As a result, resistance forces were obliged to manufacture crude barrels in underground shops - ultimately several hundred VIS pistols were smuggled from the factory, fitted with barrels, and provided to the Home Army for use in the Warsaw Uprising. Soon after occupation of factory, the Germans moved production of P35(p) barrels to the Steyr works in Austria in an effort to prevent complete pistols from falling into the hands of the Polish resistance. Up to 1945, between 312,000 and 380,000 were produced for the German Reich, where they were issued primarily to the SS, the Fallschimjager (paratroopers) and police. After the Polish defeat that same year, the Germans took over the Radom factory and continued production of the gun, assigning it the standardized name of 9 mm Pistole 645(p) which is often referred to as the P 35(p). Early guns were milled in the mainspring housing to accept a shoulder stock that though designed and prototyped, in practise was never issued.īefore the 1939 Invasion of Poland (by Nazi Germany), approximately 49,400 (out of 90,000 ordered) were delivered to Polish forces. The wz designation being used with all Polish arms, standing for wzór (model).Īt the time, the VIS was generally regarded as one of the best military pistols available when series production started at the State Armory in Radom in late 1935, while the following year it was adopted as the standard weapon of Polish infantry and cavalry officers. Originally referred to as the WiS (an acronym of the Polish designers' names), the pistol was renamed VIS, meaning 'power' in Latin. 35 VIS was first tested in 1931 in Poland. Note: Pics of rifle provided courtesy of member 'Claven2'.īorrowing design characteristics and features of pistols designed by John Browning and Dieudonne Saive such as the M1911 and the Hi-power, the Radom wz. (16 picture virtual tour) Observations: (by 'Claven2')

Vis (weapon) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vis radom p35 serial numbers