Читать книгу Gun Digest Book of Beretta Pistols. Function | Accuracy | Performance онлайн

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With no lever on the slide, the 92D has room for more grasping grooves than F or G models.

Over the years, there were four subtle variations in locking block design, ranging from this on a Bruniton-finish 92F of the 1980s …

No matter how huge a fleet of products a manufacturing company floats, it will have at least one flagship, one product that is hugely successful. For Smith & Wesson it was the K-frame revolver, introduced in 1899 and now with a history and popularity that touches three centuries. For Colt, the first flagship was the Model P single-action revolver, designed in 1873 and still in production. Now it is the Model 1911 semiautomatic pistol. For Winchester, it was the lever-action Model 94 and the bolt-action Model 70 rifles.

For Beretta the flagship is the Model 92 pistol. To understand why it is as good as it is and as widely used as it is, we have to go back to its roots.

The Derivation

The key design elements that distinguish the Beretta Model 92 from other auto-loading pistols are its open-slide design, its distinctive locking mechanism, and its double-action lockwork. None are unique. The uniqueness came from the nature of their combination by Beretta, and from the collective design genius of Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazzetti, and Vittorio Valle.