Beretta 92
semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by Beretta.
History
The Beretta 92 pistol, unlike many other modern pistols is the fruit of a steady evolution based on prior Beretta designs. The Beretta 92 includes many features that draw back to earlier Beretta pistols. Like the open slide design dating back to the Beretta 1922, the locking block barrel lockup taken from the Beretta 951, the alloy frame that had been first tried without success on the Beretta 951, the grip angle based on earlier designs, the front sight as an integral part of the slide which had been there since Beretta made its first pistol. The Beretta 92 first appeared in 1976 and was designed by Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazzetti and Vittorio Valle all experienced firearms designers part of the Beretta design team.
Specifications
The Beretta 92 is a 9 mm Luger high capacity pistol with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds of ammunition. The slide and barrel are made out of blued carbon steel, while its frame is made out of black anodized aluminium, zirconium alloy. It is fitted with a frame mounted safety and is capable of single-action operation with a double-action capability in case a round does not fire the first time. The early versions are not fitted with a firing-pin safety, which means that one should not drop them on a hard surface. The magazine release button was located in the heel of the grip.
Intended market
The Beretta 92 was designed for sports and law enforcement use. However its high reliability ensured acceptance by military users in South America. The first large contract for the Beretta 92 was a contract from the Brazilian army. Beretta set up a factory in Brazil for this contract, which was later sold and became the Brazilian arms manufacturer Taurus. Taurus still makes pistols based on the original Beretta 92. To this day, one can interchange barrels between a Beretta 92 and a Taurus 92 as these are identical.
Design advantages
The Beretta 92 open slide design ensures very reliable feeding and ejection of ammunition and allows the barrel to cool down quickly. The locking block barrel lockup provides good accuracy without the need for tight tolerances. The high capacity magazine reduces the need to swap magazines often. The alloy frame reduces the overall weight of the pistol.
Limitations
The Beretta 92 was evaluated by the Italian law enforcement and military. These objected to the fact that there was no decocking mechanism and they also disliked the absence of a firing pin safety. The heel mounted magazine release was not liked. In essence the Beretta 92 was a single-action high capacity pistol similar to the Browning Hi-Power, but with a re-strike capability due to its double-action trigger mechanism. The open slide design increases the amount of dirt and dust that enter the pistol and it exposes the barrel to the elements which leads to more barrel surface corrosion.
Technical data
- Type: Beretta 92
- Trigger system: Single-action with double-action re-strike capability
- Caliber: 9 mm Luger
- Capacity: 15 rounds
- Frame material: Aluminium light alloy
- Slide and barrel material: Carbon steel
- Grip material: Plastic
- Barrel length: 125 mm
- Length: 217 mm
- Height: 137 mm
- Width: 37 mm
- Weight: 950 g
- Safeties: Frame mounted manual safety. Loaded chamber indicator.
- Magazine release: In lower grip heel
- Production years: 1976 - 1985
- Production locations: Beretta Italy, Beretta Brazil
See also: Beretta 92 Models, Beretta 92SB
