Beretta M951
Overview
M952
A M952 pistol chambered in 7.65mm Para. It is similar to the more common M951 which fires the 9x19mm round.
Source: www.collezionare-armi.it -
© copyright lies with original owner
Tullio Marengoni
Iraq - Al-Qadisiyyah Establishments
Egypt - Helwan
MOD.51
Tariq (Iraqi production)
Helwan (Egyptian production)
Description
Introduction
The M951 is an early Cold War era pistol of Italian origin. It was developed by Beretta in the early 1950's. The name is derived from the year it was designed. It has been produced under license in Egypt and Iraq. The M951 was replaced by the successful M92, which is an improved M951 with larger magazine size. The M951 has been named after its year of development, with the full name being Modello 1951.
Design
The M951 is a short recoil operated pistol. The pistol is fully made out of metal but the grip plates are plastic. The barrel is visible through the open slide and a single stack magazine is used. A locking mechanism similar to the Walther P38 is used. The later M92 is an updated double stack version of the M951.
Firepower
The M951 fires the 9x19mm round from an 8 round single stack magazine. The M951 is semi-automatic, but the M951R is a fully automatic model produced in small quantities. The M951R uses a 10 round magazine and fires at 1.000 rpm, which makes it difficult to control.
Users
The M951 has been adopted by various nations for law enforcement and military use. Additionally it has been widely sold on the civilian market. Italy was the major user and many have been exported to nations in North Africa. Nowadays the M951 is considered old and many have been replaced by newer designs.
Variants
M951
The M951 is the standard production model. It is semi-automatic, has an 8 round magazine and fires the 9x19mm round.
M951: Standard production model. The Egyptian Helwan and Iraqi Tariq are similar to the standard M951. The M951 is called the M951 Brigadier when sold on the civilian market.
M952: Civilian model chambered in 7.62x22mm Parabellum. Also Target and Special model were developed.
M951R
The M951R is a select fire version developed for Italian special forces. The R stands for Raffica, which is Italian for 'automatic'. It is a select fire weapon that is capable of semi-automatic or fully automatic fire. A slightly larger 10 round magazine is used and a wooden forward grip is added. Due to its limited usefulness only a small number was produced.
Details
Media
Tariq
The Iraqi Tariq with its distinguishing gold inset on the grip plate.
Source: Bob Adams NM
Copyright: GNU Attribution - Share Alike license
Helwan
The Egyptian Helwan pistol in its original cartboard box.
Source: www.phoenixinvestmentarms.com
Copyright: copyright lies with original owner
M951
An Egyptian production version of the Italian Beretta M951 pistol.
Source: Horny Toad @ www.talkbass.com
Copyright: copyright lies with original owner
M951R
Left side view of M951R pistol with 8 round magazine and without grip. Note the longer barrel than the original M951.
Source: www.world.guns.ru
Copyright: copyright lies with original owner
Related articles
Beretta 93R
The Beretta 93R is a sort of successor for the M951R. The three round burst mode on the 93R makes it more controllable. The increased magazine size makes it more suitable as a machine pistol.