# Beretta M12
The Beretta M12 (also sold as the PM12) is an Italian 9×19mm [Parabellum](https://www.edgepedia.org/parabellum) submachine gun introduced by Pietro Beretta in the late 1950s as a compact replacement for the company's Second World War-era MAB 1938 series. Production began in 1959, the Italian government officially adopted it in 1961, and it was widely exported and license-built in Brazil and Indonesia.[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type and caliber | Selective-fire submachine gun, 9×19mm Parabellum, blowback operated, firing from an open bolt[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/) • [2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12) |
| Dates | Final Model 12 design emerged in 1958; production from 1959; Italian adoption in 1961[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/) |
| Dimensions and weight | 660 mm with stock extended, 418 mm folded; 3.2 kg empty[2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12) |
| Barrel and ballistics | 200 mm barrel, 6 grooves with 250 mm right-hand twist, muzzle velocity 381 m/s[2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12) |
| Rate of fire and feed | 550 rounds per minute; 20, 32, or 40-round detachable box magazines[2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12) |
| Main variants | M12 (1958), M12S/PM12S (1978, rotary selector), PM12S2 (added cocking-handle safety)[2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12) • [3](https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SANA-WP26-Libya-web-trafficking.pdf) |
## Development
Beretta had built submachine guns since the end of the First World War, and in the early 1950s it began a development program aimed at a compact weapon. The first prototype, the Model 6 of 1953, already used stamped steel construction, a folding buttstock, and an L-shaped bolt with most of its mass above the barrel. The basic layout was settled with the prototype Model 10 of 1957, and the final Model 12 emerged in 1958.[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/)
[The Italian](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-italian)-language reference literature credits the designer Domenico Salza, who revised an older project, the Armaguerra Cremona OG44, to create a new submachine gun intended to replace the old MAB model 1938.[5](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Beretta_M12) The M12 thus continued the design principles of the Model 1938 series in a much more compact form.[6](https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/8/19/this-old-gun-beretta-model-1938-submachine-gun-series/)
## Design
The Model 12 is a blowback-operated, selective-fire weapon that fires from the open bolt. Its bolt is of telescoped design, with most of the bolt weight located in front of the breech face; the bolt extends forward over most of the barrel, allowing a long barrel in a short weapon. The tubular receiver is made from steel stampings, with a stamped steel trigger and magazine housing below.[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/) • [7](https://www.bulletpicker.com/pdf/DST-1110H-163-76-1984.pdf)
The gun is easily recognized by its double-hand grips, a large wedge-shaped operating handle, and a grip safety in front of the rear grip.[7](https://www.bulletpicker.com/pdf/DST-1110H-163-76-1984.pdf) Original Model 12 guns featured separate manual safety and fire-mode selectors in the form of cross-bolt push buttons, plus an automatic grip safety below the trigger guard; early examples could also take a detachable wooden buttstock. The furniture otherwise included a polymer front grip and a side-folding metallic buttstock.[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/)
Sights are iron sights, a blade front and flip aperture rear. The original M12 carried 150 and 250 m gradations, while the M12S and PM12S2 use 100 and 200 m gradations with a 285 mm sight radius.[2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12)
## Variants
Three main models share the same layout and performance. The M12 is the original production model, introduced in 1958. The M12S, also known as PM12S, appeared in 1978 with a redesigned fire selector and different sights; [Small Arms Survey](https://www.edgepedia.org/small-arms-survey) dates the change to 1978 and describes it as a shift from independent safety and fire-control push buttons to a single rotary selector lever, a difference that often allows the two models to be distinguished in photographs. The PM12S2 is the latest production model and adds a safety on the cocking handle.[2](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12) • [3](https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SANA-WP26-Libya-web-trafficking.pdf) The Model 12S remains in manufacture in Italy and Indonesia and is used by European and other police and security forces.[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/)
## Service and export
The M12 was adopted by the Italian military in 1961 and subsequently achieved significant export success.[3](https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SANA-WP26-Libya-web-trafficking.pdf) In Italy it is used across the armed forces and police, including the GIS and NOCS special groups, the [Carabinieri](https://www.edgepedia.org/carabinieri), the [Italian Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-navy), the [Italian Air Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-air-force), Polizia di Stato, Guardia di Finanza, Polizia Penitenziaria, and Corpo Forestale dello Stato.[8](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/beretta-m12) Beretta's own company history lists the PM12 submachine gun among the products of the postwar period chosen by the Italian police forces.[9](https://service.beretta.com/site/assets/BePlanet/bilancio_di_sostenibilita/D02_Beretta_Bilancio_di_Sostenibilita_R2_EN_WEB.pdf)
Substantial international sales occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, including to the governments of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. In a Libyan dataset of trafficked weapons, 19 Model 12 submachine guns appeared, all pre-1978 examples with the separate push-button controls, suggesting most Libyan guns were purchased by the government before 1978.[3](https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SANA-WP26-Libya-web-trafficking.pdf)
**Licensed production.** [Manufacturing](https://www.edgepedia.org/manufacturing) licenses were sold to Brazil and Indonesia.[1](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/) In Brazil, the M12 and the Model 92 pistol were adopted by the Army and Navy in the early 1970s as part of the move from .45 ACP to 9×19 mm; they were initially license-manufactured by a São Paulo-based Beretta subsidiary, Indústria e Comércio Beretta S.A., which Forjas Taurus acquired in 1980. Taurus continued the submachine gun as the MT-12, with later MT-12A and MT-12AD variants.[4](https://sadefensejournal.com/smgs-and-carbines-in-military-and-the-use-in-brazil/)
The gun also appears in Italian criminal history: a Beretta M12 used in the 1978 via Fani attack during the [Red Brigades](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-brigades)' kidnapping of [Aldo Moro](https://www.edgepedia.org/aldo-moro) was later seized from a brigatista and found to belong to a shipment of weapons destined for Saudi Arabia, according to the parliamentary inquiry's final report.[10](https://www.lastampa.it/politica/2017/12/13/news/via-fani-come-fu-occultato-il-filo-rosso-delle-munizioni-che-dal-medio-oriente-portava-alle-br-1.34082717/amp/)
## References
1. [Beretta PM 12 Submachine Gun, Modern Firearms](https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/italy-submachine-guns/beretta-m12-eng/)
2. [Beretta M12, Weaponsystems.net](https://weaponsystems.net/system/206-AA02%20-%20M12)
3. [Jenzen-Jones, N.R. and McCollum, I. (2016). Analysing the Online Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Libya, Small Arms Survey Working Paper 26](https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SANA-WP26-Libya-web-trafficking.pdf)
4. [SMGs and carbines in Military and the Use in Brazil, Small Arms Defense Journal](https://sadefensejournal.com/smgs-and-carbines-in-military-and-the-use-in-brazil/)
5. [Beretta M12, Mexpedia](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Beretta_M12)
6. [This Old Gun: Beretta Model 1938 Submachine Gun Series, American Rifleman](https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/8/19/this-old-gun-beretta-model-1938-submachine-gun-series/)
7. [DST 1110H-163-76, Small Arms Identification and Operations Guide](https://www.bulletpicker.com/pdf/DST-1110H-163-76-1984.pdf)
8. [Beretta M12, VALÉORINE reference](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/beretta-m12)
9. [Beretta Sustainability Report 2021](https://service.beretta.com/site/assets/BePlanet/bilancio_di_sostenibilita/D02_Beretta_Bilancio_di_Sostenibilita_R2_EN_WEB.pdf)
10. [Via Fani, come fu occultato il filo rosso delle munizioni, La Stampa (2017)](https://www.lastampa.it/politica/2017/12/13/news/via-fani-come-fu-occultato-il-filo-rosso-delle-munizioni-che-dal-medio-oriente-portava-alle-br-1.34082717/amp/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineering and manufacturing › Firearms and ammunition › Submachine guns and PDWs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license