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Browning GP 1935"Hi Power"

Description

This is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol that is chambered for the NATO standard 9mm X 19mmpistol round. This round is also known as the 9mm Luger and 9mm Parabellum.There have been models made that chamber other rounds than the 9mm Parabellum. These arenot dealt with here.Some modern literature refers to the gun as a "Hi Power". Early literature refers to it as a"High Power", this is a translation from its original title given to it by FN "Grand Puissance".

History

The pistol was designed by John Moses Browning in the 1920s for the Belgian weaponsmanufacturer Fabrique National d'Armes de Guerre, known usually by the initials "FN". The pistolfirst went into production in 1935. John Browning died in 1927. The final design work was doneon the pistol by an FN employee Dieudonne Saive.

A quick visual inspection of the Browning High Power will immediately show its pedigree. It sharesmany similarities with an earlier Browning design, the 1911 Colt 45.The Browning High Power, also known as the Browning 9mm and at one time in the U.K. as theBrowning 38 has been produced by several manufacturers besides FN. Millions of these guns havebeen produced. Some armories have produced copies with the help and blessing of FN. Somecountries have produced unauthorised "knock-offs". Of the various clones, some are exact copiesand have parts interchangeable with the FN guns, some don't.

At various times during its history, the High Power has been the issue sidearm in over fiftycountries. What follows is a partial list to give some idea of the usage: Germany, Denmark,Britain, Iraq, Peru, Israel, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, and Malaya.

Manufacturers of the High Power

Browning High Power pistols were used during WWII by both the Axis powers and the Allies. The

guns the allies used were produced in Canada by John Inglis & Co. Pistols have also been made inIsrael, Argentina, Hungary and Indonesia. The current FN production is machined in Belgium andfinished in Portugal.

The Argentinian model, called the FM (Fabricaciones Militares), is a clone made with the blessingand assistance of FN. It will interchange parts with the FN Browning and is currently inproduction. It is not as well finished as the Belgian models, but is functionally good.

The Canadian models went out of production at the end of WWII The Inglis models are not100% interchangeable with the FNs.

The Hungarian model the FEG FP9 is a direct copy with some differences.It has a ventilated riband is believed to have some parts interchangeable with the FN.

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From Israel there is a clone called the Kareen. This gun is believed to made from parts machinedin Hungary.

Indonesia has also produced an unauthorised clone the "Pindad". This gun has not been sold

outside of Indonesia and was made to supply the needs of the Indonesian military.

Basic Models

Obviously, over the years there have been many variations of the High Power produced. This isnot a list of the minor differences, but a note on the major differences.

Early models were produced with a detachable stock and adjustable sights. The stocks wereoften wood and doubled as a holster for the gun. It appears these were designed for cavalryuse. The pistols designed for the detachable stock have a groove cut into the rear of the pistolgrip. Some models have a lanyard ring at the base of the grip. Late models often have anambidextrous safety. The finish is usually blued. Some models have been made in nickel andchrome plate and many have been phosphated (Parkerised). One finish that has also been used byFN is Parkerising with black enamel paint over the Parkerising. This finish is designed for militaryuse. Guns made for the civilian market by FN are usually blued.

Models available in the U.S.

The Browning company at One Browning Place, Morgan, Utah 84050-9326 import the FNBrowning. Their customer service number is (800) 333-3288.

The High Power (Hi-Power) is available in the following variations:

Mark III: Fixed sights. Matte blued finish. Two piece plastic molded grips.

Standard: Fixed or adjustable sights. Polished blued finish. Walnut grips.

HP-Practical: Fixed or adjustable sights. Matte blued slide, Chrome frame. Pachmayr rubbergrips.

Silver Chrome: Adjustable sights. Chrome plated (matte). Pachmayr rubber grips.

Capitan: Adjustable tangent sights (old style). Polished blued finish. Walnut grips.

All of the above models, except for the Capitan are available chambered for the .40 S&Wcartridge.

Ammunition

The High Power uses the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. A production Browning should have no troublefeeding and firing any cartridge of this caliber. This includes various hollow point, blunt andround bulleted cartridges. Ammunition that fails to feed in modern semi-automatic guns willusually feed and fire with no problems when loaded into a Browning High Power.

Note that the Hi-Power is also available chambered for the S & W .40 cartridge.

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Magazines

The standard magazine is a blued 13 round magazine. The Argentinian FM company sells aParkerised magazine. The magazines currently supplied by FN are made under contract in Italy.

There are odd High Power magazines that turn up with no markings on them, they are usuallyblued. These magazines usually work with no problems. There are stainless steel magazinesavailable. There are also 20 round magazines available.

Since a recent "crime bill", only 10 round magazines are available to the U.S. public. Old style"pre ban" magazines can still be found but command premium prices.

The standard magazine can be disassembled by removing the floor plate. The floor plate slidesoff by inserting a small screwdriver between the body of the magazine and the front of themagazine body. Pulling the screwdriver away from the body will then allow the follower and springto drop out of the body. The magazine is usually only disassembled to replace the spring or tothoroughly clean the magazine.

Magazine Safety

As currently manufactured, the High Power comes with a magazine safety. This means that whenthe magazine is withdrawn, the gun will not fire. The FN company put this in the gun so that ifthe shooter touched the trigger while inserting a magazine the gun would not fire if there wasstill a round in the chamber. Many owners remove this safety. It is done for two reasons. Firstof all, many owners want to gun to be in fireable condition without the magazine so a freshmagazine can be inserted during combat. The other reason is that the magazine safety prevents

the empty magazine dropping freely out of the magazine well.

The German military during WWII, told the FN company to leave the magazine safety out. Theydid this so the gun would always be in fireable condition. When FN took back the factory at theend of WWII, they continued making guns without the magazine safety for a while. These gunshave an "A" in the serial number prefix.

Field Stripping

The High Power is easily field stripped. It can be done in the dark. When disassembled, itshould consist of the following pieces:

The frame, the slide, the barrel, the magazine, the slide locking lever, the main spring and themain spring guide. Seven pieces including the magazine.

To strip the weapon do the following:

Remove the magazine by pushing the magazine release lever which is on the left side of the gunbehind the trigger guard.

Pull back the slide. This will eject a round if there is one in the chamber. Then look through theejection port on the right side of the gun to visually check that the chamber is empty.

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Pull the slide back again and engage the safety lever (usually on the left rear of the gun abovethe grip) in the second - forward - notch of the slide. The gun should now have the slide heldback, the chamber exposed and the front of the barrel exposed.

Push the rear toggle of the slide locking lever up to the top of the slide. Push the the pin end ofthe lever that protrudes on the right side of the gun. From the left side of the gun, grab thenow protruding slide locking lever and remove it.

Push the safety catch down and push the slide forward over the front of the gun and lay itaside.

The slide will now have the barrel, mainspring and mainspring guide inside it.

To disassemble further. Hold the slide with one hand and push the mainspring toward the frontof the slide. Then lift the mainspring and mainspring guide. Lift and the barrel away from theslide and lay aside. The mainspring and mainspring guide can then be separated.

To reassemble the unit, reverse the above procedure.

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B35-001SLIDE COMMERCIAL FNB35-002SEAR LEVER RETAINERB35-003REAR SIGHTB35-004EXTRACTORB35-005FIRING PIN SPRINGB35-006FIRING PINB35-007MAG. CATCH SPRING GUIDEB35-008MAG. CATCH SPRINGB35-009MAGAZINE CATCHB35-010HAMMERB35-011HAMMER PINB35-012HAMMER STRUTB35-013HAMMER STRUT PIN

B35-014HAMMER SPRINGB35-015HAMMER SPRING SUPPORTB35-016MAGAZINEB35-017SEAR SPRINGB35-018GRIPS (Black Rubber Set)B35-019GRIP SCREWB35-020SLIDE STOPB35-021TRIGGER SPRINGB35-022FRAME, RestrictedB35-023RECOIL SPRING

B35-024SPRING RETAINERB35-025DTENTE BALL SPRINGB35-026DTENTE BALLB35-027RECOIL SPRING GUIDEB35-028BARRELB35-029SEAR LEVERB35-030F. PIN RETAINER PLATEB35-031SEARB35-032EJECTORB35-033TRIGGER PINB35-034TRIGGER SPRING PINB35-035TRIGGER LEVERB35-036SEAR PINB35-037SAFETY CATCHB35-038STUD RETAINER PINB35-039STUD SPRINGB35-040STUDB35-041TRIGGERB35-042GRIP (Walnut Set)

B35-043EXTRACTOR NEW TYPEB35-044EXTRACTOR NEW SPRING

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HP Mk III

Model Sights Grips BarrelLength

OverallLength

Mark III Fixed Fixed 4 3/4" 7 3/4"

Overall

WidthOverall

HeightWeight

UnloadedMagazine

Capacity

1 3/8" 5" 32 oz. 10

HP Practical

Model Sights Grips BarrelLength

OverallLength

HP

PracticalFixed Fixed 4 3/4" 7 3/4"

HP

PracticalFixed Adjustable 4 3/4" 7 3/4"

Overall

WidthOverall

HeightWeight

UnloadedMagazine

Capacity

1 3/8" 5" 32 oz. 10

1 3/8" 5" 32 oz. 10

Model Sights GripsBarrel

Length

Overall

Length

Overall

Width

Overall

Height

Weight

Unloaded

Magazine

Capacity

Standard Fixed Fixed 4 3/4" 7 3/4" 1 3/8" 5" 32 oz. 10

Standard Fixed Adjustable 4 3/4" 7 3/4" 1 3/8" 5" 32 oz. 10

Silver

ChromeFixed Adjustable 4 3/4" 7 3/4" 1 3/8" 5" 32 oz. 10

German Built Model (WWII)

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ASSEMBLY

Remove the magazine. Pull back the slide and push the

safety catch into the second notch. Push out the slide stop

(T-see 'exploded drawing') from right to left, as shown.

Release the safety catch and permit the slide to go forward

and off the receiver runners.

Push the safety catch down to fire position, then push sear

pin (JJ) out from right to left. Allow the ejector (FF) to pivot

down until it stops. With the ejector in this position, the

safety catch (KK) can now be pushed out.

Hold the gun in the left hand and push in the magazine catch

(I) until it is flush with frame. Using a 1/8 inch wide

screwdriver, turn the magazine catch spring guide to the

magazine catch. Then lift out the unit.

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Push trigger pin (GG) out from right to left. Hold the gun

with the right side up. With the right hand, pull the trigger

forward and upward; this will remove parts (U), (HH), (II),

and (OO) as a unit. These parts must be replaced as a unit

when reassembling the gun.

To remove firing pin (F) and spring (E), hold the slide in theleft hand. With a 1/8 inch punch, push in the end of the

firing pin; at the same time, push down on the firing pin

retainer plate (DD). After firing pin and spring have been

removed, pry out extractor (D).

To remove the sear lever (CC), hold the slide upside down

in the right hand. Using a small screwdriver, pry up the end

of the sear lever retainer (be sure the extractor has been

removed before doing this). When the head of the retainer isclear of the slide, pry it the rest of the way from the outside

of the slide