Beretta M1951 The Beretta M1951 is a 9 mm semi - automatic pistol , developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s by Pietro Beretta S . p . A . of Italy . The pistol was produced strictly for military use and was introduced into service with the Italian Armed Forces and security forces as the Modello 1951 ( M1951 ) , replacing the 9 mm Modello 1934 pistol , chambered for the 9x17mm Short ( . 380 ACP ) cartridge . History . The pistol was Beretta ' s first locked breech design on the market ( previous semi - automatic pistols were all blowback - operated ) and was in limited production circa 1953 and in full - scale production in 1956 until 1980 . The initial production batch featured a lightweight alloy frame , which proved to be unable to withstand the shock of the relatively high - powered 9mm Parabellum round in the long run . This was replaced by the ' second series ' model with a steel frame that proved to be totally adequate in endurance . The steel - framed version was nearly 250 grams heavier than the alloy version , but the balance was improved . A special version of this second series ( the " Egyptian Contract " model 951 ) was modified according to the wishes of the military of the Egyptian Arab Republic . Approximately 50 , 000 Egyptian Contract 951s were produced . Its particular modifications included larger sights , a simplified , narrower grip and external " thumb - spring " magazine release , rather than the push - button release in the lower - right grip of all other 951 versions . Beretta was in competition with Tokarev to become the primary supplier of sidearms to the new Egyptian republic . Despite intense pressure and incentives from the Soviet bloc , the Egyptians appreciated the 9mm Beretta ' s accuracy , power and uncanny reliability in desert conditions , and consequently , the Hungarian " Tokagypt " was produced in comparatively small quantities . The " third series " of the model 951 was the definitive production version . Its lengthened slide further improved the pistol ' s balance . The relatively large sights of the Egyptian Contract version were replaced - even on the Maadi - made Helwan 951 - by the original smaller , unobtrusive sights which were less likely to snag on a holster . Serial production of this definitive version initiated in Italy 1955 , and in Egypt in the early 1960s . The M1951 is no longer produced in Italy and was never adopted by the Italian Army . The Italian Army instead opted to keep the . 380 ACP Beretta M 1934 in service until the adoption of the 9 mm Beretta 92 ; the M1951 was instead adopted by the Italian Navy , the Carabinieri and the Italian national Traffic Police , but has since been replaced in all services with the above - mentioned Beretta 92 , in 1977 . Other military forces to have adopted the M1951 include Egypt ( where it has been produced by the local firm Maadi as the " Helwan " ) , Israel , Iraq ( license - built as the " Tariq " ) , Nigeria , Libya and Tunisia ; in most of these countries , the pistol is now out of service . The pistol is known as the M951 " Brigadier " on the civilian market . After 1968 , in the United States , it was briefly referred to as the 104 in promotional literature . Design details . The M1951 is a short recoil - operated , locked breech pistol with a vertically falling locking piece and an open top slide ( the locking mechanism design was influenced by the Walther P38 pistol ) . The locking piece , located under the barrel , is unlocked by a sliding pin and locked back into battery by a beveled surface on the pistol ' s frame . The locking piece features two locking lugs that engage appropriate recesses cut into the slide ' s internal side surfaces . When the pistol is fired , the locking piece , integral with the slide , goes back together with the barrel which is locked to the slide . After a brief period of unrestricted travel of approx . the unlocking pin on the rear barrel lug strikes the receiver and stops . As the barrel and slide continue back , the locking piece strikes the stationary plunger and is forced down into recesses in the slide . The barrel comes to rest but the slide continues rearward for a further . Upon forward return , the slide picks up the barrel and the locking piece on the barrel lug is lifted up by the receiver cam to lock the barrel to the slide . The spring - loaded extractor is integrated into the slide , and the fixed - type ejector is integral to the pistol ' s frame . The pistol has a hammer striking mechanism ( with an exposed hammer ) and a single - action trigger with a disconnector , which enables semi - automatic fire only . A cross - bolt safety mounted on the weapon ' s frame ( beneath the hammer ) provides safe operation with a cartridge introduced into the chamber . In the “ weapon safe ” position ( the safety ' s button pushed in to the left ) the slide catch is disabled . The M1951 is fed from an 8 - round detachable box magazine . A hold open device will keep the slide locked open after discharging the last cartridge from the magazine . The slide can then be released by depressing the slide release lever located on the left side of the frame . The pistol uses fixed iron sight s set for engaging targets at 50 m . These consist of a forward blade and rear notch . The pistol ' s barrel has a rifled bore with 6 right - hand grooves and a 1 in 254 mm ( 1 : 10 in ) twist rate . The M1951 pistol is chambered for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge . Variants . A commercial version of the M1951 chambered in 7 . 65x22mm Parabellum was also produced for sales to sport shooters in Italy in order to comply with restrictions forbidding ownership of military caliber pistols ; this model was designated the Modello 952 ( also available in two sporting variants : the “ Target ” and “ Special ” models ) . The " Target " version of the 952 incorporated modifications to the grips , sights and barrel that had originally been introduced on the " Berhama " target - shooting model of the 9mm 951 made specially for the Egyptians . An evolutionary development , by the time , of the M1951 was the 9 mm selective fire M951R ( " R " is short for " Raffica " or " burst " in Italian ) , which was designed and produced during the 1960s in response to a request made by the Italian special forces . The primary difference between the M951R and the original M1951 lied in the fire selector lever mounted on the right side of the weapon ’ s frame , enabling either semi - automatic or continuous fire - labelled " SEM " and " AUT " , respectively . Additionally , the weapon has a heavier slide , a folding wooden forward grip , the barrel was extended , and so was the magazine , increasing capacity to 10 rounds . The M951R had a rate of fire of approximately 1000 rounds / min . The M951R was issued to several Italian special forces and to a lesser extent to the Carabinieri and the Polizia di Stato all along the 1960s ; it had poor success and quickly went out of production , as it was plagued by several defects : the ammunition capacity was low compared to the rate of fire and , with the selector on the " AUT " position , the M951R fired in full - automatic mode rather than by three - rounds bursts as other similar products of the following years ; this produced high recoil and resulted in poor controllability and scarce accuracy . Furthermore , with such a high rate of fire , even with extensive training it was impossible for the shooter to produce short and controlled bursts , and as reported by many users the shortest burst one could achieve was five - rounds . Notes . Russia ( Spetznaz )