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FN 1922![]()
This Nazi marked FN Browning model
M1922 is a self loading, semi-automatic pistol that utilizes the
blowback system of operation. The pistol is made from carbon steel
and has a blued finish. It has been chambered for the 7.65mm
Browning(.32 ACP) cartridge. It is fed by a single stack 8 round
detachable box magazine. This pistol is striker fired and
incorporates a front blade sight and a V notch rear sight
that is drift adjustable for windage only. The barrel length is 4
1/2 inches and contains 6 grooves with a right hand twist. The
total length of the pistol is 7.01 inches and it has an unloaded
weight of at 25.7 ounces. On the pistol's butt there is a European
style heel magazine release. This firearm does not incorporate any
type of slide hold open mechanism to inform the operator that the
last round has been fired. Although the manual safety lever can be
pushed upward and engaged with a notch in the slide which will
lock it open for general cleaning. The checkered grip panels are
made from Walnut. The Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de
Guerre or National Factory of Weapons of War Herstal Belgium
or simply FN for short, was established in 1889 when the Belgium
government decided to build 150,000 Mauser model 1888 rifles for
the Belgium military. Eleven years later, FN entered into a long
lasting relationship with the firearms designer John Moses
Browning. The M1922 was designed after John Brownings M1910
pistol. In 1922, Browning modified the M1910
pistol to suit the requirements of the military of the Kingdom of
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes which today is known as Yugoslavia
after being renamed in 1929. Browning and the FN Bureau d'Etudes
or Research and Development Office took the M1910 and
lengthened the slide by adding a removable frontal portion, added
a lanyard ring, they also lengthened the barrel and elongated the
grip frame which gave the magazine more capacity. This newly
designed pistol would come to be known as the FN M1922 and was
just what the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes had wanted and
on February 28, 1923 they ordered 60,000 pistols. This also gives
the M1922 the distinction of being developed solely at the request
of a customer rather then being targeted for a particular market. In 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Belgium
and took over production of the M1922 at the FN plant. The Germans
had two different designations for the M1922 pistol. Depending on
the caliber, these pistols were designated as either the Pistole
626(b) for the 7.65mm version or Pistole 641(b) for the 9mm Short
version. The (b) was an abbreviation for belgisch indicating
Belgium. Another Heereswaffenamt name for the M1922 was Die
Lange Browning Pistole or The Long Browning Pistol. The pistol has
also been called the 1910/22 or 10/22 which is short for
1910/1922. An interesting note is that the Browning model
M1922 was produced in larger numbers than any other firearm at the
Fabrique Nationale plant during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. In
1944, Belgium was liberated by the Allies and production of the
M1922 continued with most of these post war pistols going to fill
military and government contracts. Up until around 1942, the M1922 was
made available as a commercial pistol being offered as a sidearm
for factory security personnel and police. The model M1922 pistol
was very popular with the German officer's and many took this
pistol as their official sidearm. The primary user however of the
M1922, was the German Luftwaffe (air force). The M1922 pistols
that were accepted by the German military will have one of three
Waffenamt stampings or Weapons Office inspectors’ stamps. These
would be WaA 103, WaA 140, and/or WaA 613 which indicate the
following.... WaA 103 = Fabrique Nationale d'armes de guerre, Lüttich (Liège)
Belgium (January 1941 - May 1942). WaA 140 = Fabrique Nationale d'armes de guerre, Lüttich (Liège),
Belgium (Late 1941 - to liberation in 1944).
WaA 613 = Fabrique Nationale d'armes de guerre, Lüttich (Liège),
Belgium (May 1940 - early 1941). The Waffenamt stamping, WaA140 on the
pistol featured on this page was used from the 1941 to the
liberation of Belgium in 1944 with approximately 325,000 of these
7.65mm pistols being produced. The serial numbers for these
pistols started around the 67,000 to 68,000 range and proceeded to
approximately serial number 155,000. At the end of 1943, serialization of
these pistols was changed so that it limited serial numbers to
five digits and a one letter suffix. The letter indicated a block
of 100,000 pistols. So for example, a serial number of 55555c is
actually the 355,555th pistol that was produced. The first block
of 100,000 had no suffix, then pistols numbered 100,000 through
199,999 were suffixed with the letter a, pistols in the range of
200,000 through 299,999 were suffixed with a b and so on. Due to the increase in demand for arms
during the war, the serial number markings were simplified in 1944
to include just the full serial number on the slide and the last
four digits of the serial number on the frame. The pistol
pictured above has a six-digit serial number with no letter
suffix. The FN M1922 pistol has been used by
numerous countries including: Yugoslavia, Holland, Greece, Turkey,
Romania, France, Denmark, Nazi Germany and later West Germany. It
is a smoothly elegant and graceful pistol design that became
immensely popular with both the military and the commercial
markets. ![]() |