FN Browning Model 1922

FN Herstal · Pistol · Out Of Production · 1922

Also known as: FN Model 1910/22, Browning 10/22, FN 1922, Pistole 626(b), Pistole 641(b)

Overview

The FN Browning Model 1922 was the longer-barrel, longer-grip military and police variant of the FN Model 1910, a blowback striker-fired semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Fabrique Nationale in Herstal, Belgium. Developed to meet a Yugoslav service-pistol requirement, FN lengthened the Model 1910's frame, barrel and magazine, raising capacity to nine rounds in .32 ACP or eight in .380 ACP. It carried over Browning's triple safety arrangement of a manual thumb safety, grip safety and magazine safety, and became one of the most widely adopted European service pistols of the interwar and World War II era.

Specifications

Weight (empty)730 g (25.8 oz)
Overall Length178 mm (7.01")
Barrel Length113 mm (4.45")
Action TypeBlowback
Firing MechanismStriker Fired
Trigger TypeSingle Stage
Magazine Capacity9 rounds
Magazine TypeDetachable Box
Muzzle Velocity267 m/s (876 fps)
Frame MaterialSteel
Slide MaterialSteel
Barrel MaterialSteel
FinishBlued

Calibers

Features

Base model

Fabrique-Nationale-1910

Service history

Operators

Conflicts

Production

Estimated total produced: 950,000 · Production years: 1922-1983

Roughly 500,000+ peacetime production plus about 448,000 made under German wartime occupation

Origin

Country of origin: Belgium

Designer: John Moses Browning

Discontinued: 1983

Notes

Production continued under German control after the 1940 seizure of the FN factory, designated Pistole 626(b) in .32 ACP and Pistole 641(b) in .380 ACP. Height, width, rifling, muzzle energy and effective range were not authoritatively sourced and are left null; empty weight is cited around 700-730 g.

Background

The Model 1922 was created specifically to satisfy a Yugoslav purchasing commission that wanted a larger standardized service pistol, so Browning simply stretched the compact Model 1910. After the 1944 liberation of Belgium, Allied GIs bought thousands directly from the FN factory, some assuming the 'Browning' markings were merely marketing.