FN M1900

M1900/Browning No.1
Browning 1900 .32 ACP
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin Belgium
Production history
Designer John Browning[1]
Designed 1896
No. built c. 700,000[1]
Variants Modele 1899, Mle. 1900
Specifications
Weight 625 g (1.378 lb)[1]
Length 17.2 cm (6.8 in)[1]
Barrel length 10.2 cm (4.0 in)[1]
Cartridge .32 ACP [1]
Action Blowback operated
Feed system 7+1[1]
Sights Fixed

The FN Browning M1900 is a single action, semi-automatic pistol designed c. 1896 by John Browning for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) and produced in Belgium at the turn of the century. It was the first production handgun to use a slide.

History

Browning 1900 .32 ACP S/n 330049

The design was presented to arms manufacturer FN Herstal in 1898, with production commencing the following year (then under the designation Modele 1899). In 1900, an improved design featuring primarily a shorter barrel and wider grips was introduced as the M1900. These designations were applied retroactively after FN began manufacture of other Browning pistol designs; initially the M1900 was marketed as simply the "Pistolet Browning" (Browning Pistol). Production ceased only 11 years later, with a total of about 700,000 units having been produced.

United States President Theodore Roosevelt owned a mother of pearl-gripped M1900, which he regularly kept on his person and in his bedside drawer.[2]

Eugen Schauman, a Finnish nationalist activist, assassinated the Governor-General Nikolay Bobrikov (the highest Russian authority in the Grand Duchy of Finland) with a Browning pistol on June 16, 1904, in Helsinki. The act was followed by spontaneous anti-Russian celebrations in the streets of Helsinki and after the 1917 independence Schauman was considered to be a national hero of Finland.[3]

Cutaway view

The North Korean Type 64 pistol is a copy of the M1900. Specimens examined by western authorities were marked with the date of 1964. A silenced variant was produced that featured a shortened slide to allow the threaded barrel to protrude far enough to attach the silencer.[4]

Ammunition

The weapon is chambered for the .32 ACP, also known as 7.65×17mm Browning SR, "SR" denotes semi-rimmed.

Synonyms

This model is known by several names, including:

  • FN M1900
  • FN Mle.1900
  • Browning M1900
  • Browning No.1

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "FN / Browning M.1900 (Browning No.1) pistol (Belgium)". Modern Firearms. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  2. ↑ Jim Supica; Doug Wicklund; Philip Schreier (2012). The Illustrated History of Firearms. BOOKSALES Incorporated. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-7858-2989-8.
  3. ↑ Zetterberg, Seppo (1988). Viisi laukausta senaatissa – Eugen Schaumanin elämä ja teko. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 246-247, 268, 281. ISBN 951-1-09266-9.
  4. ↑ Hogg, Ian (1989). Jane's Infantry Weapons 1989-90, 15th Edition. Jane's Information Group. p. 44. ISBN 0-7106-0889-6.

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