Browning of different ages: the smallest and the largest
Board of the ship HMS ("Her Majesty the Ship") "Portland", 2002. A Marine performs a high-power pistol shooting practice. Photo of the United States Navy by 1st Class Assistant Photographer Kevin H. Tierney
Their
the young one met the mob,
and dulam brownings in failure
collapsed Roman law
and some other rights.
"150" Vladimir Mayakovsky
the young one met the mob,
and dulam brownings in failure
collapsed Roman law
and some other rights.
"150" Vladimir Mayakovsky
History firearms weapons. The market demanded not only large and powerful pistols, but also very small, so to speak, ladies' pistols, that is, even smaller than the 1900 model and chambered for a weaker cartridge. And - if it is necessary, then it is necessary.
Having at hand an excellent sample of a pistol, John Browning did not have much difficulty in 1905 to make a very small pistol, which, although it was called the "model of 1905", began to be mass-produced by the Belgian company FN in 1906 and also in the USA, where this pistol became known as FN "Model 1905" by the year of the patent. Well, in Europe it was called "Model 1906" after the year it was launched.
The popularity of the pistol was so great that by 1914 it was produced in the amount of 503 copies. And in total, by the beginning of World War II, when its production was finally completed, about 434 such pistols were produced. Also, since 1 in the USA, the Colt company supplied the Colt M200 Western Pocket pistol to the stream.
Browning 1906 - Baby 1935 Royal Arsenal, Leeds
The pistol had a caliber of 6,35 mm, and fired cartridges, again, Browning's own design: 6,35x15,5 HR (6,35 Browning). The length of the pistol was 114 mm, the barrel length was already quite small - 53,5 mm, and the width was only 24 mm. The weight without cartridges was also small - only 380 grams. However, he had only 6 rounds of magazine capacity. So it was not heavy with cartridges either.
It is necessary to distinguish between these kids: "Baby" - actually Browning and "Baby" - his student Dieudone Seiva. This is a "Baby" produced in 1931, but only by Save and ... especially for the ladies!
Interestingly, despite its small size, the pistol was quite perfect. For example, he had two fuses (though at first there was only one - a handle): a handle - automatic, and a flag - transfer.
Again, the officers of the Russian Imperial Army were allowed to buy this pistol for "outside construction". Which, by the way, was also a very budget solution. Browning in Russia was generally a cheap weapon. So, "the ideal of such a weapon" (as the advertisement called it!), The M1900 pistol cost only 22 rubles in Russia!
Advertising "Browning" in Russia
After Browning died, his student Dieudone Save carried out the modernization of the 1906 model already in 1927, after which the first series of the new pistol went on sale in 1931.
Dieudone Seiva pistol. Left view. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
He is the right view. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
He made the old model even more compact.
Now there was no fuse in the handle, the fuse on the body was increased. Due to its tiny size, "Baby" (it received such a name) became a typical female pistol, and therefore, like the 1906 model, engraved and nickel-plated samples were also produced, which came directly from the factory with mother-of-pearl handles.
The standard models were sold in a blued finish with plastic overlays. Until 1966, FN produced this type with a high-quality polish, and then only with a matte finish.
Colt and Fabrika Natsionale agreed that FN would not sell the M1906 on the US market until the early 1950s. But in 1953, the American firm "Browning Weapons Company" began with the import of these particular FN pistols. Many of them simply had the name "Browning" at the top of the grip instead of "FN" and "Baby".
"Browning" caliber 9 mm M35 at the Museum of the Imatra Border Guard, Finland
The boom in their sales in America ended in 1968 with the passage of the new firearms control law, which no longer allowed the import of Saturday night pistols.
This prompted US manufacturers to fill this area. Michigan-based Bauer Farms began making a stainless steel replica of the Belgian Baby, while other smaller companies produced .0,25 caliber pistols with fantastic names such as Raven or Titan.
A weapon of the Swedish Volunteer Corps that fought in Finland during the Winter War. Swedish 6,5 mm m / 21 light machine gun, a variant of the Browning automatic rifle. Swedish 6,5 mm Mauser rifle M / 96 with bayonet. Swedish 6,5-mm Mauser M / 94 carbine with bayonet. 9 mm Browning pistol M / 35 with butt holster. 7,65 mm Browning M / 1910. 7,65 mm Browning M / 1910-22. 9 mm Browning M /. Swedish 9-mm "Husqvarna" M / 07, variant "Browning M / 03. Photo taken at the exhibition "Winter War - 70 Years" at the War Museum of Finland
In 1979, the location of Baby's production was moved to Bayonne (France), where FN owned a subsidiary, Arms Manufacturing in Bayonne. In Bayonne, the career of the small .25 pistol ended when the company was closed in 1983 for financial reasons.
Diagram of a Browning pistol model 1935 "Browning HP"
Powerful
Shortly before his death, Browning developed his most powerful European pistol, dubbed the Browning HP, and "high power" (which is how the HP abbreviation is translated) is actually not associated with any of its special characteristics, like a pistol, but with ... the capacity of his magazine, which could be loaded with 13 rounds, against the same 8 in parabellum.
The pistol used a type of automation based on the use of barrel recoil with a short stroke. Disengagement occurs due to the interaction of the inclined notch in the tide, located at the rear lower part of the barrel, with a special part in the pistol frame. After the barrel with the bolt moves back a few millimeters, the barrel goes down, disengaging from the bolt; the barrel stops, and the bolt goes back, extracting the spent cartridge case and completing the reloading cycle. The engagement is carried out by means of protrusions-hooks on the breech of the barrel and on the inner surface of the bolt.
Browning pistol, model 1935. Full name: FN Browning Model 35 HP (M68) (i.e. 1968 release). Royal Arsenal, Leeds
The same pistol. Left view
The trigger mechanism on the pistol was a trigger mechanism, with a single action and a shutter casing delay in the extreme rear position when the cartridges in the magazine ran out. After attaching the next loaded store, the shooter had to press the slide stop lever located on the left and, thus freeing the shutter casing, send the cartridge into the chamber.
Pistol in service in the British army: FN Browning Model 35 HP, Mk.III (1994 release). Royal Arsenal, Leeds
A flag fuse, also on the left side of the frame, locks the sear and the shutter casing. In the 1935 version of the model, the ejector was located in the inner hole of the shutter casing.
Later, from 1965, the ejector was located openly, which simplified production and reduced cost, and the trigger received a lightweight spoke instead of a massive head.
The pistol also has an automatic safety lock that blocks the trigger when there is no magazine in the handle.
Canadian Browning HP. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
The magazine has a double-row arrangement of cartridges with a single-row exit to the bolt, due to which the feed reliability is increased. Fastening the magazine with a latch, which is located at the base of the trigger guard.
The ergonomics of the pistol, despite the simplicity of the shapes and the not too large angle of inclination of the handle, are excellent and provide excellent hold when firing.
Disassembly of the pistol. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
Aim. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
The aiming range for pistols with an adjustable sight and when firing with an attached holster-butt is declared at 500 m, for a model without it - 50 m.
The pistol immediately attracted attention.
And it all ended with the fact that it was adopted by the armies and police structures of 50 countries of the world, and in some - it continues to be in service to this day!
Moreover, they also began to produce it in different countries.
Pistol with butt holster. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
For example, the production of HP during the war years was established at the John Inglis & K plant in Toronto, Canada, since Belgium was occupied by the Germans. The pistol entered service with the Canadian and Chinese armies, and many British officers used it as a secondary weapon, in addition to the Enfield revolvers.
Female workers at John Inglis & K's Toronto, Canada, make Browning for China
FN GP35 sports pistol marking. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
It featured a trigger with massive "ears". Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
We can say that the pistol was sold around the world and by whom, and wherever it was not used, starting from the Kuomintang army and the German paratroopers, who were armed with it, and right up to the special forces units that are armed with it in our time.
Uruguayan Marine, April 18, 2009
Special Forces soldier of Morocco, March 1, 2017
FN received a special order for this pistol, for example, from the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.
He has an external extractor and the coat of arms of Muscat and Oman, consisting of crossed swords with a dagger. Moreover, there were two orders: the first - for nine pistols, and the second - for twenty-seven. Photo Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
The pistol was supposed to be equipped with an attachment holster-butt ... Photo by Alain Daubresse www.littlegun.be
So this pistol is still used today ...
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