Army automatic pistol to Colt's Patent Firearms, and was therefore forced to design an entirely new pistol while working around the M1911 patents. Browning had previously sold the rights to his successful M1911 U.S. It was to accomplish all of this at a weight not exceeding 1 kg (2.2 lb).įN commissioned John Browning to design a new military sidearm conforming to this specification. This last criterion was seen to demand a caliber of 9 mm (0.35 in) or larger, a bullet mass of around 8 g (120 gr), and a muzzle velocity of 350 m/s (1,100 ft/s). The gun be capable of killing a man at 50 m (55 yd).The gun be robust and simple to disassemble and reassemble.The gun have a magazine disconnect device, an external hammer, and a positive safety.The magazine have a capacity of at least 10 rounds.The Browning Hi-Power was designed in response to a French military requirement for a new service pistol, the 'Grand Rendement' (French for 'high efficiency'), or alternatively Grande Puissance (literally 'high power'). One of the noticeable details is the lack of Browning-style locking lugs. In contrast to popular belief, the new FN High Power might resemble a modern Hi-Power, but it is, in fact, a different design. The 2022 'FN High Power' incorporated a number of entirely new features such as a fully ambidextrous slide lock, simplified takedown method, enlarged ejection port, reversible magazine release, wider slide serrations, different colored finish offerings, and 17-round magazines. In 2022, FN announced they would resume production of the Browning Hi-Power. These new Hi-Power clones began competing with each other by offering new finishes, enhanced sights, redesigned hammers, beveled magazine wells, improved trigger, and increased magazine capacity. From 2019 to 2022, with new Belgian Hi-Powers no longer being built, new clones were designed by various firearm companies to fill the void, including GİRSAN, TİSAŞ, and Springfield Armory, Inc. Although most pistols were built in Belgium by FN Herstal, licensed and unlicensed copies were built around the world, in countries such as Argentina, Hungary, India, Bulgaria, and Israel.Īfter 82 years of continuous production, FN Herstal announced that the production of the Hi-Power would end, and it was discontinued in early 2018 by Browning Arms. The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols in history, having been used by the armed forces of over 50 countries. Other names include GP (after the French term grande puissance) or BAP (Browning Automatic Pistol).

The pistol is often referred to as an HP or BHP, and the terms P-35 and HP-35 are also used, based on the introduction of the pistol in 1935. The name change was kept even after production returned to Belgium. FN Herstal continued to build guns for the Allied forces by moving their production line to a John Inglis and Company plant in Canada, where the name was changed to 'Hi Power'. FN Herstal named it the 'High Power' in allusion to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of other designs at the time, such as the Luger or Colt M1911.ĭuring World War II, Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany and the FN factory was used by the Wehrmacht to build the pistols for their military, under the designation '9mm Pistole 640(b)'.

Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and. 20 or 30 rounds made by Rhodesia ( 9mm).

Muzzle velocity of 9mm