Bernardelli P018S: A Hipster's Service Pistol
Forgotten Weapons
•
11m
Bernardelli is (was) an Italian firearms manufacturer in the Val Tromp dating back to the 1600s...but whom few people have ever heard of. They produced 1889 Bodeo revolvers between the World Wars, and after World War Two they had a line of pocket pistols that were never particular popular or respectable in the US.
In 1982, the company released the P018, its effort to create a military and police service pistol. On paper, it was basically completely average for the time. It used a Browning tilting-barrel system, DA/SA firing mechanism, right-handed manual safety and magazine release, steel frame, and double-stack 15-round magazines. It was quite well made, and worked very well. It just never managed to be at the right place and the right time, and was never adopted by any organizations of significance.
A series of pistols followed the original P018, including the P018 Compact, P018S (this example; with a decoder and simple plastic grips), P.ONE regular, P.ONE Compact, and VB Practical (and IPSC competition model). Early models were offered in 7.65mm Parabellum (for maximum hipster points), 9mm Parabellum (for normal people), and 9x21mm (for the Italian civilian market). With the P.ONE, .40 S&W was also added to the offerings. None were bad guns, but none were commercial successful and only a few thousand of all types were made before production ceased in the 1990s.
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Improving Mosins: The Estonian M1935
When Estonia declared independence from Russia in 1918, it had no formal military. After winning a 2-year War of Independence, the nation needed to set up its own armed forces. The rifles available in Estonia were a mix of Mosin Nagants, Arisakas, Pattern 1914 Enfields, and German Mausers. The mo...
-
Llama M87: Everything You Would Want ...
The Llama M87 was Gabilondo y Cia's high-end competition pistols based on the M82 action, and made in both 9mm Parabellum and 7.65mm Parabellum. This was mechanically a copy of the Beretta 92 system, and it was adopted in basic form by the Spanish Army. For the commercial market, Gabilondo took a...
-
The Rarest Chassepot: Rifle for the A...
The rarest pattern of factory-made Chassepot is the fusil modèle 1866 pour la cavalerie d'afrique - the Model 1866 rifle for African cavalry. Just 12,000 of these were made by St Etienne in the spring of 1869, as a way to equip the mounted French troops in Algeria with the new needlefire rifle th...
