| FN Model 1910 | |
|---|---|
 FN Model 1910 | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | Belgium |
| Production history | |
| Designer | John Browning |
| Manufacturer | Fabrique Nationale (FN) |
| Produced | 1910–1983 |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass |
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| Length |
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| Barrel length |
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| Cartridge | |
| Action | Blowback |
| Feed system |
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| Sights | Notch and post iron sights |
The FN Model 1910 is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium.
The FN Model 1910, also known as the Browning model 1910, was a departure for Browning. Before, his designs were produced by both FN in Europe and Colt Firearms in the United States. Since Colt did not want to produce it, Browning chose to patent and produce this design in Europe only. Introduced in 1910, this pistol used a novel operating spring location surrounding the barrel. This location became the standard in such future weapons as the Walther PPK and Russian Makarov.
It incorporated the standard Browning striker-firing mechanism and a grip safety along with a magazine safety and an external safety lever (known as the "triple safety") in a compact package. Offered in both .380 ACP (6-round magazine) and .32 ACP (7-round magazine) calibres, it remained in production until 1983. It is possible to switch calibres by changing only the barrel. However, FN never offered packages containing a single pistol with both calibre barrels.
A variant of the Model 1910 was known variously as the Model 1922 or 1910/22. This was a larger model with a longer barrel (113 mm), slide extension, and a longer grip frame to accommodate an extra two rounds. This model was aimed at military and police contracts and many examples were produced for various agencies. The FN Model 1910 was initially designed for the Kingdom of Serbia. In 1913, a purchase order for 235 Model 1910 semi automatic pistols was made by the Serbian National Army. The purchase was made for the 1st and 2nd Timok infantry divisions of the first army.
Model 1910/1922 pistols went on to see extensive service in World War Two, and continued to be manufactured by the Germans after their occupation of Belgium and seizure of the FN factory. These examples carry Nazi production stamps, and most have simple chequered wood grips instead of the earlier horn or plastic grips bearing the FN logo.
The FN Model 1922 was also used by the following countries: Yugoslavia (60,000 Automatski pistolj (Brauning) 9mm M.22 between 1923 and 1930), [1] The Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Romania, France, Finland, Denmark, and West Germany in the post war period. While the Model 1910 was widely sold on both civilian and military markets, the Model 1922 was considered specifically a military and police pistol, with FN offering it to individual civilians only by special order.
In 1955, the Browning Arms Company introduced the Model 1910 pistol for the American market as the Model 1955. Made in Belgium, this model was virtually identical to the European model except for the markings and grips. Importation ceased in 1968 due to the passage of stricter gun-control laws in the U.S.
Another version, the Model 1971, featured a longer barrel and slide (similar in length to the Model 1922, but with a one-piece slide), adjustable sights, a finger-rest magazine, and enlarged "target" grips. These features were intended to comply with the Gun Control Act of 1968 which had halted import of the Model 1955.
The Hamada Type (浜田式, Hamada shiki) or Hamada Type Automatic handgun was a semi-automatic pistol developed in 1941 for use by the Empire of Japan during World War II. Developed by Bunji Hamada, the pistol took its basic design from the Model 1910 Browning. Production occurred at the Japanese Firearms Manufacturing Company, with only minor changes made as the war progressed.
An FN M1910, serial number 19074, chambered in .380 ACP [2] was the handgun used by Gavrilo Princip to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, the act that precipitated the First World War. [3] Numerous previous sources erroneously cited the FN Model 1900 in .32 calibre as being the weapon Princip used. [4] This has led to confusion over the calibre of the pistol actually used.
Paul Doumer, President of France, was assassinated by Russian emigre Paul Gorguloff on 6 May 1932 with a Model 1910 in .32 ACP. [5] The pistol is now in the Musée des Collections Historiques de la Préfecture de Police. [6]
A Model 1910 was also allegedly used to assassinate Huey Long, governor of Louisiana, on 5 September 1935. [7] Physician Carl Weiss, the alleged assassin, bought the FN M1910 now on display Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, in Europe for $25 in 1930. [8]
Hannie Schaft used a model M1922 during her assassinations as part of the Dutch communist resistance against Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. [9]
Belgium [10] 
Bolivia [11] 
Denmark 
France 
Finland: In February 1940 2,500 M/1910 and 2,500 M/1910-22 pistols were bought from Belgium and used in the Continuation War [12] 
Nazi Germany: 1910/22 model produced at FN after the fall of Belgium [10] 
West Germany 
Greece 
Empire of Japan: Purchased by some officers [13] [14] 
Netherlands 
Peru 
Romania 
Spanish Republic:200 1922 pistols imported for the air force [15] 
Turkey 
Venezuela 
Yugoslavia [1] James Bond in the 1962 film Doctor No shoots Professor Dent with a FN M1910 instead of the Walther PPK he had been issued at the beginning of the movie. The FN M1910 was substituted for the Walther as Bond used a silencer on the pistol and the production did not have a silencer that could fit the PPK. [18]
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century.
The .380 ACP, is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, for use in its new Colt Model 1908 pocket hammerless semi-automatic, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since, seeing wide use in numerous handguns. Other names for .380 ACP include .380 Auto, 9×17mm, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9mm Browning Court. It should not be confused with .38 ACP. The .380 ACP does not strictly conform to cartridge naming conventions, named after the diameter of the bullet, as the actual bullet diameter of the .380 ACP is .355 inches.
.32 ACP is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pistol. It was introduced in 1899 by Fabrique Nationale, and is also known as the 7.65 mm Browning Short.
The .25 ACP, also known as the .25 Auto, .25 Automatic, or 6.35×16mmSR) is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled centerfire pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning in 1905 alongside the Fabrique Nationale M1905 pistol.
The Walther PP series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen.
The Vz. 50 is a Czechoslovakian made double-action, semi-automatic pistol. Vz is an abbreviation of the Czech term "vzor" meaning model.
The HK4 is a pocket pistol, first introduced by Heckler & Koch in either 1964 or 1967. It was distinctive for allowing shooters to swap barrels chambered for different cartridges without tools and for having a durable but light hard-anodized aluminum-alloy frame.
The FN Browning M1900 is a single action semi-automatic pistol designed c. 1896 by John Browning for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) and produced in Belgium at the turn of the 20th century. It was the first production handgun to use a slide.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or a similar small space.
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless is a variant introduced five years later in .380 ACP caliber. Despite the title "hammerless", the Model 1903 does have a hammer. The hammer is covered and hidden from view under the rear of the slide, this allows the pistol to be carried in and withdrawn from a pocket quickly and smoothly without snagging.
The FN Model 1903, or Browning No.2 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and manufactured by Belgian arms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN). It was introduced in 1903 and fired the 9×20mmSR Browning Long cartridge. It should not be confused with the US-made Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, nor with the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer. The FN Model 1903 is based on the same mechanical design as the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, which Browning sold to both companies, but enlarged to handle the more powerful 9mm Browning Long cartridge. The M1903's reliability, accuracy, light weight, and quick reloading made it a popular service pistol for many police forces and militaries. The pistol was initially introduced by FN as the Browning Modèle de Guerre or Browning Grand Modèle.
The Rubypistol was a semi-automatic pistol of .32 ACP calibre made by Gabilondo y Urresti and other Spanish companies. It saw use in both World Wars as the service weapon of the French Army under the name Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby".
The Beretta M418 is an easily concealed Italian 6.35 mm pocket pistol. The earliest examples were made between 1919 and 1922. There are several versions, including the 1920, 1926, 1926 - 31, 1934, 318, and 418 models.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.
The SIG Sauer P230 is a small, semi-automatic handgun chambered in .32 ACP or .380 Auto. It was designed by SIG Sauer of Eckernförde, Germany. It was imported into the United States by SIGARMS in 1985. In 1996 it was replaced by the model P232.
Llama Firearms, officially known as Llama-Gabilondo y Cia SA, was a Spanish arms company founded in 1904 under the name Gabilondo and Urresti. Its headquarters were in Eibar in the Basque Country, Spain, but they also had workshops during different times in Elgoibar and Vitoria. The company manufactured moderate-priced revolvers and self-chambering pistols in a wide variety of models. These were popular mainly in the European and Latin American export market, as well as domestically in Spain.
The 1931 Fabrique Nationale (FN) Baby Browning is a small blowback-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Belgium-born Dieudonné Saive chambered in .25 ACP. The pistol features a six-round magazine capacity and is a striker-fired, single action, blow back mechanism. The manual thumb operated safety locks the slide in the closed position when engaged using side thumb pressure.
The Bergmann–Bayard was a German-designed semi-automatic pistol produced under license in Belgium.
The Hamada Type 1 or Hamada Type Automatic handgun was a semi-automatic pistol developed starting in 1941 for use by the Empire of Japan during World War II. Developed by Bunji Hamada, the pistol took its basic design from the Model 1910 Browning. Production occurred at the Japanese Firearms Manufacturing Company, with only minor changes made as the war progressed.
Rewolwer Nagant wz. 30 and wz. 32 were two Polish derivatives of the Nagant M1895 revolver. They were almost identical to the Soviet variants with only minor differences in weight, length and sights design.
