Browning Model 1900 / FN M1900 / Browning No. 1

History

The Browning Model 1900 was John Browning's first successful pistol design, further cementing an already respected name in the firearms world. Browning himself was born in Ogden, Utah in 1855, and learned how to make guns in his father's workshop.

His first personal development turned into a single-shot drop-action rifle. Another 1885 rifle design was noticed and purchased by Winchester Repeating Arms, and a new partnership was born.

During this time, Browning was responsible for designing several notable rifles, including the lever-action rifle popular in the "Wild West." The Winchester-Browning collaboration comes as Browning develops a new shotgun design and begins charging royalties on potential sales The partnership is officially dissolved. This prompted Browning to team up with the Belgian gunsmith company Fabrique Nationale, which accepted the gun and its terms.

Although Browning has been working on long pistols so far, it is the pistol that makes the Browning name synonymous, its first successful design being the "Browning Model 1900", produced under the Fabrique Nationale brand. Browning's firearm achievements include the excellent Colt M1911, Browning High Power, Winchester Model 1894, Browning Automatic Rifle (WWII "BAR"), Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun and Browning M1919 General purpose machine gun.

The Browning Model 1900 pistol was the first production pistol to use a sliding assembly on the main working parts and action of the firearm (as any semi-automatic pistol today requires). The original design was born from an initiative in 1896 and came to the attention of FN in 1898, after which the company took over the manufacture of the gun in 1899, under the designation "Modele 1899 (Mle 1899)". It was Browning's first firearm developed by a Belgian company and began a long-term partnership that lasted until Browning's death in 1926 (hence the alternate name "Browning 1"). Browning improved the design by shortening the barrel, which created the "Type 1900" brand that was updated in 1900.

Production of this new type of product started quickly, with approximately 700,000 samples provided.

The weapon operates on the recoil principle and its firing properties are semi-automatic. This model holds 7.65x17mm Browning SR (.32 ACP) cartridges and is fed by a 7-round detachable magazine mounted on the bottom of the pistol grip.

The weapon has an empty weight of 625 grams and has a barrel length of 172 mm and a barrel length of 102 mm. Sights are mounted and fastened to the front and rear of the top of the sled. Visually, the 1900 model certainly has a unique design, with fairly clean finishes and nice lines. Internally, however, the system used an unconventional arrangement with the recoil spring mounted above the barrel rather than below.

At first glance, this makes the 1900 model look rather awkward, but in reality this arrangement results in fewer internal parts overall. During ignition, the return spring also acts as an ignition spring. The pistol grip is attached to the receiver and is covered with a grip pattern on the side.

While there are hundreds of thousands of Model 1900 guns in circulation, this gun has not seen the kind of military use one would expect from the Browning design. The National Army was skeptical of the new automatic sidearm, and the choice of the 7.65mm Browning cartridge didn't convince them - they opted instead for the larger, more powerful cartridge to stop people.

As a result, few national armies officially include this type in their inventory (the Belgian army is one such customer). The weapon has appeared in several internal conflicts in Asia outside of Europe.

Although many open sources claim that the gun used to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and start World War I was a Browning 1900, it is actually a Browning 1910 (this website are described in detail elsewhere). The actual firearm used in the assassination is on display at the British Imperial War Museum as part of its Great War exhibition, clearly displaying the Model 1910.

Production of the Model 1900 only lasted 11 years, which is certainly impressive given the relatively short time span and primarily non-military use, given a total production of nearly 1 million units. In 1927, a year after John Browning's death, the "Browning Arms Company" in Mountain Green, Utah, carried on the Browning name. The company's goal is to bring the successful Browning military firearm design to the civilian market.

The company was eventually acquired by FN Herstal in 1977, and as a result, the Browning brand still exists today, mainly in the sports gun and outdoor gear segment.

Specification

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Changes