Q: Femaru P.Mod.37 origin

[Waveski]

I acquired a Hungarian built Femaru P.Mod.37 (Frommer) from a friend a while back. I recently got to wondering how it came to be in this country with no import marks. So I contacted the seller and made inquiries. To the best of his knowledge the pistol was brought back by his father from the Korean War. That got me scratching my head.

This particular model Femaru was the result of a contract to Nazi Germany ; it was used as a sidearm for the Luftwaffe. It is reasonable to think that a number of these compact pistols were captured by the Russians as they overran Germany , just like the RC P.38s. Is it possible that my pistol wound up in Korea as part of war supplies sent to North Korean by the Russians? That would explain the story ...

Any input will be appreciated. Enjoy the photo , and any comments on this 1911 styled War relic are also welcome.

 

[Jim K]

I think it much more likely that that gun, like thousands of other P.37's, was taken from a German soldier or airman during WWII, and that it was brought back by the American who captured it. Your friend's father might have been that person (many American soldiers served in both WWII and the Korean "police action) or he might have obtained it here.

The capture by the Russians is a pretty remote possibility, especially since the Communist forces in Korea did not use the 7.65 Browning (.32 ACP) cartridge and their troops were not permitted privately owned weapons.

Jim

 

[Rittmeister]

My granddad brought one home from WWII - identical to the one pictured above except for serial number. Holster, spare mag, etc. He gave it all to me along with a document from the US Govt detailing his ownership.

Alas, it was stolen from my apartment almost 15 years ago. Filed a police report but nothing has ever come of it.

I'd love to have another but haven't been able to justify the purchase yet...

 

[Jim K]

Those guns are interesting partly because, unlike guns from occupied nations, they were made for the Germans under a regular contract and not under duress. They were originally made for the Hungarian army in 9mm Kurz (.380 ACP) but that cartridge was not in the German police or military supply systems, so the German contract guns were in 7.65 Browning (.32 ACP).

Another interesting point is that they were made so they can be changed from one caliber to the other simply by swapping barrels. No other changes are needed.

Jim

 

[Monac]

I think the Hungarian Femaru 37's lacked a manual safety catch. For some reason, all the Eastern European countries at that time had a "thing" about safety catches, and avoided them like they were poison - the CZ38, the Radom P-35, the Tokarev TT-33 all lacked them as well. The Germans insisted on one for their Femarus, although they were OK with the Radoms.

 

[Waveski]

Well , I guess my theory holds little water. As to the conversion to 7.65 - I always wondered about why the Nazi contract specified that ; the explanation given above makes sense. I did not know that the m.37 could be converted by means of a simple barrel swap ; interesting. Yes , the Hungarian Army issued 9mm kurz m.37 lacked the manual safety. That was another condition of sale for the Nazi contract. (note how the external component of the safety was styled to be consistent with the 1911 appearance...)

Rittmeister - the story of the loss of your inherited Femaru rig is heartbreaking. It would be bad enough if it were something you had purchased outright , but from family ...

I won't even hint what Simpson's is getting for a Femaru P.mod.37 rig with papers!

 

[kBob]

I would bet that if it came home from Korea, a GI took it there to begin with. Believe it or don't troopers did and do smuggle guns with them into war zones. Certainly not all or even most but some. Frequently these guns get passed around as no one wants to get caught trying to bring it back into the US when they were not supposed to have it in the first place.

In the 1970s in Germany Switch blade pocket knives and gravity knives became "Legacies" that got passed on from single digit midgets to some one with a good bit of time left. I heard that there was a "Banhof" P38 Walther floating around our barracks that had been there for some years when I arrived.

Would not surprise me in the least if this came "From Korea" in that respect.

I knew a well know gun writer that carried one of these little Hungarian wonders in an ankle holster.

At a class I was giving once a student had one and had been trying to feed it .32 S&W. It did hand cycle and fire sometimes two shots in a row. I was finally able to convince him that .32 in his case meant .32ACP and it shot just fine. I swopped him out some ancient .32 ACP for the only few .32S&W I now have....somewhere.

-kBob

 

[Jim K]

Most armies do not set much store on manual safeties, the reason being that regulations normally call for the gun being carried with the chamber empty and only loaded when combat is imminent or underway. It was the cavalry that insisted on both the manual and grip safeties on the 1911; the first so the gun could be made safe while controlling the horse, the second so it would not fire if dropped and kicked around by hooves.*

Of course Monac's list of "no safety" pistols really is limited to the Russian TT's; the CZ 38 is DAO; the Radom has a hammer drop lever that makes it safe to carry.

*Browning cheated on the grip safety; it doesn't (Swartz safety aside) block the firing pin or the sear, only the trigger bow.

Jim