Beretta
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Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is a major Italian firearm manufacturing company. Its weapons are used extensively by civilians, police and militaries around the world. Beretta is among the world's oldest corporations, and has been owned by the same family for nearly 500 years. The Beretta company was established historically in 1526, when gunsmith Mastro Bartolomeo Beretta, of Gardone Val Trompia (Brescia, Lombardy, Italy), received 296 ducats as payment for 185 arquebus barrels sold to the Arsenal of Venice. The paperwork for that order still exists in the company's archives.
Today, the company is owned by Ugo Gussalli Beretta, a direct descendant of the original Bartolomeo, and is run by him and his sons, Franco and Pietro. (The traditional Beretta dynasty — father to son — was broken when Ugo Gussalli Beretta took over. His uncles Carlo and Giuseppe Beretta had no children. Carlo adopted Ugo, the son of sister Giuseppina Gussalli, to give him the Beretta name.)
Beretta is known for its broad product range that includes side-by-side shotguns, over-and-under shotguns, self-loading shotguns, hunting rifles, express rifles, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, lever-action rifles, single-action revolvers, double-action revolvers and pistols. Parent company Beretta Holding also owns Beretta USA, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Stoeger, Tikka, and Uberti, and is a partner of Fabrique Nationale de Herstal; as a result of this partnership, Beretta makes under license in Italy the Minimi squad automatic weapon for Italian Armed Forces issue. Beretta products have a reputation for being well made, durable and reliable.
Beretta is famous for the 92FS 9 mm Parabellum pistol, which has seen much exposure in action movies, such as the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard series. That gun has at various times been the official sidearm of several first world armies. The 92FS has been adopted as the official sidearm of the U.S. military, designated the M9.
In 1918, the Beretta Model 1918 was the second submachinegun to be fielded by the Italian army.
In 1985, Beretta was chosen during a controversial selection process to produce the M9 9 mm Parabellum sidearm for the United States military, winning a contract for 500,000 units. There have been many follow-up orders. A condition of the original agreement was that U.S. military pistols be manufactured domestically. The Beretta USA plant in Accokeek, Maryland, makes finished pistols from raw materials for the military, law enforcement, and civilian markets.
Beretta pistols
- Beretta M1915
- Beretta M1934 / 1935
- Beretta M1951
- Beretta Mini Pistols
- Beretta 70
- Beretta 80 Models
- Beretta 90
- Beretta 92 Models
- Beretta 8000 Models
- Beretta 9000 Models
- Beretta Px4 Storm
- Beretta 90-TWO Models
- Beretta M9A1
- Beretta 93R
- Beretta M92F/M92fS
Beretta shotguns
Beretta is also well-known in hunting circles for their shotguns, often embellished with exquisite handcarved stocks and frames.
- Beretta 1201FP
- Beretta DT-10
- Beretta 682
- Beretta 686
- Beretta Silver Pigeon Series
- Beretta AL391 Urika and Teknys (Semi-Auto)
- Beretta SO7 and SO5
- Beretta Xtrema
- Beretta Xtrema 2
Beretta rifles and carbines
Beretta submachine guns
Beretta machine guns
- FN Minimi, under Fabrique Nationale de Herstal license, for the sole purpose of Italian Armed Forces issue.