Fn gp 35 - 1943

[Classic12]

I saw this gun in the classified a few weeks ago and I could just not resist. It is a 1943 FN GP 35 (Pistole 640b) built under the German occupation, in pretty good condition considering its age and imagining where it has been and what it has seen. It definitely has some patina and scars. If these things could talk.

I bought it from a private seller and had him ship it to my LGS. I picked it up yesterday. Paid $ 980 for it, the LGS was green with envy and told me it’s easily worth double that, which is not too relevant since I don’t intend to sell it in the next 20 years or so.

My little FN GP35 family. 1979, 1952 and 1943

 

[jrothWA]

Be careful.

The FN people fiddled with the HT readouts and a number of soft frames and slides were produced.

Not certain if FN can check it out, give the time it occurred and stopping production.

 

[44 AMP]

I don't think I'd be shooting that one....

FN and other occupied factories didn't exactly put their best effort into making guns for the Nazis.

No +p, no "Nato Spec" should ever go in that gun. A box or so of 115gr @1150fps once in a while is all I would stress the gun with.

And, I'd keep a close watch on it for wear/damage even from shooting that.

Nice piece of history, not a good gun for shooting though. The value lies in its historical rarity, not in its usefulness as a duty piece today.

 

[BCR1]

I have one I believe was made in 42. All matching with a dark bore but still shoots rather well. The bad is in the pictures. I bought this gun from the widow of a decades long bullseye pistol shooter.

Back in the early 70's, Hi Powers from the war were not considered collectable by very many as they were cheap to buy and convert to use as the centerfire pistol for matches.

The owner had the sights removed, had the slide drilled and tapped and a Bomar adjustable sight rib was added. There is no telling the amount of 9mm that has been fired through this pistol and for it's age/use, The top and bottom lugs on the barrel and the recesses in the slide are still well defined with very minor peening of the metal surfaces.

I paid $350 for it with one factory mag.

Bill

 

[T. O'Heir]

FN people are rumoured to have fiddled with 'em. Don't think there's any documentation proving it.
Suspect it's worth far more than double. Big time guess though.
9MM NATO uses a 124 grain bullet at about 1250 FPS. Said 'NATO' "standard" being decidedly flexible. 9MM NATO is considered to be +P by SAAMI.
FN made NAZI marked M35's are not exactly common any more. Might be an idea to not shoot it at all.
"...Hi Powers from the war..." All Inglis BHP's currently in use by the Canadian Forces were made in 1944 and 1945. Will be until our idiot government gets around to destroying 'em.

 

[dogtown tom]

jrothWA Be careful.

The FN people fiddled with the HT readouts and a number of soft frames and slides were produced.

Wives tale.

Wartime production Hi Powers are every bit as safe as prewar.

 

[44 AMP]

FN people are rumoured to have fiddled with 'em. Don't think there's any documentation proving it

Somehow, I don't think workers in an Occupied country, producing arms for their occupiers would be doing their very best work and IF they were getting away with "soft" frames or other parts that would pass inspection but not last, as at least a small way to sabotage the Nazi war effort I rather doubt they would document that fact. There are reasons not to write everything down, you know...

And, of course, after the war, if any of the workers who (perhaps) did it, made any claims to doing it, well, there's no documentation to prove it, is there...

 

[BCR1]

I've shot around 1K through mine in the last year with only the recoil spring being changed as it wasn't quite straight any longer. I can keep it in the black on a slow fire pistol target for a full mag off a rest @ 25 yards tells me it is still an accurate pistol after 79 years.

 

[44 AMP]

"after 79 years..."

With guns, age is somewhat like with cars, its not the years, its the mileage.

You might encounter a gun that is 80 years old and has had tens of thousands of rounds through it. Or one that is the same age but has yet to see even one thousand rounds through it. You may find a heavily used gun that has been meticulously cared for. Or a little used one that has suffered the abuse of too little or no care (or too much of the wrong way), or any combination of the two.

 

[jrothWA]

My Sister's father ilaw, was in the 8th air force as a "Flight Engineer", he told of a B17 returning form a mission and ground crew was patching the wing tank and heard a rolling sound and discovers a spent AA round, it was recovered and armorers was tasked to render inert. Found inside was note, finally translated is stated: This is the best I can do.

The "Marquis" in France fond that a small amount of sugar, would cause wet cement would not cure,delaying construction.

 

[hub1home]

I really like it! Therefore, I have nothing negative to say about it. Shoot it and enjoy!

 

[shortround60]

Nice, Very Nice!!!