Beretta M9 and 92F. The U.S. Military's 9mm Replacement for the Classic Colt M1911A1.
In the early 1900s, the United States
military took it upon
themselves to upgrade to a more modern standard military-isue sidearm
to replace their aging Colt revolvers. While the old
revolvers
were solid and reliable, it was time to move on. Besides,
this
was the new era when semi-automatic pistols were bursting onto the
scene and taking the firearms world by storm. Not only were
semi-auto pistols making their entrance, but they were paving the way
for a myriad of fully automatic weapons, which were also making an
appearance. In fact, many of the earlier fully
automatic
designs started out as semi-automatic pistols with absurd
modifications. During this time, you might see a
Luger P08
Parabellum pistol with a massive drum magazine and a wooden stock
attached to it, and a modified receiver to allow full-automatic
firing. At some point, they realized that semi-automatic
pistols
should be allowed to remain semi-autos, and to give full-autos a place
of their own. As can be expected from this time of
experimentation, a lot of interesting things were happening.
The
United States military bought a thousand of those now classic Lugers,
and put them to the test. If you are anything of a firearms
enthusiast, you know how the story goes. The US military
ended up
choosing the Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol designed by the genius
gunsmith, John Browning. It was a success and became nothing
short of a true love story. From 1911 until well into the
1990s,
the M1911 and M1911A1 was the standard sidearm for the US military, and
was used in both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and even in the Iraq
War.
There are now generations of American military vets who own the beloved
.45 M1911A1.
In the early 1980s, it was once again
time for a service-wide replacement of the standard military sidearm,
and to retire the Colt .45 M1911A1. After the usual bidding
wars
between potential military contract hopefuls, Congressional intrusions
into the proceedings, and disagreements between the different branches
of the armed forces, it came down to a making a decision. In
1985, Fabbrica
d'Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. of Brescia, Italy--better known as
Beretta--an arms manufacturer in business since 1526, won the
contract. Now it was time for the next part of the military
firearms contract dance: The endless testing, component
redesign and
all-around tweaking of the submitted model. Like most modern
romances, this too was a stormy affair. Beretta submitted
their
model 92F semi-automatic pistol chambered in 9mm Parabellum.
There were concerns over the military's decision to make the switch to
9mm after decades of using the larger .45 caliber rounds.
Apparently, the US government wanted the US military to be more
compatible with their NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies, which would also extend to
the
compatibility of the equipment. After some wrangling over
that
issue, they proceeded. Many may think the problems that arose
during the field trials were excessive, but if you look back to the
days of the M1911, there were plenty of problems then too. Of
course, the United States government has become much bigger and slower
than it was then. To this day, it continues to grow more fat,
slow and expensive, and ever less effective.
Whenever equipping the entire United States military
for a new sidearm, there
will be problems uncovered in the testing. In 1987, a pistol
failed catastrophically, the slide breaking in two during firing, and
hit the Navy Special Warfare shooter in the face, causing a minor
injury. This happened two more times over the next year or
so. The Army was doing some rigorous barrel testing of their
own,
putting the 92F through the paces by firing tens of thousands of rounds
per pistol, and uncovering the same failure, and others. The
metal used in
the slide was found to be too weak, and was cracking or outright
breaking where the slide meets the locking block. The cause
was
thought to be excessive pressure from the Army's
cartridges. Beretta beefed up the hammer pin, and the Army
changed their cartrlidges, resolving this issue. There were
also
issues with the frame developing cracks. One of the
requirements
of the military contract was for Beretta to shift some of its
production to a plant located in the United States. A plant
was
set up in Accokeek, Maryland, and once it was up and running, the
metallurgical issue with the slide was resolved. One may tend
to
blame Beretta for the slide problem, but there are other
details.
In the recent past, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have voiced
complaints over their magazine clips being severely affected by sand or
debris, which in the Middle East is in vast supply. The
affected
clips were being supplied by an after-factory company, and were not of
the best quality, but the original clips by Beretta were more reliable,
resulting in another mystery solved. The resolution of this
issue
is not known to me at this time, but many of the service members have
supplied their own magazines.
Upon a
doption by the
United States military of
the 92F submitted by Beretta, the pistol was re-designated the
M9. The military seems to always re-des
i
gnate everything they
use.
Guns, aircraft, handheld radios, pens, pencils and more.
Well,
maybe not the pens and pencils, but no guarantees. So now we
have
a military term for the Beretta 92F, and now call it the M9.
Of
course, the civilian commercial version is still called the
F92.
The US Marine Corps model of the M9 has an accessory rail, and is known
as the M9A1.
Based on the earlier model M1922,
the Beretta M9 uses a staggered 15-round clip, and an open slide design
that's easy to clear and clean, as well as allowing for manual loading
of a single round if the magazine is damaged or
missing.
The M9 has a special anti-glare coating that also provides corrosion
resistance. The M9 is equipped with a single/double action
arrangement,
employing double action operation for the first pull of the trigger,
then single action for additional trigger pulls until
cleared.
The M9 has a reversible magazine release and an ambidextrous safety
catch that allows for either left or right-handed use. As
polymer
technology advances, more parts are being made of the durable,
lightweight material. It is also a relatively cost-effective
solution to the military's budget restraints. In the US
Marines,
they are issued to all officers ranking colonel and higher, and the US
Navy issues the M9 pistol to those ranking first class petty officer
and higher. They are also used by the Army, Air Force and
Coast
Guard, as well as in other military and police forces around the world.
The switch from the M1911A1 to the
Beretta M9 / M9A1 has been in place long enough so that a lot of the
current generation of young service men and women have little or no
experience of
the M1911A1. The worst of the trials of the Beretta M9 /
M9A1are
over, and for the most part, it has proven itself as a serviceable
firearm in combat,
although some voice the opinion that the 9mm Parabellum rounds do not
have as much stopping power as they would prefer. After the
initial startup pains associated with a switchover of sidearms, there
is a general sense of overall satisfaction with the Beretta 92F /
M9. The
United States is not the only nation using the 92F variations
of
their pistol. It is used in nations around the world,
including
France, Canada, Turkey, Poland, and a large number of South American
nations. It is also used by the Iraqi Defense Forces, and a
number of others. Beretta USA is still producing pistols
for the US military at its Accokeek, Maryland plant, and
commercial 92F pistols are available on the civilian market, along with
other firearms, hunting equipment and accessories.
Firearm Type:
Single Action/Double Action Short Recoil Semi-automatic Pistol
Nation Of Manufacture:
Italy, United States
Service Dates : 1990-Present
Variations: 92F, 92FS, 92SB-F, M9, M9A1,
others
Ammunition: 9mm Parabellum, 9 X 21mm,
SW.40
Wars: Iraq War, Afghanistan War
Recent Prices : US
$300-$500
Interested in an authentic, non-firing replica
of a Beretta 92F /M9?
We will soon be restocking Blank Firing versions of this pistol.
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