Fabryka Karabinów
| Industry | arms, machinery |
|---|---|
| Successor | VIS |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Defunct | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Warsaw |
Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów (English: State Rifle Factory, often abbreviated FK) was a Polish arms manufacturer active between the two World Wars. Founded in 1919 as the successor to the pre-World War I Gerlach i Pulst company, Fabryka Karabinów became part of the state-owned Państwowe Wytwórnie Uzbrojenia conglomerate in 1927. It was a sister company to Łucznik Arms Factory, the Munitions Factory of Skarżysko, and several others. By the end of the 1930s, Fabryka Karabinów was one of the largest arms producers of Poland. It was destroyed during World War II.
The company was started in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Gerlach, one of the heirs of the Gerlach family of entrepreneurs, owners of – among others – the largest cutlery factory in Poland. By 1886 the small workshop at Srebrna Street in Warsaw was inherited by Wilhelm's son, Maksymilian Gerlach. In 1897 the factory was turned into a joint company owned by Gerlach and a new associate, Edward Pulst, who became the factory's chief engineer and technical director. In the following year, the factory was renamed to Spółka Akcyjna Fabryki Maszyn "Gerlach i Pulst" – "Gerlach and Pulst" Joint Stock Machinery Factory. In 1900 the company was moved to new premises at Dworska 2 Street in Warsaw. The "Gerlach i Pulst" produced machine tools, turneries, planers, drilling machines, presses, saws and many other types of machinery, used notably in small arms production. By the start of World War I the company had 750 employees and owned a "Gerlach & Co." machinery shop at Krucza 24 Street in down-town Warsaw. Following the start of the Great War, in 1915 most of company's assets were dismantled by the retreating Russians and sent by rail to other parts of Russia.
After the Great Retreat, the factory was taken over by the German Army who set up an arms repair workshop there. When Poland regained independence in 1919 the workshops were nationalised by the Ministry of Military Affairs along with all the remaining assets of the former Gerlach i Pulst company. Already in early 1919 the small-arms repair workshops were operational again. Reinforced with machines acquired from the former German Royal Arms Factory of Danzig and spare parts purchased in Germany, the workshops initially provided repair services to the Polish Army's units equipped with Mauser rifles. However, already in 1920 they were renamed to "State Rifle Factory" and in 1922 the company started producing rifles as well. By 1923 mass production started and by the end of the following year the factory delivered 21,900 Mauser wz. 1898 rifles to the Polish Army. In the following year, a modified version, the Kbk wz. 1929, entered production. Production lasted until 1931 and amounted to 189,600 pieces. Since 1928, the company was the sole producer of Browning wz.1928 light machine gun. In 1930 it also started licensed production of Ckm wz.30 heavy machine guns. After that the production of rifles was moved to Radom-based Fabryka Broni, while the FK focused on more complicated designs.
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