From the pistol of this model Gavrilo Princip killed the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand. Lenin wore Browning. From such a pistol, according to the revolutionary investigation, Fani Kaplan shot…
John Moses Browning is a famous American designer of firearms. In the late nineteenth century, he created a self-loading pistol of 7.65 mm caliber with automatic, which worked on the release of a free shutter. The box shop was inserted into the handle, and the back-fighting spring was above the barrel. A pistol with a non-standard layout did not arouse the enthusiasm of the Americans, but in Europe the novelty was quickly appreciated. Since 1899, the pistols began to be produced at the Belgian firm "Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre". The weapon was called the "Browning Piston Model of 1900". Browning pistols is one of the few guns, which received the name on behalf of his real creator.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, no automatic pistol in the world could match with Browning. It was reliable, light, and comfortable. Browning became the standard of pocket weapons. Created by J. Browning cartridges of caliber 7.65 mm with smokeless powder significantly exceeded the cartridges with smoky powder both in power and ballistic indicators. The rapid-fire pistol was very convenient for concealed wearing. These advantages finally eliminated the competitor - a revolver. In 1903 another model was produced under the caliber of 9 mm, and this was already a real army pistol. The design was very successful, and it was adopted by the army, police and gendarmerie.
Till this day it is difficult to think of something more comfortable to carry around. The appearance of the Browning became a kind of revolution in the weapons business. Their design determined the development of most modern pistols.
The Browning pistol, as well as other models of the legendary weapon, can now be seen in the exposition of the Museum of Local Lore.