Send us your own comments about this object.

Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  BELGIAN PISTOL FN MODEL 1935 (P640(b)) 9MM SN# 49945b
Maker/Manufacturer:	BROWNING, JOHN MOSES
Date of Manufacture:	1939-1944
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 978
Measurements:	OL: 19.6CM 7 3/4" BL: 12CM 4 3/4"

Object Description:

BELGIAN PISTOL FN MODEL 1935 (P640(b)) 9MM SN# 49945b
Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, Liege, Belgium - Standard semi-automatic, shot-recoil-operated. Browning Hi-Power pistol. Made under German supervision for the Wehrmacht in WWII. 6-groove rifling, right-hand twist. Fixed sights. External hammer with manual and magazine safety. Complete with 13-round detachable box magazine. Left grip missing. Right grip cracked. No stock slot.

Markings:
Frame: WaA 140. German acceptance stamps. Right side: 945b.
Slide: FABRIQUE NATIONALE D' ARMES DE GUERRE/HERSTAL-BELGIQUE/BROWNING'S PATENT DEPOSE. WaA 140.
Barrel: German acceptance/945b.
Triggerguard: MR.

Notes: "This is one of the oldest military pistols in regular service, having been designed in the 1920s. Design actually began before 1914, as John Browning set about improving the Colt M1911 design. His principle changes were to the trigger linkage and the method of unlocking the barrel from the slide; in place of his original hinged link, he devised a solid block of metal with a curved slotted path which engaged with the slide stop pin to unlock the barrel. Due to World War One in was not until the early 1920s that Browning went to FN of Liege with his ideas. He died in 1926 and the work was continued by Dieudonne Saive, FN's Chief Designer, who made another fundamental change, altering the pistol to 9mm calibre and developing a magazine holding 13 shots. He also changed Browning's original internal striker to an external hammer.
Due to the Depression the new design was shelved until put into production in 1935. It was immediately adopted by Belgium, Lithuania, Latvia and China, but only about 35,000 had been made by 1940 when the German occupation took over the factory. The pistol was continued in production for the German Army as the 'Pistole 640 (b).' The drawings were smuggled to Britain and then sent to Canada where the pistol was made both for the Canadian and British forces and for the Chinese Nationalist Army. The FN factory resumed production after the war and the GP-35 was adopted by the British Army in 1954. In all, about 65 countries have officially adopted the Browning GP-35 most of whom still use it. A Mark 2 model appeared in the 1970s; this was the same pistol but with 'anatomical' grips, an ambidextrous safety catch, wider sights and an oxidized finish. Production of this model ceased in the early 1980s. In 1988, the Mark 3 was introduced which is practically the same but with more metal in the slide, various slight changes in interior dimensions to improve reliability and sights which can be removed and exchanged for target sights if desired. A Mark 3S is made for police use; this has an automatic firing pin safety system added." - Hogg


References:
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.