Books: From the Beretta PM-12 to the PMX
The Arnaud publishing company launched the book "Dalla pistola mitragliatrice Beretta M12 alla PMX" in Italy: an in-depth technical and historical study on the development of Beretta sub-machine guns from the 1950s to the present day
(Photo: courtesy of the author of the book)
Back in 1992, a book titled I mitra italiani 1915-1991 ("Italian sub-machine guns 1915-1991") was launched in Italy by the (sadly now defunct) Editoriale Olimpia publishing house; penned by firearms expert Vittorio Balzi, and as of today never published outside of Italy, it was the first treatise to focus specifically on the birth and evolution of Italian SMGs, from the Villar Perosa of WW1 design all the way down to the (then brand new) SITES and SOCIMI models.
That book focused vastly on the Beretta PM-12 sub-machine gun and its variants, which at the time of the publication constituted the backbone of Italian military and law enforcement armaments and the keystone of Beretta's military product catalog.
Of course, focused as it was on the historical evolution of Italian sub-machine guns, such a book could not possibly be exhaustive on a single specific model, even an important one such as Beretta's own PM-12, considered that its dead line was 1991 and a lot has happened since.
Under this point of view, the new book Dalla pistola mitragliatrice Beretta M12 alla PMX ("From the Beretta PM-12 sub-machine gun to the PMX"), published by the Arnaud publishing house, is the perfect heir apparent to the afore-mentioned book, both in terms of contents and in-depth research and analysis it's based on.
Officially launched back in February, during the 2024 edition of the EOS gun show in Verona (northern Italy), and penned by Carlo Canterini – graduated from two different institutes of the Italian Ministry of Defense, in 1991 and 1995, and formerly a firearms instructor of the Italian State Forestry Corps – studies the development of Beretta sub-machine guns from the end of World War II onwards, starting with Domenico Salza's work on what would become the PM-12 series.
Distinguishing the new book from its predecessor is the focus on two very interesting topics: the developmental prototypes of the PM-12 that predated the launch of the final product 1961, which the author was able to access and photograph in detail; and the special variants of the design, manufactured by Beretta for specific customers in Italy and abroad or made under license in Countries such as Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, and Belgium.
The new book then goes further ahead to analyze the Beretta's production of sub-machine guns after 2004, when the final variants of the PM-12 were discontinued.
In the past twenty-five years, Beretta has essentially been the only Italian company to develop and manufacture sub-machine guns; other companies did manufacture AR-15 based SMGs – which can hardly be considered a "national development", anyway – while others launched semi-automatic short barrel rifles as civilian-grade PDWs that were never converted to full-automatic for military or law enforcement sales.
The new book "Dalla pistola mitragliatrice Beretta M12 alla PMX" thus proceeds to fully detail the Beretta Mx4 Storm – a select-fire variant of the Cx4 semi-automatic carbine, adopted in only a handful of samples by the Italian Navy but acquired by the tens of thousands by the Indian paramilitary forces – and the Beretta PMX, now replacing the PM-12 in service with the Italian Carabinieri and several élite units both in Italy and abroad.
With over 500 black-and-white and color illustrations, technical diagrams included, the new book Dalla pistola mitragliatrice Beretta M12 alla PMX is 350 pages long and a must-have for all interested readers, from simple gun enthusiasts to firearm historians, ballistic technicians, gunwriters, scholars, and others who need to be "in the know". The book sells for 70 euros in Italy and can be sources through Arnaud Editore.
From the Beretta PM-12 to the PMX, a new book on the history of Italian sub-machine guns