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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 92 was designed for sports and law enforcement use and, due to its reliability, was accepted by military users in many countries all over the world. It was adopted by the US army in 1986, and millions where made to became one of the best known handguns in the world. The Beretta 92 is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The model 92 was designed in 1972. The Beretta 92 pistol evolved from earlier Beretta designs, most notably the M1923 and M1951. From the M1923 comes the open slide design, while the alloy frame and locking block barrel, originally from Walther P38, were first used in the M1951. The grip angle and the front sight integrated with the slide were also common to earlier Beretta pistols. Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazzetti and Vittorio Valle, all experienced firearms designers, contributed to the final design in 1975. The Beretta pistol mode] 92 has also the following characteristics: -DOUBLE ACTION: which offers the advantages of the revolver. Furthermore, this system allows the possibility of a second quick strike on the same ammunition in the rare instance of misfire which, in view of the high level of quality reached in ammunition today, can practically happen only because of the capsule. The repetition of percussion is sufficient to fire the round. -STAGGERED MAGAZINE: (holds 15 rounds). With the same length as a traditional magazine, it almost doubles the capacity of f ire. -CHAMBER LOADED INDICATOR: when there is a round in the barrel the extractor protrudes laterally showing red. It is therefore possible to check visually (and, at night, to feel) whether there is a round in the barrel without having to retract the slide. -DISASSEMBLING DEVICE: extremely quick and simple. It is designed in such a way as to avoid casual or involuntary disassembly. -BALLISTICS: although depending to a certain extent on the type and the quality of the ammunition and local atmospheric conditions, they are the optima obtainable from a firearm of this size. In normal conditions of use, the average velocity and corresponding kinetic energy of the ammunition fired from this firearm are as follows: V 0.5 = 1280 ft./sec. E 0.5 = 455 ft/bs The Beretta 92's open slide design ensures smooth feeding and ejection of ammunition and allows easy clearing of obstructions. The hard barrel bore reduces barrel wear and protects it from corrosion. The falling locking block design provides good accuracy and operability with suppressors due to the in-line travel of the barrel. This is in contrast to the complex travel of Browning designed barrels. The magazine release button is reversible with simple field tools. The anodised, aluminium alloy frame is well proven and disassembly is very simple with a few parts to lose. What were perhaps the Model 92's two most important advanced design features had first appeared on its immediate predecessor, the 1974 .380 caliber Model 84. These improvements both involved the magazine, which featured direct feed; that is, there was no feed ramp between the magazine and the chamber (a Beretta innovation in pistols). In addition, the magazine was a "double-stacked" design, a feature originally introduced in 1935 on the Browning Hi-Power. The effectiveness of this series firearm motivated the following countries to use the Beretta 92 in their armed forces or police units: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Nigeria, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City, Vietnam. Due to this pistol’s effectiveness it was not only adopted by many countries’ armies, but copies were manufactured in several countries: Brazil - A large contract for the Beretta 92 was with the Brazilian army, for which Beretta set up a factory in Brazil. This factory was later sold to the Brazilian gunmaker Taurus (Forjas Taurus S/A). Taurus makes pistols called PT92 without the need for a license from Beretta since their design is based on the original Beretta 92, whose patents have since expired. The PT92 can be distinguished from its modern Beretta counterpart primarily by having the safety mounted on the frame as opposed to on the slide like the Beretta. Though mechanically similar to the original, the PT92s differ from the early 92s by having a trigger guard similar to the modern 92s (the originals were rounded) and a magazine release in the same place as the modern 92s (the originals were at the bottom of the grip). Turkey - Turkish companies MKEK and Girsan manufactured a copy of the Beretta 92F as Yavuz 16 for the Turkish Armed Forces and General Directorate of Security.[16][17] There has been speculation that these were being made under contract from Beretta. Some of these pistols were imported into the United States by the company American Tactical Imports as the American Tactical 92 or AT-92. Yavuz 16 was exported to Canada, Colombia, Georgia, Malaysia and Syria.[18] France - France has made licensed copies of Beretta 92FS as the PAMAS G1 and the French-M92 is now in use in the Armies and law enforcement agencies, only to be replaced by the SIG SP2022 in the national police. Taiwan - Taiwan had made Beretta-like pistols namely the T75 Pistol. South Africa - South Africa had produced the Beretta under license since 1992 as the Vektor Z88, and the batches are used by the South African Police. Egypt - Egypt had produced the Beretta 92 under license as the Helwan 920 with the magazine release button at the bottom of the magazine. (Ref. ‘Pistols and revolvers’ by JE Smith, ‘Famous pistols and handguns’ by A J R Cormack, ‘Dictionary of guns and gunmakers’ by John Walter, ‘Modern Beretta Firearm’ by Gene Gangarosa jr, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_92 , https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/6/13/pistol-history-the-beretta-model-92s-9-mm/ , https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/guide-beretta-92/ , https://www.nrablog.com/articles/2017/2/remembering-how-the-beretta-m9-became-americas-sidearm/ 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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