Rifles

U.S. Selects M1911 Pistol Successor

In January of 1985, the Department of the Army selected the Beretta Model 92-SB-F as its new official personal service defense weapon.

By NRA Staff (RSS)

January 26, 2010

In January of 1985, the Department of the Army selected the Beretta Model 92-SB-F as its new official personal service defense weapon of the U.S. Armed Services. The following is an exerpt from the original article. To see a pdf of the full story from American Rifleman, March 1985, please download below.

After extensive testing of a numberof competitive pistols, the Departmentof the Army has announced the selection of the Beretta Model 92 SB-F as the new " official" personal defense weapon of the U.S. Armed Services.

The DOA' s memorandum of Jan. 14, 1985, is reproduced herewith:

The Department of the Army as Executive Agent for the Department of Defense today announced the winner of its competition for a 9 mm personal defense weapon. The Beretta U.S.A. Corporation of Accokeek, MD., has been selected to supply the new standard handgun to be used by the Army , Navy, Air Force , Marines, and Coast Guard. A five-year multi-year fixed price contract for 315,930 weapons will be awarded to Beretta in approximately 30 days......