Polish VIS Model 35

[MoscowMike]

I have wanted a Polish VIS Model 35 or Radom as it’s commonly called for a while, and finally found one. The pre-war versions are nicely finished, After Germany and Russia divided up Poland between them in 1939, the Germans took over the Fabryka Broni factory in Radom and continued production. The finish got rougher, and after a bit the take-down lever was deleted to save machine time, but they continued to be a reliable firearm.

This one has a frosted bore, but the interior parts don’t show a lot of wear, so it may have been carried a lot and not shot much. The trigger pull isn’t bad and the hammer-drop safety works fine.

It would be nice to find out more about when this one was built. I gather most of the records were destroyed at the end of the war. It appears to be fairly early because the finish isn’t bad, the take-down lever is still present and the grip bushings are still being used.

The serial number, T0012, should help. It is repeated on several interior parts. It has Nazi proof marks in several places. A cursive capital B is also found on several parts. There’s an S on the trigger, an X and what could be a cross on the trigger guard. The butt appears to have an A, an S and what could be an H.

Sort of an interesting cross between a Hi Power and a 1911. I’m looking forward to shooting it. Apparently Triple-K makes magazines, but the quality is spotty.

Here’s an album of pictures. Not great quality, but it give you an idea.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikefvw/albums/72157719617735144

 

[Kleanbore]

Wow!

 

[bannockburn]

MoscowMike

That's one of the nicest VIS Model 35s I have ever seen! It's in great shape for it having been manufactured during WWII. Given it's overall condition and that it has the disassembly lever on it would lead you to think it was an early production gun made not long after the Germans had taken over the factory.

At any rate it's an interesting design with a considerable history to it and I look forward to seeing how it does at the range.

 

[Chevelle SS]

Neat, always wanted one, just never wanted to pony up the funds.

 

[Monac]

The Radom was a well-designed gun, and yours seems to have been made early enough in World War 2 to be a good one. Does yours have a slot on the backstrap for a shoulder stock? The shoulder stocks never got beyond a few prototypes, but the Poles slotted all their guns for them. I think it was the first feature to be dropped on the ones made for the Germans./*9

There is a lot of information around on the Radom; several books and a good article in the 1987 Gun Digest (41st Annual). Some of them may have tables of serial numbers and years of production.

 

[Tallball]

What an extremely cool pistol!

I've read about them, but I've never seen one in person.

 

[mgmorden]

Nice! That one has been on my want list for a while too.

 

[MoscowMike]

I'm glad to have found one in such good shape. We'll see how it shoots when (if) it cools off later this week.

This one doesn't have the stock slot, so it's not really early, also indicated by the T0012 serial number. Unfortunately my Google-Fu hasn't been able to find a serial number list other than this one - which wants me to download a file.

http://marsforest.atwebpages.com/radom-model-35-serial-numbers.html

I'm a bit dubious about downloading from a site I don't know anything about. If anyone else has some info on marsforest, or knows something about the various marks on the pistol I would love to hear from you. I'm hoping a collector with some experience will stop by.

It's interesting that these pistols are referred to by the name of the town where the factory is located rather than the company initials FB, or model name, Vis. Sort of like referring to a Hartford pistol or an Illion rifle.

 

[MoscowMike]

Took the Vis to the range this morning. Tested the hammer-drop safety and found it didn’t dimple the primer.
Shot a soft load, 124 gr plated over 4.1 gr of HP-38. Once I got used to the trigger it grouped pretty well, shooting a bit high at 30’. Also put 5 rounds rapid on a torso sized steel target at 25 yards. The cases were sooty and it didn’t always lock back on the last round in the magazine so I’ll load a bit warmer next time. The same load in my Argentine Hi-Power stovepiped at times, so both guns will probably benefit from a bit more powder.
Not wild about the barleycorn sights, but - it will shoot

30' Target - https://flic.kr/p/2mfsj1W

 

[hardknocks!]

Took the Vis to the range this morning. Tested the hammer-drop safety and found it didn’t dimple the primer.
Shot a soft load, 124 gr plated over 4.1 gr of HP-38. Once I got used to the trigger it grouped pretty well, shooting a bit high at 30’. Also put 5 rounds rapid on a torso sized steel target at 25 yards. The cases were sooty and it didn’t always lock back on the last round in the magazine so I’ll load a bit warmer next time. The same load in my Argentine Hi-Power stovepiped at times, so both guns will probably benefit from a bit more powder.
Not wild about the barleycorn sights, but - it will shoot

30' Target - https://flic.kr/p/2mfsj1W

Gunboards is the forum I go to for WW2 gun info.
I think with each new letter prefix starts another 10,000 serial numbers.
I have one L prefix, holster & 2 proper mags it's a great shooter. Forget the year.
Regards

 

[jski]

FB Radom manufactures new VIS PISTOL WZ.35 pistols:

Wz.35 VIS Semiautomatic Pistol (aka the Radom Pistol)