Pistolet wz.35 Vis (Radom)

Pistol wz. 35 History of visible light (radome)

Poland wz. The 35 pistol was one of the best semi-automatic pistols of its time, before the German invasion of September 1939 to officially begin World War II. Browning-based guns proved to be very reliable and of excellent production quality, although not many were available at the time of the invasion and subsequent occupation.

Despite wartime pressures and restrictions on quality, production continued under German control. wz survived the war after the Soviet Union liberated Poland. The 35 was not brought back because the standard Soviet-influenced weapons of the Polish army required their Tokarev TT-33 series.

Before the First World War, Polish territories were claimed by Prussian, Russian and Austrian powers (Kingdom of Poland was established in 1025 and dissolved as the "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth" in 1795). It was not until the end of the First World War in November 1918 that today's Poland (the "Second Polish Republic") was reborn.

Now that their independence was officially recognized, the authorities began to develop a viable army with self-defense as the main purpose, for which the difficult task of equipping personnel was solved.

For decades, the Polish army relied on external sources to store supplies. As a result, it became a mixed breed of surplus commodities of various origins (Germany, Austrian, British, American, Russian) and calibers. According to the agreement, the Polish army launched a victorious campaign against Ukraine in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918-1919. The ensuing Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921 brought Poland's tactical victory, and nothing more.

During the war years, the Polish army peaked at 737,000 men and was content with whatever was available.

In the 1930s, the move to standardize Polish weapons was reinforced by the selection of the main secondary weapons for Polish soldiers in 1935. Engineers Piotr Wilniewczyz and Jan Skrzypinksi submitted a Browning design that focused on the proven quality of the Fabrique-Nationale "High Power" (HP), a semi-automatic pistol created by John Browning himself in 1926 Launched before becoming Tod. Polish engineers introduced a slider to control the hammer and allow the operator to carry a loaded pistol with relative safety. The breech is used to slowly release hammers with chambered cartridges and requires manual reloading (operating the hammer with the thumb) to "ready to fire" the pistol again (keep the grip safe). main safety device) - this addition enables wz. 35 One of the first pistols with a "pulling rod".

In action, the barrel is first locked on the slide and then separated by a cam in the frame before a new cartridge is removed from the waiting magazine. Polish authorities chose this internal design as the standard pistol for the Polish Army in 1935 under the designation "Pistolet wz.

35" ("wz" stands for "model" and "35" for year of introduction - 1935). It is worth noting that, Switching from a revolver type to a semi-automatic pistol is a worldwide event for the armies of many countries.

With the help of Fabrique-Nationale, the Fabryka Broni w Radomiu factory established a local mass production line, which helped the Poles to gain arms independence at a critical period in European history. The pistol is known as "Pistolet Radom wz. 35" due to its manufacturing location. However, this pistol is more properly called "Pistolet WiS wz. 35" - "WiS" identifies its two designers by their initials.

The word "WiS" eventually evolved into the word "Vis," which means "power" in Latin.

Browning effect on wz. The 35 clearly shows its large plate side slide mounted on a short cylindrical barrel, integral trigger group and pistol-style magazine. The hammer protrudes from the rear of the frame and is "kicked back" as the slider bounces back during firing.

In this action, the spring-loaded magazine pushes a new cartridge into the chamber, while any used cartridges are ejected from a port on the top of the weapon. The action is called "recoil drive" and continues to use a closed bolt arrangement. The trigger assembly is a sturdy, curved assembly held in an elongated trigger guard. The wide pistol grip provides a good, firm grip, spanned on both sides by wooden grips (regular or checkered) screwed into the frame in two places.

The slide has a small ribbed section that acts as a grip when the gun is erected on the slide. The magazine release is a simple button on the left side of the grip. The sliding trigger is also set on the left side of the body above the trigger group. A sliding breech above the pistol grip helps trigger the weapon. wZ. The 35 holds the widely used 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge of German origin and is fed from an angled 8-round detachable magazine inserted into the bottom of the grip.

Compared to the contemporary wz. The 35 is larger and heavier in size than competing 9mm semi-automatic pistols, but it is these characteristics that make a great pistol solution.

In practice, wz. The 1935 proved to be a reliable, relatively comfortable and accurate semi-automatic thanks to its powerful combination of power and weight. Disassembly and cleaning of the weapon is routine and fairly uneventful, with sliding removal exposing most of the inner workings.

Like other weapons introduced before WWII, the building material used to make the wz. The 35 series pistols are considered top-of-the-line pistols, which helps improve reliability, especially with abuse on the battlefield (dirt, debris, constant use). The loaded pistol weighs 1.123kg, which helps with accuracy, which diverts some of the violent recoil effect away from the operator. At its inception, wz.

The 35 is widely regarded as the best semi-automatic pistol in the world - a considerable expense considering there are still many Browning-inspired pistols and other premium ones like Beretta.

Production of wz. The 35 pistols were added over the next few years and officially entered service in 1938. Some 49,000 copies circulated in the fall of 1939, when the Germans and Soviets invaded Poland in September to officially begin World War II. At the time, wz.

Most of the 35 pistols in circulation were in the hands of cavalry, with infantry using other available weapons. The Polish army defending the homeland was powerless on two irreconcilable fronts, and the battle ended with Poland's complete defeat on October 6, dividing Poland in two.

In the west of the country, Fabryka Broni w Radomui fell under German control. To equip their growing army, the German authorities ordered continued production of the Polish WZ. The 35 is the "9mm Pistol 645(p)" (the "p" stands for its Polish origin) and simplifies the production process by simplifying the basic design (eliminating the hammer release breech and slide lock and using a rough finish from inferior materials). is the norm). The guns were inspected by German officials and marked "P Mod 35(p)" on their slides, replacing all Polish national markings. To avoid supplying weapons to the Polish Resistance, the Germans took the extra step of relocating the wz.

35 barrels were delivered to Austria and finally assembled before all production was transferred to Steyr at the end of 1944. Despite its Polish origin, wz. The 35 series will take on most of the combat missions. The numbers are assigned to the German paratroopers, as well as the law enforcement arm of the NSDAP - Waffen-SS.

Germany wz. Of course, the quality of the 35 pistols is second-rate compared to the Polish originals. Polish workers managed to smuggle some wz. The 35 pistol frames all the way down to their bases, the barrels are made in secret workshops wherever possible.

In total, five large batches of pistols (including pre-war models) were produced, eventually numbering more than 360,000.

Poland was finally "liberated" by the Red Army in 1945, and the Soviet Union quickly stepped in and exerted influence at every level. With this new reality, the production of wz. The 35-series pistols were abandoned when attention turned to the local production of the Soviet crude but effective Tokarev "TT-33" semi-automatic pistol, which contained the rifle's 7.62mm caliber. Only in 1992 was wz.

The 35 will see a revival as it is offered in limited quantities as a commercial collectible by the Lucznik Arms Factory (Radom), built to original 1937 specifications. As expected, these performed well and represented their pre-war opponents well.

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