The Polish 'VIS' WWII pistol

J

jski

New member
I've read many an article of late about the 'VIS' being possibly the finest compat pistol of WWII. Then I read that Radom (Łucznik Arms Factory) was going to make a limited run of these historic pieces.

Anyone know anything about this?
 
The factory made two VERY limited runs of pistols, one in the 1990s, one sometime in the 2000s, but probably no more than 150 pistols total.
 
The Radom pistols were made initially at Radom Arsenal in Poland but not many were produced before the German invasion. The bulk of production was for the German military and SS. While quality slipped toward the end of the war, the pistols are generally excellent and reliable. It is interesting that while the pistols were made in Poland up to the final months when production was moved to Steyr, the firing pins and a few other critical small parts were made, and the guns assembled, at Steyr almost from day one of the German takeover because they didn't trust the Poles with complete pistols. Even so, many guns "disappeared" and workers found, or suspected, of being involved, were shot.

The guns themselves are a combination of American Colt 1911 design along with features unique to the Polish pistol. While the Poles received some assistance from FN in Belgium, there is nothing of the BHP in the Polish design, which is a combination of the Colt/Browning and features added in Poland and unique to the Radom design. An odd feature is that, while almost all were cut for a holster-stock like the BHP, few, if any, stocks were ever made or issued.

Jim
 
All true, Jim, but he was wondering about the reintroduction of the Radom that was first talked about the better part of a half century after the end of WW II.

:)
 
An excellent article from Guns & Ammo:
The Vis 35 Radom: Poland’s Pistol

There's also this:
[url="http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/04/gorgeous-replicas-vis-wz-35-45-acp-wz-38m/]Gorgeous Replicas of ViS wz. 35 in .45 ACP and wz. 38M[/url]
 
Last edited:
If you had a time machine and travel back to the early 1990's you could buy one of those special editions. Must have been an old article you were reading:)
 
I wonder how many of the post WWII guns were exported. I have owned a WWII gun and it handled and shot very well, reminding me a little of the SIG P210 the way it shot.

VIS_35.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
 
I've always loved my mid-to-late war Radom. It was a WW II trophy bring back that I nabbed from my local gunshop in 1981 or 1982 for the princely sum of $125.

I was underage so I grabbed my Dad and made him do the paperwork on it.

Lately it's developed an issue with the extractor jumping over the cartridge rim and leaving the fired case in the chamber. One of these days I'll see about having it fixed, or figuring out how to fix it myself.

Even with hot ammo they are extremely polite shooters because they're so heavy.
 
PzGren, your gun is a bit earlier than mine.

Mine has the same weird brownish finish, but yours has the takedown latch; mine just has the notch on the hammer that works in conjunction with the hammer drop to hold the slide in place for take down.
 
Mike,

I suspect that mine was reblued. The bore isn't exactly shiny but the gun is still a heck of a shooter and handles recoil well, allowing for fast follow up shots.

It is easy to understand why German elite combat troops were fond of the VIS 35 and FN 35!
 
Last edited:
My first centerfire self defense pistol was a Radom...
Dad was a WWII vet with an encyclopedic knowledge of military firearms. He certainly knew what a Radom 9mm was, when he traded a nice bolt action 22lr rifle for it.
It had the takedown lever, and was in what used to be known as “NRA good” condition. Definitely had the been there down that finish, and a dark bore with good rifling.
Away at college, I had a Ruger Standard 22 pistol for my SD needs. When I brought the Radom back to school, I felt well armed indeed.
I shot it quite a bit in the countryside around Kent, Ohio. Very accurate and reliable.
My Brother still has it today, and it is his only self defense pistol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top