WW2-era Browning Hi-Power - what can you tell me?

[Bruce McAskill]

What you have on the front of the grip is what is left of a sticker that was the Canadian Maple Leaf in the center and around it was a boarder in Chinese and English. Very colorful in red and yellow. A fuuny thing about Hi-Powers is you never know where they will turn up such as the Inglis in Nam. BUT China also had a contract with FN and crates of them came down from the north into South Viet Nam. The one good thing about it was the ammo that was also used was of very poor quality and there were many duds in the lots. I know of a barge full of FN made Hi-Powers that went into the Mekong after everyone there took what they wanted.

[Paul S.]

... No Chinese characters anywhere on it, and no import markings (plus all matching serial numbers, as I said). There are the remnants of a sticker on the front of the grip; was mainly gold with some red and blue. No clue what that is, and the rim of the sticker is all that's left unfortunately.

The China contract was actually a Lend Lease programme. Large numbers of the "Chinese contract" Inglis's never made it out of Canada let alone to China. Many went to Commonwealth countries as well. The sticker was a Lend Lease sticker. It had a Maple Leaf, and inscriptions in English, Russian and Chinese. Clive Law's excellent book, Inglis Diamond; The Canadian High Power Pistol, offers a detailed history and is well worth the cost.

[Major Bob]

Hello, I have been reading the posts concerning the HP. I have been using it professionally for the past 25 years and won a service pistol championship with one made in 1945 only 2 weeks ago.No expert but a veteran end-user.It never ceases to amaze me how a short run of production in the time period of 1944-45 with less than 155,000 made is still in service. Did you know that most of our opponents or belligerants as we call them in the CANFORCES shot at us with it since 1944 ? Their are records of the Inglis HP being used against canadian troops in Korea , Suez incident, Cyprus, Belgian Congo, Lebanon, Rwanda,Bosnia , Haiti, etc.. and more recently Afhganistan. If more interest , i will post more of my experiences with it.

[Major Bob]

That jives with what I know. My wife's grandfather was in China at some point, so it makes sense that he'd have a Chinese contract one. No Chinese characters anywhere on it, and no import markings (plus all matching serial numbers, as I said). There are the remnants of a sticker on the front of the grip; was mainly gold with some red and blue. No clue what that is, and the rim of the sticker is all that's left unfortunately.

I have two examples in my collection. A No1 with tangent sight and shoulder stock fittings with no military aid board sticker ( MAB ) and a No2 with a sticker. Altought the No1 has been called the ''Chinese '' contract, literature suggests most of it was used by Commonwealth troops and maybe some Brit and US special OPS units . All pistols made at Inglis it seems at first were destined for military aid so i deduct th at they all beared the famous sticker. Only late in the war did the Canadian miltary express interest in it and only after cancellation of the ''Chinese '' contract.. So exemples transferred to Canadian military custody would of been MAB marked. I have had access to 100's of Inglis pistols in my career and have never seen one with the sticker but th at is expected as they would of had received 60 plus years of cleaning and scrubbing . Only recently have i had acces to a No 2 with the sticker still intact. I have met officers from various Commonwealth countries with experience with the Inglis and one that marked my imagination forever. This gentleman had been in the Falklands with an Inglis No2 on a shoulder holster and had used it.. He did not mention the presence of a sticker ... More to follow

[Major Bob]

I suspect that the first delivery to China eventualy fell into Communist Forces hands. They were used subsenquently against Canadian troops in Korea even as Betune , the famed canadian doctor was still being presented as an icon of Chinese idealism. Subsequent sea shipments to India and Pakistan for air transport to China over the Burmese ''hump '' were stalled on the warfs it seems, never being shipped to its intended end user . These ''lost '' and forgotten pistols the exact amount i do not recall but is in the literature already mentionned , ended up 62 years later in the hands of the Taliban used again against Canadian troops. My sources have not specified nor did i ask if the MAB sticker was still present....

[A square 10]

i have two in my collection a no1 and a no2 , i have the stock - here is what it looks like ,

[Major Bob]

Very nice there A-square.Any trace of the MAB stickers ? Are your magazines JI marked ? I have a nice collection of genuine canadian military holsters for them, 7 actually , all different. Where can i go to get instruction to post pictures on this nice site ? Thanks. Bob

[Peter Laidler]

Major Bob, I would seriously dispute the person if he says that he was in the British Army down in the Falklands operation and had a Canadian Inglis No1 with a shoulder stock. And to have USED it with the shoulder stock would be be, in my humble opinion, laughable. It just wasn't possible!

While the old No2 pistols were still around, they were generally speaking with the rear echelon units. As for shoulder stocks, in my service, from 1963, including my apprenticeship, I only ever saw one and that was during my apprenticeship where one of the instructore (Mr 'eddy' Stone) had one in his drawer that he showed us as an illustration/aid to identify the No1/2 Mk1/1* pistols that we had alongside our old No2 revolvers

[Maple_Leaf_Eh]

Contrary to previous postings, Canadian Forces inventories do include Brownings with Lend Lease stickers. In 1990 when 90 HQ and Sigs Sqn was stood up to go to Bahrain, we drew war reserve small arms. I had a nice new C7 and the officers drew Brownings. One Intelligence Capt shared his amazement at receiving a perfect New Out of the Box handgun. The decal was immaculate and the Parkerizing unscuffed. Seventeen years and a couple of wars later, I carried a very fine Browning in Afghanistan. It did not have a sticker, but was clearing not drawn from training use stores. Armies do somethings wrong, but on the CF concentrated training wear and tear on certain groups of guns. The good ones were not allowed to deteriorate willynilly on annual qualifications or holster wear on exercise.

[Major Bob]

I meant ''in '' a shoulder holster. The wooden shoulder holster you refer to is the ''Chinese'' holster and i have never heard it used by anyone in the Allied camp.It is rather silly. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I met this fine British officier in Suffield Alta. He did'nt look like he was joking or anything. Anyway , thanks . Major Bob