ViS

Pistolet wz. 35 Vis
Pistolet wz. 35 Vis
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Poland
Service history
Used by	Poland, Nazi Germany
Wars	Invasion of Poland, World War II
Production history
Designed	1935
Manufacturer	FB Radom
No. built	more than 360,000
Specifications
Weight	1.123 kg (loaded) 0.950 kg (unloaded)
Length	205 mm
Barrel length	120 mm
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum
Action	Recoil-operated, closed bolt
Muzzle velocity	345 m/s (1131.6 ft/s)
Feed system	8-round box magazine

Poland,

Vis (Polish designation pistolet wz. 35 Vis, German designation 9 mm Pistole 35(p), or simply the Radom in English sources) is a 9×19mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Inspired by American firearms inventor John Browning's 9mm "Browning GP" pistol design which was completed after Browning's death by designers at Fabrique Nationale in Herstal Belgium, this Polish gun began production at the Fabryka Broni (Arms Factory) in Radom in 1935, and was adopted as the standard handgun of the Polish Army the following year. The pistol was valued by the Germans, and towards the end of the war issued to the German paratroopers. As a pistol largely based on the Colt 1911 and using 9 mm rounds, it is highly prized among collectors of firearms.

The design was generally based on American firearms inventor John Browning's Browning Hi-Power, as adapted by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypiński in 1930 at the Fabryka Broni (Arms Factory) in Radom under Director Kazimierz Ołdakowski. It operated on the short-recoil principle, with the barrel being cammed down and away from the locking lugs in the slide.

This later John Moses Browning design, unlike the M1911, was not cammed by a link, but by a ledge of sorts, which contacts a portion of the barrel and forces it down as it is moved rearward with the slide by the recoil force. Some similarities to the Spanish Ruby .45 ACP. Like the 9mm Browning GP, a characteristic feature was a triangular grip shape, wider at the bottom, offering good ergonomics and firm grip. On the right side grip cover, the Polish copy pistol had letters VIS in a triangle, on the left side—FB (for Fabryka Broni—"Arms Factory"). The handgun was prepared in late 1930, and at the beginning of 1931 the first pistols were ready for testing. Initially it was named WiS (an acronym of the Polish designers' names), later the name was changed to Vis, meaning "force" in Latin, with the wz. abbreviation for wzór ("model").