Beretta M1923
Encyclopedia
The Beretta Model 1923 pistol was the standard service pistol
for the Italian Army from 1923 until 1945. The M1923 was designed to consolidate the improvements of the 1915/19 model and to take the 9mm Glisenti
round. However, the Model 1923 Glisenti cartridge was not powerful enough to be fully effective. There were also misunderstandings over use of the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, which was a much more powerful round than the Glisenti.
was the first Italian produced semi auto pistol adopted by the Italian military. Designed by Bethel Revelli it was originally chambered for a bottle necked 7.65mm round similar to the Luger round but with a longer body. The Glisenti Model 1910
suffered from a lack of robustness due to its weak frame design. The bolt assembly in the receiver is supported only on one side. This lack of structural integrity led all of the stresses of firing to be taken up by just one side rail. This weakness lead the Italian Army to look for a lighter, less punishing round. Due to this, it was chambered to use the same cartridge case as the 9mm Luger but with a reduced loading. This reduced 9mm cartridge became known as the 9mm Glisenti.
When Italy
entered World War I
, the need for more military pistols increased dramatically. In 1915, Tullio Marengoni from Beretta completed his design of a simple blowback action pistol utilizing the same under powered 9mm Glisenti
cartridge. This pistol was adopted by the Italian Army as the M1915. The M1915 is unusual in the fact that it used 2 manual safeties. One is a slide stop safety on the left side of the frame. The other is a small lever on the rear of the frame. If either safety is set, the pistol will not fire. Also manufactured by Beretta and adopted by the Italian military was a scaled down version of this pistol in 7.65mm. In addition to being smaller, it did not have the manual safety at the rear of the frame.
In 1919 improvements were made in the 7.65mm M1915 design. The round post barrel mount where the barrel was lifted straight up out of the frame was replaced with a T slot mount. This required a larger opening in the top of the slide so the double opening of the M1915 was changed to a single longer one. The slide now looked like the open topped style still used by Beretta to this day. The redesigned pistol is marked on the slide 1915 - 1919.
In 1923 Beretta introduced a pistol in 9mm Glisenti caliber as a replacement for the military’s M1915 pistols. It incorporated the M1915/1919 changes plus adding an external hammer.
The M1923 is a semi-automatic pistol with a 4 inches (101.6 mm) barrel and 7 shot detachable magazine. The slide is marked "Brev 1915-1919 Mlo 1923." Some of the M1923 pistols have grooves for a shoulder stock holster machined into the bottom of the grip frame. The shoulder stock holster was unlike the Mauser in that it was a conventional leather holster with a hinged folding steel arm riveted to the spine. The end of the arm had a cut out that slipped over the butt of the pistol & locked in place.
Service pistol
A service pistol is any handgun issued to military personnel.Typically service pistols are revolvers or semi-automatic pistols issued to officers, non-commissioned officers and rear-echelon support personnel for self defense, though service pistols may also be issued to special forces as a backup...
for the Italian Army from 1923 until 1945. The M1923 was designed to consolidate the improvements of the 1915/19 model and to take the 9mm Glisenti
9mm Glisenti
The 9mm Glisenti cartridge was developed for the Glisenti Model 1910, an Italian sidearm used in the First World War. The cartridge was based on the German 9 mm Parabellum, but it is slightly less powerful....
round. However, the Model 1923 Glisenti cartridge was not powerful enough to be fully effective. There were also misunderstandings over use of the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, which was a much more powerful round than the Glisenti.
History
The Glisenti Model 1910Glisenti Model 1910
The Glisenti Model 1910 was a 9mm calibre semi-automatic service pistol produced by the Italian company Real Factory D'arma Glisenti. It was introduced in 1910 and adopted by the Royal Italian Army, seeing service in World War I and World War II....
was the first Italian produced semi auto pistol adopted by the Italian military. Designed by Bethel Revelli it was originally chambered for a bottle necked 7.65mm round similar to the Luger round but with a longer body. The Glisenti Model 1910
Glisenti Model 1910
The Glisenti Model 1910 was a 9mm calibre semi-automatic service pistol produced by the Italian company Real Factory D'arma Glisenti. It was introduced in 1910 and adopted by the Royal Italian Army, seeing service in World War I and World War II....
suffered from a lack of robustness due to its weak frame design. The bolt assembly in the receiver is supported only on one side. This lack of structural integrity led all of the stresses of firing to be taken up by just one side rail. This weakness lead the Italian Army to look for a lighter, less punishing round. Due to this, it was chambered to use the same cartridge case as the 9mm Luger but with a reduced loading. This reduced 9mm cartridge became known as the 9mm Glisenti.
When Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the need for more military pistols increased dramatically. In 1915, Tullio Marengoni from Beretta completed his design of a simple blowback action pistol utilizing the same under powered 9mm Glisenti
9mm Glisenti
The 9mm Glisenti cartridge was developed for the Glisenti Model 1910, an Italian sidearm used in the First World War. The cartridge was based on the German 9 mm Parabellum, but it is slightly less powerful....
cartridge. This pistol was adopted by the Italian Army as the M1915. The M1915 is unusual in the fact that it used 2 manual safeties. One is a slide stop safety on the left side of the frame. The other is a small lever on the rear of the frame. If either safety is set, the pistol will not fire. Also manufactured by Beretta and adopted by the Italian military was a scaled down version of this pistol in 7.65mm. In addition to being smaller, it did not have the manual safety at the rear of the frame.
In 1919 improvements were made in the 7.65mm M1915 design. The round post barrel mount where the barrel was lifted straight up out of the frame was replaced with a T slot mount. This required a larger opening in the top of the slide so the double opening of the M1915 was changed to a single longer one. The slide now looked like the open topped style still used by Beretta to this day. The redesigned pistol is marked on the slide 1915 - 1919.
In 1923 Beretta introduced a pistol in 9mm Glisenti caliber as a replacement for the military’s M1915 pistols. It incorporated the M1915/1919 changes plus adding an external hammer.
The M1923 is a semi-automatic pistol with a 4 inches (101.6 mm) barrel and 7 shot detachable magazine. The slide is marked "Brev 1915-1919 Mlo 1923." Some of the M1923 pistols have grooves for a shoulder stock holster machined into the bottom of the grip frame. The shoulder stock holster was unlike the Mauser in that it was a conventional leather holster with a hinged folding steel arm riveted to the spine. The end of the arm had a cut out that slipped over the butt of the pistol & locked in place.