World War II Database

Country of Origin	Poland
Type	Handgun
Caliber	9.000 mm
Capacity	8 rounds
Length	176.000 mm
Barrel Length	120.000 mm
Weight	1.123 kg
Muzzle Velocity	345 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePistolet wz. 35 Vis semi-automatic pistols were designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypinski in 1930 loosely based on the American Colt M1911A1 design. The first examples were completed in 1931 for testing. The testing results were impressive, with the weapons deemed very accurate and reliable even after 6,000 rounds fired. In 1935, they were made the standard handguns of the Polish Army, and production began late that year at Fabryka Broni in Radom, Poland. They began to be assigned to officers in 1936. At the time of the German invasion of Poland, about 49,400 were in service. After the fall of Poland, the Germans took over the armory at Radom and continued the production, and the Vis pistols under German service were designated 9 mm Pistole 645(p), or P 35(p) for short. Between 1939 and 1945, somewhere between 312,000 and 380,000 P 35(p) pistols were made; most of them were used by paratroopers and policemen. Some Polish gunsmiths in Warsaw, Poland who had the blueprints were producing Vis pistols in secret, using parts smuggled out from German-controlled factories. The Vis pistols made in secret had lower reliability, but were used extensively during the Polish resistance. Original production ceased after Apr 1945, but was restarted in Aug 1992 by the Lucznik Arms Factory in Radom, marketing to gun collectors.

Source: Wikipedia. ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Oct 2009

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