I have to say that I found it unusual that this particular subject would have been broached in Osprey's latest book in their Weapons series. The M9 Beretta has only really been in the military inventory for a relatively short time and there are literally hundreds of other weapons that have not yet been covered. It is like a history of the F-22 Raptor. What do you tell except its development and limited history.

Set your wayback machine to the early 1980s. The Model 1911 is getting very old in the tooth with even the newest military versions being built just after WWII. It is time to find another handgun. Despite the lower hitting power of the .45, it is decided to use a 9mm as that is what most of NATO uses in their guns. Smaller ammo means more shots per clip and a lower kick when the gun is fired. This makes it more user friendly to the growing number of women in the military who might be using one.

Its development was rather protracted due to repeated 'shoot-offs' with other gun makers, yet Beretta of Italy (apparently the world's oldest corporation) always came out the winner, based on not only its performance, but the price per unit as well. The military, spending hogs though they are, always seems to go with the lowest bidder.

Die-hard .45 fans were loathe to give up their Model 1911s, but most eventually saw the benefits of this new gun. There were a myriad of problems from breaking slides, to breaking frames and a rather low number of rounds per repair cycle. However, it has become widely incorporated into the arsenal of the US and other nations.

Author Leroy Thompson has been intimately involved in the training of soldiers in using this gun so he was chosen to write this book. He covers the development, early years and modifications done to the gun. It also covers the use of the gun by the US military in various wars over the last 30 or so years (apparently a few were used in the 1983 Grenada operation). Other military uses and upgrades are also covered. So are the movies in which the gun has been featured.  Finally, a look at the impact of the gun up until today.

It is a decent book that was interesting to read. I have to say it was not as good as the book on the Model 1911, but then it is still a relatively new weapon without the long history of the previous pistol. If you are a gun fan, this is a book that you'll enjoy reading.

October 2011

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