POTD: Their First Pistol – The Beretta Model 1915 9mm Glisenti
Sam.S 02.22.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have what is often called “Beretta’s first pistol”. Obviously, Beretta had been manufacturing guns long before then but in a way, it is not incorrect. This is their first semiautomatic pistol, the Beretta Model 1915. The Beretta Model 1915 was brought on during World War One since the infamous Glisenti pistol was presenting some issues. It is a larger handgun but smaller than most martial handguns of the time. It has a thick grip but the magazine is a single-stack seven-round magazine. It is chambered for the 9mm Glisenti cartridge which is close to a regular 9mm Luger. It is cool to see that Beretta had the intuition of top ejection right off the bat. Later on down the line, they would roll with a 180-degree ejection area which makes a gun more reliable. The original Beretta Model 1915 is odd in that it has two separate manual safeties. One at the rear of the gun deactivated the internal hammer. The other above the trigger guard blocks the trigger from traveling. Later models would get rid of the hammer safety.
“Manufactured from 1915 to 1922. This represents the first semi-automatic pistol model designed and manufactured by the Beretta firm. This early model pistol features matching serial numbers on the barrel, slide, trigger, slide catch, and frame. The pistol has both trigger and hammer block safeties. Fitted with a set of fully checkered grips, and a lanyard loop at the left side of the heel. Includes a brown pebble grain leather holster”
Lot 3356: Beretta Pietro 1915 Pistol 9 mm Glisenti – Fine Italian Pietro Beretta Model 1915 Military Semi-Automatic Pistol with Holster. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/67/3356/beretta-pietro-1915-pistol-9-mm-glisenti.
