the automobile see chevrolet beretta . for other uses see beretta disambiguation . fabbrica d armi pietro beretta s.p.a. type private industry firearms founded 1526 ; 490 years ago 1526 headquarters brescia italy products firearms weapons parent beretta holding website www.beretta.com www.berettausa.com usa http www.berettadefensetechnologies.com military fabbrica d armi pietro beretta fabbrika darmi pj tro be retta literally pietro beretta arms factory is a privately held italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries . its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of 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 the 16th century beretta is the oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world . 1 in 1526 its inaugural product was arquebus barrels ; by all accounts beretta made barrels equipped the venetian fleet at the battle of lepanto in 1571 . 2 in 1650 the company invented the breech loading cannon and beretta has supplied weapons for every major european war since . 3 beretta s sister company beretta usa corp. located in the united states has manufactured and delivered over 600 000 m9 pistols to the united states armed forces since 1985 and continues to supply m9 parts and additional pistols to the u.s. military . 4 contents 1 history 2 overview 3 product lines 3.1 semi automatic pistols 3.2 revolvers 3.3 shotguns 3.4 rifles and carbines 3.5 submachine guns 3.6 machine pistols 3.7 launchers 4 see also 5 references 6 further reading 7 external links history edit 16th century map by giovanni antonio magini of the province of brescia . val trompia is in the center . map is oriented with west at the top . venetian state archive building val trompia a northern italian river valley in the province of brescia lombardy has been mined for iron ore since the time of the roman empire . in the middle ages val trompia was known for its ironworks ; after the renaissance 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 of gardone located on the banks of the mella river in the middle of val trompia i.e. between the upper valley and lower valley . 1 the beretta forge was in operation from about 1500 6 although the first documented transaction is a contract dated october 3 1526 for 185 arquebus barrels for which the republic of venice was to pay 296 ducats to maestro di canne master gun barrel maker bartolomeo beretta italian . 5 the original account document for the order of those barrels is now stored in the archivio di stato di venezia italian in venice . 7 by the end of the 17th century beretta had become the second largest gun barrel maker in gardone . 1 under the guild system the knowledge of gun barrel fabrication that was bequeathed to jacopo 1520 25 from his father bartolomeo 1490 1565 68 8 was then passed on to his own son giovannino 1550 post 1577 and to his grandson giovan antonio 1577 post 1649 9 and so on until guilds were abolished by napoleon after his conquest of venetian republic in 1797 . 1 beretta has been owned by the same family for almost five hundred years 10 and is a founding member of les henokiens an association of bicentenary companies that are family owned and operated . 11 in 1918 the beretta model 1918 was the second submachine gun the italian army fielded . beretta manufactured rifles and pistols for the italian military until the 1943 armistice between italy and the allied forces during world war ii . with the wehrmacht s control of northern italy the germans seized beretta and continued producing arms until the 1945 german surrender in italy . 5 in that time the quality of the exterior finish of the weapons diminished and was much inferior to both the pre war and mid war weapons but their operation remained excellent . 12 the last shipment of type i rifles left venice for japan in a u boat in 1942 . after world war ii beretta was actively involved in repairing the american m1 garands given to italy by the u.s. beretta modified the m1 into the beretta bm 59 rifle which is similar to the m14 battle 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 . 13 14 after the war beretta continued to develop firearms for the italian army and police as well as the civilian market . 15 in the 1980s beretta enjoyed a renewal of popularity in north america after its beretta 92 pistol was selected as the service handgun for the united states army under the designation of m9 pistol . 2 in the 1970s beretta also started a manufacturing plant in s o paulo brazil . a contract between beretta and the brazilian government was signed under which beretta produced beretta 92s for the brazilian army until 1980 . later this plant was sold to taurus who continues to manufacture the beretta 92 under the name of pt92 using the same tools and labour which beretta used without the need for a license from beretta since the design is based on the original beretta 92 of which the patents are expired . 16 beretta acquired several domestic competitors notably benelli and franchi and some foreign companies notably in finland in the late 1980s . 17 overview edit today fabbrica d armi pietro beretta beretta s.p.a is run by franco gussalli beretta president and ceo . the traditional father to son beretta dynasty was interrupted when ugo gussalli beretta assumed the firm s 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 side shotguns over and under shotguns hunting rifles express rifles assault rifles submachine guns lever and bolt action rifles single and double action revolvers and semi automatic pistols . 18 the parent company beretta holding also owns beretta usa benelli franchi sako stoeger tikka uberti and the burris optics company . the model beretta 92fs is the primary side arm of the united states army marine corps and air force designated the m9 pistol . 19 in 1985 beretta was chosen after a controversial competition to produce the m9 winning a contract for 500 000 pistols . 4 20 a condition of the original agreement was domestic fabrication of the m9 . 21 22 product lines edit semi automatic pistols edit beretta m1915 m1919 and m1923 beretta 418 beretta m951 beretta m 1934 beretta m 1935 beretta m 1951 beretta m 100 beretta 70 series beretta 70 beretta 71 jaguar beretta 72 jaguar beretta 73 74 75 beretta 76 beretta 100 101 102 beretta cheetah beretta 81 beretta 84 beretta 85 beretta 86 beretta 87 beretta 89 beretta 8000 beretta 8000 cougar beretta 8045 cougar beretta cougar inox beretta mini cougar beretta 90 beretta 9000 beretta 9000s beretta 92 beretta 90two beretta 92f beretta 92f fs beretta 92fs inox beretta 92fs compact beretta 92fs centurion beretta 92fs brigadier beretta 92fs brigadier inox beretta 92g elite 1a beretta 92g elite ii beretta 92s beretta 92sb beretta 92sb c beretta 92a1 m9 pistol beretta 96 beretta 96a1 beretta px4 storm beretta px4 storm compact beretta px4 storm subcompact beretta u22 neos beretta apx beretta 418 beretta 21 bobcat beretta 21a bobcat beretta 3032 tomcat beretta 950 jetfire beretta nano beretta pico revolvers edit beretta stampede beretta laramie shotguns edit beretta 1201fp beretta dt 10 beretta silver pigeon beretta al391 urika and teknys beretta so4 so5 and so6 beretta xtrema beretta xtrema 2 beretta model a series beretta ugb25 xcel beretta folder beretta urika beretta urika 2 beretta rs 202 m2 beretta ltlx7000 beretta tx4 beretta tx4 storm beretta a400 beretta a400 xcel beretta a400 xtreme unico beretta a400 xplor action beretta a 300 beretta ltlx7000 beretta 470 silver hawk beretta 682 berreta 692 rifles and carbines edit beretta bm 59 beretta 501 sporting rifle beretta rx4 storm beretta ar70 90 beretta as70 90 beretta ar 70 223 beretta arx 160 submachine guns edit beretta model 1918 beretta model 38 beretta model 38a beretta model 38 42 beretta model 38 44 beretta model 3 a postwar modification of the 38 42 beretta m12 series beretta mx4 storm beretta cx4 storm machine pistols edit beretta 93r beretta 93r auto 9 launchers edit beretta glx 160 see also edit italy portal companies portal beretta holding list of modern armament manufacturers list of oldest companies references edit a b c d grant tina 8 june 2001 . international directory of company histories . detroit mich st. james press . isbn 9781558624443 via fundinguniverse . a b suro roberto 7 june 1987 . italy host for the economic summit a land of family businesses ; the careful aim of the beretta clan . the new york times . retrieved 26 august 2015 . 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 . anderson lisa 30 october 1990 . still the big guns of weaponry . chicago tribune . retrieved 26 august 2015 . since 1526 the beretta family has been the world s most fashionable arms supplier a b u.s. army acquires additional beretta m9 9mm pistols . shooting illustrated . nra . 29 july 2014 . retrieved 29 august 2015 . to date beretta has delivered over 600 000 m9 pistols with 18 000 already scheduled for delivery under the new 5 year contract . a b c alderson keanon 20 december 2011 . advice longevity teaches family business lessons . the press enterprise . riverside ca . retrieved 27 august 2015 . 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 fabbrica d armi pietro beretta s.p.a. today . fabbrica d armi pietro beretta . retrieved 1 september 2015 . 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 . private museum . fabbrica d armi pietro beretta . retrieved 1 september 2015 . bartolomeo beretta encyclop dia britannica beretta since 1526 . fabbrica d armi pietro beretta . retrieved 5 september 2015 . thomson candus 30 march 2001 . same aim for nearly 500 years . the baltimore sun . tribune publishing company . retrieved 28 august 2015 . press room gallery . les h nokiens association internationale d entreprises familiales au moins bicentenaires . retrieved 2 september 2015 . beretta international . beretta.com . retrieved 2008 09 08 . pdf https web.archive.org web 20090325105017 http www.gunsmagazine.com bm59 gca0283.pdf . archived from the original pdf on march 25 2009 . retrieved february 7 2016 . missing or empty title help beretta bm 59 semi automatic rifle . national firearms museum . nra . retrieved 27 august 2015 . mcclellan angus 12 november 2009 . the beretta m9 25 years of service . american rifleman . nra . retrieved 30 august 2015 . humphries michael 27 february 2012 . taurus pt 92 . shooting illustrated . nra . retrieved 29 august 2015 . 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 .