Fans of the blog know that I generally only write Featured Gun articles on guns that I actually own or have come into contact with for one reason or another.
This is another gun that I had the pleasure of working on. A friend asked if I could refinish this mouse gun that he purchased at a gun show. Here is the gun after refinishing:
The gun was this Fabrique Nationale Model 1906. Some also call it the Model 1905 (the year it was patented).
Gun enthusiasts probably recognize this gun as a copy of the Colt vest pocket (model of 1908).
The gun was designed by none other than John Moses Browning, he patented the gun in Belgium in 1905 and later in the U.S. (1910).
An agreement made in 1897 between JMB, Colt and FN allowed FN to produce the gun and sell it in Europe only (FN could sell in Britain, Ireland and Canada if they paid a royalty fee).
Concurrent to the work on the pistol design JMB also assisted with the design the .25 ACP cartridge. The design and testing was done by Union Metallic Cartridge Company in Bridgeport, CT.
ACP standing for Automatic Colt Pistol, which is who the pistol and cartridge were originally designed for.
Mr. Browning hoped to mimic the performance of the .22 LR rimfire cartridge in a centerfire semi-rimmed cartridge. This was done to make the ammo more reliable in both ignition and feeding from the pistol magazine.
In Europe the cartridge is called the 6.35 Browning
We cannot talk about the 25 ACP without mentioning its detractors. Many people (myself included) think that pocket guns have their place, but a 25 ACP is more likely to wound than kill and while wounding a goblin may be enough to allow you an escape, it also might not be.
Jeff Cooper provided his thoughts on the 25 ACP years ago when he penned the following:
"As we used to teach in the spook business, carry a 25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot it, you may hit somebody and if you hit somebody - and he finds out about it - he may be very angry with you."
Within the 1st year of introduction FN had sold over 100,000 of the pistols. Colt took notice and within a couple of years had their model of 1908 "Vest Pocket" pistol on the market. This is not to say that Colt did not intend to produce the gun, its just that they were taking their sweet time about it.
Side note, the Vest Pocket was given that moniker as Colt introduced another pistol the same year (and given the same name), but it was larger, so the diminutive one was given a nickname
The M1906 was designed with a barrel that was fixed into position by lugs that allow its removal by twisting it out of alignment, similar to the way a bolt action rifle's lugs lock into the receiver.
Three variants were made, the changes mostly in the manual safety
Specs
Caliber: 25 ACP/6.35mm Browning
Action: Blowback
Weight: 12.75 ounces
Length: 4.53"
Barrel Length: 2.12"
Height: 3.13"
Magazine Capacity: 6
Total Production: in excess of 1.3 Million
On April 19th, 1943 the FN M1906 was used in a famous operation that saved the lives of 233 Jewish prisoners bound for the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
The train (known as the 20th Convoy) was leaving Belgium for Auschwitz, it was stopped by members of the Belgian Resistance. It was one of the only attempts to free Jewish Deportees.
The FN M1906 and lantern below were used in the actual raid.
The M1906 was produced throughout WWI and WWII. When the German army invaded the low countries, they maintained weapons production at Herstal. I am not sure how many M1906 pistols were made during the war, finding an example with NAZI proof marks proved quite difficult.
By the time WWII had come along there were dozens of 25 ACP pistols being produced in Germany, Italy, Spain, Czechoslovakia and others, so perhaps there wasn't much need for the M1906.
At any rate the gun was in production until 1959.
They are now gaining in popularity with collectors.
References:
http://www.precisionsmallarms.com/index.php/about-us/history
http://tonnel-ufo.ru/eanglish/weapon/gun-fn-browning-m-1906.php
http://weaponsman.com/?p=9361
http://grips4u.net/product/browning-1906/
