Back in the mid-1980's, Springfield Armory at Geneseo, Illinois, purchased all the parts and accessories left over from Beretta's production of its BM59-series rifles.  For those unfamiliar with the BM59, it is the tactical equivalent of the American M14 and Belgian FN FAL.  The BM59 rifles sold by them in the United States were identical to the Beretta rifles except the select fire parts were deleted.

 

As a member of NATO, Italy in the 1950's and 1960's was equipped with American surplus equipment.  It received many American M1 rifles from surplus stocks and the Italian firm of Pietro Beretta negotiated a license agreement with the U.S. to produce the rifle in Italy.  Italy produced M1's for its own use as well as producing them for other countries.

 

When NATO adopted the 7.62x51mm [T65E3] cartridge as its standard cartridge, the scramble was on for the NATO allies to come up with a rifle to fire this round.  The Italians decided to use a modified version of the M1, called the BM59, as their standard rifle.  The Beretta firm was able to modify the standard M1 to BM59 standard by using 1/3 of the parts (unmodified), 1/3 of the parts (modified), and 1/3 of the parts (new).  Beretta developed probably the most expensive 20-round magazine ever designed for a military rifle.  This magazine was steel with a milled aluminum follower to feed the cartridges.

 

The BM59 rifle had a Beretta developed "tri-compensator" that replaced the gas cylinder lock of the standard M1.  The "tri-comp" had the bayonet lug for a new bayonet resembling the U.S. M4 bayonet for the M1-M2 .30 carbines, performed a flash suppression and compensation function through the holes in its end, and doubled as a rifle grenade launcher.  The tri-compensator also incorporated a gas cutoff and grenade sight.  When the sight was erected, the gas system was cutoff for launching of rifle grenades.  Beretta added a folding aluminum bipod to the standard M1 rifle gas cylinder.  The stock was modified to accommodate a rubber butt plate, selective fire parts, and to enlarge the clip well area to accommodate the BM59 magazine. 

 

Beretta devised an interesting selective fire mechanism to modifiy the standard M1 to full auto fire.  The BM59 rifle's selector was on the left side front of the receiver ring, similar in operation to that of the M2 .30 carbine.  Beretta also welded a stripper clip guide to the lip of the rear sight overhang of the receiver. The stripper clip guide allowed a soldier to load his rifle from 5-round stripper clips [as packed in the bandoliers in the ammunition cans] directly into the magazine.  There was also a folding winter trigger lever to allow firing of the rifle with heavy gloves.  After they finished, the BM59 was the tactical equivalent of the U.S. M14 rifle (itself a product-improved M1).  When fired full auto, the BM59 was slightly more effective than the M14 due to the "tri-comp."  Cyclic rate was approximately 750-775 rounds per minute.

 

The BM59 rifle shown in the photo below was the standard infantry rifle.  Beretta also developed a rifle for Alpine troops and paratroops called the BM59-Ital.  This version had an M1 stock modified to add a pistol grip and a folding wire stock.  The BM59-Ital also had a removable tri-compensator instead of the fixed version of the rifle.  Italy also produced several other versions of the BM59 rifle for overseas owners of M1s.  One version merely added the 20-round magazine capability to the standard M1 and select fire parts -- the rifle looked just like an M1 except with a detachable magazine.  Another version was an austere BM59 called the BM62.  The BM62 dispensed with a lot of the bells and whistles of the BM59: the tri-compensator, stripper clip guide, bipod, and grenade launcher function.  The gas cylinder lock was replaced by a screw-on compensator and retained by the standard gas cylinder lock screw.

 

The BM59 series rifles have been replaced in Italian service by the Beretta AR-70 series rifles in 5.56x45mm NATO.