...which I mentioned in another post, in my own opinion is was one of the best all-around handguns that the Germans used in WW2. After capturing the plant in Poland, they went on to make over 10 times as many as the Poles did from 1936-39. The design was simple, rugged, relatively inexpensive to make, and reliable. Could it be some of these qualities are because this was basically a modified Browning design like the 1911? Forget the quirky hammer arrangement, it's a 1911. The grip being swept back a little more than the Colt feels a little better.
I've owned quite a few of these in the past, maybe twenty or twenty-five, when they were cheap. That's not the case now. There is a ton of history behind this gun. One tidbit concerns the barrel. The barrels used in the German-made guns are seen with Steyr Waffenamt markings. This is because the Polish underground had so many members in the Radom plant, that they were smuggling finished pistols out to their members on the outside. Not too long after taking over the plant, the Germans had the barrel production moved to Steyr in Austria. I'm not sure, but final assembly might have been done there as well, as if I remember correctly, the slide had a WaA623 on it in addition to the WaA77.
When the Russians were advancing on Poland, all the manufacturing of the P.35 was moved to Steyr.
The early, Polish-made P.35's were the finest. They were carefully made under peace-time conditions. When production was ramped up in 1939, the fine quality continued. The early pieces assembled by the Germans consisted of Polish parts for a short time, and have a nice finish. Pics:
1938 "Polish Eagle" P.35 made in 1938. When I got this pistol, it came from a veteran and it was in a slightly modifed Tokarev holster. The wear marks in the holster were all made by the Radom. The veteran had traded it from a Russian in 1945; I speculate that this pistol had been taken as a war prize by some Russian from the Poles in 1939, and had been passed around for five years before being traded to an American. How many German prisoners were shot in the back of the head with this gun?
This is a picture of P.35 number 204 made by the Germans. That is, #204 in the first 10,000 made under German supervision and was made of Polish parts. The original finish on it was a very thin plum-colored blue.
This is a picture of P.35 number 4480 made by the Germans. That is, #4480 in the first 10,000 made by them. The slide markings are photo-engraved on these early German P.35s, not stamped as the majority of production made after these early pieces. This piece had a dark plum colored blue finish.
Typical of circa early 1940's production:
Typical of mid-range production:
Late war P.35 made in Austria with phosphate finish and wood slotted grips.
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