Vis (weapon)
Vis (Polish designation
pistolet wz. 35 Vis, German designation
9 mm Pistole 35(p), often simply called the
Radom in English sources) is a
9 mm caliber,
single action,
semi-automatic pistol. Originally designed by
Piotr Wilniewczyc and
Jan Skrzypiński in 1930. In 1936 it was adopted as the standard handgun of the
Polish Army. Considered by many to be one of the finest handguns ever produced, it is highly prized among collectors of firearms.
The design was generally based on
John Browning's
Colt M1911A1, operating on the
short-recoil principle, with the
barrel being cammed down and away from the locking lugs in the slide. Unlike M1911, the barrel 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 rear with the slide by the recoil force, in a similar way, as in Browning's new
FN HP pistol.
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 constructors' names), later the name was changed to a latinized version:
Vis (meaning
power in
Latin).
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Dismantled Vis (right side) |
The tests proved that the handgun was very accurate and stable while at the same time remained reliable after more than 6000 shots. The Vis was generally regarded as one of the best military pistols of that period. Production started in the State Armory in
Radom in late 1935 and the following year it was introduced as the standard weapon of Polish infantry and cavalry officers. Successively, other units were to be equipped and by 1942 all other handguns were scheduled to be withdrawn from service. By mid-1938 it was introduced to the armored and air forces. Before the
Polish September Campaign, approx. 49,400 (out of 90,000 ordered) were delivered to the army.
After the Polish defeat in 1939 the
Germans took over the
Radom Armory and continued production of the Vis under the new name of
9 mm Pistole 35(p). Up to 1945 between 312,000 and 380,000 were produced and used by the German
paratroopers and police.
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Dismantled Vis (left side) |
For fear of Polish technicians working in the Armory supplying the
Home Army with the weapons, the
barrel production was moved to the Steyr works in
Austria. However, underground production of Vis barrels was started in Warsaw and several hundreds of Vis pistols were delivered to the
Home Army and used extensively, among others, during the
Warsaw Uprising. In 1944 all production was moved to the Steyr works in Austria. The Vis remained in production until April 1945. Vis pistols made after 1939 were issued in four different series, each with small modifications to simplify production. Generally, the wartime Vis were of much lower quality than the original, degrading towards the end of the war.
After the war the production of the pistol was not continued, as the army of the
People's Republic of Poland used the Soviet
TT-33 pistol, considered by many to be inferior to the Vis.
In August 1992 the Lucznik Arms Factory in
Radom reintroduced the Vis pistol and produced a small series on the basis of the original plans and specifications, mainly for the collectors' market.
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Vis on Polish Firearms Page*
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