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Old January 20, 2005, 10:28 PM   #1
LDThornton
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FN (Browning Patent) .380 Model ID (PICS)

Looking for a little help identifying This old FN Browning .380 pistol. I'd say it is probably around 60 years old and (I was told) was carried by an American GI during WWII. TIA.....Lonnie
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Old January 20, 2005, 11:13 PM   #2
PsychoSword
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It's an FN/Browning 1922

I have one as well.

Astra made a clone.

I don't know why it would have been carried by a WWII G.I. unless it had been captured.
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Old January 21, 2005, 01:26 AM   #3
Sir William
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Are there any Nazi eagle or Wa markings? That example seems to be in excellent condition.
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Old January 21, 2005, 02:50 AM   #4
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Supposedly the first gun off the line at the FN factory after it had been "liberated" from the Germans was an FN 1922.

From the picture it almost looks like it has some eagle markings, though I can't really tell.

The NAZI occupation models have good collector value these days as do all of them, much more so than in the past. These guns were overlooked for a very long time. Kind of like the SKS.
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Old January 21, 2005, 03:12 AM   #5
Sir William
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The GI could have been Greek, Dutch, Turkish or French. They all bought military models. These were popular police sidearms too. The Swedes, Belgians, Czechs, Danes, French and Serbo-Croations used them. The 1922 actually came about due to 60,000 being ordered in 380 by the Yugoslavians united kingdom. FN couldn't make 7.65 1910s over, so they produced the 1922s using as many 1910 parts as possible. JMB was alive at this time. Did he have any input? Doubtful. He was busy on the design for the Hi-Powers. The Nazis rolled into Belgium and seized the FN factory in May of 1940. They designated the 1922 as Pistole 626(b). FN produced 363,000 models just during the Nazi occupation. 760,000 1922s were made up until 1959. This is a strikerfired pistol. I think it should have a loaded magazine but, a empty chamber. Just in case.
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Old January 21, 2005, 04:30 AM   #6
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As I understand, the reason why the 1922 came about was because the Yugo's wanted a more durable military sidearm that was more accurate (they wanted a longer barrel) and had a larger magazine capacity than other automatic models of the time hence the 8 round .380 magazine. Oddly enough the .32ACP (7.65mm) model also had an 8 round capacity.

The 1922 was produced in large quanitities for police and military forces around Europe.

The 1922 was imported into the U.S. until 1981 I believe, not sure about the date though.
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Old January 21, 2005, 11:24 AM   #7
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My Dad located & private-purchased an FN M1910 (I believe the 1922 was just a somewhat "extended" version of the 1910) upon his arrival in Eurpoe in 1943 . . . He said it provided great comfort when he wasn't able to have his carbine in his mitts!

Funny sequel: I wasn't born until the mid 50s, and developed a serious interest in handguns when I was just a lad (grew up hunting & rifle shooting with Dad). I never even knew he had the old M1910 until I happened to be walking by one day as he was going through an old footlocker, looking for some type of paperwork. I had read everything I could get my hands on, though.

I spied the old FN, and commented that I never knew he had a pistol! He wryly replied "For all the good it is." I asked what he meant, and he said, "It's chambered for some strange European cartridge . . . see? 7.65 . . . . When WWII ended, and I was getting ready to head back to the States, I registered the pistol with the Army, and was told I could bring it back, but NO AMMUNITION. The Army didn't want a bunch of young, happy, overexcited guys with loaded guns aboard the ship. I dumped all my ammo into the river, so this might make a good paperweight."

I laughed, and asked if he wanted to head to the local hardware store and get a box of ammo. He was flabbergasted to learn his "paperweight" could fire the readily available .32 ACP. He was even more flabbergasted that I knew that (and he didn't).

My thoughts: Boy, wasn't it nice when the government trusted its troops enough to permit them to obtain and return with privately purchased defensive arms?
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Old January 21, 2005, 08:09 PM   #8
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I'm trying now to find out when mine was made, it's serial number 46,5XX. These guns are cool as heck and smaller than most people expect. They're kind of like an upscaled pocket pistol of extremely high quality. It's no wonder that they were so popular back then.

I never understood why they didn't design the .32 version to hold more rounds than the .380 version. I hate my camera!! Here's a couple pics of mine:
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Old January 21, 2005, 08:54 PM   #9
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FN (Browning Patent) .380 Model ID (PICS)

PsychoSword I sent you a reply. Your pistol looks exactly like mine. Mine has no nazi markings on it. Serial Number is 451XX. Mine was made shortly before yours. I knew the GI that carried this during WWII....he was a rough old bird and I figure he took it from a German soldier and was allowed to carry it. On the inside of the receiver it is stamped "ELG" inside of an oval, below the oval there is a small "*" also a crown above the oval, another small "*" above a small circle, a lion standing on it's hind legs and just below the lion it is stamped "P.V." Stamped also is "CAL 9m/m" so this is a .380 If you happen to figure out when yours was made let me know. Thanks for everyones help.
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Old January 21, 2005, 08:58 PM   #10
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No problem, in my PM I mentioned that I thought both of ours were made between 1945-1954, but apparently that's not the case, they would appear to be late 1920's to early 1940's. I imagine their prewar age would make them more collectable than the post war models and perhaps as much as the nazi military marked ones.

It's strange that yours has a lanyard loop while mine does not.

Quote:
I think it should have a loaded magazine but, a empty chamber. Just in case.
Yea, while it has the grip safety and the manual safety, I imagine if the striker slipped or something broke, the striker would have enough force to set off the shell in the barrel. It's just generally a good idea not to trust old striker fired guns.

Last edited by PsychoSword; January 21, 2005 at 11:26 PM.
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Old January 21, 2005, 09:05 PM   #11
LDThornton
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FN Browning 1922

I've seen pics of others with lanyard rings. Probably could help with dating this one....somehow.....lol I agree these are good quality pistols and feel really nice in the hand. I have not fired this one yet. I have a bunch of firearms that I have not fired. One of these days..........
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Old January 21, 2005, 09:08 PM   #12
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I have never fired mine either. I dry fired it once, that's all. Trigger seemed pretty nice. I don't even have any .380 ammo. Might keep an eye at the gunshow tomorrow morning to see if anybody's got a couple of boxes for cheap.

Looking over the gun when I got it, I didn't see any reason why it wouldn't work. I know it's been fired in the past. I'm almost tempted to carry it in a coat pocket, it's so small and flat.
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Old December 25, 2012, 05:09 PM   #13
11yroldgrandmother
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fn browning 1922 clip disassembly?

I recently acquired an fn browning 1922 (t.c. subay turkish officer's model) chambered in .380. It's a great gun in great condition with almost all of the blued finish intact. I have field stripped and cleaned the gun (which internally looked as though it had not been cleaned since the '40's). I want to disassemble the clips for cleaning, but have been unable to find instructions for doing so on the internet. Can anyone offer a link to good clip disassembly instructions or videos? Thanks for your time.
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Old December 25, 2012, 07:45 PM   #14
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Mag takedown: just like a 1911. Since the mag bottom is permanent, you have to get a rod and push the mag follower down in a bit, then use a nail to hold just the spring in the mag, and shake the follower loose, to be extracted by wiggling it out the top. The trick is getting the spring down far enough to allow clearance of the follower. Reassembly is just the reverse: get that spring down in, secure it with a nail through the side holes, and then reinsert the follower. Get it in place at the top, and just pull the nail out, allowing the spring to snap back up.
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Old December 25, 2012, 11:51 PM   #15
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thank you!

i really appreciate the reply. that was quick. thanks and merry christmas, happy new year etc.
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