Vis pistol

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Pistolet ViS wz. 35

Pistolet ViS wz.35
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin  Poland
Service history
Used by

Poland,

Nazi Germany
Wars Polish Defensive War, World War II
Production history
Designed 1935
Number built more than 360,000
Specifications
Weight 1.123 kg (loaded)
0.950 kg (unloaded)
Length 205 mm
Barrel length 115 mm
Cartridge 9×19mm Parabellum
Action Recoil-operated, closed bolt
Muzzle velocity 345 m/s (1131.6 ft/s)
Feed system 8-round box magazine

Vis (Polish designation pistolet wz. 35 Vis, German designation 9 mm Pistole 35(p), often referred to as the Radom in English sources) is a 9 mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Originally designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypiński in 1930 at the Fabryka Broni (Arms Factory) in Radom under Director Kazimierz Ołdakowski, it was adopted in 1935 as the standard handgun of the Polish Army. Considered by many to be one of the finest handguns ever produced, it is highly prized among collectors of firearms.[1]

History

VIS Pistol construction

The design was generally based on American firearms inventor John Browning's Colt M1911A1, operating on the short-recoil principle, with the barrel being cammed down and away from the locking lugs in the slide. Unlike M1911, the barrel was not cammed by a link, but by a ledge of sorts, which contacts a portion of the barrel and forces it down as it is moved rearward with the slide by the recoil force, similarly as in Browning's FN Hi-Power pistol and Spanish Ruby 0.45 ACP.[2] It differs from M1911A1 also in other details. Its characteristic feature was a triangular grip shape, wider at the bottom, offering good ergonomics and firm grip.[1] On the right side grip cover, the pistol had letters VIS in a triangle, on the left side—FB (for Fabryka Broni—"Arms Factory").

How Vis worked

The handgun was prepared in late 1930, and at the beginning of 1931 the first pistols were ready for testing. Initially it was named WiS (an acronym of the Polish designers' names), later the name was changed to Vis, meaning "force" in Latin, with the wz. abbreviation for wzór ("model").[3]

The tests proved that the handgun was very accurate and stable (due to its size and mass, most stresses are absorbed and not passed on the shooter), while at the same time remaining reliable after firing more than 6,000 rounds.[1] The Vis was generally regarded as one of the best military pistols of that period. Production started in the state armory Fabryka Broni in Radom in late 1935, and the following year it was introduced as the standard weapon of Polish infantry and cavalry officers. Successively, other units were to be equipped, and by 1942 all other handguns were scheduled to be withdrawn from service. By mid-1938, it was introduced to the armored and air forces. Before the Invasion of Poland, approximately 49,400 (out of 90,000 ordered) were delivered to the army.[4] There was also a small information series of .45 ACP version, with 7 round magazine, but they were not produced in greater series.[4] A .22 LR variant also existed, but no details are known, and its series was not produced in great numbers.[4]

After the Polish defeat in 1939, the Germans took over the Radom Armory and continued production of the Vis under the new name of 9 mm Pistole 645(p), which was for some reason often rendered as P 35(p) (the suffix "p" means "polnische")[3] (the German pistols of the first series had inscriptions VIS Mod.35 and P.35(p) on the left side[4]). Up to 1945, between 312,000 and 380,000 were produced and used by the German paratroopers and police.

Fearing that Polish technicians working in the armory might supply the Home Army with the weapons, the Germans moved production of barrels and final assemble to the Steyr works in Austria. However, underground production of Vis barrels was started in Warsaw and Kielce-based Huta Ludwików, and several hundred Vis pistols were assembled of parts smuggled from the factory, delivered to the Home Army and used extensively during the Warsaw Uprising, among others. Vis pistols made after 1939 were issued in four different series, each with small modifications to simplify production. In late 1944, all production was moved to the Steyr works in Austria, where the last simplified model of the fourth series was produced (with no inscriptions at all, apart from bnz signature). The Vis remained in production until April 1945. Generally, the wartime Vis were of much lower quality than the original, and further degrading towards the end of the war.

After the war, production of the pistol was not continued, as the Army of the People's Republic of Poland used the Soviet TT-33 pistol, produced in the former Fabryka Broni in Radom due to Warsaw Pact regulations. It was considered much inferior to the Vis, especially in ergonomics and reliability,[1] but political considerations and Soviet influence were decisive.

In August 1992, the Łucznik Arms Factory in Radom reintroduced the Vis pistol and produced a small series of some 27 pistols[1] on the basis of the original plans and specifications, mainly for the collectors' market.

See also

  • Firearms

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 (Polish) Twardoch, Szczepan, VIS-a-VIS in Broń i Amunicja nr. 3/2007, p.48–51, ISSN 1644-339x
  2. ↑ York, William J. (2011). VIS Radom, A study and photographic album of Poland's finest pistol. Printed and bound in the USA. pp. 22–24. ISBN 0-9707997-8-0. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bishop, Chris (2006). The Encyclopedia of Small Arms and Artillery. Grange Books. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-1-84013-910-5. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 (Polish) Weiler, Wojciech: VIS in: Przegląd Strzelecki Arsenał nr. 2/2004(4), p.51–60, ISSN 1731-190x
  • Lapin, Terence W. (2004). Vis: The Model 35 Radom Pistol. Arlington: Hyrax Publishers. ISBN 0-9676896-4-3. 
  • Andrzej Ciepliński, Ryszard Woźniak (1996). 9 mm pistolet samopowtarzalny VIS wz. 1935. Warsaw: Bellona. ISBN 83-11-08604-4. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pistolet wz. 35 Vis.
Polish infantry and cavalry weapons during the Polish Defensive War (1939)
Side arms and rifles
Machine guns and other larger weapons
Grenades
  • wz.1933 (fragmentation)
  • wz.1933 (concussion)
Prototype and test weapons
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