Bersa is an Argentine

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

manufacturer, located in the city of

Ramos Mejía Ramos Mejía is a city in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The town has an area of and a population of 98,547. The city is one of the largest commercial districts in the Western area of Greater Buenos Aires. History The la ...

in Argentina.Bersa S.A. , Contact

History

The company was founded in the mid-1950s by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

immigrants Benso Bonadimani, Ercole Montini and Savino Caselli, all of them mechanical engineers. Montini worked for

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapons Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for various civilian, law enforcement, and military p ...

in Italy. At the beginning they were producing parts for the now defunct Argentinian arms manufacturer

Ballester–Molina The Ballester–Molina is a pistol designed and built by the Argentine company ''Hispano Argentina Fábrica de Automóviles SA'' (HAFDASA). From 1938 to 1940 it bore the name Ballester–Rigaud. History The Ballester–Molina was designed to of ...

. Their first handgun was a modified version of a Ballester model which they called "Luan", combining the first two letters of the last names of the 2 designers of the pistol, Luce and Antonovich. The gun did not have much commercial success and very few of them were produced; nowadays they are quite rare collector's items. In 1959 the first

22 Long Rifle The .22 long rifle, also known as the .22 LR or 5.7×15mmR, is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of firearms including rifles, pistols, revolvers, and s ...

pistol was commercialized, called "Modelo 60", which later evolved in the "Modelo 62", and based on a modified

design, it sold extremely well. In 1960 the name "Bersa" was introduced, taken from the initial letters of the founders' first names. Many more successful models in increasingly more powerful calibers were produced in the following years, making Bersa a well-known and respected name in the firearms world. In 1989 the first full-size combat pistol was introduced, the Model 90, chambered for the

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...

cartridge. In 1994 a new model name for the entire production line was introduced, "Thunder", followed by a number indicating the handgun caliber. However, the Thunder series in reality includes two totally different designs in mechanics and appearances; for cartridges up to and including the .380 ACP, the handguns are compact in size and based on a blowback system. For more powerful rounds, starting with the

, the Thunder line is based on a locked breech and short-recoil modified Browning design. At the end of the 1990s Bersa won the contract for supplying a new standard sidearm for the

Argentine Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic () are the combined armed forces of Argentina. It is controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force An air ...

and

Argentine Federal Police The Argentine Federal Police ( or PFA) is the national civil police force of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country. Until January 1, 2017, it also acted as the local law enforcement agency in the cap ...

that were looking to replace their aging

Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...

pistols. The

Bersa Thunder 9 The Thunder 9 is a full-size Semi-automatic self-loading pistol, semi-automatic handgun manufactured by Bersa at the Ramos Mejia production plant in Argentina. Development History This handgun is an evolution of the Model 90, the first full-size ...

, an evolution of the Model 90, was chosen. Bersa R430

In the past Bersa also produced .22 Long Rifle caliber long guns and single- and double-barreled

shotguns A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

, but they did not have the same commercial success of the pistols, and they have been discontinued. Bersa TPR9

Bersa is currently one of the largest privately owned corporations in Argentina. It produces, among many handguns, the very popular

Bersa Thunder 380 The Thunder 380 is a lightweight, relatively small semi-automatic pistol series chambered in the .380 ACP caliber made by Argentine firearms manufacturer Bersa, S.A. Design The Thunder 380 is similar in design to the Walther PPK. It has a light ...

and the Bersa Thunder 9 pistols and the Ultra Compact series of the Thunder chambered in

9mm This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...

, .40 S&W, and

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After su ...

Overview

The compact Thunder 22, 32, and 380 are similar to the

Walther PPK The Walther PP (, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. Design The Walther PP series feature an exposed hammer, a double-action ...

, while the full-size Thunder 9, 40, 45 and are somewhat similar in appearance and some mechanical aspects to the

Walther P88 The Walther P88 is a semiautomatic pistol developed by German company Walther. Its main feature is a double-stacked magazine designed for military and law enforcement use. The P88 was succeeded by the Walther P99 in 1997. Overview The Walther P8 ...

. The Thunder 22 pistol chambered for the

cartridge is widely used among recreational shooters in North and South America, and the Thunder 22–6, a longer-barreled version of this pistol, is used in high-level competitions. The compact Thunder pistols sell very well in countries that ban the use of more powerful cartridges for civilian personal defense purposes. The Thunder 380 is popular in the US market as a small and light, easy concealable, high-quality and competitively priced personal defense handgun. The full-size Thunder combat pistol is the standard sidearm of the Argentina Armed Forces (Thunder 9), the Argentina Federal Police (Thunder 9), the

Buenos Aires Provincial Police The Buenos Aires Provincial Police (, informally ''Policía Bonaerense'') is the police service responsible for policing the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. Organisation It is one of the biggest police services of Argentina, responsible for ...

(Thunder 9) and several other

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

(Thunder 9 and 40). Bersa as of 2019 introduced an eight-shot, single-stack 9mm-chambered polymer pistol called the BP9CC. This is a striker-fired pistol versus the hammer-fired Thunders. The BP9CC has a double-action trigger. The BP9CC also includes the locking barrel design. Versions chambered in .380 ACP and .40 S&W are also available.

Handguns

Bersa 83 The Bersa 83 is a double-action pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun ...

*Bersa 85 *Bersa 86 *Bersa 223 DA *Bersa Thunder 22 *Bersa Thunder 22-6 * Bersa Thunder 32 *

*Bersa Thunder 380 Concealed Carry *Bersa Thunder 380 Plus * Bersa 383a *

*Bersa Thunder 40 *Bersa Thunder 40 HD *Bersa Thunder 9 Ultra Compact *Bersa Thunder 40 Ultra Compact *Bersa Thunder 45 Ultra Compact *Bersa BP 380 Concealed Carry *Bersa BP 9 Concealed Carry *Bersa BP 40 Concealed Carry *Bersa TPR9 *Bersa TPR9C *Bersa TPR9C X *Bersa TPR9 XT *Bersa TPR 380 *Bersa TPR 380 Plus

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Official WebsiteBersa/Firestorm PartsEagle Imports Official WebsiteBersa history (in Spanish)Bersa Warranty Repair CenterBersa Chat Forum - Front Page
Defense companies of Argentina Firearm manufacturers of Argentina Privately held companies of Argentina