Maritime Antiques and Collectibles

Japanese Navy

Beretta

Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is a major Italian firearm manufacturing company. Its firearms 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.Beretta manufactured rifles and pistols for the Italian military until the 1943 surrender of Italy to Allied forces. With Germany firmly in control of northern Italy Beretta was seized by the Germans and production continued until the German surrender in Italy in 1945. Exterior finish was much inferior to pre-war and mid-war weapons but the operation of the Beretta weapons remained excellent. In 1938 officers of the Japanese Navy's Special Landing Forces came to Italy to obtain arms. The Japanese small arms production at that time was almost exclusively for the Japanese Army. Beretta was one of three Italian arms makers who produced 60,000 to 120,000 rifles for the Special Landing Forces. The rifle, called the "Type "I" by the Japanese, was a Carcano action set in a two-piece Japanese-style wood stock and chambered for the 6.5mm X 50mm Japanese rifle cartridge. According to the Beretta International web site the last shipment of Type "I" rifles left Venice for Japan in a U-Boat in 1942. After WW2 Beretta became actively involved in the repair of US M-1 Garand rifles, given to Italy by the US. Beretta devised its own modification of the M-1, the Beretta BM-59, which is similar to the M-14. Many weapons experts consider the BM-59 to be superior to the M-14, especially in accuracy. 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, Uberti, and 20% of Browning. Beretta products have a reputation for being well made, durable and reliable.

Beretta is famous for the 92FS 9 mm Para 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 United States military, designated the M9 Pistol. The 92FS was featured in both the original and remake of the video game Resident Evil as the preferred firearm of the S.T.A.R.S. police force.

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.

Models of Pistol:

* Beretta M1915

* Beretta M1934 / 1935

* Beretta M1951

* Beretta Mini Pistols

* Beretta 70

* Beretta 80 Models

* Beretta 90

* Beretta M92 Models

* Beretta 96 Models

* Beretta 8000 Models

* Beretta 9000 Models

* Beretta Px4 Storm

* Beretta 90-TWO Models

* Beretta M9A1

* Beretta 93R

* M9 Pistol

Beretta Shot guns:

* 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 687

* Beretta Model A series

Beretta machine guns

* FN Minimi, under Fabrique Nationale de Herstal license, for the sole purpose of Italian Armed Forces issue.

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Japanese Navy