Browning
Hi Power Pistol
In 1922, when the French put out the call
for a new military pistol chambered in 9
mm Parabellum, Belgium’s Fabrique
Nationale (FN) answered with firearm titan
John Moses Browning and a little-known Belgian
designer named Dieudonné
Saive. The American-born Browning had a long
working relationship with FN, and his firearm
designs were already the stuff of legend.
Browning started by creating a staggered double-column magazine
that held 16 rounds, unheard of for a flush-fitting unit. As development progressed,
Browning conceived of the basic shape of the pistol and its breech locking system
in which the rear of the barrel cammed down to disengage dorsal lugs from recesses
in the slide.
Working with an FN design team that included Saive, Browning ultimately
produced a pistol called the Model 1927 Grande Rendement. However, Browning passed
away in 1926 still awaiting the pistol’s patent, which was not issued until
the next year. Despite Browning’s and FN’s efforts, the Model 27
Grande Rendement was found wanting. It was considered too large and heavy for
its intended purpose. It fell to Dieudonné Saive to rework the design
and produce a gun that satisfied the desires of the military.
Saive made numerous crucial changes to the pistol, dispensing with
its complicated contours, removable plate-mounted lockwork, interrupted screw
breech bolt and internal striker. He also reduced the dimensions of the gun and
the capacity of the magazine. The new magazine held a still-considerable 13 rounds.
Dubbed the M35 or Hi Power, the final version of the pistol was not finished
until 1935, but it was a design so sound that it has remained virtually unchanged
to this day.
Strangely, the French military—the original catalyst for the
Hi Power’s creation—chose not to buy the gun, adopting a lesser-chambered
pistol of French design. Other nations, however, immediately recognized the numerous
benefits of the Hi Power, and a great many adopted it as their standard-issue
service pistol. These benefits include reliability, generous magazine capacity,
excellent ergonomics and the fact that it is chambered for the ubiquitous 9 mm
Luger cartridge.