By the mid-fifties, Egypt had signed several agreements on military-technical cooperation with foreign countries. In accordance with a number of such agreements, the Egyptian industry received a set of necessary documentation and a license to manufacture small arms of foreign design. Self-loading rifles, machine guns and pistols were produced under license. The first such example in the field of pistols was the product "Helwan".
Until the early fifties, Egypt actually did not have its own defense industry and, as a result, did not have a design school. Wanting to carry out rearmament, the army command was forced to turn to foreign manufacturers for help. So, new self-loading rifles were proposed to be produced under a Swedish license, the issue of machine guns was partially covered by Spanish products, and in the field of service pistols it was planned to rely on Italy.
General view of the "Heluan" product. Photo Smallarmsreview.com
After some negotiations, the Egyptian army and industry leaders were able to come to an agreement with the Italian company Pietro Beretta Armi SpA and sign a new agreement. Under this agreement, Egypt received the right to independently produce self-loading pistols of the Beretta 1951 Brigadier type, for which he received the necessary technical documentation. Perhaps, along with the papers, a part of the technological equipment was sent to the customer, as was the case with some other contracts of that time.
It should be noted that the product of Italian design was created at the very beginning of the fifties, and at the time of signing the contract for licensed production it was one of the last self-loading pistols in the world. Thus, the interest of the Egyptian army is quite understandable. She could count on receiving modern weapons with very high characteristics.
The serial production of Italian-designed pistols for the Egyptian army was entrusted to an arms factory in Helwan. Apparently, it was this fact that determined the future name of the pistol. The Egyptian version of Beretta 1951 was named Helwan. Other designations of the pistol are unknown and, most likely, were simply absent.
From the point of view of design, the Helwan pistol was supposed to completely repeat the basic product of the Beretta 1951. However, as practice has shown, the similarity was far from complete. At that time, the technological capabilities of the Egyptian arms industry, despite all the efforts of specialists, were very limited. Because of this, in the production of licensed pistols, other grades of steel could be used that differed from those envisaged in the original project. In addition, there was a problem in the form of rough manufacturing of individual parts, which led to certain consequences.
Details of pistols Beretta 1951 and Helwan. Figure Gunpartscorp.com
Serial Egyptian pistols differed from Italian ones in a less neat exterior, but this was not the most important difference. Due to the low-quality manufacturing of mechanical parts, licensed weapons could have other technical and combat characteristics. So, the most famous difference of "Helwan" was the increased descent force - up to 4-5 kg, ie. many times more than the base Beretta 1951. There was also a risk of malfunctioning automation, delays in firing, jamming, etc.
For all its production problems, the Heluan pistol in terms of design was an exact copy of the Italian weapon. The scheme, traditional for modern self-loading pistols, was retained with a frame containing a firing mechanism and a magazine receiver handle, as well as a shutter casing moving along the axis. The recognizable appearance of the weapon was also preserved, and the rougher finish did not lead to the appearance of serious differences.
The main part of the Helwan pistol was an L-shaped metal frame. Its front element, made in the form of a hollow groove, accommodated the return spring of the moving casing, and was also equipped with guides for it. Behind the spring there was a part of the trigger mechanism parts, as well as a lever that fixed the weapon parts in the working position. The back of the frame was a grip base with an integrated magazine shaft. Above the store were the details of the trigger store, in particular the trigger.
A movable shutter casing and a barrel were fixed on the frame. Like the Italian prototype, the Egyptian Helwan was equipped with a 9 mm rifled barrel 114 mm long (12.6 caliber). The barrel did not have rigid mountings and could move along its axis, which was used in the automation system. Locking the barrel before firing was carried out using a swinging larva. The barrel and other mechanisms of the weapon were covered with a movable casing. The latter had a recognizable front with side bevels. This shape of the casing soon became the "calling card" of the Beretta pistols.
The Egyptian pistol retained the hammer-type firing mechanism. At the level of the movable casing, in the back of the frame, there was a spring-loaded trigger, in front of which there was a drummer inside the pistol. In the cocked position, the hammer was blocked by a sear connected to the trigger. USM pistol "Helwan" was built according to the scheme of a single action, and therefore the weapon could only shoot with a preliminary cocking.
Pistol with backward-displaced cover. Photo Smallarmsreview.com
From "Beretta 1951" to the Egyptian "Helwan" passed a specific non-automatic fuse. The movement of the trigger was blocked using buttons brought out through the round holes in the upper rear part of the handle. By pressing the right button, the shooter could block the descent. Pressing the left, in turn, allowed fire.
An Egyptian licensed pistol was supposed to use detachable box magazines that fit into a shaft inside the grip. The store held 8 rounds of the 9x19 mm "Parabellum" type. In its place inside the handle, it was held by a latch located on the left side of the frame. The latch was controlled by a button located on the side of the handle.
The simplest sights were used, designed for firing at a distance of 50 m without the possibility of adjustment. In the front of the movable casing there was a small protruding front sight, in the back there was a fixed rear sight. Both of these devices were part of the casing and were manufactured with it.
For greater convenience of the shooter, the Helwan pistol received the simplest fittings. The sides and back surface of the lower part of the frame, which served as a handle, were covered with plastic overlays. On the sides of the linings, there could be corrugation, which made it easier to hold the weapon. Below on the handle, just behind the receiving window of the store, there was a single sling swivel for installing a safety strap.
Like its Italian prototype, the Egyptian self-loading pistol was 203 mm long and weighed about 1.35 kg without a magazine. Due to the specifics of production, serial "Helwan" could significantly differ from each other in weight. The reference bullet velocity was 360 m / s. The pistol was supposed to effectively hit targets at ranges of up to several tens of meters. Nevertheless, the fire characteristics of a particular serial pistol could differ from the calculated ones. They were affected by the quality of both the weapon itself and the cartridges for it.
"Heluan" with its own box. Photo Guns.com
By the mid-fifties, Egyptian specialists completed preparations for the production of new weapons and manufactured the first batch of new licensed pistols. Apparently, the first Helwan-type pistols had to pass tests, according to the results of which the military could decide on their future fate. How exactly such a weapon showed itself during inspections is unknown. At the same time, there is reason to believe that it did not fully meet the wishes of the customer. However, in that situation, it was not necessary to choose and, despite all the shortcomings, the pistol should have been adopted.
In the production of Egyptian pistols, materials different from those envisaged by the Italian project could be used. In addition, the skill of the participants in the production and the capabilities of their machines did not always meet the requirements. First of all, this manifested itself in the rougher exterior of the weapon. In addition, there was a consequence in the form of a drop in some of the characteristics.
It is known that the characteristic problem of the Helwan was excessive trigger pull. The springs used forced the shooter to press the trigger with a force of up to 4-5 kg, and this could lead to a reduction in accuracy and accuracy. The practical rate of fire also decreased. The rate of fire was negatively affected by the quality of the available cartridges. In some cases, the capsule body turned out to be overly strong and literally could not be pierced by the drummer. As a result, no shot was fired. The use of an insufficiently powerful mainspring of the trigger led to the same consequences. Poor quality gunpowder, improper attachment, or other factors reduced the muzzle energy of the bullet: this reduced the combat qualities of the weapon, and also made it difficult to reload automatically.
In defense of the pistol, it should be pointed out that only rare "Helwan" had all of the above problems at once. Some samples showed one or another disadvantage, while others did not differ at all with difficulties in use. The Egyptian industry could not show a stable quality of production, and therefore both good and medium or bad pistols came off the assembly line. In addition, some types of defects or defects were corrected without much difficulty in military workshops, after which the pistol could go into full operation.
For all its problems, mainly due to insufficient production culture, the Heluan pistol in the mid-fifties simply had no alternatives. The Egyptian army had no choice, and therefore such weapons were adopted. Serial production of pistols continued for a long time - until the late sixties or early seventies. During this time, the arsenal of Helwan produced about 50 thousand pistols.
"Helwan 920" is a commercial version of an army pistol. Photo Guns.com
Serial "Helwan" was originally supplied only to the armed forces. They were intended to arm officers, crews of armored vehicles, pilots and other personnel in need of self-defense equipment, but unable to carry larger samples. Later, such pistols were adopted by the security forces and special services. In both cases, deliveries of domestic-made serial pistols made it possible to gradually replace the available foreign-made weapons, some of which had become obsolete morally and physically.
Self-loading pistol "Helwan" appeared in turbulent times, and therefore was soon able to get into the war. Since the mid-fifties, soldiers and officers who were supposed to have such weapons participated in all Arab-Israeli wars. For obvious reasons, they did not always have to use their own means of self-defense in battle.
For several decades of operation, licensed Egyptian pistols have become obsolete morally and physically. In the early eighties, Egypt signed a new treaty with Italian gunsmiths. This time it was a question of acquiring a license for the production of a Beretta 92 pistol. Such a sample entered service with the Egyptian army and security forces under the designation "Helwan 920".
The emergence of a new pistol with higher characteristics made it possible to begin the gradual replacement of outdated weapons. "Helwan" of the first model was gradually decommissioned and sent to storage or melting. Some of the decommissioned weapons were sold to foreign commercial companies, as a result of which they ended up on the civilian market in some countries. Former army pistols were sold both under the original name and under the name Helwan Brigadier, reminiscent of the name of the base weapon from the Beretta company.
Egyptian pistols found their buyer, but still could not win a large market share. First, they were hampered by numerous technical problems, and then - not the best reputation. Helwan pistols are still found in the foreign secondary market, but now they are mainly interested in collectors. There are also Beretta 1951 pistols on the market, which are of higher quality, which further reduces the commercial potential of Egyptian weapons.
According to reports, a significant number of Italian-designed Egyptian pistols are still in service. For one reason or another, newer weapons could not completely displace them from service. Nevertheless, the considerable age of the pistols used, combined with the obsolescence of the design, predetermines their future. The operation of such a weapon cannot last forever, and soon it must be completely decommissioned. The timing of such a decision, however, remains unknown.
The results of the Helwan project are of some interest both in themselves and in comparison with the results of other Egyptian programs. In the early fifties, the Egyptian industry mastered the licensed production of several foreign models of small arms developed by foreign countries. The Port Said submachine gun (Carl Gustaf m / 45) and the Hakim self-loading rifle (Automatgevär m / 42B) were produced under Swedish licenses; in Italian - the Helwan pistol.
The first two samples showed the desired characteristics and resembled little the products of not the most developed enterprises. The pistol, which was a copy of the "Beretta 1951", was noticeably different from them both in its rougher performance and technical problems. Why the Egyptian arms industry was unable to show the desired results in all three projects at once is unknown.
The modernized Egyptian army needed a variety of weapons, including self-loading pistols. In the early fifties, this issue was resolved in the usual way - by purchasing a license for the production of a foreign model. The basis for the new Helwan pistol was the Italian product Beretta 1951 Brigadier, which showed the desired characteristics. The licensed production of such weapons had mixed consequences, but still led to the desired results and rearmament of the army.
