions.... "not quite so stabby"
You don't need much of a point on a bayonet when there's a 6+lb rifle and a 100+lb person behind it.
Fascinating and grotesque in equal measure.
Soviets too had similar youth organisations, three tiers of them, depending on the age group, the medium ties - pioneers, largely got many ideas snatched from scout organisation, even name is along the same lines. We got to shooting air rifles at school age 9 or 10.
Everyone liked the Scouts idea that they coopted it and add in their own agenda. But in the process left behind some awesome things like functional mini Soviet tanks from the East German Pioneers...
The italian three grades were "Figli della Lupa" (sons of the she-wolf), 6-8 years old, "Balilla" 9-14 years old, and "avanguardista" (vanguard) 15-18 years old.
@@neutronalchemist3241 LoL, "Figli della Lupa" sounds interesting. First tier in USSR were oktyabryata / октябрята - October's little ones, meaning kids or successors of the October revolution, also sometimes named "Lenin's grandchildren" in songs and stories.
I wonder if you have seen any of the evidently very rare now, Soviet Komsomol and later the 'Pioneers', 'training' rifles? I know there are some Chinese CYLC items floating around among collectors, but the Soviet versions of these would be interesting to compare?
didn't work so well for Mussolini in the end...
It's hard to use a rifle, when your government can't give you an actual rifle during a campaign~ that was the main problem.
When I was in Army JROTC at the ripe old age of 13 to 18, they just handed us fully functional (as far as I could tell) M1 Garands. Some of our smaller members were dwarfed by the things. We were not issued bayonets nor did we fire the M1's. We used some Daisy target air rifles for shooting practice. Honor guard was issued sabers too. They were blunted, but being sabers there was still the occasional minor poke or cut. Nothing serious though.
_'Miniature Guns for the Fascist Youth'_ has band name potential behind it
The best thing about this channel is the historically accurate flags. I like that.
I ran across one of these in a gun store about two years ago. It was in very good condition metal and wood. At the time I thought it was chambered for .22. It seems to have all the features of a real Carcano (sp?). Several of us tried to buy it but the owner wasn't letting go.
"Well I've bought these guns for the Italian Youth"
"We wanna teach kids about the *Fusionist truth"
"If you wanna beat those Yanks in the streets"
"Then you gotta train your tykes with a blank-fire piece"
"We gave them guns with a very low kick"
"The targets won't fly but nobody got nicked"
"Our reserves are big and they keep getting bigger"
"That's cause Mussolini is my -Ni-- Leader"
-Instructor Jim Colereich, "Rappin' for Minister"
* YT said no
Those models weren't blank firing: they can shot low power cartridges like 6mm flobert or .22 short. That's why the barrel is rifled (I guess 4 grooves).
They were tiny, but absolutely real, firearms.
Late production models were blank firing and the barrel was closed.
Side note: I belieave "FMB" Stays for Fucile/Moschetto Balilla, not a patent or something
If one shoves a small slug of lead in the chamber the size of the bore then the blank cartridge inserted for firing I'll bet, that it would discharge the slug. It might not go very far but, l bet it would cause a injury or death. When I was a kid my brother and I found a technique for making an air driven pop gun rifle discharge projectiles albeit, they usually didn't go very far and we never pointed it at any living thing.
Some of the girls DID shoot in their organizations tho they were focused on home making. The first rifles of the balilla DID fire however they were quickly replaced with blank firing. The Balilla was replaced with the GIL.
I just watched a video on this subject by WW2 in real time, very convenient you posted this, also Verona is absolutely stunning, highly recommend going there if you’re in northern Italy, tbh all of Tuscany is gorgeous
Isn't it? Lombardy too.....Cremona is a fun little town to hang around in.
john thomas we stayed in a villa about 20 mins south of Florence near a village called chianti in greave, Christ alive man I could quite happily live in that area, there way of life is so chilled
Verona is not a part of Tuscany, not even close.
ColHoganGer90 shit! You are correct! I was thinking of voltera! Verona is gorgeous aswell
Cool guns! The 1891 Carcano just looks so good
Before WW1 France was training kids in the "bataillons scolaires" (school batallions, ie some kind of cadet scheme) with scaled down Lebel in 6mm Bosquette (you could fire .22LR but it wasn't recommended). They looked about half-size. They had names like "La Scolaire".
I swear Ian passed gas at 8:35, no idea how my deaf ass caught that but after I did I couldn't un-hear it
It's was similar happend in Indonesia(or Dutch East Hindie) on World War ii. When Japanese successful occupied South East Asia, they trainned the local people and children to use the Take Yari(in Japanese means Bamboo Spear).
It's 1.7 m long for children, and 2 m long for adult.
Now it became symbol of history of people's resistance againts Dutch - British army in 1945.
The balilla had some lovely longs and marches as well like "fischia il sasso"
I would love one of these if it fired 22lr that be such a cool little gun to have for just plinking and just having around as a neat little piece.
The first samples were real rifles, in 6mm Flobert or .22 Short. Then it was deemed too dangerous, and they were made blanks.
There were blanks, and firing ones, the laters in 6mm Flobert or in .22 Short.
In eastern germany ( Junge Pioniere ) they played with fully functional . 22 LR AK style submachine guns ...
Very interesting, at least for me! The official name was Moschetto regolamentare Balilla model 1891 ridotto and, according to the will of Mussolini and the other hierarchs of P.N.F. (Partito Nationale Fascista) or the National Fascist Party and was used for the training of Italian youth weapon was commissioned by the central presidency of the Opera Nazionale Balilla, founded in 1926, for pre-military training of young people aged between 8 and 14. The musket was produced by the FNA company based in Brescia (formerly known as P. Lorenzotti), by the Napoleone and Vittorio Castelli factory (also in Brescia) and was produced around 30,000 units. My late father has in possession a Moschetto regolamentare Balilla model 1891 ridotto in almost mint condition but I'm not at home now so I don't remember when and who produced this gun. I have (like a lot of guys of the same age!) a photo of my proud young father with this Moschetto. Hope I didn't bore you...
“Battalion of 10 Year Olds” is the name of my new band!
Curious they didn't teach actual marksmanship to their junior cadets. I thought these would have been chambered in .22 rimfire at least, like British cadet rifles were.
Love to see more of stuff like this.
Maybe a series on the .22 caliber training models of the Enfield, Mauser, etc.
This thing is so small it’s actually adorable, I want to name it. I’ll name it Bambino
Lee Harvey Oswald : " But you told me it was a blank firing miniature....... " .
I love how it's literally a baby carcano lol
I have a question about my carcano serial number letter prefix. It has a big U and then a really small cn next to it.
Can anyone explain this?
The full ser# is Ucn 6582
[05:48] Yes: "Fucile, Modello Brevettato" means "Rifle, Patented Model".
I was a carcano owner before they were cool.!
the cavalry carbine is in itself a very small rifle. without a size reference I'm sure many would mistake one of these for the real deal.