Browning Model 1922 (Model 1910/1922)

History

In 1923, the Yugoslav authorities commissioned Fabrique Nationale of Belgium to develop a semi-automatic pistol that was fired from an eight-round magazine and had a 114mm barrel for accuracy. FN modified its existing Browning Model 1910 (aka FN Mle 1910) and lengthened the barrel and increased its magazine capacity from 7 to 8 rounds, extending the pistol grip. The end product was nothing more than a 1910 in a different size to meet Yugoslav requirements, with longer rails and an equally elongated grip.

The rest of the 1910's features are largely intact, including the solid trigger mechanism, ribbed sliding sides, and iron rear sight and front sight. The Model 1922 is based on the recoil principle of a firing pin-based firing mechanism and is equipped with a grip safety on the rear of the grip.

The gun was called the "Browning Model 1922", but was also referred to as the "Browning Model 1910/1922". The pistol comes in two different forms, chambered for a 9x17mm Browning Short (.380 ACP) cartridge and a 7.65x17 SR Browning (.32 ACP) cartridge.

1922/Mle After being introduced during the interwar period, the Model 1922 inevitably went to war during World War II. It was adopted by several European powers (for military and police purposes) in the prewar period, including the Netherlands, Greece, Romania, France, Denmark and Finland. After Belgium was invaded by Germany, the FN factory continued to produce the Model 1922, but this time for their German supervisors. These production models were duly stamped with German markings to indicate their fate, and were introduced in 1940 under the name Pistol 626(b) - the "b" denoting their Belgian origin, a common practice for weapons in the German Army's stockpiles.

The 626(b) pistol was issued primarily to Luftwaffe personnel as a standard pistol.

Model 1922 remained in service until the end of the war in 1945 and later. It was also issued to the West German army after the division of Germany after the war. During the 1950s, the Browning Arms Company (founded to market John Browning's military designs to civilians) made several attempts to bring the Model 1922 to a wider audience.

Over time, this led to the names Browning Model 1955 and Browning Model 1971.

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