This "From the Vault" episode from Brownells features Gun Techs Steve Ostrem and Keith Ford exploring the Beretta M1951 pistol. They discuss its significance as Beretta's first locked-breech design, its history with the Italian military and police, and adoption by the Egyptian and Iraqi armies (as the Helwan and Tariq respectively). The video highlights its design influence from the Walther P38, with a direct comparison shown. A known weakness, the locking block's propensity to shear, is addressed with a discussion of the engineering fix, and Steve offers his take on the safety and magazine release. The episode encourages learning from historical firearm designs.
This video showcases the Egyptian Helwan 9mm pistol in slow motion. The description highlights its lineage as a licensed copy of the Beretta 1951, noting its single-stack, single-action design and similarity to the German P38's locking system. It also points out the evolutionary path of this design, leading to the double-stack, double-action Beretta 92 adopted by the US military.
This video provides a detailed look at the Iraqi Tariq pistol, a domestic copy of the Beretta M1951. The description highlights its role as the official sidearm for the Iraqi Army and police, while also noting its generally low manufacturing quality. It mentions that copies of the Beretta M1951 were also produced in Egypt as the Helwan. The Tariq has not been commercially imported into the US, with most examples in the country being brought back by veterans. The video also touches on the complexities of legally bringing such firearms back and mentions a separate Tariq model which is a copy of the Beretta Model 70, sharing only the name and manufacturing standards. It's presented as an interesting addition to a collection of enemy sidearms from US military history.
You've reached the end! 3 videos loaded.
