When we talk about historical firearms from the great World Wars of the twentieth century, we tend to focus on American, German, Japanese and Soviet guns. There's not a lot of discussion about French guns, but the French did (and still do) manufacture them. One of the better examples is this French Model 35A handgun, which is interesting for a number of reasons.
First, although it's based on John Moses Browning's design for the 1911, it does feature some significant tweaks courtesy of its designer, Charles Petter. Comments American Rifleman Contributor Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas, "[He] Did away with the barrel bushing, elongated the recoil spring guide. But if you're familiar with the way Model 1911 works and the slide comes back and when it goes forward, strips around off and the toggle link and so forth, it's pretty much the same."
Trouble was, while elegant of design, the 35A arrived just a bit too late to make a difference in the conflict.
"The gun wasn't in production for all that long before the Battle of France hit," reports American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune. "And the Germans, like they do in so many other places, in Europe, they immediately adopt the production line of the Model 1935A to serve their own purposes." Brune says. "And the Wehrmacht end up having more guns made during their time in control of the factory than the French ever made before the war."
After the conclusion of World War II, production of the Model 35A went back into French hands. It went on to become the French army's duty sidearm for the duration of the French conflict in what was then known as "Indochine," and that we now call Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Learn more about this fascinating piece of European history in this episode of American Rifleman TV!
