Browning Hi-Power

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Browning Hi-Power
Fabrique Nationale Browning Hi-Power
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Belgium United States
Service history
In service	1935–present[1]
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II[1] Indonesian National Revolution[2] Chinese Civil War Korean War Vietnam War Rhodesian Bush War Falklands War The Troubles Lebanese Civil War Salvadoran Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995) Yugoslav Wars Kivu Conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict[3] Libyan Crisis Syrian Civil War[4]
Production history
Designer	John Browning Dieudonné Saive
Designed	1914–1935[1]
Manufacturer	FN Herstal Browning Arms Company Fabricaciones Militares John Inglis and Company
Produced	1935–2018,[1] 2022[5]–present
No. built	1,500,000+[6]
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	1 kg (2.2 lb)[1]
Length	197 mm (7.8 in)[1]
Barrel length	124 mm (4.89 in)[1]
Cartridge	7.65×21mm Parabellum 9×19mm Parabellum[1] .40 S&W
Action	Short recoil operated tilting barrel
Rate of fire	Semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity	335 m/s(1,100 ft/s) (9mm)[1]
Effective firing range	50 m (54.7 yd)
Feed system	Detachable box magazine 10, 13, 15 or 17 rounds (9mm) 20 or 30 rounds made by Rhodesia (9mm)[1] 10 rounds (.40 S&W)

The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. FN Herstal named it the "High Power" in allusion to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of other designs at the time, such as the Walther P38 or Colt M1911.

During World War II, Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany and the FN factory was used by the Wehrmacht to build the pistols for their military, under the designation "9mm Pistole 640(b)".^[7] FN Herstal continued to build guns for the Allied forces by moving their production line to a John Inglis and Company plant in Canada, where the name was changed to "Hi Power". The name change was kept even after production returned to Belgium. The pistol is often referred to as an HP or BHP,^[8] and the terms P-35 and HP-35 are also used, based on the introduction of the pistol in 1935. Other names include GP (after the French term grande puissance) or BAP (Browning Automatic Pistol). The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols in history,^[9] having been used by the armed forces of over 50 countries.^[1] Although most pistols were built in Belgium by FN Herstal, licensed and unlicensed copies were built around the world, in countries such as Argentina, Hungary, India, Bulgaria, and Israel.

After 82 years of continuous production, FN Herstal announced that the production of the Hi-Power would end, and it was discontinued in early 2018 by Browning Arms.^[10] From 2019 to 2022, with new Belgian Hi-Powers no longer being built, new clones were designed by various firearm companies to fill the void, including GİRSAN, TİSAŞ, and Springfield Armory, Inc. These new Hi-Power clones began competing with each other by offering new finishes, enhanced sights, redesigned hammers, bevelled magazine wells, improved trigger, and increased magazine capacity.^[11][12]

In 2022, FN announced they would resume production of the Browning Hi-Power. The 2022 "FN High Power" incorporated a number of entirely new features such as a fully ambidextrous slide lock, simplified takedown method, enlarged ejection port, reversible magazine release, wider slide serrations, different colored finish offerings, and 17-round magazines. In contrast to popular belief, the new FN High Power might resemble a modern Hi-Power, but it is, in fact, a different design. One of the noticeable details is the lack of Browning-style locking lugs.^[5]