FB Vis

Pistolet wz. 35 Vis
Pistolet wz. 35 Vis
Pistolet wz. 35 Vis
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of originPoland
Service history
In service1936–1945
Used bySee Users
WarsInvasion of Poland, World War II
Production history
DesignerPiotr Wilniewczyc & Jan Skrzypiński
Designed1930
ManufacturerFB Radom
Produced1930-1932 (prototypes)
1935–1945 (mass production)
1992 (reissue prototypes)
1997-2015 (limited reissues)
2017–onwards
No. builtmore than 360,000
Specifications
Mass1.123 kg (2.48 lb) (loaded)
0.950 kg (2.09 lb) (unloaded)
Length205 mm (8.1 in)
Barrel length120 mm (4.7 in)
Cartridge9×19mm Parabellum
ActionRecoil-operated, closed bolt
Muzzle velocity345 m/s (1,130 ft/s)
Feed system8-round box magazine

The Vis or Vis 35 (Polish designation Pistolet wz. 35 Vis; German designation 9 mm Pistole 35(p), or simply the Radom in some English sources and Vis wz. 35 in Poland) is a Polish 9×19mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Its design was inspired by the Colt 1911 pistol designed by American John Moses Browning.[1]

Production of the Vis began in 1935 at the Fabryka Broni factory in Radom, Poland, and was adopted as the standard handgun of the Polish Army the following year. After the invasion of Poland in 1939 that marked the start of World War II, occupying German forces took over the country's munitions and industry; the pistol was valued by the Germans, who continued its production and eventually issued it to German paratroopers.

The Vis is highly prized among collectors of firearms[2] and considered by some to be one of the best firearms of the period, combining some of the features present in the Colt M1911, the Browning Hi-Power, and the Ruby .45 ACP.[3][4][5][6]

  1. ^ Ezell, Edward (1993). Handguns of the World. United States of America: Barnes & Nobel, inc. p. 233. ISBN 0880296186. "It would not have been a wise thing, of course, to initiate a design without considering existing products. It was, rather, a matter of selecting the most successful and modern weapon model and, based on it, to try and create the perfect weapon. The most successful of those previously designed were... the [Colt Browning] Model 1911... created by John Browning, the most talented of builders in the world in the field of automatic weapons." -Piotr Wilniewczyc (Vis 1935 Designer)
  2. ^ Twardoch, Szczepan (2007). "VIS-a-VIS". Broń i Amunicja (in Polish). No. 3. pp. 48–51. ISSN 1644-339X.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference wptech was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference trybun was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference wildmen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference sdski was invoked but never defined (see the help page).