The FN capture 1922 were in either 32 acp or 380 acp (380 auto or 9mm browning short or 9mm kurz). 380 is still around but its a hot commodity so its sometimes hard to find but manufactures still make it. 32 acp is a little harder to come. I have a hard time reading the serial numbers so I can't tell you a specific caliber. The Model 1910 FN Browning was manufactured from 1912 through 1975. Production was halted during the two World Wars, though a few were assembled from parts during the German occupation in World War II. There was no interruption in serial numbers.
- Fn Browning 1922 Serial Numbers
- Browning Gun Values By Serial Number
- Fn Browning Model 1922 Serial Numbers Lookup
This Nazi marked FN Browning model M1922 is a self loading, semi-automatic pistol that utilizes the blowback system of operation. The pistol is made from carbon steel and has a blued finish. It has been chambered for the 7.65mm Browning(.32 ACP) cartridge. It is fed by a single stack 8 round detachable box magazine. This pistol is striker fired and incorporates a front blade sight and a V notch rear sight that is drift adjustable for windage only. The barrel length is 4 1/2 inches and contains 6 grooves with a right hand twist. The total length of the pistol is 7.01 inches and it has an unloaded weight of at 25.7 ounces. On the pistol's butt there is a European style heel magazine release. This firearm does not incorporate any type of slide hold open mechanism to inform the operator that the last round has been fired. Although the manual safety lever can be pushed upward and engaged with a notch in the slide which will lock it open for general cleaning. The checkered grip panels are made from Walnut.
The Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre or National Factory of Weapons of War Herstal Belgium or simply FN for short, was established in 1889 when the Belgium government decided to build 150,000 Mauser model 1888 rifles for the Belgium military. Eleven years later, FN entered into a long lasting relationship with the firearms designer John Moses Browning. The M1922 was designed after John Brownings M1910 pistol.
In 1922, Browning modified the M1910 pistol to suit the requirements of the military of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes which today is known as Yugoslavia after being renamed in 1929. Browning and the FN Bureau d'Etudes or Research and Development Office took the M1910 and lengthened the slide by adding a removable frontal portion, added a lanyard ring, they also lengthened the barrel and elongated the grip frame which gave the magazine more capacity. This newly designed pistol would come to be known as the FN M1922 and was just what the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes had wanted and on February 28, 1923 they ordered 60,000 pistols. This also gives the M1922 the distinction of being developed solely at the request of a customer rather then being targeted for a particular market.
In 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Belgium and took over production of the M1922 at the FN plant. The Germans had two different designations for the M1922 pistol. Depending on the caliber, these pistols were designated as either the Pistole 626(b) for the 7.65mm version or Pistole 641(b) for the 9mm Short version. The (b) was an abbreviation for belgisch indicating Belgium. Another Heereswaffenamt name for the M1922 was Die Lange Browning Pistole or The Long Browning Pistol. The pistol has also been called the 1910/22 or 10/22 which is short for 1910/1922. An interesting note is that the Browning model M1922 was produced in larger numbers than any other firearm at the Fabrique Nationale plant during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. In 1944, Belgium was liberated by the Allies and production of the M1922 continued with most of these post war pistols going to fill military and government contracts.
Up until around 1942, the M1922 was made available as a commercial pistol being offered as a sidearm for factory security personnel and police. The model M1922 pistol was very popular with the German officer's and many took this pistol as their official sidearm. The primary user however of the M1922, was the German Luftwaffe(air force). The M1922 pistols that were accepted by the German military will have one of three Waffenamt stampings or Weapons Office inspectors stamps. These would be WaA 103, WaA 140, and/or WaA 613 which indicate the following....
WaA 103 = Fabrique Nationale d'armes de guerre, Lüttich (Liège) Belgium (January 1941 - May 1942).
WaA 140 = Fabrique Nationale d'armes de guerre, Lüttich (Liège), Belgium (Late 1941 - to liberation in 1944).
WaA 613 = Fabrique Nationale d'armes de guerre, Lüttich (Liège), Belgium (May 1940 - early 1941).
The Waffenamt stamping, WaA140 on the pistol featured on this page was used from the 1941 to the liberation of Belgium in 1944 with approximately 325,000 of these 7.65mm pistols being produced. The serial numbers for these pistols started around the 67,000 to 68,000 range and proceeded to approximately serial number 155,000.
At the end of 1943, serialization of these pistols was changed so that it limited serial numbers to five digits and a one letter suffix. The letter indicated a block of 100,000 pistols. So for example, a serial number of 55555c is actually the 355,555th pistol that was produced. The first block of 100,000 had no suffix, then pistols numbered 100,000 through 199,999 were suffixed with the letter a, pistols in the range of 200,000 through 299,999 were suffixed with a b and so on.
Due to the increase in demand for arms during the war, the serial number markings were simplified in 1944 to include just the full serial number on the slide and the last four digits of the serial number on the frame. The pistol pictured above has a six digit serial number with no letter suffix.
The FN M1922 pistol has been used by numerous countries including: Yugoslavia, Holland, Greece, Turkey, Romania, France, Denmark, Nazi Germany and later West Germany. It is an smoothly elegant and graceful pistol design that became immensely popular with both the military and the commercial markets.
The Fabrique Nationale firm is still in business today and is a subsidiary of the Herstal Group. The company now owns the Winchester U.S. Repeating Arms Company as well as the Browning Arms Company which was founded by the family of John Moses Browning. They are now located in Columbia, South Carolina in the U.S.A. The FN Manufacturing LLC company is responsible for the development of U.S. government contracted military and law-enforcement weapons.
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HISTORICFIREARM OF THE MONTH,
May 2001:
| The FN BrowningModel 1922 Pistol |
Type: Self LoadingPistol System of Operation: Blowback Caliber: 7.65mmBrowning or 9mm Browning Short Capacity: 8 roundbox magazine Sights front: Blade Sights, rear: Adjustableaperture Length: 7.01' Weight (loaded): 25.7ozs Barrel: 4.5', 6 grooves,right hand twist |
The FabriqueNationale (FN) Browning Model 1922 pistol bears the distinction of beingdeveloped strictly at the request of a FN customer. Specifically,the 'Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes' (later known as Yugoslavia)which had been created out of the ashes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the early 1920's the Yugoslav military was in a shambles. Itsconstituent entities had fought the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, thenthe First World War. The arsenals were empty, and the army devoidof war materiel. The Serbs, forming the majority of the new Yugoslavstate, had been an important FN client since the beginning of the firm,in the 1880's, and decided to turn to the Belgian firm for their war materielneeds. Initial considerations for the new Yugoslav service handgunwere the FN Models 1903 and 1910. The Model 1903 was rejected asbeing too expensive. The Model 1910 gained favor because of its relativelyeconomical pricing and 9mm Browning Short cartridge. While the Model1910 performed well in the evaluations, it had some shortcomings as a militarypistol. The Yugoslavs requested a longer barrel conducive to greateraccuracy, as well as increased magazine capacity.
Fn Browning 1922 Serial Numbers
| Thedesign problem was turned over to the FN Bureau d'Etudes (Research andDevelopment Office). The Bureau d'Etudes took stock of the situation. The Yugoslavs certainly couldn't afford the expense of developing and toolingfor a new pistol. Consequently, a series of modifications to theModel 1910 were proposed that would save considerably on tooling and startup production costs. A forged steel cap was added to the 1910 slidein order to accommodate the longer (113mm as opposed to the 1910's 88mm)barrel. The frame was lengthened to accommodate the longer magazine. A lanyard ring was added. The engineering was complete by 1922, andthe Yugoslavs placed an order for 60,000 pistols on February 28, 1923. | Image Credit: Vanderlinden, Anthony, The BelgianBrowning Pistols, Wet Dog Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page129 |
Browning Gun Values By Serial Number
OPERATIONThe M1922is a blowback operated pistol; there is no mechanical lock between theslide and barrel. Instead, the breech is held closed by a combinationof the mass of the slide and a stout recoil spring. Operation ofthe pistol is as follows: A loaded magazine is inserted into thebutt, and the slide drawn to the rear. When the slide is released,it moves forward under pressure of the recoil spring and strips a roundfrom the magazine into the chamber, retaining the cartridge's rim underthe externally mounted extractor. When the slide is drawn to therear, the striker is also pulled to the rear, compressing the striker spring. When the slide is drawn to the rearmost position, the striker's nose ridesover, and is retained by the sear.
Northbrook, Illinois,1992: Page 66 | Whenthe trigger is pressed, the trigger bar presses against the sear, rotatingit back and down. This frees the striker to move forward and firethe chambered round. Upon firing, the case moves sharply rearward,imparting rearward motion to the slide. The case is pulled from thechamber by the extractor. As the slide moves to the rear, the striker'stip is pushed out through the firing pin hole and serves as an ejector. The M1922 is equipped with a triple safety system. There is a gripsafety which, unless depressed, prevents the sear from rotating and releasingthe striker. There is a thumb safety which, when engaged, preventsthe grip safety from being depressed. The thumb safety cannot beengaged unless the grip safety is released. There is also a magazinesafety that prevents the sear from rotating unless a magazine is fullyseated in the |
Disassemblyis effected by first removing the magazine There is a latch on theforward left side of the slide at the junction of the slide and the slidecap. By pressing the latch toward the muzzle, the slide cap is freedto rotate. By rotating the slide cap ninety degrees, the cap's internaltenons are freed from the interrupted raceway internal to the front endof the slide, and the cap can move forward and out of engagement with theslide (note: it is under considerable pressure from the recoil spring). The slide is then easily retracted and the safety locked into the forward,disassembly notch. The barrel is now aligned with the slide's disassemblyrecess. The barrel can now be rotated ninety degrees counterclockwise(as viewed from the muzzle). This rotates the barrel tenons out oftheir recesses in the frame. The slide and barrel can then be slidforward off the frame. The recoil spring can be removed, the barrelrotated back, and then pulled out from the front.
CONTRACT PISTOLS
Many nationsadopted the Model 1922, each of them under a separate contract from FN. The following is a short listing of the Model 1922 contract pistols.Yugoslavia: Yugoslavia was the first nation to adopt the Model 1922, placing an orderfor some 60,000 pistols in February, 1923. Orders for the pistolscontinued into the late 1930's, with service being provided for the Yugoslavpistols at the Kragujevac Arsenal (which had been set up under the guidanceof FN personnel). Many of the Yugoslav Army M1922 pistols were capturedby the Germans during World War Two. These captured pistols werereissued to German and satellite forces under the designation P641(j). Large quantities also remained in partisan hands, becoming known as theprimary pistol of Tito's Army. Yugoslav Army pistols are marked inCyrillic on the right side of the slide with the legends 'Army State' or'Officer.' | Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page135 |
Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page140 | Holland:The Dutch government placed its first order for Model 1922 pistols in October1924. The 2,000 7.65mm pistols in this shipment received the Dutchdesignation Pistool M25 No.1, and was intended for issue to twodifferent law enforcement agencies. The Koninklijke Marechaussee,or Royal Military Constabulary, received approximately 1,200 pistolsfrom this order, while the Politie Troepen, or Police Troops, receivedthe remaining 800. In the following year the Dutch expanded issueof the M1922 to machine gun crews. The M1922's issued to the DutchArmy were known as Pistool M25 No.2, the designation differing asthe army guns were chambered for the 9mm Browning Short instead of 7.65mm. Serialization of the M25 No.2 started at 3000, with the first order of2,000 pistols being shipped in April 1926. Military orders continued |
AdditionalDutch orders were placed for law enforcement agencies. In 1927, 150M25 No.2 pistols were purchased for the Curacao police. In 1929,the rural police force purchases 100 M25 No.1, and in 1934, the Dutch NationalBank upgraded 100 M1910 pistols to M1922's.
| Greece: The Greeks purchased 9,980 M1922 pistols chambered for 9mm Browning Shortin 1926. This was the official sidearm of the Greek Army and AirForce from 1926 to 1941. The order was delivered between 1926 and1929. | Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page143 |
Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page144 | Turkey: Continuing an Ottoman tradition of FN patronage (Ottoman police were armedwith FN Model 1903 pistols), the newly formed Turkish Republic purchasedM1922 pistols for the Turkish Army. Three contract variations havebeen noted, although it is possible that more may surface.
Variant 3: Marked 'Subaylara Mahsustur' (Property of Officer of the Armed Forces) |
Fn Browning Model 1922 Serial Numbers Lookup
| Romania: The Romanian contract pistols were shipped from FN in September 1935, andwere marked with the crest of the Ministry of the Interior, indicatingissuance to a law enforcement agency. These pistols were orderedthrough the FN dealer and distributor in Bucharest, B.D. Zissu. | Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page145 |
Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page146 | FrenchNavy: Ordered in approximately 1932,these 7.65mm pistols are often mistaken for postwar guns. Carefulexamination notes several pre-war features (17 as opposed to 16 cockingserrations, horn grips, differing slide legends). Ordered with typicalFrench cost saving features such as black enamel finish and unfluted slidecap, the guns were refinished by the French after the war with a green/grayparkerizing over the original remaining finish. |
| DanishPolice: Denmark ordered 3,000 7.65mmM1922 pistols for the Danish Federal Police in the 1930's. | Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page149 |
Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page156 | NaziOccupation Pistols: The M1922 hasthe dubious distinction of being produced in larger numbers than any otherfirearm at the FN plant during the Nazi occupation. The German designationsfor the M1922 were Pistole 626(b) for the 7.65mm version and Pistole 641(b)for the 9mm Short version. M1922's found their way to all cornersof the German government and military as officer's and official's sidearms. The primary user of the M1922, however was the Luftwaffe. Interestingly,the M1922 was also offered as a commercial pistol up to 1942, being soldmostly as sidearms for war factory security personnel and police. M1922's accepted by the German military show one of three Army WeaponsOffice inspectors markings (Waffenamt stampings). |
- WaA613: This stamping was used from May 1940 until early 1941, and is found onsome 6,300 M1922's made prior to the invasion or assembled from parts madeprior to the invasion. They may or may not contain parts made duringthe occupation.
- 9mm Short, partof 1940 Dutch Order - Serial Range 63,000 - 77,000
- 9mm Short or 7.65mm,FN Commercial Production - Serial Range 288,000 - 289,000
- 7.65mm, prewarparts - Serial Range 20,000 - 23,000
- WaA103: This stamping was used from early to later 1941, and is found only on the36,000 7.65mm pistols within the 24,000 to 60,000 serial number range. They are usually found with some pre-invasion parts and retain prewar commercialquality standards.
- WaA140: This stamping was used from late 1941 to the liberation in 1944 on approximately325,000 7.65mm pistols. Serialization began in the 67,000 - 68,000range and proceeded to approximately serial number 155,000. In late1943 serialization was restarted using the German military system. In this system serial numbers were limited to five digits with a one lettersuffix. The letter indicated a block of 100,000 pistols. (Example: A pistol with the serial number 34554b is actually the 234,554th pistolproduced - the first block of 100,000 had no suffix, pistols 100,000 -199,999 were suffixed with an a, and pistols 200,000 through 299,999were suffixed with a b.) In 1944, serial number markings weresimplified with the full serial number appearing only on the slide, withthe last four digits appearing on the frame.
| Post-LiberationM1922's: With the liberation ofLiege in late 1944, what was left of the original factory staff returnedand restarted production. The M1922 was one of the first productsto come off the lines of the liberated factory. Most of these pistolswere for military or government contracts. These pistols were builtwith at least some parts made during the occupation, and were so notedby having their serial numbers prefixed with the letter 'A.' Finish on the A-prefix pistols was either a matte bluing or black enamel. These pistols were purchased by the French military and police, the Belgianmilitary, the Dutch military and Department of Finance, and the securitypersonnel of the Netherlands Steamship Corporation. | Publications, Greensboro, North Carolina, 2001: Page157 |
PostwarContracts: After the war, the M1922found extensive use with West German police agencies and the French government. The M1922 was used by the French Army up to 1957, by French Customs to1983, by forestry agents until the late 1980's, and by the Parisian policeup to at least the 1970's.
CONCLUSION
The M1922is often overlooked by American collectors for any number of reasons; itwasn't offered in a 'major' caliber, it wasn't an 'official' military sidearmof any of the major combatants in World War Two, it was little morethan an upsized pocket pistol. This lack of interest belies the historicalsignificance of this pistol. With its older brother, the M1910, theM1922 was THE European sidearm of the interwar years, and the gunresponsible for the word 'Browning' continuing to be synonymous with 'automaticpistol.' Moreover, its design, while elegantly simple, wasinnovative, reliable, and effective. M1922's can be found on theUS collector market for surprisingly low prices, and in surprisingly goodcondition. For the collector of European pistols or, for that matter,the Cruffler, the M1922 is a piece of history that should not be missed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vanderlinden,Anthony,The Belgian Browning Pistols: 1889 - 1949, (Wet Dog Publications,Greensboro, North Carolina: 2001)
The BelgianBrowning Pistols: 1889 - 1949 is available from Wet Dog Publications. Click on the image to order:
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