The BM 59 is an automatic

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 cartridge, intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the S ...

developed in Italy in 1959. It is based on the

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 War ...

rifle, chambered in

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

, modified to use a detachable magazine, and capable of

selective fire Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire we ...

. Later revisions incorporated other features common to more modern rifles.

Development

After

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Italy adopted the US-designed M1 Garand rifle in

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...

(7.62×63mm) and also manufactured it under license. This semi-automatic rifle proved itself well during World War II, but in the late 1950s it was considered outdated and obsolete and the Italian military also wanted a new rifle chambered for the NATO-standard 7.62×51mm round. To meet these requirements, Beretta designed the BM 59, which was essentially a rechambered M1 fitted with a removable 20-round magazine, folding bipod and a combined muzzle brake/ flash suppressor/ rifle grenade launcher. The BM 59 is capable of

. The BM 59 was adopted in 1959 and served with Italian, Argentinian, Indonesian, and Moroccan armies. In the early 1980s, semi-automatic versions were imported to the United States and sold to private collectors. The earliest BM 59s were manufactured from U.S.-manufactured M1 parts, including re-chambered barrels. Beginning in 1990, the BM 59 was replaced in Italian service by the

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 gr ...

assault rifles, although some may be in service in the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

Variants

The BM 59 has several military and civilian variants that include the following:Modern Firearms' Beretta BM 59 page.
Retrieved on October 5, 2008.

Military

*BM 59 Mark I: had a wooden stock with a semi-pistol grip stock. *BM 59 Mark II: had a wooden stock with pistol grip to achieve a better control during full-auto fire; *BM 59 Mark III: or Ital TA (also known as the ''Truppe Alpine''), was a variant with a pistol grip and a metallic folding buttstock, that was intended for mountain troops. The BM 59 Para was similar to BM 59 Ital TA, but was intended for paratroopers. It was equipped with a shorter barrel and flash-hider. *BM 59 Mark IV: had a heavier barrel with a plastic stock, and was used as a light

squad automatic weapon A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable automatic firearm attached to infantry squads or sections as a source of rapid direct firepower. Weapons fulfilling this ...

Civilian

The rare BM62 and 69 are civilian sporting rifles with the grenade launcher and sights removed.Beretta's BM 59.
Retrieved on October 5, 2008. with the following: *BM62: Semi-auto chambered in .308 Winchester (commercial variant of 7.62×51mm NATO), came with 20-round magazines, civilian flash hider (no bayonet lug, no grenade launcher, no tri-compensator (extremely rare to have gas cylinder with bipod capability) Does not normally have bipod capability on gas cylinder, or gas-compensator * Armamento - Museo de Armas de la Nación 25

Armamento - Museo de Armas de la Nación 25

BM69: Semi-auto with a bipod and tri-compensator.

Users

*Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). . *: Used in the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. * *: Some ex-

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

rifles * * * *: Built Under license at the Bandung Weapons Factory as the SP-1 (BM 59 Mk I), SP-2 (BM 59 Mk I with rifle grenade system) and SP-3 (BM 59 Mk IV). * *: Built under license *: Under license by Defense Industries Corporation in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

. Adopted by

in 1963. *

References