Serious male beretta. Beretta pistol: an overview of the device and modifications. The history of the appearance of the pistol

Beretta is the oldest gun manufacturer in the world. The company has been in existence for almost 500 years and has been run by the same family all this time. People have not changed much over the past 5 centuries, so they still need the means to effectively attack and defend. They are manufactured by Beretta.

Arquebuses for the Venetian arsenal

The Beretta company appeared in 1526, that is, at the time of the transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age. It was then that the Italian gunsmith Bartolomeo Beretta from Gardone Val Trompia (province of Brescia, Lombardy) received an order from the Venetian arsenal. He pledged for 296 ducats to make 185 barrels for arquebuses - matchlock muzzle-loading guns. This weapon in the early 16th century was very effective. It made it possible to hit a target measuring 60x60 cm from 100 meters, and from 30 meters to pierce knightly armor 2 mm thick. The account for this transaction is still kept in the archives of the arms company. It should be noted that at the beginning of the 16th century, Brescia was already considered the leading weapons center in Italy. Bartolomeo Beretta had to work in a highly competitive environment, and the choice of him as the executor of the order for the Venetian government spoke of the high skill of the gunsmith.

Family business

In the Beretta family, it is customary to transfer weapons production technology from father to son. Bartolomeo's experience was adopted by his son Giacomo, who, in turn, made his sons Giovannino and Lodovico good gunsmiths. The first stood at the head of the family business, and the second was engaged in the manufacture of gun locks. Beretta began by making individual parts, but quickly moved on to the production of complete weapons. Giovannino Beretta had a son, Giovanni Antonio, who in the middle of the 17th century became famous as a famous gunsmith designer. In 1641, he invented and manufactured six-pound cannons, which were equipped with Venetian ships. In the second half of the 17th century, Beretta was already one of the leading Italian arms manufacturers. For a long time The company only produced military weapon. However, at the beginning of the 18th century, under the guidance of Giuseppe Beretta, she began to make barrels for hunting rifles. The new head of the enterprise made right choice- In 1719, Beretta became the largest exporter of gun barrels. The manufacturer had advanced technical equipment for its time - a steel furnace and a forging shop with forging machines.

From Napoleon to the Olympic Games

In 1797, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the Venetian Republic, causing the last Doge to sign his abdication. The Doge Institute by this time had existed for 1100 years. Venice was occupied by the French without resistance. Beretta's business was not only not affected by the events, but went even more successfully. France loaded the enterprise with its military orders, and it brought a lot of profit. In 1815, the power of Napoleon fell, and fewer military weapons were required. Beretta engaged in forced diversification - it began to switch to hunting and sporting guns. At that time, the company was owned by Pietro Antonio Beretta (died 1853). He constantly traveled around Italy in order to study the market for hunting weapons, look for new buyers and business partners. He managed to find regular customers and provided the company with independence from third-party parts suppliers - all the necessary parts were made inside Beretta. The next head of the company was the son of Pietro Antonio named Giuseppe Beretta. Under his leadership, the manufacturer developed new models of hunting rifles and entered the international market for hunting weapons. Beretta, in addition to its products, sold weapons and other brands, including, . So the company became the leader of the arms markets of the Old World. In 1903, Pietro Beretta turned out to be the head of the enterprise, who purchased the most modern equipment for the plant and improved production processes. As a result, the company began to produce significantly more products. Its engineers developed and patented new weapon designs. The state testing station began to work at the enterprise. It was in honor of this leader that the company was named "Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta". The company has retained this name to this day.

Nowadays

Pietro Beretta had two sons, Giuseppe and Carlo. Under their leadership, Beretta in the second half of the 20th century became a large transnational corporation, successful not only in business, but also in sports. Many athletes have become Olympic champions with guns of this brand. Both Giuseppe and Carlo Beretta did not have children, so the centuries-old tradition of passing production to the next generation through the male line was threatened. However, a way out was found - Carlo adopted his nephew Hugo Gussali, the son of his sister Giuseppina. The owner and manager of the company today is precisely Hugo Gussali Beretta, who has already connected his sons Franco and Pietro to the business. According to the plans of the family, the next head of the company will be the grandson of Hugo named Carlo Alberto Giusalli Beretta.

1 of 2

Beretta currently has a production area of ​​108,000 square meters The company employs about 2600 people. Every day the company produces 1500 units of various weapons. 90 percent is sporting weapons sent for export. Italy, the USA, France, Spain, Canada and Turkey order military weapons from Beretta for their military and police units. Beretta has flagship stores in New York, Dallas, London, Paris, Milan and Buenos Aires. The weapons of this brand are very popular, including among civilians who buy them for self-defense purposes.

Airguns are mainly used for shooting from a short distance in sports or for recreation. Some choose pneumatics for self-defense. The modern market offers many different options this weapon.

Air pistols are usually imitations of famous combat brands. Beretta is one of them. It is one of the oldest arms companies in the world. For more than five hundred years, the Italian company has been manufacturing weapons that are recognized worldwide as one of the best and are now used to arm the army and police in many countries. It is in service with the domestic police. It is also worth looking at his "cut" version.

general information

Most well-known manufacturer Pneumatics "Beretta"- This is the German concern "Umarex". The company specializes in the production of pneumatics. Back in 1937, she received the rights to create a pistol with blank bullets.

The Umarex concern gained worldwide fame by releasing copies of traumatic weapons and pneumatics, which appearance identical to their combat counterparts.

This is a copy of the combat Beretta M92 FS, which was used by soldiers american army since 1989. The price is from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles.

Externally, the pneumatic version is no different from the combat one, the difference is only in the characteristics:

The body of the model is metal (although there are options with wooden handles). Bullet balls are loaded into a round drum inside the ammo bay.

Features of the dispenser in the design of the gas cartridge allow it to serve for a long time and flawlessly.

The air pistol Umarex Beretta 92 FS, the price of which is very impressive, is a premium class pistol, it is powerful and accurate. Watch the video:

The Umarex Beretta Elite II gas pistol is considered budget option(cost up to 5,000 rubles).

The weapon is smoothbore, you can install a flashlight or a laser target indicator. The front sight and rear sight are not adjustable. The trigger mechanism is self-cocking.

There is an automatic fuse. It is recommended to store the gun unloaded, clean - after every 500 shots, and lubricate the trigger after about two thousand shots. have the same criteria.

The model is popular in many countries of the world, despite the budget model, many professionals pay close attention to it. The gun is comfortable and reliable in operation. The IZH 53m pneumatic pistol is also easy to use, about him.

This is one of the few gas-balloon models that combines an imitation of the movement of the shutter of a combat pistol (blow-back system) and a rifled barrel (shooting with bullets). All this brings the replica very close to its firearm counterpart, the Beretta PX4 automatic pistol.

The body of the model is metal, there are plastic parts on the handle. Additional accessories (flashlight, laser target indicator, etc.) can be installed on the frame.

There is an automatic fuse. It has a soft trigger, a false silencer can be supplied in the kit (reduces the sound of a shot).

Main characteristics:

USM double action, the weapon shoots and self-cocking, and with a preliminary platoon. The original double drum allows you to simply pull it out after shooting the first eight bullets, turn it over and continue shooting, inserting the drum with the back side.

A pistol of excellent German quality, reliable and practical.

The cost is about 8,000 rubles.

Beretta 92 FSAuto

The Gletcher BRT 92FS auto gas pistol can be products of both American and Taiwanese manufacturers. Came out on Russian market relatively recently - in 2010, and declared itself as a reliable, high-quality and affordable product.

The gun-copy of the Italian self-loader Beretta 92FS is designed for shooting balls for entertainment or sports and training purposes. Read about sports air pistols.

Equipped with a blowback system, firing is carried out with a pre-cocked trigger. There is a fuse, sights are not adjustable. It is important to know, .

Main characteristics:

Double action trigger, smooth and easy trigger, can be fired in automatic mode. There is a valid gate valve: when the balls in the store run out, it works. It is possible to mount accessories. The body is metal. Price - 6500-7500 rubles.

The model of the Gletcher BRT 92 (Beretta) pneumatic pistol is quite popular and affordable (within 5,000 rubles). This is a smooth-bore gas-balloon pistol, a copy of the Italian Beretta of the same name.

Main characteristics:

The gun is quite powerful, when firing it imitates the work military weapons. There is a double sided fuse. There is a possibility to attach accessories.

Conclusion

The arms market offers the most different models of pneumatic Beretta- the choice is great.

Price categories are also varied: from German models Umarex, traditionally embodying quality and reliability, but sometimes very expensive in price, to more affordable and not inferior in build quality to Taiwanese models. For information on which pistol is best for self-defense, see. See also information about and.

Among the variety of firearms, several dozen models can be distinguished, which have already become a kind of "classic" of weapons. Weapon models such as the Nagant revolver, Colt M1911, AKM, and so on, are a variety of weapons, but, of course, the most famous and desired consumer, even despite their many years of age. If you make a list of weapons that will correspond to the concept of "classics", then you can not do without the Italian representative, or rather, the whole family of pistols - Beretta 92. It is with this weapon that we will get acquainted in this article.


Oddly enough, Italian weapons were originally created not at all for the Italians, but for the US market, and subsequently to participate in the competition for a new pistol for the American army, which, by the way, Beretta 92F won. But we will not go into details of how patriotic it was, and what happened as a result, since there are still quite a lot of gaps in that one that many people fill with fiction and move on to a direct acquaintance with weapons. Externally, the Beretta M 92 pistol is a full-size pistol, already speaking of a rather large mass by its very appearance, but at the same time there is a shifted balance of the weapon towards the handle, which allows you to hold the pistol at arm's length for a long time. But all this was already somewhere, namely in the model 951, which I propose to consider the first of the entire family of these weapons, since it was in it that the main solutions were applied that were implemented in subsequent pistols from one model to another. It was in this pistol that a modified barrel locking system with a locking wedge was used, and a long cutout was made in the shutter housing, which also served as an ejection window spent cartridges and, albeit not by much, facilitated the design of the weapon, so this pistol model can be called a full-fledged progenitor, although there were some differences. In general, let's go back to the pistols of the 92 family, and leave the 951 alone.

So, as noted above, the weapon has quite serious dimensions and weight, while it remains easy to handle and carry every day, which should be noted as a unique feature of the weapon, since not all pistols of such dimensions and weight can boast the same. Such a result is not just an accident, but the vast experience gained by the Italian company plus the talent and skills of the "fathers" of this pistol - the designers Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazetti and Vittorio Valle. Why there was a reservation that this pistol was originally created for the United States is clear at first glance at the weapon, the inclination of the handle, the location of the pistol controls actually repeat those of the “American” Colt M1911 pistol itself, although this is indirect evidence, but we will stick to the generally accepted version. In principle, the desire to get the maximum profit from weapons is quite understandable, and such a market as the US civilian arms market cannot bring small income. Actually, this is how the Beretta 92 appeared, which became the basis for a new family of pistols, and later on, and more, the basis for subsequent weapon models with various innovations and for various ammunition, including virtually the entire list of more or less common both in Europe and the USA, as well as beyond.

If you look at the device of the weapon, then everything in it is quite simple and understandable, although it can lead to some stupor if you do not know which way to look. So, the gun itself (the original model) consists of 65 parts, which is not the smallest amount for similar weapons and, consequently, requires significant production costs. The return spring is located under the barrel of the weapon, and the barrel bore is locked using a separate part, which is commonly called the locking wedge, since the phrase “locking larva” here is not entirely true, but this will be written in more detail in the description of the gun. The weapon controls consist of a standard complete set, including a bolt stop lever, a magazine eject button, a fuse switch, a trigger and, of course, a trigger, and there is also a separate switch for disassembling the weapon. The pistol is fed from a detachable box magazine with a capacity of 15 rounds. The trigger mechanism for various modifications may differ, however, for all pistols, the mainspring is twisted and is placed in the handle of the weapon. Let's try to figure out now how it all works when fired.

As in everything firearms, the source of energy for the operation of automation in this case is powder gases, which are formed during the combustion of gunpowder and build up pressure in the sleeve, and then in the barrel of the weapon. It is their expansion that leads to the fact that the bullet leaves the barrel of the pistol, and its working mechanisms begin to move. Naturally, movement does not appear out of nowhere. In order to understand why even the simplest design with a free shutter, the shutter moves, you need to imagine how the powder gases act during the shot. If you do not think about what is happening, it seems that the powder gases simply push the bullet out of the barrel, since it is it that is a kind of piston, during the movement of which everything is formed more space for the combustion products of gunpowder, but this is not entirely true. The fact is that in this system there is one more weakness in addition to the bullet - the sleeve. If we take an automatic system with a free shutter as an example, then the sleeve simply transfers that large, but short-term force to the casing-bolt, so that it rolls back and removes it from the chamber. Moreover, this happens precisely due to the transfer of an impulse to the casing of the shutter, and not in the form of pushing it with a sleeve, therefore, the extraction of the spent cartridge case occurs after the bullet has left the barrel, which means that the powder gases were used effectively, and the sleeve itself remained intact. It all works this way only because the bullet has much less weight than the casing-bolt with the sleeve, and therefore, it will have significantly great speed movement. But this is a simple system with a blowback, the most striking and closest representative of which to our man is the Makarov pistol. In the case of the Beretta 92 pistol, things are somewhat more complicated, but not by much.

In the Beretta 92 pistol, an automation scheme with a short barrel stroke was used, and the barrel bore was locked using a locking wedge swinging in a vertical plane. In the normal position, this wedge is raised up, its side protrusions enter the vertical grooves on inner surface casing-shutter, the locking wedge itself is located between the chamber and the protrusion on the outer surface of the barrel, that is, it does not have the ability to independently move back and forth. Thus, the sleeve transmits an impulse to the casing-bolt, which has to pull along not only the sleeve, but also the barrel of the weapon. True, he does not pull it for long. When fired, the barrel and bolt begin to travel together in the opposite direction from the shot, but after a while the guide rod of the return spring begins to act on the locking wedge under the barrel, forcing it to lower, the side protrusions of the wedge begin to go down along the cutouts on inside casing-shutter and eventually out of them, at the same time becoming part of the guides for the casing-shutter. The barrel of the weapon stops, and the casing-bolt continues to move back, removing the spent cartridge case from the chamber, throwing it through the window for ejection of spent cartridge cases, and also cocking the trigger. In its rearmost position, the shutter casing stops and, under the influence of a return spring, begins to move forward. At the same time, he removes a new cartridge from the magazine and inserts it into the chamber, and then, resting against the breech of the barrel of the weapon, begins to push the barrel forward, which leads to a rise in the locking wedge, which enters the vertical cutouts on the inner surface of the casing-bolt and securely locks bore until the next shot. IN in general terms everything works that way.

Such an automation system is a direct descendant of the pistol automation system proposed by one of the greatest gunsmiths in history, Browning, but it is still modernized enough to talk about complete similarity, but the principle is the same, only the elements that implement the work are different. The positive quality of such a system is that the barrel of the weapon moves without distortion, which makes the operation of the weapon smoother and shooting from it more accurate, however, it is difficult to say that this is the only reason, after all, at the beginning of the twentieth century, weapons with a barrel distortion however, it was distinguished by a sufficiently high accuracy, at least few people complained. Despite the fact that the pistol has a large enough window for the ejection of spent cartridges, which makes its system actually open, the Beretta 92 pistol turned out to be quite resistant to contamination, and this despite the fact that it is based on a locking element that interacts with the shutter casing through sliding. Naturally, if the weapon is completely immersed in liquid mud and allowed to penetrate into all the nodes of the pistol, he will not be able to shoot, but dust, sand, moisture within reasonable limits, the weapon transfers quite calmly, though it wears out quite a lot, but it’s hard to name another gun that could boast a high work resource as with normal conditions operation, and under adverse conditions. In general, if there is a desire for the weapon to last long enough, then regular cleaning / lubrication is an integral part of owning this gun, as well as any other weapon.

From high heights in the form of a weapon design and a description of its work, let's move on to a more mundane topic - brief description various modifications of this pistol. Well, you need to start with the fact that despite the fact that the Beretta 92 pistol was the ancestor of the entire family, only 5000 units were produced in the first year, after which the production of this model was curtailed. So the original 92 Beretta is somewhat of a rarity. Further, modifications have already gone after it, which added any capabilities to weapons or changed existing ones.

The first modification was the Berette 92S pistol. Its main difference lies in the location of the weapon fuse switch, which was moved from the pistol frame to the shutter casing. This innovation was dictated by the Italian police, who first drew attention to the novelty, although the pistol was not originally developed for them. It would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity and not adapt the weapon to the requirements, we can say that it was from this model that the gun began to bring huge profits to its creators. In addition to the transfer of the fuse, the principle of its operation has also changed. If in the model 92 the fuse simply blocked the sear and the casing-bolt both when the hammer was cocked and when it was lowered, then in the model 92S the inclusion of the fuse led to a smooth release of the hammer, after which it was blocked, as well as the drummer and the trigger were blocked. An interesting point is also several possibilities for removing the weapon from the fuse. So, you can simply move the switch, or you can simultaneously pull the trigger and pull the trigger to bring the weapon into combat readiness. Separately, neither pull the trigger nor cock the hammer with the safety off. It is also necessary to mention one more feature of the 92S model, just like the original pistol, in this sample the magazine eject button is located not at the base of the safety bracket, as in subsequent models, but on the left side of the handle at the lower right corner, while this is the button , and not a latch at the bottom of the handle like the PM. This feature of these two models immediately gives them away, so that you can without a shadow of a doubt name the model of a weapon just by glancing at it. At the same time, stores for later modifications, in which the eject button is located in the place already familiar to pistols, can also be used in these models.

The following modification of the pistol is especially interesting in that it was with her that the introduction of this weapon into the US Army began. This model is designated as Beretta 92SB, it was created specifically for the US Army. The main difference from previous models is the transfer of the magazine eject button to its usual place, and the ability to transfer the button from the left side of the weapon to the right side has also been added. In addition, there were changes in the operation of the protection device from accidental shot. So, with the fuse turned on, the trigger retained the ability to move, but was separated from the drummer using a small insert. By the way, he closed the drummer literally until the last moment of the trigger stroke. On the basis of this pistol was also created compact version weapon, which was distinguished by a shorter barrel of 103 millimeters and, accordingly, a shorter casing-bolt. In addition, the length of the handle of the weapon has decreased, and, of course, the capacity of the regular magazine has decreased to 13 rounds, although the use of magazines from full-fledged samples is not ruled out.

In 1983, a new army Beretta appeared. This time, the letter F was after the numbers, but these are not all the changes that were in this weapon. It was this pistol that entered service with the US Army, and for this to happen, the following adjustments were required. From the external innovations, the changed form of the weapon's safety guard is immediately striking, which has now become more convenient when firing a pistol using two hands. The angle of the pistol grip has been changed, but this is hardly noticeable, since the angle has changed only for the front of the grip. Also, to increase the service life of the barrel, its channel began to be chrome-plated. Well, on a voluntary basis, the company changed the protective coating of the external parts of the weapon to a more reliable and durable one. Unfortunately, with this gun it turned out not to be as smooth as we would like. With prolonged shooting, the casing-bolt of the weapon did not withstand, although everything was in order on the samples submitted for testing. Apparently, the mass production of weapons and not the highest quality material affected. Nevertheless, the weapon worked flawlessly, only less than the declared resource, because the contract for the supply of this pistol to the US Army was suspended.

In order to get rid of such a shameful disease of their weapons and continue deliveries to the army of the United States of America, the Beretta company modified its pistol, now it was already called the Beretta 92FS, it is he who is now in service with the US Army under the name M9. In fact, it was still the same gun, but it significantly increased the strength of the casing-bolt, which made it even more tenacious than it was stated. In addition, in order to save the Americans, who are very fond of more powerful cartridges, from injuries, a kind of disk was installed on the head of the trigger axis, which prevents the casing-bolt from breaking off in the event of its destruction and flying into the face of the shooter. Actually, this sample of the Beretta 92 pistol is the most common in the world.

But this variety of weapons does not end in 1990, another modification of the pistol appeared. In fact, it was the same 92FS back, but now it had a double-action trigger, that is, each shot was fired by self-cocking, which significantly increased the pull on the trigger, and, as a result, had a negative effect on shooting accuracy, although this is the case habits. Also, the possibility of a safe trigger release was removed from the safety mechanism as unnecessary. This model is designated as Beretta 92DS, but it did not receive great popularity, such as the previous version.

In the same year, another modification appeared, in which there is no fuse at all. This model also has a trigger mechanism that allows self-cocking only, while the manufacturer has increased the trigger pull even more to make the pistol safer. When falling, the weapon is protected from an accidental shot by a striker lock, which is removed only at the last millimeters of the trigger stroke. This pistol model is referred to as the Beretta 92D, and it is natural that it was neither widely used nor known due to its specific design.

I wanted to skip the next model of the pistol, since it is an offshoot of the main family, but, remembering how often Beretta 92 is endowed with the ability of automatic shooting by the townsfolk, and the “blue screen” is in no hurry to dispute this, I decided to devote one paragraph to the pistol Beretta 93R. The weapon is old, despite its popularity among the masses, and it does have the ability to shoot short bursts with a cut-off of 3 rounds, but not a long burst. Without going into details of the difference between the device of the pistol in comparison with the previous versions (whoever read this far - my respect), it is only necessary to note that the weapon has a reinforced bolt cover, as well as a heavier barrel protruding ahead of the bolt cover. There are holes from the muzzle that act as a kind of muzzle brake-recoil compensator to prevent the pistol from being tossed up when firing. It has a rate of fire of 1,100 rounds per minute and is fed from 20-round detachable magazines, although standard 15-round magazines can also be used. A handle is installed a little further along the frame of the weapon from the safety bracket for more convenient control of the weapon when firing, and the pistol is also equipped with a removable shoulder rest. It was discontinued more than 20 years ago, since there is a separate class of weapons - submachine guns, in which this pistol does not win in any way. Well, it would not be superfluous to say that the resource of this pistol, in comparison with even the most average submachine guns, is not very high.

It would be nice to stop after that, but since I have already started, I will continue. In addition to all the above models, there is also a "Frenchman" named PAMAS G1. It appeared due to the lack of modern pistols in France at the end of the 80s of the last century, but for some reason there were no manufacturers who would undertake to eliminate such a problem in the country. She responded to a call for help and solved this problem by creating a model of the Beretta 92G pistol, which differed from the 92FS in that the safety switch had three positions - two "classic" and one providing a safe release of the trigger, instead of two positions, one of which has a safety release function was automatic. This pistol was adopted by the French gendarmerie in 1989, and in 1990 and 1991 entered service with the Navy and the army.

Do not forget about the variants of weapons that are produced under license by other manufacturers. So, the most famous are the pistols of the Brazilian company Taurus. A very successful purchase of a license for the production and modernization of weapons, in fact, instantly made the Brazilian company famous in the market handguns. By the way, thanks to timely modernization and a wide range of ammunition used in Brazilian pistols, the Beretta 92 variants from this company are still popular, especially in the civilian arms market in the United States, and are also in service with the armies of several countries, including Brazil. But I wrote about these pistols in detail earlier in the articles:; ; .

Based on all of the above, we can say with confidence that the Italian Beretta 92 weapon, if not a cult one, then quite worthy to put it on a par with at least the same Colt M1911. And although the gun has flaws, without them, unfortunately, nowhere, but it positive traits completely cover all the negative ones. So the weapon has a fairly high accuracy, it is considered the norm when at a distance of 50 meters all the bullets fall into a circle with a diameter of 70 millimeters, naturally under ideal conditions. In addition, it is quite comfortable to hold, despite its impressive weight. The simplicity of the design made the gun resistant to reasonable pollution, without fanaticism. Well, the fact that the weapon will not fire accidentally is guaranteed safety device, which literally blocks everything that can move (depending on the modification). Well, to be fair, the flaws. Big weight and dimensions for hidden and daily wear, which in my opinion is a matter of habit. The thick handle of the weapon, which is inconvenient for a person with short fingers, and, perhaps, that's all. This is the Beretta 92.

ctrl Enter

Noticed osh s bku Highlight text and click Ctrl+Enter

Founded 500 years ago, the Italian company Beretta is the oldest arms manufacturer in the world. The first documentary evidence of the manufacture of weapons by the Beretta family are receipts from state archive Venice, dated 1526. In them you can read that Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone sold 185 arquebus barrels to the local arsenal. Representatives of the Beretta company, however, are deeply convinced that their predecessors began to engage in weapons trade even earlier, as the company's current logo - "500 Years. One Passion" clearly indicates.

Today the company is part of holding Beretta, a group of a total of 26 arms industry companies, including the Italian arms manufacturers Benelli and Franchi, the Finnish arms firm Sako, and the German optics manufacturer Steiner. The holding is headed by Hugo Giussalli Beretta, one of the descendants of Bartolomeo Beretta. Together with his sons Pietro and Franco, the 77-year-old entrepreneur runs the concern.

In 2015, Fabbrica d‘Armi Pietro Beretta celebrated two anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the first self-loading pistol Beretta Modell 1915 b and the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beretta 92 FS pistol by the US Army under the designation M9.

Self-loading pistol Beretta M 1915

On May 23, 1915, Italy entered the First World War. The Italian army adopted the Glisenti M 1910 in 9 mm Glisenti as a regular pistol and purchased a number of models in 7.65 mm Browning in Spain. But the need for a reliable self-loading pistol remained extremely high.

The chief designer of Pietro Beretta, Tuleo Marengoni, has been working for five years on the creation of a self-loading pistol, in the development of which he was guided by the Mauser M1910.

Your first M1915 Beretta introduced it in the very first year of the war, chambering it for the standard 9 mm Glisenti cartridge, which corresponded in size to the 9 mm Luger cartridge, but was much weaker than the latter.

Two years later followed the model M1917 caliber 7.65 mm Browning. However, Beretta never used this designation for the pistol, instead putting "Brevetto 1915" (Patent 1915) on the weapon, thus often misleading collectors who believed that the 7.65 mm pistol represented the same, only a few reduced design.

Under his leadership, the first Beretta self-loading pistol appeared: Pietro Beretta in 1903, at the age of 33, after the death of his father, Giuseppe took over the management of the company, which remained in his hands until his death in 1957.

Pietro Beretta brought the M1915/M1917 pistols to the market at just the right time, and his firm became the leading gun manufacturer in Italy. In addition, the foundation was laid at the enterprise for the further successful production of self-loading pistols.

The successors of the Beretta M 1915 self-loading pistol

With the Modell 1923 pistol, Beretta introduced its second range of 9 mm Glisenti pistols. At the same time, the M1923 was the first Beretta pistol with an external trigger. The non-self-cocking model was aimed at military customers and was equipped with a holster, which, with the help of a hinged connecting jumper, could be attached to the store shaft as a shoulder rest.
The Model 950 Pocket Pistol was once chosen as the best agent of the (fictitious) Secret Service of His Majesty. James Bond, however, later turned down Mr. "M's" proposed Beretta pistol in favor of a Walther pistol. The M 950 entered production in 1952.
Like the M 950, the M3230 Tomcat, introduced in 1996, has a lever-operated barrel that swings up to add another round to the magazine.
Modell 8000 "Cougar" was presented to the public for the first time in 1995. Pivot-lock pistol with 15-round magazine, available with trigger mechanism single/double action or double action only and in 9 mm Luger, .40 S&W or .45 ACP.
Beretta: Introduced in 2006, the 90Two is a model of the Beretta 92 with a polymer handle, rounded contours indicating the aluminum parts of the 92. In addition, a rail is provided for accessories such as a laser pointer.

Michael Schippers

The Beretta Modell Stock is one of the rare sports models. The pistol is equipped with a reinforced slide with grooves in front to facilitate cocking. The muzzle of the barrel is inside the adjustable sleeve.
With Modell 89 pistol in .22 l.r. Beretta wanted to compete with big names sports pistols- but didn't make it great success.
In 2002, the Beretta U22 Neos small-caliber pistol appeared, whose futuristic appearance is most likely aimed at US plinker shooters.
For the showcases of major gun shows, in its anniversary year, Beretta released this PX4 Storm with a 24 carat gold finish.

Beretta 92 is the base model.

Beretta 92SB-C is a compact model.

Beretta 92FS Brigadier - with a reinforced slide.

Beretta 92FS Elite - with a reinforced slide and a slightly shortened barrel.

Beretta 92FS-C is a compact model.

The Beretta 90two is a variant of the Beretta 92 pistol with redesigned slide contours and a modular grip pad.

US M9 pistol - military version of the Beretta 92FS pistol

Beretta M9A1 - a variant proposed for the US Army but rejected by it

Beretta M9A3 is another variant developed for the US Army, but also not yet successful.

Beretta 92FS - incomplete disassembly.

Characteristics

Caliber: 9x19mm (also .40SW in model 96 and 9x21mm in model 98)
USM: double acting
total length: 217 mm (197 mm for compact models)
barrel length: 125 mm (109 mm for compact models)
Weight: 950-1000 g empty (depending on model)
Magazine capacity: 15 rounds (models 92 and 98); 13 rounds (92 compact); 11 rounds (model 96 caliber.40); 8 rounds (92 compact type M)

The development of a new military pistol to replace the Beretta M951 was started at Beretta in 1970. The team of designers, led by Carlo Beretta (Carlo Beretta), and included Giuseppe Mazetti (Juzeppe Mazetti) and Vittorio Valle (Vittorio Valle) at the first stage developed two prototypes in parallel. Both pistols were supposed to have a self-cocking trigger and an aluminum alloy frame. The first prototype had a Browning High Power lock, the second a Walther P38. It was from these prototypes that the index "92" appeared in the designation of serial pistols. It stood for "9mm pistol, 2nd model". Obviously, the "9mm pistol, 1st model" (with Browning locking) did not satisfy the designers, and they focused specifically on the "92" model.
The first prototypes of the pistol appeared in 1975, and in 1976 its mass production began. In the same year, a version of the Beretta 92S pistol appeared, which had a safety lever located on the bolt, which, when turned on, also performed a safe release of the trigger from the cocking. This model owes its appearance to the Italian police (Policia di Stato), who showed interest in the new pistol, but wished to have an option with a safe trigger mechanism (Beretta 92 pistols had a fuse on the frame that locked the bolt and whispered both when cocked and when the trigger was released ). Pistols Beretta 92S quite quickly forced the first model out of production, and were widely used by the Italian army, police, and were also exported. In the period from 1978 to 1984, Beretta took part in the American competition for the new 9mm XM9 army pistol. For this competition, several variants of the Beretta 92 pistol were consistently developed - Beretta 92S-1, Beretta 92SB, Beretta 92SB-F. It was the Beretta 92SB-F pistol, renamed the Beretta 92F in the series, that was declared the winner of the XM9 competition in 1985. Currently, Beretta produces enough wide range models based on the Beretta 92F pistol, both at the plant in Italy and at a subsidiary in the USA.

All Beretta 92 series service pistols have an aluminum alloy frame and a steel slide. In 2004, for the civilian market (primarily for athletes), a variant of the Beretta 92 Steel was also released, which has an all-steel construction and a frame safety (similar to the first Beretta 92 pistols). Automation is built according to a scheme using recoil energy at short stroke trunk and locking according to the Walter P38 type - a larva swinging in a vertical plane. The pistol bolt is open from above, which is why it has a significant width to create the necessary margin of safety. The ejector, openly fixed on the right side of the bolt, additionally serves as an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber. The fuse on pistols produced in 1975-76 was located on the left side of the frame, the magazine release button was located at the bottom of the handle, on the left cheek. On the left side of the frame is also the shutter release lever.
Overall, the Beretta 92 series pistols eventually earned a reputation for being fairly reliable, albeit somewhat unwieldy, weapons. Some complaints are caused by an excessively thick handle, which is convenient only for shooters with large enough palms, and the pistol itself is quite large in size. It is interesting that in the period 1986 - 1989 in the US Armed Forces, cases of destruction of the shutter with a separation of its rear part, leading to injuries to the shooters, took place not only in the USA, but also in France (about 10 years later). After the introduction of the Beretta 92FS modification for the US military, the Beretta 92F series pistols were sold for a long time on the civilian and police market without modifications that prevented the bolt from being torn off in the event of its destruction. Despite this, the new reinforced bolt with a completely closed upper part, developed by Phrobis by order of the US Navy, did not go into mass production, and over time, the Beretta 92FS pistols completely replaced the previous model from production. During the military operations of the US Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2002 - 2004, problems with the reliability of the M9 pistols (Beretta 92FS of the American release) also became more frequent, mainly due to the weakening of the magazine feed springs due to the long wearing of fully loaded magazines.

Below is a list of the main modifications of the Model 92 in the order of their appearance, as well as differences from the base model. Model year is given in parentheses.
Beretta 92S(1976) - The first modification of the base model 92. Instead of a fuse on the frame, a fuse appeared on the bolt, which also acts as a safe release lever (when the fuse is turned on, the drummer is blocked, the hammer is released from the cocking and the trigger is locked). In all other respects it does not differ from the base model. Currently no longer in production.
Beretta 92SB(1981) - development of the 92S, originally designated 92S-1. The fuse / lever for safe trigger release has become two-way, an automatic blocking of the drummer and a half-cock of the trigger have appeared. The magazine latch was moved to the base of the trigger guard. Release discontinued in 1991.
Beretta 92SB-C(1981) - A compact version of the Model 92SB, with a shorter barrel, bolt and grip. The overall length decreased to 197 mm, the barrel to 103 mm, the magazine capacity became 13 rounds, but the possibility of using standard magazines for 15 rounds remained.
Beretta 92SB-C type M(1983) - A variant of the Model 92SB-C, featuring a single-row 8-round magazine and, accordingly, a flatter grip and lighter weight. Release discontinued.
Beretta 92F(1984) - originally designated 92SB-F. Developed in the framework of the American XM9 competition as a further development of the 92SB model, it is distinguished by a slightly modified handle shape, plastic handle cheeks and coated metal parts. The bore and chamber are chrome-plated. Modern pistols of this model do not outwardly differ from the 92FS model.
Beretta 92G(1987) - The "Gendarmerie" variant was commissioned and adopted by the Gendarmerie Nationale de France in 1989. Produced in France under license at GIAT Industries factories under the designation PA MAS G1. It differs from the 92FS model in that only the safety trigger function is left on the bolt lever, and the trigger is not blocked (the pistol is always ready to fire).
Beretta 92FS(1989) - a modification of the Beretta 92F pistol, which has an enlarged trigger axis head that prevents the rear of the bolt from being torn off the rails when it is destroyed. Created on the basis of the sad experience of the US military. In the US Armed Forces, it is in service under the M9 index; it differs from commercial pistols in marking and external decoration.
Beretta 92FS-C(1989) - A compact version of the Model 92FS, with a shortened barrel, bolt and grip. Magazine 13 rounds, dimensions as model 92SB-C.
Beretta 92FS-C type M(1989) - Version of the Model 92FS-C with a single-row magazine for 8 rounds.
Beretta 92DS(1990) - Model is similar to Model 92FS except that the trigger of this pistol is self-cocking only (Double Action Only). The fuse in the on state blocks the trigger and the firing pin.
Beretta 92D(1990) - Similar to the 92DS but without a fuse. The trigger does not have a spoke.
Beretta 96(1992) - modification of the 92F model chambered for .40SW for the American police market. Magazine capacity - 11 rounds. Modifications of the model 96 are similar to the corresponding modifications of the model 92 (D, Brigadier, Elite, etc.). Widely used by the US police, is in service with the US Border Guard (US Border Guard), is a success in the civilian market.
Beretta 92FS / 96 Brigadier(1996) - modification of the 92FS model with a reinforced and weighted shutter. It was originally implemented as a modification of the Model 96 (chambered for .40SW) by order of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), later transferred to the Model 92. Another difference is that the front sight is removable.
Beretta 92FS Centurion(1996) - Model 92FS with a shortened barrel and bolt with the same frame. Overall length 197 mm, barrel 103 mm, magazine 15 rounds.
Beretta 92 Vertec(2003) - A modification primarily aimed at the US police weapons market. The main difference of this modification is the modified shape of the handle with a straight back, which makes it more convenient to handle the weapon for shooters with medium and small hands. Another improvement is integral rails for attaching a laser pointer or flashlight to a frame under the barrel.
Beretta 90two(2006) - the newest version in the line of modifications of the 92 model. It differs primarily in the modified design of the handle with unitary modular overlays made of plastic and having a U-shaped profile when viewed from above (covering the handle from the sides and behind. Unlike only side overlays on previous models). In addition, cosmetic changes have been made to the shape of the bolt and safety levers, a guide for attaching a flashlight or laser pointer has been added to the frame under the barrel, if necessary, we close it with a special plastic overlay.
Beretta M9A1: an improved version of the M9 pistol, distinguished by the presence of a Picatinny-type underbarrel rail integrated into the frame and a number of minor improvements. Offered to the US Army to replace M9 pistols, but so far without success
Beretta M9A3: further development of the M9 pistol family. It also has an integrated Picatinny rail under the barrel, an interchangeable front sight, a smaller grip (like 92 Vertec). In the muzzle of the barrel, a thread closed with a removable sleeve is made for installing a quick-detachable silencer.