Beretta Automatic Pistols

198 Pages·1985·23.29 MB·English

by  J.B. Wood

A
The and
Collector's Shooter's
Comprehensive Guide
Wood
J. B.
ii uiauupui*
0-8117-0425-4 $25.95 in Canada
Beretta
Automatic
Pistols
The Collector's and Shooter's
Comprehensive Guide
By J. B. Wood
Until today, there has been no definitive English-
language book on the world-famous Beretta auto-
matic pistols. But shooters, collectors, military his-
torians, and pistol buffs of all varieties can now
breathe easily. J. B. Wood has done the job that
Berettafanatics have long been hoping and waiting
for.
It would be hard to imagine anybody better quali-
fied than Wood to write this book. Not only does he
have a fine sense of firearms history but he also
has superb sources and awealth ofexperience and
training in the practical aspects of firearms design,
gunsmithing, and gun care.
Totell in words and photographsthestoryofwhat
makes Berettas so special, Wood goes all the way
back to the beginning—1915—and carries through
in chronological order right uptill todayand with an
eye to the future.
As hetalks about each Berettagun in turn, Wood
gets into the background of what was happening
militarily at that time in the world. He talks about
designers—usually brilliant, often eccentric, and
always interesting.
SinceWood's own background spanstheworld of
firearms from blackpowdershooting to design work
on firearms of the future, he has an eye trained for
important detail. He goes into the fine points of
exactly what makes each gun different from its
ancestors and why some models were more suc-
cessful than others.
If the name Beretta perks up your interest, join
J. B. Wood foratouryou'll neverforget and towhich
you'll return time after time for a refresher.
(Continued on back flap)

Beretta Automatic Pistols
Beretta
Automatic
Pistols
The Collector's and Shooter's
Comprehensive Guide
Wood
B.
J.
Photos by the Author,
unless otherwise credited
Stackpole Books
©
Copyright 1985 by Stackpole Books
Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
Cameron and Kelker Streets
P.O. Box 1831
Harrisburg, PA 17105
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or
portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, Cameron and
Kelker Streets, P.O. Box 1831, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.
Printed in the U.S.A.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wood, J. B. (Jay Barclay), 1934-
Beretta automatic pistols.
1. Beretta automatic pistols. I. Title.
TS537.W65 1985 683.4'32 85-2698
ISBN 0-8117-0425-4
To the memory of
Pietro Beretta and TUllio Marengoni.

Contents
Preface 9
Acknowledgments 11
Introduction (Beretta History) 13
Model 1915 Pistol 17
Specifications
Model 1915/19 Pistol 28
Specifications
Model 1919/318/418 Pistols 32
Specifications
Model 1923 Pistol 44
Specifications
Model 1931, Model 1932 Pistols 56
Specifications
8 Contents
6 Model 1934, Mode! 1935 Pistols 65
Specifications
7 Model 948, Model 949 Pistols (1948) 79
Specifications
8 Model 950 Series Pistols (1950) 91
Specifications
9 Model 951, Model 952 Pistols (1951) 105
Specifications
10 Model 70 Series Pistols (1958) 122
Specifications
11 Model 80 Pistol (1972) 140
Specifications
12 Model 90 Pistol (1968) 144
Specifications
13 Model 81, Model 84 Series Pistols (1975) 150
Specifications
14 Model 92 Series Pistols (1976) 162
Specifications
15 Model 20, Model 21A Pistols (1984/USA) 182
Specifications
Afterword 189
Appendix (Italian proof-dating) 192