III. Firearm Information by Type

C. Semi-Automatic Pistols

2. Models and Manufacturers

b. Beretta

6. Military Use of the Beretta 92F

Updates on Beretta 92F Pistols

The information that follows is based upon the information contained in the Beretta U.S.A. publication and conversations with Beretta staff. It is hoped that this material will assist the reader in evaluating the Beretta 92F. Please place this material on other BBS systems so that others may have their questions answered from this material. Should you have additional questions, please telephone Combat Arms at the above number between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday (closed on Mondays).

In 1985, after exhaustive and rigorous testing, the Beretta 92F 9mm pistol was selected to become the new standard U.S. military sidearm and to replace the venerable Colt .45 M1911A1. Since the contract award Beretta U.S.A. has continually demonstrated an extraordinary level of performance in meeting the contract terms. The facts speak for themselves and are a matter of public record:

• Over 100,000 92F pistols (designated as the M9 pistol by the military) have been delivered to date against a total contract award of 320,000 units.
• Beretta U.S.A is currently shipping about 6,000 92F pistols per month to the U.S. forces from their Accokeek, Maryland plant.
• Beretta 92F pistols are meeting or exceeding U.S. military requirements in day-to-day production testing. Reliability testing shows an average of one malfunction every 30,000 rounds, and service life to be double the 5,000 round Army requirement.
• The 92F is proving itself in the field as well. Although shooting qualification testing has been made tougher, scores in the military are up.
• Maintainability is excellent. Confidence levels by military personnel carrying the 92F are high.

Beretta won the 9mm contract fairly because it could meet the tests of performance and price. The 92F is now the standard of comparison among 9mm combat sidearms. I believe that Beretta intends to keep it that way.

The Second Competition

"The only reason the Army is doing this second competition is because it was ordered to do so," said an official Army spokesman. This statement sums up the competition that was initiated by the Army in October, 1987, to purchase an additional 142,000 pistols. Here are some facts concerning the follow-on test:

• The Beretta contract is not affected at all by the new competition.
• The follow-on competition is a direct result of political efforts on behalf of Smith & Wesson by their congressional representatives to give them another opportunity to win what they were unable to do in the 1984 U.S. Army test won by Beretta.
• Allow the follow-on competition was initiated on their behalf, Smith & Wesson has declined to even submit their 9mm pistol for consideration and testing by the military for the follow-on 9mm pistol contract. The public will not have the chance to evaluate their performance again.
• Performance specifications are the same as those issued in the original 1984 competition won by Beretta.
• Since the Beretta M9 is being tested against these same standards on a day-to-day basis and it is exceeding requirements, Beretta was not required to enter the new competition and will let their 1984 test results stand for the follow-on contract competition.

Additional Testing Since The Contract Was Awarded To Beretta

Twelve standard production M9 9mm pistols recently completed exhaustive endurance and reliability tests conducted jointly by the U.S. Army and Beretta U.S.A.

Each of the high performance 9mm pistols was tested through 20,000 rounds of actual firing without difficulty. This exceptional reliability and performance exceeds military expectations by 400 percent, and is indicative of the superior quality of M9 pistols and other Beretta products.

Following the test and Beretta's exceptional performance, the Army affirmed the integrity of the M9's design by saying it was in conformance with the technical data package and contractual specifications set forth.

Beretta has delivered over 125,000 M9 pistols to the U.S. Armed Forces as of June, 1988. M9 pistols are being deployed throughout the five armed services and are becoming a standard part of the scenery on U.S. military installations worldwide.

Law Enforcement Use Of The Beretta 92F

The overwhelming success of the Beretta 92F 9mm handgun is evidenced by the growing number of law enforcement agencies adopting the gun as the new standard sidearm. In the last two months, for example, five agencies have signed contracts with Beretta U.S.A. for 92F's, while many more have requested bid proposals in anticipation of trading their outdated revolvers for the sophisticated 9mm.

In early June, 1988, Police Chief Col. Andrew Demers led the Maine State Police to this new era in law enforcement life by choosing the Beretta 92F as the official sidearm of his troopers, after extensive testing and evaluation.

"The initial order will exceed 400 pistols," said Deputy Chief Operations Officer Lt. Col. Daniel L. Cote of the Maine State Police, in an interview June 20, 1988.

Delivery of pistols for the Maine State Police began in June, 1988.

Maryland's Anne Arundel County Police Department is another in the continuing flow of law enforcement agencies to contract for 92's in recent weeks. On April 19, 1988, the Department held a press conference and very effective firing demonstration at its range in Davidsonville, MD and announced the intention to buy 500 Beretta 92F 9mm pistols.

M9 Pistol Slide Update
(May 10, 1988)

The following is a memo from Beretta to its dealers on the slide breakage that was reported.

"As part of our effort to keep you advised on the most current developments as associated with the M9 slide breakage, we have prepared this second update notice. Facts contained in this update should help set the record straight and correct inaccurate and outdated information that is being circulated, in some cases, as part of a misinformation campaign against the Beretta made U.S. military M9 and 92F semiautomatic pistol.

1. No problem exists with the military M9 pistol. U.S. Government engineers and technicians have extensively examined the metallurgy, dimensions and manufacturing of the M9 pistol and can find nothing which indicates that the cause of breakage lies with the weapon. U.S. Government examiners have commented on the remarkable quality of the product.
2. The two unexpected slide breakage incidents occurred with non-NATO certified ammunition during non-standard, continuous endurance firing. Field use of the weapon was limited to 3,000 rounds each while a study of the cause of the breakage was being conducted.
3. The focus of the study is now shifting to the ammunition which broke the February slide. Preliminary analysis by Beretta indicates that the ammunition may produce pressures exceeding 50,000 psi, or almost double the pressure of a standard cartridge.
4. That the breakages were caused by excessively hot ammunition is corroborated by the fact that no one has been able to duplicate the type of breakage with any type of ammunition other than the uncertified type involved in the February, 1988 incident. Over 150 M( designed pistols have been endurance tested under the direct supervision of the U.S. Government or by various foreign governments to 5,000 rounds and beyond (several tests going beyond 10,000 rounds) using non-problem types of ammunition. Not a single breakage, crack or even microscopic indication of breakage has occurred.
5. Since the ammunition involved can only be purchased by the U.S. military, no general warning notice to industry about the ammunition is being issued by Beretta at this time.
6. One million slides of this type have been manufactured to date. No other reports of breakage of this type have ever occurred in the history of the weapon. Law enforcement and military confidence in the weapon remains high.

Memorandum On Article In American Handgunner Magazine
(July 13, 1988)

This memorandum is to advise you of a recent article in the September/October, 1988 issue of American Handgunner that contains outdated and erroneous information concerning the M9 pistol and to supply you with information to use in the event the article is brought to your attention by your customers.

As you know, magazines work several months in advance of publication. We have reason to believe this article was written in early May (1988), accounting for the outdated information contained in it. Here are the latest facts concerning the M9:

1. The U.S. Army has completed a thorough examination of M9 pistols for endurance and reliability, whereby twelve standard production M9's were tested through 20,000 rounds of actual firing without difficulty. This exceeded military expectations by 400 percent and led to our receipt of a positive letter from the Army last week, stating that the M9 meets the requirements of its contract, including a stipulation that M9 slides have a 7,000 round service life.
2. A subsequent investigation was completed on all model 92 series pistols in the U.S. Customs inventories. No U.S. Customs pistol showed any sign of slide cracks; moreover, one pistol was estimated to have been fired up to 10,000 rounds. We anticipate a U.S. Customs circulated communique on this shortly.
3. The American Handgunner article reports that different types of ammunition were used in two breakage incidents. Since the time of our last communication on this subject (May 10, 1988), we have been advised that both breakage incidents occurred with a suspect lot of M882 ammunition. More specifically, the initial breakage of the Navy slide did not occur with Olin/Winchester 147 grain subsonic ammunition, and it may have occurred at up to 6,000 rounds of usage.
4. The American Handgunner article interviewed Olin to verify the quality of their M882 ammunition and applied this information to Beretta's situation and statements. In fact, Olin is not the manufacturer of the M882 ammunition which is purported to have broken M9 slides.
5. The American Handgunner article's reportage of the slide issue may lead readers to believe the government opened a new test for a standard Armed Forces sidearm based on the two isolated slide failure incidents. This is false. On October 15, 1986, the House/Senate Appropriations Conference Committee agreed on a compromise of the 9mm pistol procurement program that effectively reasserted the original contract award to Beretta U.S.A. (320,000 pistols worth about $76,000,000) while mandating a re-competition on future orders at an additional estimated cost of $15,000,000 to taxpayers. The initial re-competition testing was cancelled by the Army as a result of renewed political pressure exerted by a competitor.
6. The American Handgunner article is based on a Navy communique dated nearly six months ago, in early 1988. Since that time, many issues in the communique are either outdated or dead, making it entirely unfair and misleading to treat these issues as fresh.
7. 7. By late May, Beretta resumed deliveries of M9 pistols to the U.S. Armed Forces, and by June, 1988 had delivered over 125,000 M9's.