Browning Hi-Power

The Browning Hi-Power or 1935 Browning 9mm GP or Grand Puissance pistol 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. The Hi-Power was the only 9mm semi-automatic pistol available with a double-stack detachable box magazine from 1935 until the introduction of the 15-round MAB PA-15 in 1966.
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)". 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, and the terms P...