• P35 Pistol Serial Numbers
• Fb Radom Vis 35 Prices

by Garry James - Friday, May 24, 2013

5/24/2013

The 'P-35' is another name for the GP 35 or Browning High Power and holds 13 rounds. The GP35 was produced in large numbers for the SS and other German units once they overran Belgium. I am pretty sure that the Radom was also pressed into service after the defeat of Poland. Vis Radom is the first comprehensive collector's book aimed at detailing all variants of the VIS pistol. William York's analytical approach investigates the origins of the pistol and reveals some new conclusions about what influenced the pistol's designers. Dec 18, 2017  On the right side of the pistol the serial number”D0259” is stamped on the receiver. The pistol has a decocker, take down latch, grip safety, shoulder stock slot, and lanyard loop. I have an F.B Radom VIS Mod.35 that I would like to know the value of. The pistol is marked as follows.

Geography has not been particularly kind to Poland. Being sandwiched between Germany and Russia, one of the first things The Second Polish Republic did after being guaranteed sovereignty following World War I was to get its military on a sound footing.

In 1925 an arms factory was set up at Radom in Central Poland to produce Mauser-style rifles. Five years later, it was decided to build a proprietary service sidearm, and all of the currently available arms were tested with the goal of adopting one—or of developing a pistol of its own. At the trials held in 1935 one gun came out on top: a Browning M1911/Hi-Power variant conceived by designers Piotr Wilniewczvy and Jan Skrzpinski. Undoubtedly nationalism played something of a part in the final decision, but the fact remained that the gun really turned out to be world-class.

The 9 mm Luger Vis 35 was one of the highest-quality military pistols made before World War II. The materials used were the best, and the fit and finish were commercial-grade. Early guns were marked on the left side of the slide, “F.B. RADOM,” (Fabryka Broni Radom) surrounding the date of manufacture (1936-39) and “VIS-wz.[model] 35/Pat. Nr 15567.” A Polish national eagle emblem divided the two markings. The brown checkered plastic stocks were emblazoned with the large initials “FB” on the left panel and “VIS” on the right.”

When Germany defeated Poland in 1939, the Germans captured the Radom factory and turned its capabilities toward supplying arms for the Nazi war machine. The Vis 35 was renamed the “P.35(p)”—“Pistole 35 (polnisch”). Thousands were made at Radom, some with barrels made by Steyr in Austria, as German officials feared that if all the parts were made in Poland, complete guns would be smuggled to partisans. Eventually entire pistols were assembled at Steyr.

Collectors separate Vis 35s into several categories. First is the pure Polish Eagle models made before World War II. Next are the Nazi-capture Polish Eagles, which still exhibit the national motif but also have German waffenampt marks. Finally, the P.35(p) has three variants: Type I has all three levers (hammer drop, takedown and slide stop) and the shoulder stock grip slot. Type II has all three levers but no stock slot, and Type III has only two levers (takedown and hammer drop) and no slot.

The Vis 35 shown here is a Radom-manufactured Type III in NRA Excellent condition, showing little use or wear. The finish is blued (some have a phosphate finish), and exterior is roughly milled. As such, this gun is worth in the $550 to $625 range.

P35 Pistol Serial Numbers

Gun: Vis 35
Manufacturer: Fabryka Broni Radom
Serial Number: C0170
Condition: NRA Excellent
Caliber: 9 mm Luger
Manufactured: c. 1943
Value: $550 to $625

Fb Radom Vis 35 Prices

In the 1920s Poland began looking for a new standard military pistol, and tested a variety of compact .380s. The representative from FN brought along an early iteration of the High Power (along with their other entry) even though it was much too large and heavy to meet the Polish requirements. After a couple iterations of testing, it became clear to the Polish Ordnance officers that the High Power was a much more effective service pistol than the compact guns they had been instructed to look for.

Lo and behold, the ultimate choice was a domestic design based largely on the High Power (a direct deal with FN was not an option after Poland’s relationship with FN had suffered through problems with the wz.28 version of the BAR). Toss in a delay to redesign the early decocking mechanism to satisfy the Cavalry (who didn’t realize that the decocker wasn’t actually meant to be used, but rather to just add another claim to the patent), and by 1935 the pistol was finished and formally adopted.

The Vis 35 is one of the best automatic pistols of WWII in terms of both handling and quality. In total 46,000 were made pre-war for Poland’s military, and German occupation forces built another 300,000+ during the war. Today I am looking at two; a German-production 3-lever example and a later German 2-lever version.