The Beretta M92: World Beater

The Beretta M92: World Beater

One of the more popular 'souvenirs' acquired by Allied soldiers during World War II was the Italian army's 9-mm Beretta automatic pistol, though there were many disappointed soldiers who discovered that the 9-mm cartirdge wich it used was the 9-mm Short and not the universal 9-mm Parabellum. The Beretta Company claims to be the oldest existing gun manufacturer in the world, but its name only came to prominence outside the specialist gun world when, in 1985, it won the contract to provide the US Army with a new pistol.

9-mm Model 34

Beretta went into the pistol business in 1915, and then only under the pressure of war; it developed a small blowback automatic in 7.65-mm calibre which was subsequently redesigned and refined to reach its zenith in the 9-mm Model 34, the wartime souvenir gun. In post-war years the Italian army decided it needed a heavier weapon, something with a locked breech which could fire the 9-mm Parabellum cartridge, and in the early 1950s Beretta duly produced the Model 951.

One of the most recognisable family features of Beretta pistols has always been the cutaway slide top; instead of the slide completely covering the barrel, its upper surface was cut away from just ahead of the breech block to just behind the foresight. This gave a wide and unobstructed ejection slot, but it was impossible to combine this characteristic slide shape with a locked breech dependent upon engagement between slide top and barrel as in, for example, the Colt or Browning military automatics. So for its new military Model 951 Beretta had to come up with a different method of locking the breech.

Locking Breech

The system it chose is very similar to that pioneered by the Walther P38: a seperate locking block beneath the barrel which is cammed into engagement with the slide as the action closes. This is more than adequately strong for the cartridge, and the gun also showed some other interesting features such as a mechanical hold-open after the last shot had been fired and a push-through cross-bolt safety catch in the frame. Many thousands of this pistol were sold, to Italy, Israel and Egypt, among several others.

In the early 1970s Beretta began a completely new family of double-action pistols for police and sporting use. This family started with the Model 81 in 7.65-mm, and went into several variants. Then, having got the commercial designs well under way, it turned to a military model and produced the Model 92 in 1976.

Double Action

The Model 92 is obviously a progression from the M951, using much the same sort of frame and slide and the same locking system, but adding a double-action trigger and making the whole pistol rather more streamlined.

The most obvious change is the enlarged trigger guard, with the trigger set well forward to give room for the double-action pull. On the left side of the frame are a dismantling latch, a slide stop lever, which can be pressed to close the slide after it has been held open after firing the last shot in the magazine, and a safety catch. The double-column magazine holds 15 rounds, and is slotted at the rear so that the contents can be seen and the number of rounds easily checked.

Model 92-S

Next came the Model 92-S. This removed the safety catch from the frame and placed it on the slide, interlinking it with the hammer mechanism so that applying the safety first locked the firing pin and then released the hammer to fall safely. Thus it now became possible to load the pistol, then apply the safety and drop the hammer, and then holster the pistol in a loaded but safe condition. When necessary, all that was required was to draw, release the safety and pull the trigger, so cocking and releasing the hammer.

The Model 92-SB was the Model 92-S with the safety catch on both sides of the slide, so that it could be operated by right- or left-handed shooters, and the magazine release was removed from the heel of the butt to a postition on the grip frame just below the trigger grip where it could be comfortably operated by the firing hand; in case of left-handed firers, it was an easy task to remove the release button and its mechanism and mount it on the other side of the slide.

The safety system was also improved; now the safety catch positively disconnected the trigger from the hammer sear, and the firing pin was permanently locked, being unlocked only by the final movement of the trigger in the act of firing. So it was virtually impossible to fire this weapon by dropping or any blow; only correct use of the trigger could cause the weapon to fire. The Model 92-SB-C is a compact version of the SB; with an overall length of 197 mm (7.75-in) and a 135-mm (5.3-in) barrel.

By this time, the US Army had advertised for pistols to be tested for possible American adoption, and laid down some basic requirements. The weapon had to be double-action 9-mm Parabellum calibre, and have both safety and magazine release capable of operation by either hand without adjustment. In response, Beretta built the Model 92-F. This is mechanically and dimensionally the same as the 92-SB but has the front of the trigger guard shaped for a two-handed grip, ambidextrous safety and magazine release, a curved front edge to the grip frame, new grip plates, internally chromed barrel, and the exterior finished with 'Bruniton', a type of Teflon anti-corrosive coating.

The Model 92-F came through the American tests with considerable success, particularly in the reliability field, and was duly adopted as the 'Pistol, 9-mm M9' early in 1985. A contract for some 315,000 was given, but complaints by American manufacturers that the tests were unfair and badly conducted led to a ruling by Congress that no more deliveries were to be made until a second seriees of trials had been conducted; these would either confirm Beretta as the selected pistol or (as the American's hoped) replace it with an American design. In the end the Beretta was selected.

After the 92-F you might have expected Beretta to rest on its laurels for a while, but not a bit of it. Next came the Model 92-F Compact, which is a cut-down model, much the same as the SB-C but with the various Model F features. And then came the Model 92-SB-C Type M, which is simply the SB-C but with the 15-round magazine replaced by a single-column eight-shot magazine, principally intended for guard and police use.

Carabinieri use

There are also three pistols which, while not bearing the '92' number, must certainly be considered members of the family. The first of these is the Model 93-R, a most unusal weapon which has been adopted by the Italian Carabinieri. In general form it resembles the Model 92, but has an extended barrel into which slots are cut to act as a muzzle compensator. Attached to the bottom of the butt is an ingenious folding shoulder stock and attached to the front of the frame, just ahead of the trigger guard, is a fold-down front hand grip.

All this might be throught excessive on a 9-mm pistol, until you discover that the Model 93-R can fire three-round bursts. Set to single shot it can be handled and fired just like an ordinary pistol, albeit a trifle heavier and more bulky than the Model 92; but fold out the stock, lower the handgrip, take firm hokd and set the selector to burst fire, and every pressure of the trigger looses off three rounds of rapid fire. So the Model 93-R is, in effect, a small sub-machine gun or machine-pistol.

Large magazine

To fire a slightly greater reserve of ammunition the standard magazine is a 20-shot device which extends below tht end of the butt grip; and ordinary 15-round magazine can also be used. It is also possible, through a trifle alarming, to fold down the front grip, leave the stock folded or even remove it, and then fire bursts in a two-handed grip.

The model 93-R was followed by two models for people who do not require the power of the 9-mm Parabellum cartridge; the Model 98 is an SB-C but chambered for the 7.65-mm Parabellum cartridge, while the Model 99 is the SB-C Type M, also chambered for the 7.65-mm Parabellum round. And with that Beretta appears to have come to the end of its inspiration for the Model 92 family.

Added:  Wednesday, February 22, 2006
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