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Fabbrica D’Armi Pietro Beretta SPA, Gardone Valtrompia, Brescia, Italy Beretta History Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta ("Pietro Beretta Gun Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. Sporting arms account for three-quarters of sales; Founded in the 16th century, Beretta is the oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world. In 1526 its inaugural product was arquebus barrels; by all accounts Beretta-made barrels equipped the Venetian fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Beretta has supplied weapons for every major European war since 1650. The Val Trompia valley district in Italy, including the city of Gardone, runs through the Columbine Mountains which is a source of high-grade iron ore. During the Middle Ages it was the center of iron working and, in the beginning of the Renaissance Era it was known for its high quality gun making. Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta was a master gun barrel maker living in Gardone. Bartolomeo Beretta’s son, Jacomo and his grandson, Giovannino, both became master gun barrel makers. This passed-on trade has continued for over 500 years. The Beretta family has continuously controlled the company for the company’s entire history. By the mid 16th century Val Trompia had forty ironworks, supplied by fifty mines and eight smelters. The birthplace of Beretta is in the village of Gardone located on the banks of the Mella river, in the middle of Val Trompia (i.e., between the upper valley and lower valley). The Beretta forge was in operation from about 1500, although the first documented transaction is a contract dated October 3, 1526 for 185 arquebus barrels, for which the Republic of Venice was to pay 296 ducats to Maestro di Canne (master gun-barrel maker) Bartolomeo Beretta (in Italian) The original account document for the order of those barrels is now stored in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia (in Italian) in Venice.[6] By the end of the 17th century, Beretta had become the second largest gun barrel maker in Gardone. Under the guild system, the knowledge of gun barrel fabrication that was bequeathed to Jacopo (1520/25 – …) from his father Bartolomeo (1490 – 1565/68) was then passed on to his own son Giovannino (1550 – post 1577), and to his grandson Giovan Antonio (1577 – post 1649)[8] and so on until guilds were abolished by Napoleon after his conquest of Venetian Republic in 1797. Beretta has been owned by the same family for almost five hundred years[9] and is a founding member of Les Henokiens, an association of bicentenary companies that are family owned and operated. In 1918, the Beretta Model 1918, one of the first submachine guns in the world, was fielded by the Italian army. Beretta manufactured rifles and pistols for the Italian military until the 1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces during World War II. With the Wehrmacht's control of northern Italy, the Germans seized Beretta and continued producing arms until the 1945 German surrender in Italy During that time, the quality of the exterior finish of the weapons diminished, with late-war examples being much inferior to both the pre-war and mid-war weapons, but their operation remained excellent. The last shipment of Type I Rifles left Venice for Japan in a U-boat in 1942. After World War II, Beretta was actively involved in repairing the American M1 Garands given to Italy by the U.S. Beretta modified the M1 into the Beretta BM-59 rifle, which is similar to the M14 battle rifle; armourers consider the BM-59 rifle to be superior to the M14 rifle in some ways, because it is more accurate under certain conditions. After the war, Beretta continued to develop firearms for the Italian Army and police, as well as the civilian market. In the 1980s, Beretta enjoyed a renewal of popularity in North America after its Beretta 92 pistol was selected as the service handgun for the United States Army under the designation of "M9 pistol". In the 1970s, Beretta also started a manufacturing plant in São Paulo, Brazil. A contract between Beretta and the Brazilian government was signed, under which Beretta produced Beretta 92s for the Brazilian Army until 1980. Later this plant was sold to Taurus, who continues to manufacture the Beretta 92 under the name of PT92 using the same tools and labour which Beretta used, without the need for a license from Beretta, since the design is based on the original Beretta 92, for which the patents are expired. Beretta acquired several domestic competitors (notably Benelli and Franchi) and some foreign companies (notably in Finland) in the late 1980s. Today, Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (Beretta S.p.A) is run by Franco Gussalli Beretta, President and CEO. The traditional father-to-son Beretta dynasty was interrupted when Ugo Gussalli Beretta assumed the firm's control; uncles Carlo and Giuseppe Beretta were childless; Ugo married into the Beretta family and adopted the last name Beretta. His sons are now direct descendants through their mother's side of the family. Beretta is known for its broad range of firearms: side-by-side shotguns, over-and-under shotguns, semi-automatic shotguns, hunting rifles, express rifles, assault rifles, submachine guns, lever- and bolt-action rifles, single- and double-action revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.[18] The parent company, Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, and the Burris Optics company. The model Beretta 92FS was the primary side arm of the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, designated the M9 pistol. In 1985, Beretta was chosen after a controversial competition to produce the M9, winning a contract for 500,000 pistols. A condition of the original agreement was domestic manufacturer of the M9. In 2019, the 9mm version of the SIG Sauer P320 was selected to replace the M9 throughout the US Armed Forces. Beretta has continued to grow their line of fine sporting firearms and has added a high-end clothing line. In 1995, Beretta opened its first gallery in New York. Today there are Beretta galleries in Dallas, Buenos Aires, Paris, Milan and London. Beretta’s website reports that the company produces about 1,500 pieces a day with 90% of those pieces being sporting firearms. Beretta also owns Benelli, Franchi, Sako, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, Burris Optics and a 20% interest in Browning. The Beretta 70 was a semi-automatic pistol series designed and produced by Beretta of Italy, which was based on the earlier 7.65mm Beretta M1935 pistol. Some pistols in this series were also marketed as the Falcon, New Puma, New Sable, Jaguar, and Cougar (not to be confused with the later Beretta 8000, which was also marketed as Cougar). The gun is notable for its appearances in film, and is also the first compact Beretta pistol to feature several improvements commonly found in Beretta pistols for the rest of the century. The 70 Series improved upon the M1934/M1935 (and the later .22 LR offering of the same as the Model 948) in several ways. The swivel-lever safety of theM1934/35 was too difficult to operate one handed, so the 70 Series started out with the same cross-bolt safety as the M1951, but this safety was also difficult to operate with a single hand, and could also accidentally be switched on or off depending on the user's grip. After only a few years, the cross bolt safety was replaced with the thumb-activated, frame-mounted lever safety found on most Beretta pistols in the latter half of the 20th century, and indeed most single-action or traditional double-action semi-automatic pistols in production today, until the relocation of the safety to the slide with the Model 92S in 1983. This firearms is one of the second generation models, which shows differences from the first model in this collection. As the replacement for the M1934/5 in Beretta's compact/medium pistol line, the Model 70 integrated the M1951's takedown lever, guide rod system, slide stop, and magazine release button in the lower part of the grip. The M1934/5 would hold open on empty due to the magazine follower blocking the slide, but removing the magazine would cause the slide to be released unless its safety was subsequently engaged (which would lock the gun open until switched back to Fire mode); this process was slow and cumbersome, which is why the slide stop improvement was implemented in the M1951 and later models of service pistols. The slide stop changed partway through the production run of the pistol from the same "pedal" style release as the M1951 to a round button at the end of the lever. A softer, longer curve that tapered up to the front of the gun was also added to make the trigger guard better looking. Near the end of its production, the same thumb shelf of the 76W's left grip panel was added to the 70S. The magazines retain the spur at the front of the floor plate, common to both the M1934/5 and M1951, as is common for many pistols with a European-style magazine release (a hinged latch in the bottom of the grip against the magazine's floor plate), and also some compact pistols as a means of extending the grip surface while keeping the profile of the pistol small. Ref. ‘Pistols and revolvers’ by JE Smith, ‘Famous pistols and handguns’ by A J R Cormack, ‘Pistols of the world’ by Hogg and Weeks p36, Modern Beretta Firearm by Gene Gangarosa jr, https://dailycaller.com/2018/01/08/classic-plinkers-beretta-70-series-pistols/ , https://www.breachbangclear.com/wtw-beretta-series-70/ , https://www.getzone.com/sootch00-pistol-review-the-classic-beretta-model-70s/ , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_70 , http://www.berettaweb.com/mod_70/mod_70_P5.htm , https://gunvalues.gundigest.com/beretta-pietro/beretta-70-series/ https://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/beretta-a-history-of-the-worlds-oldest-firearm-company/ , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta#:~:text=Founded%20in%20the%2016th%20century,Battle%20of%20Lepanto%20in%201571.)

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