Send us your own comments about this object.

Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  BELGIAN PISTOL FN MODEL 1935 (P640(b)) 9MM SN# 89559
Maker/Manufacturer:	BROWNING, JOHN MOSES
Date of Manufacture:	1940-1941
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 875
Measurements:	OL: 19.6CM 7 3/4" BL: 11.6CM 4 5/8"

Object Description:

BELGIAN PISTOL FN MODEL 1935 (P640(b)) 9MM SN# 89559
Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, Herstal, Belgium - Standard Belgium semi-automatic pistol with 13-round detachable box magazine produced under German supervision for the Wehrmacht in WWII. Blued finish with wood grips. Magazine safety. Tangent rear sight (50-500 meters). No stock slot. Finish worn otherwise complete and in good condition.

Markings:
Barrel: German acceptance mark/8959. (A89889 WaA 103.)
Frame: WaA 103. Right side: 8959
Slide: 89559, WaA 103, FABRIQUE NATIONALE D' ARMES DE GUERRE/HERSTAL BELGIQUE/BROWNING'S PATENT DEPOSE. WaA 103.
Trigger guard: MR.

Notes: Approximately 50,000 produced with tangent rear sights for the Germans.

"The FN Browning High Power is one of the most extensively used military pistols in the world today. It is also widely distributed as a commercial weapon. This pistol was the last developed by John Browning and first appeared in prototype form in 1926. In was introduced to the market in 1935 in two forms - an 'Ordinary Model' with fixed sights; and an 'Adjustable Rear Sight Model,' which had a tangent type rear sight graduated to 500 meters and a slotted grip for attachment of a wooden shoulder stock. This shoulder stock is attached to a leather holster in contrast to the all wooden shoulder-stock holsters made for the Canadian-made FN Browning pistols No. 1 mark 1 and No. 1* during World War II. The High Powder, which is called the G.P. (Grande Puissance) in Belgium, used the Browning Colt parallel ruler system of locking but is considerably simplified in many ways in comparison with the US caliber .45 Model 1911.
The High Power has been or is being used as a service pistol by Belgium, Lithuania, Denmark, the Netherlands, Nationalist China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Romania and other countries. It was manufactured by the John Inglis Company of Toronto, Ontario, during World War II. Large quantities were manufactured for the Germans during the occupation of Belgium; the High Power was used as first-line weapon by the Germans because of its caliber, 9mm Parabellum. During the post-war period, the pistol has been manufactured in the Indonesian arsenal at Bandung on the island of Java. The pistol in commercial form is distributed in the US by the Browning Arms Co. As this book went to press (1983) FN Herstal announced the availability of a double action version of the High Power.
The following are some of the nomenclatures that have been or are being used for the High Power in various countries:
Belgium: Pistolet, Automatique Browning Modele a Grande Puissance (GP).
Canada, UK: Pistol, Browning, FN, 9mm HP No. 1, Marks 1 and 1* and No. 2, Marks 1 and 1*.
Denmark: 9mm Pistol M/46.
Germany: Pistole 640(b).
Indonesia: Pindad PiA 9-mm.
Netherlands: Pistool, 9mm Browning, FN, GP.

References:
Ezell, Edward Clinton. SMALL ARMS OF THE WORLD. 12th Ed. Barnes & Noble Books. N.Y., N.Y. 1983.
Hogg, Ian. SMALL ARMS: PISTOLS AND RIFLES. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, Pa. 2001.
Schwing, Ned. STANDARD CATALOG OF FIREARMS. 8th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.