FN Browning GP-35
The Browning GP-35 is a 9mm single action semi-automatic pistol. It is based on a design pioneered by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive of the Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal, Belgium. Browning passed away in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols of all time, having been used by the armed forces of more than 50 countries. Along with the M1911, they have been the most imitated models in history.
The name GP-35 comes from the initials in French, "Grande Puissance", that is, "Great Power", and alludes to the capacity of the magazine for 13 cartridges, almost twice as many contemporary designs as the Luger P08 or the Mauser 1910. The pistol is also often called the HP (from "Hi-Power" or "High-Power") or also P-35, which is the designation the Hi-Power received when it entered service in 1935. It is also known as BAP (Browning Automatic Pistol), especially in Ireland. However the more common name is "Hi-Power". The Argentine company Fabricaciones Militares stopped manufacturing the pistol under FN license in 1989, continuing the production of the local versions called FM90 and FM95, in addition to the M-02 A.R., of "rapid action".[ citation required]
In February 2018, FN Herstal officially announced that production of the GP-35 would be discontinued.
History
After collaborating with the American company Colt and making contributions to the Belgian company FN, John Browning continued to collaborate with FN and in 1923 he arrived a new order, this time from the French government, which wants a pistol with a high-capacity magazine, above the usual 8 rounds at that time, and with a magazine safety, in such a way that the pistol could not fire if it was not in place. placed..
Browning is based on his design of the well-known Colt M1911 pistol, caliber.45 ACP, simplifying the locking mechanism (it replaces the chain with a ramp), eliminating the grip safety and with a double-row magazine for 16 cartridges (later reduced to 13). He builds a prototype, which ends in 1923. Between 1923 and 1926, this prototype undergoes improvements and modifications, until Browning dies this last year, and it is his main disciple, Dieudonné Saive, who puts an end to the design, taking final form. in 1935 with the name "Browning G.P.35 Pistol". Browning filed his prototype with the US Patent Office on June 28, 1923, and was granted the patent on February 22, 1927, numbered 1,618,510.
The GP-35 was adopted by the Belgian Army and other countries, such as Lithuania, Romania and Greece. It was used in World War II on both sides. FN manufactured them for the Germans during the Belgian occupation and the Canadian company John Inglis & Co for the British. British special forces SAS used them during the Cold War. It is still used by various armies around the world, such as some branches of the British Army using the Browning L9A1 version being replaced by the Glock 17.
Features
The GP-35 has a single-action mechanism, works by mass recoil with short barrel travel and has a double-row magazine that stores 13 cartridges. It originally had an internal extractor, similar to the one on the Colt 1911, but after World War II, this was replaced by an external type.
- Ammunition: 9 x 19 Parabellum, 7.65 Parabellum,.40 S blindW
- Caliber: 9 mm, 7.65 mm, 10 mm
- Total weapon length: 197 mm
- Cannon length: 118 mm
- Height of weapon (without lifting, with charger): 127.5 mm
- Width: 36 mm
- Number of stretch marks: 6, dextrogiras
- Step of stretch marks: 1 round in 250 mm
- Weight of weapon (with vacuum charger): 910 g
Versions
- L9A1 (British version)
- Mark I
- Mark II
- Mark III
- Hi-Power Standard
- Hi-Power Practical
- Hi-Power Capitan
- DA (double action)
- DAO (double single action)
- BDM (double/simple action)
- FM M90/M95 and FM 02 AR of "fast action" (Argentinian investments)
- Kareen (Israeli version)
- FÉG P9M (Hungarian version)
- Arcus 94 (Bulgarian version)
- Auto 9mm 1A pistol (Indian investment)
- Inglis (Canadian investment)
In the 1990s, the DA version appeared, the first with double action, and also the DAO version, the first with exclusive double action in compact and compact presentations. regular size. Its design is similar to the P35, although the trigger style is different. These versions cannot interchange any of their parts with the P35, as it is a different design.
In the same decade the BDM version also appeared with a mechanism to choose to operate the pistol exclusively in single or double action. Its design is more different than the P35, but its magazines are interchangeable with those of the exclusive double action versions.
Pop Culture
In one of the scenes in Nepal in "Raiders of The Lost Ark," Indiana Jones uses one of these weapons to repel German spies.
In the Resident Evil video game saga, the protagonist of the second installment of the series Resident Evil 2 Claire Redfield makes use of this weapon when she checks the glove compartment of a police car where she was going with Leon Scott Kennedy. Also used by Ada Wong and Annette Birkin in-game, it consists of a thirteen-round magazine of 9×19mm Parabellum.
In the video game L.A. Noire is the main weapon of Jack Kelso, secondary character of the same.
In the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, his original model can be chosen as a pistol in the game.
In the video game Red Dead Redemption it appears as "Hi-Power" with a 10-round magazine, being one of the few pistols (only counting semi-automatic pistols not revolvers) to appear in the delivery
In the video game Project Reality it appears as a standard sidearm of the British Army apart from the Glock 17 that is replacing it
In the video game Forgotten Hope the Mark I model and the version with the Inglis Hi-Power stock appear