 | |
| Company type | Private (S.p.A.) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Weapons |
| Founded | c. 1526 |
| Founder | Bartolomeo Beretta |
| Headquarters | , Italy |
| Products | Firearms and accessories |
| Parent | Beretta Holding |
| Website | www |
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (Italian pronunciation:[ˈfabbrikaˈdarmiˈpjɛːtrobeˈretta]; "Pietro Beretta Weapons Factory") is aprivately held Italianfirearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for various 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 1526, Beretta is the oldest active firearm manufacturer and one of theoldest continuously operating companies in the world.[1][2] Its inaugural product was thearquebus barrel; by all accounts Beretta-made barrels equipped the Venetian fleet at theBattle of Lepanto in 1571.[3] Beretta has supplied weapons for every major European war since 1650.[4]
Val Trompia, a northern Italian river valley in theProvince of Brescia,Lombardy, has been mined for iron ore since the time of theRoman Empire. In theMiddle Ages, Val Trompia was known for its ironworks; after theRenaissance, it came to be a center for the manufacture of weapons.[5] 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 ofGardone, located on the banks of theMella river in the middle of Val Trompia (i.e., between the upper and lower valley).[6]
The Beretta forge was in operation from about 1500,[7] although the first documented transaction is a contract dated 3 October 1526, for 185arquebus barrels, for which the Republic of Venice was to pay 296 ducats toMaestro di Canne (mastergun-barrel maker)Bartolomeo Beretta(in Italian).[5] The original account document for the order of those barrels is now stored in theArchivio di Stato di Venezia(in Italian) inVenice.[8] By the end of the 17th century, Beretta had become the second largest gun barrel maker in Gardone.[6]
Under the guild system, the knowledge of gun barrel fabrication that had been bequeathed to Jacopo (1520/25 – ...) by his father Bartolomeo (1490 – 1565/68)[9] was then passed down to Jacopo's son, Giovannino (1550 – post-1577), and then to his grandson Giovan Antonio (1577 – post-1649),[10] and it continued to be passed down in this manner until guilds were abolished byNapoleon after his conquest of the Venetian Republic in 1797.[6]
The same family has owned Beretta for almost five hundred years;[11] it is a founding member ofLes Henokiens, an association of bicentenary companies that are family-owned and operated.[12]
In 1918, theBeretta Model 1918, one of the firstsubmachine guns in the world, was fielded by the Italian army. Beretta manufacturedrifles andpistols for the Italian military until the1943 Armistice between Italy and the Allied forces duringWorld War II. Once the Wehrmacht controlled northern Italy, the Germans seized Beretta and continued using it to produce arms until the 1945 German surrender in Italy.[5] During that time, the quality of the exterior finish of the weapons diminished—-late-war specimens were much inferior to both the pre-war and mid-war weapons—-but their efficacy remained excellent.[13] The last shipment ofType I Rifles left Venice for Japan in aU-boat in 1942.
After World War II, Beretta repaired the AmericanM1 Garands that the U.S. had given Italy. Beretta modified the M1 into theBeretta BM-59 rifle, which is similar to theM14battle 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.[14][15]
After the war, Beretta continued to develop firearms for the Italian army and police force, as well as the civilian market.[16]
In the 1970s, Beretta also started a manufacturing plant inSão Paulo,Brazil. A contract between Beretta and the Brazilian government was signed, under which Beretta produced Beretta 92s for theBrazilian army until 1980. Later this plant was sold toTaurus, who continues to manufacture the Beretta 92 under the name ofPT92 using the same tools and labour that Beretta used, without the need for a license from Beretta, since the design is based on the original Beretta 92, for which the patents have expired.[17]
In the late 1980s, Beretta acquired several domestic competitors (notablyBenelli andFranchi) and some foreign companies (notably in Finland).[18]
Also in the 1980s, Beretta enjoyed a renewal of popularity in North America after itsBeretta 92 pistol was selected as the service handgun for theUnited States Army (as the "M9 pistol").[3] 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 more prominent law enforcement and commercial markets.[19]
Today[when?], Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (Beretta S.p.A.) is run by Franco Gussalli Beretta, President and CEO.[20]
The traditional father-to-son Beretta dynasty was interrupted when Ugo Gussalli Beretta assumed 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-sideshotguns, over-and-under shotguns, semi-automatic shotguns, huntingrifles,express rifles,assault rifles,submachine guns, lever- and bolt-action rifles, single- and double-actionrevolvers and semi-automaticpistols.[21] The parent company, Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA,Benelli,Franchi,SAKO,Stoeger,Tikka,Uberti, and the Burris Optics company.
The modelBeretta 92FS was the primaryside arm of theUnited States Army,Marine Corps,Navy andAir Force, designated theM9 pistol.[22] In 1985, Beretta was chosen after a controversial competition to produce the M9, winning a contract for 500,000 pistols.[23][24] A condition of the original agreement was domestic manufacture of the M9.[25][26] In 2019, the9mm version of theSIG Sauer P320 was selected to replace the M9 throughout the U.S. Armed Forces.[27]
The Pentagon's 1984 decision to buy 320,000 Beretta 92SB-F 9-millimeter pistols for use as a standard sidearm produced a pile of exceptional publicity for Beretta (which also supplies the Texas Rangers.)
Since 1526, The Beretta Family Has Been The World's Most Fashionable Arms Supplier
Learn from a company that weathered bubonic plague, political intrigue, assassination attempts and World War II to become a premier manufacturer in its industry segment
Passed down through 15 generations of the Beretta family, the company was already active in Gardone Valtrompia in the 1400s and its work has been documented since 1526.
Although that first pistol would look very different to anyone familiar with the current PT 92, it was quite similar in appearance to the existent Beretta Model 92.
Beretta has reinvented itself in the past decade, a change as dramatic as the reinvention of its most famous customer in 'Casino Royale', the latest Bond film.
The original Beretta Model 1915 was adopted by the Italian forces one month after Italy entered World War I.
Beretta submitted an Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) to its current contract the company calls the M9A3, which fulfilled many of the requirements set out for the looming Modular Handgun project.
To date, Beretta has delivered over 600,000 M9 pistols, with 18,000 already scheduled for delivery under the new 5 year contract.
Its pistols have been used in every major U.S. military engagement since the late 1980s, including both Iraq campaigns, in Bosnia, Panama and Afghanistan.
Beretta will begin production of the model for the U.S. military in its ancient factory in this northern region that has been the stronghold of Italy's arms industry since Roman slaves began working on metals and arms.
After a two-year, $17 million dollar search involving 12 contestants, the U.S. Army has finally picked its first new handgun in 32 years.
Wilson, R. L. (2000).The World of Beretta: An International Legend. New York: Random House.ISBN 9780375501494.
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