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Browning Hi-Power

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 14:10 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:45

The Browning Hi-Power is a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol that was designed by John Browning and Dieudonne Saive. The pistol is named “Hi-Power” for its 13-round magazine. The Browning Hi-Power is the first pistol to have a double-column magazine.

The Browning Hi-Power was developed in response to the French Military’s requirement for a weapon with extreme versatility, high magazine capacity, ease of cleaning and maintenance and high stopping power. Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium contracted John Browning to design the weapon and two prototypes were designed—one with a simple blowback design and the other using a locked-breech recoil mechanism. The prototype with locked-breech was finally chosen and many modifications were made to it. Production began in yea 1935 and so the model was designated P-35. However, the French Military didn’t adopt the pistol and instead opted for the similar Modele 1935 Pistol.

The Hi-Power has two disadvantages. First, its trigger is very heavy to pull. This is because of the magazine’s safety design. It can be overcome by completely removing the magazine safety mechanism completely or by polishing the surfaces of the safety plunger and the magazine. Secondly, the Hi-Power causes injury to the shooters hands if not handled properly. This is overcome by replacing the hammer or by learning to hold the pistol properly while firing.

Despite these disadvantages, the Hi-Power’s thirteen round magazine capacity makes it a preferred weapon by many countries. During the Second World War, it was used widely by both the Axis and Allied militaries.

In the recent years, many armies and police departments have adopted the Browning Hi-Power pistol. As of today, more than 50 countries such as Belgium, Britain, India, Australia, Argentina and Israel use it in active service.