War Relic
 

I visited my neighbor today for beers after a short day of work. He has been my mentor in flintlock rifle building and off-hand flintlock competition.
Today he opened his safe, which exhibits treasures from the past 12,000 years, and produced the following gem.

This Browning copy is a war trophy from his father-in-law. It was taken in southern Germany, carried to the States, and placed in a shoebox with its remaining ammunition and one magazine. He received the item after his passing and has kept it in said state. I will let the pictures speak.
[ATTACH]Attachment 31075[/ATTACH]

Attachment 31079

The father-in-law "took the gun from a German that he killed while moving out of France and into Germany with the "Checkerboards" in 44'. "
The head stamp on the remaining rounds is dated 1944.

Soooooo .... The Germans COPIED the 1911 design.

Don't see Browning or Colt copying Glock's design.

I think THIS here-ends the debate .... :munchin


Beautiful piece of history there. :lifter

The Germans had the FN plant make Browning GP35's Hi-Power after they captured that area.

Also, I'm pretty sure German officers were allowed to carry personally purchased sidearms.

In both instances, the German armors stamped the weapons for serial tracking.

In either case, it's a great find.. :lifter:lifter

That is is a remarkable piece of family history; guard it well.

IIRC... Browning owned all of the copyrights for his weapons designs, but licensed the manufacture, so FN could have had a 1911 lookalike in 9mm, very much like the BHP that they licensed too. Just a thought, don't know how the license could have been enforced under the occupation, and what the occupiers said would go. If they said make these guns for us, or go to the camps.... I'm pretty sure they would have made the guns.

Nice find.

That's def a Browning Hi-Power not 1911.

Another classic designed by JB!

WW2 Nazi HP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVzF_nm-voY

The Guns of Browning - HP begins at 26:42

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d7XIZr3tLg

Richard

The BHP was the only handgun during WWII that was produced and used by the Axis and Allied powers.


CD

Browning started, but did not finish the BHP design work. He died nine years before the High Power would go into production.

After his death, Belgian FN employees, primarily Dieudonné Saive, completed the work and FN commenced manufacture.

TR