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The Browning Hi Power is a single-action, semi-automatic handgun available in 9mm and .40 S&W calibers. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at ''Fabrique Nationale'' (FN) of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols in history, having been used by the armed forces of over 50 countries.〔Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns''. Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 1-84065-245-4.〕 The Hi Power name is somewhat misleading and alluded to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of contemporary designs such as the Luger or Mauser 1910. The pistol is often referred to as an HP (for "Hi-Power" or "High-Power")〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Browning Catalog )〕 or as a GP (for the French term, "Grande Puissance"). The terms P-35 and HP-35 are also used, based on the introduction of the pistol in 1935. It is most often called the "Hi Power", even in Belgium. Other names include BAP (Browning Automatic Pistol), particularly in Irish service, or BHP (Browning High-Power). ==Development== The Browning Hi-Power was designed in response to a French military requirement for a new service pistol, the ''Grand Rendement'' (French for "High Yield"), or alternatively ''Grande Puissance'' (literally "high power"). The French military's requirements were that the arm should be compact, have a capacity of at least 10 rounds, a magazine disconnect device, an external hammer, a positive safety, be robust and simple to disassemble and re-assemble, and be capable of killing a man at 50 meters; this last criterion was seen to demand a caliber of 9 mm or larger, a bullet mass of around 8 grams (123.5 grains), and a muzzle velocity of 350 m/s (1148 ft/s). It was to accomplish all of this at a weight not exceeding 1 kg (2.2 lb). FN commissioned John Browning to design a new military sidearm conforming to this specification. Browning had previously sold the rights to his successful M1911 U.S. Army automatic pistol to Colt's Patent Firearms, and was therefore forced to design an entirely new pistol while working around the M1911 patents. Browning built two different prototypes for the project in Utah and filed the patent for this pistol in the United States on June 28, 1923, granted on February 22, 1927.〔Gangarosa, Gene Jr. (1999). ''FN...Browning: Armorer to the World''. Stoeger Publishing, New Jersey. pp. 63–65.〕 One was a simple blowback design, while the other was operated with a locked-breech recoil system. Both prototypes utilized the new staggered magazine design (by designer Dieudonné Saive) to increase capacity without unduly increasing the pistol's grip size or magazine length. The locked breech design was selected for further development and testing. This model was striker-fired, and featured a double-column magazine that held 16 rounds. The design was refined through several trials held by the Versailles Trial Commission. In 1928, when the patents for the Colt Model 1911 had expired, Dieudonné Saive integrated many of the Colt's previously patented features into the ''Grand Rendement'' design, in the Saive-Browning Model of 1928. This version featured the removable barrel bushing and take down sequence of the Colt 1911. By 1931, the Browning Hi-Power design incorporated a shortened 13-round magazine, a curved rear grip strap, and a barrel bushing that was integral to the slide assembly. By 1934, the Hi-Power design was complete and ready to be produced. It was first adopted by Belgium for military service in 1935 as the Browning P-35. Ultimately, France decided not to adopt the pistol, instead selecting the conceptually similar but lower-capacity Modèle 1935 pistol. The HP35 originally had a rounded, serrated hammer with a hole through it (called a "ring hammer"). This lighter hammer was harder to cock and had difficulty firing the harder Berdan-primed centerfire cartridges commonly used in Europe, often requiring a tightening of the hammer spring. This was replaced in 1972 by a spur hammer on both civilian and military models. However, the Browning Challenger and special variants of the Browning pistol still use the classic ring hammer. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Browning Hi-Power」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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