Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

Italian

firearms manufacturing company The following list of modern armament manufacturers presents major companies producing modern weapons and munitions for military, paramilitary, government agency and civilian use. The companies are listed by their full name followed by the short ...

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; Beretta is also known for marketing shooting clothes and accessories. Founded in the 16th century, Beretta is the oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world. In 1526 its inaugural product was

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbu ...

barrels; by all accounts Beretta-made barrels equipped the Venetian fleet at the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Sovere ...

in 1571. Beretta has supplied weapons for every major European war since 1650.

History

Val Trompia, a northern Italian river valley in the

Province of Brescia The Province of Brescia ( it, provincia di Brescia; Brescian: ) is a Province in the Lombardy administrative region of northern Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia. With an ...

, Lombardy, has been mined for iron ore since the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Val Trompia was known for its ironworks; after the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

it came to be a center for the manufacture of weapons. 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 Gardone may refer to: * Gardone Riviera, town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy * Gardone Val Trompia, town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. {{dab ...

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

barrels, for which the Republic of Venice was to pay 296 ducats to ''Maestro di Canne'' (master gun-barrel maker)

Bartolomeo Beretta Bartolomeo Beretta (c. 1490 – c. 1565). known as ''maestro di canne'' (master gun-barrel maker), was an Italian artisan from Lombardy who, by 1526, had established the arms manufacturing enterprise Beretta. Beretta worked at Gardone in Val Tro ...

. The original account document for the order of those barrels is now stored in the ''Archivio di Stato di Venezia'' in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. 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) 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 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 The Moschetto Automatico Revelli-Beretta Mod. 1915 (Commonly known as the Beretta Model 1918) was a self-loading carbine that entered service in 1918 with the Italian armed forces. Designed as a semi-automatic rifle, the weapon came with an over ...

, one of the first submachine guns in the world, was fielded by the Italian army. Beretta manufactured rifles and

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

s for the Italian military until the 1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

in 1942. After World War II, Beretta was actively involved in repairing the American

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World Wa ...

s 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 A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to better differentiate the intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the StG-44, AK-47, M16 ...

; 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 The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers c ...

pistol was selected as the service handgun for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

as the "

M9 pistol The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 198 ...

". In 1993, a Beretta USA executive revealed that it had been the company's strategy since 1980 "to use the military contract to make Beretta a household name in the United States", and then to expand into larger law enforcement and commercial markets. In the 1970s, Beretta also started a manufacturing plant in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. 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 Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos taur ...

, 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 Benelli may refer to: * Benelli Armi SpA, an Italian firearm manufacturer *Benelli (motorcycles), an Italian motorcycle manufacturer * HSR-Benelli, an Austrian-Italian manufacturer of personal watercraft * Andrea Benelli (born 1960), Italian sports ...

and Franchi) and some foreign companies (notably in Finland) in the late 1980s.

Overview

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 A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-proje ...

, over-and-under shotguns, semi-automatic shotguns, hunting rifles,

express rifle The term ''express'' was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid-19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black po ...

s, assault rifles,

submachine guns A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automat ...

, lever- and bolt-action rifles, single- and double-action

revolvers A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six ro ...

and semi-automatic

pistols A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

. The parent company, Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA,

, Franchi,

SAKO Sako or SAKO may refer to: People with the surname * Bakary Sako (born 1988), French-born Malian footballer * Hygerta Sako, Albanian beauty pageant contestant * Louis Raphaël I Sako (born 1948), Iraqi cleric, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church * ...

, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, and the Burris Optics company. The model

Beretta 92FS The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...

was the primary side arm of the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

, designated the

. 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 The SIG Sauer P320 is a modular semi-automatic pistol made by SIG Sauer, Inc., SIG Sauer's American branch. It is a further development of the SIG Sauer P250, utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system. ...

was selected to replace the M9 throughout the US Armed Forces.

Product lines

Semi-automatic pistols

Beretta Model 1915 The Beretta Model 1915 or Beretta M1915 is a semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Beretta, designed by Tullio Marengoni who was the chief engineer in the company, to replace the Glisenti Model 1910 which had a complex and weak firing mechanism. ...

* Beretta M1923 * Beretta 418 *

Beretta M1934 The Beretta Model 1934 is an Italian compact, semi-automatic pistol which was issued as the service pistol of the Royal Italian Army beginning in 1934. It is chambered for the 9mm Corto, more commonly known as the .380 ACP. History and usage ...

/ Beretta M1935 * Beretta M1951 * Beretta 70 series **

Beretta 70 The Beretta 70 is a magazine-fed, single-action semi-automatic pistol series designed and produced by Beretta of Italy, which replaced the earlier 7.65mm Beretta M1935 pistol. Some pistols in this series were also marketed as the Falcon, New P ...

** Beretta 71 Jaguar ** Beretta 72 Jaguar ** Beretta 73, 74, 75 ** Beretta 76 ** Beretta 100, 101, 102 * Beretta Cheetah ** Beretta 81 ** Beretta 84 **

Beretta 85 The Beretta Cheetah, also known by its original model name of "Series 81", is a line of compact blowback operated semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. They were introduced in 1976 and include models in .32 ACP ( ...

** Beretta 86 ** Beretta 87 ** Beretta 89 * Beretta 8000 ** Beretta 8000 Cougar ** Beretta 8045 Cougar ** Beretta Cougar Inox ** Beretta Mini Cougar *

Beretta 90 Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon 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 milita ...

Beretta 9000 The Beretta 9000 is a series of modern compact size semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. It is used primarily for civilian self-defense. The Beretta 9000 pistol is a polymer-framed design that retains tradition ...

Beretta 9000S The Beretta 9000 is a series of modern compact size semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. It is used primarily for civilian self-defense. The Beretta 9000 pistol is a polymer-framed design that retains tradition ...

** Beretta 90two ** Beretta 92F **

Beretta 92F/FS The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...

** Beretta 92FS Inox *** Beretta 92FS Compact *** Beretta 92FS Centurion *** Beretta 92FS Brigadier *** Beretta 92FS Brigadier Inox ** Beretta 92G Elite 1A *** Beretta 92G Elite II **

Beretta 92S Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon 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 milita ...

*** Beretta 92SB **** Beretta 92SB-C ** Beretta 92A1 **

**Beretta 92X * Beretta 96 ** Beretta 96A1 * Beretta Px4 Storm ** Beretta Px4 Storm Compact ** Beretta Px4 Storm Subcompact *

Beretta U22 Neos Firing the U22 Neos 6.0 Inox The Beretta U22 Neos is a .22 Long Rifle semi-automatic, single-action pistol using a slide blow-back system, that has been manufactured in the United States since 2002 by Beretta USA. The pistol will accept interchan ...

* Beretta APX * Beretta 21 Bobcat **

Beretta 21A Bobcat The Beretta 21A Bobcat is a semi-automatic pocket pistol designed by Beretta in Italy. Production began in late 1984, solely in the Beretta U.S.A. facility in Accokeek, Maryland. It is a further development of the Beretta Model 20, whose productio ...

Beretta 3032 Tomcat The Beretta 3032 Tomcat and Beretta 3032 Tomcat Inox are semi-automatic pocket pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta. They are chambered in .32 ACP (a.k.a. 7.65 mm Browning) and are small pistols, designed for concealed-carry and use a ...

Beretta 950 Jetfire The Beretta 950 is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by Beretta since 1952. It builds on a long line of small and compact pocket pistols manufactured by Beretta for self-defense. It was intended to be a very simple and reliable po ...

* Beretta Nano * Beretta Pico

Revolvers

* Beretta Stampede * Beretta Laramie

Shotguns

*Beretta 1200 * Beretta 1200 FP *Beretta 1201 * Beretta 1201FP *

Beretta AL390 The Beretta AL390 is a semi-automatic firearm, semi-automatic shotgun first listed in the 1992 Beretta catalogue. The shotgun features a self compensating gas operating system and a 12 gauge barrel. The field model features anodized light alloy r ...

* Beretta AL391 Urika and Teknys *Beretta Tx4 **

Beretta Tx4 Storm The Beretta Tx4 Storm is a tactical semi-automatic shotgun produced by Beretta. The gun is not to be confused with the handgun and carbine with which it shares its name. The configuration of the gun includes a tall front sight with a white bead ...

* Beretta 1301 **Beretta 1301 Comp **Beretta 1301 Tactical *Beretta A400 **Beretta A400 Xcel **Beretta A400 Xtreme Unico **Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus **Beretta A400 Xplor Action *Beretta A 300 Outlander *Beretta A 350 Outlander *Beretta SO4, SO5 and SO6 *Beretta Xtrema *

Beretta Xtrema 2 The Beretta A391-Xtrema2 is a semi-automatic shotgun developed and produced by Italian firearm manufacturer Beretta. It is used by hunters and target shooters, mainly in the United States. The shotgun is commonly referred to simply as the Xtrema2. ...

*Beretta Model A series *Beretta UGB25 Xcel *Beretta Folder *

Beretta Ultraleggero The Beretta Ultraleggero () is an over-under shotgun designed by Beretta in 2021. The Ultraleggero was designed as a replacement for the Beretta Ultralight. Design The Ultraleggero was designed in 2021 as a replacement for the discontinued Be ...

*Beretta Urika *Beretta Urika 2 *Beretta RS 202-M2 *Beretta LTLX7000 *Beretta 470 Silver Hawk *

Beretta 682 The Beretta 682 (also known as the S682, 682 Gold and currently 682 Gold E) is a competition grade over-under shotgun. It is manufactured, marketed, and distributed by Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta, in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy. The 682 comes ...

*Beretta 692 *

Beretta DT-10 The Beretta DT10 is an over and under shotgun. It is manufactured, marketed, and distributed by Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta, in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy ...

*Beretta DT-11 *

Beretta Silver Pigeon The Beretta Silver Pigeon is a double-barreled shotgun, double-barreled shotgun. It is an over and under gun, with one barrel above the other. It is most often used for hunting birds and for clay target games such as trap shooting, trap and skee ...

*Beretta bellmonte due

Rifles and carbines

* Beretta BM-59 *

Beretta 501 The Beretta 501 Sniper is an Italian-made bolt-action sniper rifle. Introduced in 1985, it was intended for military and police use. The Beretta Sniper was adopted by number of European police forces and by armies in other parts of the world.Ian ...

(sporting rifle) *

Beretta Rx4 Storm The Beretta Rx4 is a rifle developed and manufactured by the Beretta Holding of Italy. Details The action is a gas-operated, rotating bolt, using the Auto-Regulated Gas-Operated system patented by Benelli. The rifle uses STANAG magazines and ...

Beretta Cx4 Storm The Beretta Cx4 Storm is a pistol-calibre semi-automatic carbine aimed at the sporting, personal defense and law enforcement markets. It is available in two models: one that accepts 92/96 magazines, and one that accepts Px4 series magazines, ea ...

*Beretta BRX1

straight-pull Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

bolt-action rifleBeretta introduces the BRX1 hunting straight-pull repeater
/ref>

Assault rifles

Beretta AR70/90 The Beretta AR70/90 is a gas operated assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45 mm NATO cartridge, and is the standard issue service rifle of the Italian Armed Forces. The weapon is also designed to be fitted with a rifle grenade, and has ...

Beretta AS70/90 The Beretta AS70/90 was a light machine gun or squad automatic weapon derived from the Beretta AR70/90 rifle system. It used the same gas operated, rotating bolt system as the rifle but fired from an open bolt and had a much heavier fixed barre ...

*Beretta AR-70/223 * Beretta ARX 160 * Beretta ARX 200

Submachine guns

Beretta Model 38 The MAB 38 (''Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938''), ''Modello'' 38, or Model 38 and its variants were a series of official submachine guns of the Royal Italian Army introduced in 1938 and used during World War II. The guns were also used ...

** Beretta Model 38A ** Beretta Model 38/42 ** Beretta Model 38/44 * Beretta Model 3 – a postwar modification of the 38/42 *

Beretta M12 The Beretta M12 (Model 12) is a 9×19mm Parabellum caliber submachine gun designed by Beretta. Production started in 1959, the first users were the Italian Carabinieri, Italian State Police and the Guardia di Finanza, though in limited number, i ...

series * Beretta PMX * Beretta Mx4 Storm

Machine pistols

Beretta M951R The Beretta M1951 is a 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s by Pietro Beretta S.p.A. of Italy. The pistol was produced strictly for military use and was introduced into service with the Italian Armed Forc ...

* Beretta 93R

Grenade launchers

*Beretta GLX-160 (underbarrel grenade launcher for the

Beretta ARX160 The Beretta ARX160 is an Italian modular assault rifle manufactured by Beretta. Developed for the Italian Armed Forces as part of the ''Soldato Futuro'' (English: "Future Soldier") program, the ARX160 was launched in 2008 as a commercial weapon sy ...

)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1526 establishments in Italy Companies established in the 16th century Defence companies of Italy Firearm manufacturers of Italy Henokiens companies Italian brands Multinational companies headquartered in Italy Organizations established in the 1520s