This is the second chapter of the “what have I blundered into” story.

From my internet wanderings, this is a wartime production pistol manufactured somewhere around mid 1943 in the occupied Belgium plant, as denoted by the serial number and lower case “a” suffix.



It contains both the German acceptance proof eagle over Aa140 and Nazi eagle proofs. It is a complete pistol as serial numbers match. Note the double strike Aa140 on the pic of the slide.









I got this along with a correct but badly deteriorating holster, a holster that is obviously for something else, and a single non-serialized but period correct mag.





This is a perfect example of a typical pistol made under occupation. It has copious rough finish marks throughout, even on the magazine. Obviously, volume took precedence over a detailed fit and finish. I’ve yet to fire it, but it appears perfectly serviceable and solidly functional. I’ll probably verify it fires, then put it away to preserve it. A neat piece of history.

I inherited one, manufactured in '42, and ordered some Normal 73 gr ammo for it. It's reputed to be some pretty hot ammo. I fired it a couple of months ago and was a little surprised at the recoil. It was more than I was expecting but I got used to it pretty fast. I was all over the place with it at first but once I got used to it and the grip safety my groupings settled down, not good but meh. The Norma was a lot more accurate than the old Remington UMC that came with the pistol. Field stripping that little tank is really interesting, isn't it?

Very cool.

^^^
I haven’t gotten up the nerve to tear it down yet but I will eventually. Ironically, everything I read online says these old 7.65 pistols function better with higher pressure European spec’d ammo than with “underpowered” USA loads. I’d have thought lower pressure would be better for limiting wear and tear.

That is a cool piece of history. Very nice get.

Very nice wartime example!

There are several videos on U Tube on how to field strip it that helped me out. It was tricky and I had never done it before. I still screw it up sometimes. That was the reason I bought the higher pressure loads and it did make a difference. S&B makes some pretty hot 73 gr ammo for it and you can find it on ammoseek.

^^^
The field strip looks very similar to an old astra 300 I had many moons ago. I’ll probably not shoot it much as I have plenty of more modern and easier to replace or repair, should the worst happen. That said, I will certainly have to try it out at minimum.

Nice!

I have a similar FN, but haven't had time to clean, oil, or check the springs yet.

Both SARCO and Numrich carry parts for it and Numrich even has a detailed schematic for it.

Hadn’t thought of Numrich- thanks for the reminder.

I had the same gun in 380 50 years ago. It was fun to shoot and cost $35.00. It was Dutch police or military. It had the Queen's crest on it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: maxwayne,

You're welcome. Enjoy shooting that classic.