Radom 9mm

T

texas_42

Inactive
I have a Radom 9mm with following markings.
" F.E. RADOM VIN MOD 35 PAT.Nr 15567" - THIS IS ON SLIDE.
"WA4" BEST I CAN MAKE OUT WITH SOME TYPE SYMBLE ABOVE IT IS
ON FRAME JUSE IN FRONT OF SLIDE LOCK.
SERIAL #B2051

Gun has decocker that does not work, slide lock and a lock that helps to
take apart for cleaning. It also has sholder stock slot and lampard ring.

This gun has been chrome or nickle plated and I have been told that none
of the Radoms mfg. were plated and this was something done after someone brought it back to states.

I am wanting to have it blued but have been told that might ruin any value
of the gun....

Any advice would be appreciated............thank you
 
It's hard to tell how old your Radom is from the description, but you might have something worth taking care of.

Polish Radom pistols of the P-35 type date back to 1936 through WW-II. More recent pistols are known as the VIS P-35 and these were also made with a slotted grip for a shoulder stock (in 1997 only).

You might want to carefully inspect your Radom for other markings that might have been partially filled in during the plating process. Guns with Nazi Germany acceptance markings demand a premium. Original condition Radoms can fetch up to $2500. Even the 1997 VIS P35 can bring in $2600 if still like new.

I suggest using Google to search the net for "Radom" + "P35" and see if you find some enthusiast group or individual who can help you identify your gun. Gun Parts Corp lists the part as #13 in their exploded diagram and it's called a "Hammer Drop catch" (looks like a Walther P-38 style safety lever to me). List price is only $14.40 but they are currently out of stock.
See: Gun Parts Corp - Radom
 
If it's a WW II gun, and I think it is from the markings you're describing, the collectors value is already ruined -- that happened when it was plated.
 
I was afraid that the plating had ruined value of gun. It belonged to my dad and I want to pass it along to my kids so I will have it reblued. Gun is still one of my favorite guns to shoot. Just got to get that decocker fixed. Thanks for the replys..................wayne
 
Collectors use two classifications for the Polish VIS wz 35 pistols made between 1936 and 1945.

Polish Radom - these have the Polish eagle and year of manufacture stamped on the left of the slide and are the most valuable.

German Radom - made after Sept. 1939 under German occupation. There is no eagle or year of manufacture. The GErman Ordnance designation is on the slide - P-35, I think.

Here's a website that has some info:

http://hem.passagen.se/dadkri/Vis35.htm
JT
 
Unfortunately, Mike is right; the collector value was ruined when the gun was plated and the guns are common enough that paying to try to restore it would not be practical. Since the gun has the takedown lever (looks like the M1911 safety but isn't a safety) it is in the first B series, or second group of pistols made fairly early in the German occupation. The Waffenamt (Army Weapons Office) acceptance stamp should be WaA77 (what looks like a 4 is probably the capital "A".

The marking is actually F. B. (Fabryka Broni - weapons factory) RADOM VIS Mod 35 Pat Nr 15567. There may also be a marking "P.35(p), which was the German number in their logistics system. The "(p)" indicates the item was originally Polish - "b" indicated Belgian, "f" France, "e" England, etc.

The VIS is often thought to be an abbreviation for the Vistula River, but that is not true. It originally was supposed to be "WIS" for the designers, Wilniewczye and Skrzypinski ("i" is "and" in Polish) but the Army changed it to "VIS" to signify the Latin word for "strength."

Another story needs debunking. That is that the gun was designed by engineers from Fabrique Nationale in Belgium, and that FN engineers supervised the factory. There is even a charming story about an FN engineer escaping from Poland just ahead of the Nazi invasion, smuggling the blueprints under his shirt (one version has a beautiful female German spy, but that has nothing to do with the pistol). Nonsense, of course. The design and manufacture were totally the result of Polish engineering. Design started in the 1920's and the gun was tested in 1931; FN had nothing to do with it, though the Polish designers did have access to the Colt M1911 and some early FN pistols, but not the famous High Power.

The pistol was a favorite of the Germans, being highly reliable (unlike the Luger) and very accurate. Some were made specifically for the German Navy. Almost all in this country were GI bringbacks; there were few other imports. A small number were made in the 1990's but are extremely rare in this country; there were also some stocks made at that time, similar to the BHP holster/stock. Until that period, no shoulder stocks were ever made or issued, even though the earlier guns were all made with a stock slot.

Jim
 
Polish Radom p35 Questions

i need to find out all there is to know about it and i need a slide stop/hold open (does anyone now where i can get one?)
 
You want to have fun? Disassemble the pistol and put in new recoil springs.

Holy smokes, the main recoil assembly is some crazy contraption that needs three hands to put together. If anyone else has tackled this without cursing, let me know.

Great gun though!
 
Radom pic

The post is old but there still must be some interest in Radom's

Picture of my Nazi proofed 1943 vet bring back (Battle of the Bulge) Radom rig and I do shoot it some.

radom.JPG
 
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Old thread or not, folks seem to be reading it, so I will say that having owned and fired a number of Radoms, I have never found one with a weak or defective recoil spring or saw any need to replace one. I really believe the stories about recoil springs having to be replaced every ten minutes were spread by the makers of replacement springs.

Jim
 
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