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In the early 1980’s the Military began looking for a new sidearm to replace the inventory of over 25 different pistols and revolvers then in service with the military, and the more than 100 different types of ammunition for those sidearms. Chief among the inventory of pistols to be replaced was the venerable old 1911 handgun that had been in service for 70 years. The plan began to run into opposition when it was announced that the new sidearm would be chambered in the NATO standard 9mm cartridge. Many saw the move to a smaller caliber as a step in the wrong direction. Still others questioned the need for the adoption of a new pistol at all. According to PLRD-82-42, the General Accounting Office actually recommended purchasing more .38 caliber revolvers or converting the existing 1911 pistols to fire the 9mm round as a less expensive alternative to adopting a new weapon.The Army eventually made headway and in November of 1983 placed a Formal Request for Test Samples (FRTS) to several commercial arms makers in the US and around the world. Eight makers submitted a sample lot of 30 pistols by the deadline of January of 1984, and by August of the same year the testing was completed. Of the eight makers who submitted test samples, 4 were technically unacceptable and 2 removed themselves from competition. The two surviving companies were SACO (importing Sig-Sauer pistols at the time) and Beretta. After a controversial bidding process (some allege Beretta was tipped off about SACO’s bid so they could lower the per unit cost on their candidate by $1.00 and win the contract) the Army signed a contract with Beretta for 315,930 pistols. This number was later increased to 321,260 pistols. The new pistols would bear the military name of M9.The Problems Arise:The M9 pistol program ran into trouble when in September of 1987 the slide of a civilian model Beretta 92SB pistol fractured at the junction where the locking block mates into the slide. The broken half of the slide flew back at the shooter (A member of the Navy Special Warfare Group) injuring him. In January and February of 1988 respectively, 2 more military model M9 handguns exhibited the same problem, injuring 2 more shooters from the Navy Special Warfare Group.All three shooters suffered facial lacerations. One suffered a broken tooth and the other two required stitches.The Army was doing unrelated barrel testing on current production civilian model 92SB pistols and military model M9 pistols and ran into the same slide separation issue. They fired 3 M9 pistols 10,000 times and inspected the weapons with the MPI process for evidence of slide cracks. They discovered that one of the weapons had a cracked slide. The Army then decided to fire all of the weapons until the slides failed. Failure occurred at round number 23,310 on one weapon, 30,083 on another, and 30,545 on the last weapon.Examination of the NSWG slides and the Army slides showed a low metal toughness as the cause of the problems with slide separation. The Army then began to investigate the production process of the slides. At the time the frames of the M9 pistols were produced in the US, while the slides were produced in Italy. There are reportedly documents from the Picatinny Arsenal that report a metallurgical study blaming the use of Tellurium in the manufacturing process for the low metal toughness of the Italian slides, but I have been unable to independently verify this information.After April of 1988, however, all slides for the M9/92 pistols were produced in the US. As a part of the contract requirements, the Beretta Corporation had to build a plant inside the United States to produce the M9. It naturally took some time for the US plant (located in Accokeek MD.) to get into full production swing, so the Italian plant made the slides for a time.Several GAO reports and testimony from GAO staff before Congressional Sub-Committee report the total number of slide failures at 14. Three occurred in the field with the NSWG and the other 11 occurred in the test lab. Only 3 injuries resulted from the slide separation problem. The Beretta Corporation changed the design of the M9 pistol so that even if a slide fractured, the broken half could not come back and hit the shooter causing injury.Of the 14 slide separations reported, only 4 took place at round counts under 10,000. No further slide fractures were reported after the change to the US manufactured slides.The Beretta Corporation initially blamed the slide failures on the use of ammunition. They questioned both the use of non-NATO ammunition and the use of M882 ammunition. They suspected that both types of ammunition caused excessive pressure buildup inside the weapon causing barrel ringing issues during the initial testing of the M9 weapon and the slide separations experienced by the military. The Army determined that both barrel ringing and slide separation were caused by low metal hardness and not by any specific pressure level in the ammunition used.Frame-Up:Another problem that cropped up with production of the M9 pistol was a problem with frame cracks. In December of 1987 and January of 1988 routine lot testing of the M9 production pistols revealed frame cracks occurring at the rear of the grip area of the frame just above where the trigger bar rides. The Army representatives determined that the cracks did not affect the safety, reliability, or function of the weapons and were merely “cosmetic in nature.†(NSIAD-88-213)The cracks, however, did violate the terms of the M9 contract, so the lots were rejected. Beretta continued production into February and March of 1988 with the affected frames, stockpiling them in hopes of a retrofit. In April of 1988 an engineering change was approved by Berretta and Army representatives that resolved the frame crack issues. The previously rejected lots were retrofitted with the new frame design and retested. The new frames did not display the cracking problem or any other problem during the tests and were subsequently accepted by the military. There were 24,000 affected handguns produced with the defective frame. ALL of them were rejected and then retrofitted and accepted by the Army.The 9mm Controversy:A great deal of the hostility aimed at the M9 pistol is the result of its use of the 9mm cartridge. The military stated that its goals in searching for a new standard sidearm were to improve effectiveness, reliability, safety, and operational suitability of the sidearm over the .45 caliber pistols and .38 caliber revolvers then in use.
Is the M9 more reliable than the .45 caliber pistol? Well considering that many of the .45 caliber pistols in inventory had been in use through WWII, Korea and Vietnam, and that over 100,000 of them were no longer serviceable according to the military’s numbers, I am sure that a brand new pistol that had not suffered all of that abuse might indeed be a tad more reliable.Is the M9 safer than the .45 caliber pistol? The addition of a firing pin safety in the M9 pistol does add safety should the pistol be dropped. The long heavy double action trigger does make it harder to accidentally fire the weapon through negligence, but most will agree that relying on a long heavy trigger rather than proper training to keep accidents from occurring is a poor strategy for safety. One could also argue that the heavy DA trigger makes it harder to hit an intended target when you need to, increasing the odds of missing a threat in actual combat and thus making a soldier LESS safe than with the single action 1911 pistol. Not to mention that the weaker 9mm round would not be as effective at stopping the threat coming at you if you did manage to hit it.Another possible reason mentioned for adoption of the 9mm pistol was to make it more shooter friendly for small stature and female soldiers. While the 9mm is easier to control than the recoil of the big .45 caliber pistol, the Beretta 92 platform is ergonomically less than ideal for those smaller shooters. The wide grip and long trigger reach are WORSE for smaller shooters than the 1911 pistol with its short trigger and narrow grip.
The Beretta M9/92 pistol has been in service with our military for almost 20 years now. After the production problems documented previously were addressed, the pistol proved to be mechanically sound and reliable, enduring hundreds of thousands of rounds with little trouble provided proper maintenance was supplied.It has saved the lives of soldiers, law enforcement officers and civilians alike over the years. It remains today an accurate and reliable weapon suitable for personal defense. Few military sidearms have proven themselves to be as good a weapon as the M9 has turned out to be, despite the gun shop gossip to the contrary.FS Models - Double/single action, with external ambidextrous manual safety,
decocking lever, trigger bar disconnect, rotating firing pin striker....D Models - Double action only, no safety lever (slick slide)...G Models - Double/single action, with external ambidextrous decocking lever,
rotating firing pin striker. Trigger bar disconnect....All models feature a firing pin blocking device and chamber loaded indicator....The most tested and trusted personal defense weapon in history. The 92FS, designated M9 by the U.S. Military, not only meets or exceeds all US Military testing guidelines, it totally revises them. Whith U.S. Government standard for pistol reliability set at 1,250 MRBF (Mean Rounds Between Operational Mission Failure), the M9 averages 30,000 rounds for reliability. Each pistol must pass a battery of over 3,000 quality control checks and measures that includes complete interchangeability of parts....92 Series Pistols are semi-automatics and operate on the short recoil, delayed locking block system, which yields a faster cycle time. Each features a lightweight, forged frame made from aircraft-quality aluminum alloy. A combat trigger guard is standard. The slide and other steel components are coated with Bruniton, a Teflon based material that provides superior corrosion resistance and reduced friction between frame and slide. There is a wide array of 92 pistols from which to select, each with unique features....High definition sights. Standard 3-dot sight system is designed for quick target acquisition. Notched rear sight is dovetailed to slide. Blade front sight is integrated with slide. Three-dot tritium night sight system also available....92FS/96 Centurion Models are distinguished by reduced barrel and slide length, for a more compact design. Based on the same reliable frame as the 92FS/96 pistols, with identical firepower*, safety and performance features. The Centurion is also available in D and G versions....92 Compact L and Compact L Type M Models. The Compact features a 13-round* high capacity, double stack magazine. The Type M carries a single stack 8-round magazine, which allows a slimmer, flatter profile for better concealment or for those with smaller hands. Compact models are also available in D versions....92D/96D Models are double action only versions of the standard 92FS, with no external safety levers ("slick slide") and the hammer spur removed. Extended side serrations provide a sure grip for fast, easy racking of the slide. D models are as easy to operate as a revolver, with the exact same smooth trigger pull for each shot....92/96G Models were developed specifically to meet the needs of the French Gendarmerie and other law enforcement agencies worldwide. The G models differ from 92Fs and 96 models in that the hammer drop lever does not function as a traditional safety. When the lever is released after having been activated to lower the hammer, it automatically returns to the ready-to-fire position....92FS/98FS Inox Stainless Models are manufactured with stainless steel slide, barrel, and other key components and internal parts. The alloy frame is anodized to match the color and finish of the stainless slide and barrel. The special Golden Inox version has gold inlays on the highly polished frame and slide....Proven performance matched by unequaled safety. All 92 Series pistols feature unique safety refinements. On FS models, the
ambidextrous manual safety also functions as a decoding lever. A firing pin block secures the firing pin, preventing it from moving forward and accidentally discharging, even if the pistol falls and strikes the ground muzzle down. The chamber loaded indicator is an added safety feature. When a round is chambered, the extractor protrudes to show a red indicator. In the dark, the user can feel the slightly protruding indicator.
