1.
Firearm
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A firearm is a portable gun - a barreled weapon that launches one or more projectiles, often driven by the action of an explosive force. The first primitive firearms originated in 13th-century China when the fire lance was combined with projectiles. The technology gradually spread through the rest of East Asia, South Asia, older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability, modern firearms can be described by their caliber or in the case of shotguns their gauge, by the type of action employed together with the usual means of deportment. The word firearms usually is used in a sense restricted to small arms, shooters aim firearms at their targets with hand-eye co-ordination, using either iron sights or optical sights. The accurate range of pistols generally does not exceed 100 yards, while most rifles are accurate to 550 yards using iron sights, some purpose-built sniper rifles are accurate to ranges of more than 2,200 yards. The smallest of all firearms is the handgun, there are three common types of handguns, single-shot pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic pistols. Revolvers have a number of firing chambers or charge holes in a revolving cylinder, semi-automatic pistols have a single fixed firing chamber machined into the rear of the barrel, and a magazine so they can be used to fire more than one round. Each press of the fires a cartridge, using the energy of the cartridge to activate the mechanism so that the next cartridge may be fired immediately. This is opposed to double-action revolvers which accomplish the end using a mechanical action linked to the trigger pull. Prior to the 19th century, virtually all handguns were single-shot muzzleloaders, with the invention of the revolver in 1818, handguns capable of holding multiple rounds became popular. Certain designs of auto-loading pistol appeared beginning in the 1870s and had largely supplanted revolvers in military applications by the end of World War I. By the end of the 20th century, most handguns carried regularly by military, police and civilians were semi-automatic, both designs are common among civilian gun owners, depending on the owners intention. A long gun is any firearm that is larger than a handgun and is designed to be held. Early long arms, from the Renaissance up to the century, were generally smoothbore firearms that fired one or more ball shot. Most modern long guns are either rifles or shotguns, both are the successors of the musket, diverging from their parent weapon in distinct ways. A rifle is so named for the spiral fluting machined into the surface of its barrel. Shotguns are predominantly smoothbore firearms designed to fire a number of shot, shotguns are also capable of firing single slugs, or specialty rounds such as bean bags, tear gas or breaching rounds
2.
Wallonia
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Wallonia is a region of Belgium. Wallonia is primarily French-speaking, and accounts for 55% of the territory of Belgium, unlike Flanders, the Walloon Region was not merged with the French Community of Belgium which is the political entity that is responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education. The German-speaking minority in the east forms the German-speaking Community of Belgium, during the industrial revolution, Wallonia was second only to the United Kingdom in industrialization, capitalizing on its extensive deposits of coal and iron. This brought the wealth, and, from the beginning of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. Since World War II the importance of industry has greatly diminished. Wallonia now suffers high unemployment and has a significantly lower GDP per capita than Flanders. The economic inequalities and linguistic divide between the two are major sources of conflict in Belgium and is a major factor in Flemish separatism. The capital of Wallonia is Namur but the city with the greatest population is Charleroi, most of Wallonias major cities and two-thirds of its population lie along the Sambre and Meuse valley, the former industrial backbone of Belgium. To the north lies the Central Belgian Plateau, which, like Flanders, is relatively flat, in the south-east lie the Ardennes, hilly and sparsely populated. Wallonia borders Flanders and the Netherlands in the north, France to the south and west, Wallonia has been a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie since 1980. The term Wallonia can mean different things in different contexts. One of the three regions of Belgium is still constitutionally defined as the Walloon Region, but the regions government has renamed it Wallonia. In practice, the difference between the two terms is small and what is meant is usually clear, based on context, the root of the word Wallonia, like the words Wales, Cornwall and Wallachia, is the Germanic word Walha, meaning the strangers. Wallonia is named after the Walloons, the population of the Burgundian Netherlands speaking Romance languages, in Middle Dutch, the term Walloons also included the French-speaking population of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège or the whole population of the Romanic sprachraum within the medieval Low Countries. Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 57 BC, the Low Countries became part of the larger Gallia Belgica province which originally stretched from southwestern Germany to Normandy and the southern part of the Netherlands. The population of territory was Celtic with a Germanic influence which was stronger in the north than in the south of the province. The ancestors of the Walloons became Gallo-Romans and were called the Walha by their Germanic neighbours, the Walha abandoned their Celtic dialects and started to speak Vulgar Latin. The Merovingian Franks gradually gained control of the region during the 5th century, the language border began to crystallize between 700 under the reign of the Merovingians and Carolingians and around 1000 after the Ottonian Renaissance
3.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
4.
Ammunition
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Ammunition is the general term used for the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon. The term ammunition can be traced back to the mid 17th century, broadly speaking, ammunition refers to both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target. Nearly all weapons will require some form of ammunition to operate, the word comes from the French la munition, which refers to the material used for war. The terms ammunition and munitions are used interchangeably, although the term munition now usually refers to both the actual weapons system alongside the ammunition required to operate it. The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a target to have an effect. The most iconic example of ammunition is the cartridge, which all components required to deliver the weapon effect in a single package. Ammunition comes in a range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems. However, there are internationally recognized standards for certain types that enable their use across different weapons. There are also types of ammunition that are designed to have a specialized effect on a target, such as armor-piercing shells and tracer ammunition. Ammunition is commonly colored in a manner to assist in the identification. A round is a cartridge containing a projectile, propellant, primer. A shell is a form of ammunition that is fired by a large cannon or artillery piece. Before the mid-19th century, these shells were made of solid materials. However, since that time, they are often filled with high-explosives. A shot refers to a release of a weapons system. This may involve firing just one round or piece of ammunition, a dud refers to loaded ammunition that fails to function as intended, typically failing to detonate on landing. However, it can refer to ammunition that fails to fire inside the weapon, known as a misfire, or when the ammunition only partially functions. Dud ammunition, which is classified as an ordnance, is regarded as highly dangerous
5.
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
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The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The ancestor of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was the Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson partnership of Norwich, Jennings rifle was a commercial failure, and Robbins & Lawrence ceased production in 1852. Smith designed a much-improved rifle based on Jennings, and the partners also hired away Robbins & Lawrence shop foreman Benjamin Tyler Henry. In 1855 the Smith & Wesson partnership, in order to manufacture what they called the Volcanic lever-action rifle and pistol, sought investors and its largest stockholder was clothing manufacturer Oliver Winchester. The Volcanic rifle had only limited success, the company moved to New Haven in 1856, but by the end of that year became insolvent. Oliver Winchester and his partner John M. Davies purchased the firms assets from the remaining stockholders. After Smiths departure Benjamin Henry continued to work with a Smith development project, the self-contained metallic rimfire cartridge, Henry also supervised a new rifle design based loosely on the Volcanic to use the new ammunition, retaining only the general form of the breech mechanism and the tubular magazine. This became the Henry rifle of 1860, which was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company, the Henry rifle ensured New Haven Arms success, and together with the Spencer rifle established the lever-action repeater in the firearms market. In 1866 Benjamin Henry, angered over what he believed was inadequate compensation, Oliver Winchester, hastening back from Europe, forestalled the move and reorganized New Haven Arms yet again as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Another extremely popular model was rolled out in 1873, the Model 1873 introduced the first Winchester center fire cartridge, the. 44-40 WCF. These rifle families are known as the Gun That Won the West. The Model 1873 was followed by the Model 1876, a version of the 73. It was chambered for longer, more powerful cartridges such as. 45-60 WCF. 45-75 WCF, Oliver Winchester died in December 1880, his son and successor, William Wirt Winchester, died of tuberculosis four months later. William Wirt Winchesters widow, Sarah Winchester, used her inheritance, several of these are still in production today through companies such as Browning, Rossi, Navy Arms and others which have revived several of the discontinued models or produced reproductions. The early years of the century found the Winchester Repeating Arms Company competing with new John Browning designs. The race to produce the first commercial self-loading rifle brought forth the.22 rimfire Winchester Model 1903 and later centerfire Model 1905, Model 1907, and Model 1910 rifles. Winchester engineers, after ten years of work, designed the Model 1911 to circumvent Brownings self-loading shotgun patents, one of Winchesters premier engineers, T. C. Johnson, was instrumental in the development of these self-loading firearms and went on to superintend the designs of Winchesters classic Model 1912, Model 52 and Model 54
6.
Browning Arms Company
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Browning Arms Company is an American maker of firearms and fishing gear. Founded in Morgan, Utah, the company offers a variety of firearms including shotguns, rifles. Other manufactured sporting goods include sport bows, knives, fishing rods, the company was founded to market the sporting designs of John Browning, one of the worlds most prolific firearms inventors. Nearly all of John Brownings innovative designs have been manufactured under license by companies, including Winchester, Colt, Remington, Fabrique Nationale dHerstal of Belgium. Browning is currently a fully owned subsidiary of FN Herstal, Browning Arms Company is best known for the Browning BPS shotgun, the A-Bolt rifle, X-Bolt rifle, the Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun, the BAR semi-automatic rifle, and the Hi-Power 9mm pistol. Browning also manufactures a set of trap shotguns in the Cynergy series, Browning sells a variety of non-firearms outdoors products, such as gun safes, knives, shooting accessories and clothing. 22LR.22 WMR and. In that year, a agreement was reached with Connecticut-based H. H. Brown Shoe Company. The product line included the John M. Browning collection, Field and Game series, the line has grown to include Kangaroo leather boots, Rubber boots and waders, and upland game boots. In 1968, Browning introduced a line of cutlery in the form of 3 fixed-blade hunting knives, in 2004 Browning partnered with several custom knifemakers to produce a series of Living History Knives honoring famous American Generals and battles. Browning has recently partnered with Big-game hunter, Russ Kommer as their knife designer, the actual line from the play is slightly different, Wenn ich Kultur höre. entsichere ich meinen Browning. Browning is the sponsor of hunting show Goin Country hosted by Kristy Lee Cook which used to air on the Versus channel before it became the NBC Sports Network, the relationship between Cook and Browning started after she was shown on American Idol wearing a Browning hat. FN Model 1910 M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle Official website
7.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
8.
Columbia, South Carolina
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Columbia is the capital and largest city of the U. S. state of South Carolina, with a population of 133,803 as of 2015. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, the name Columbia is a poetic term used for the United States, originating from the name of Christopher Columbus. The city is located approximately 13 miles northwest of the center of South Carolina. It lies at the confluence of the Saluda River and the Broad River, in 1860, the city was the location of the South Carolina Secession Convention, which marked the departure of the first state from the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Columbia were a people called the Congaree, in May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while moving northward. The expedition produced the earliest written records of the area. From the creation of Columbia by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1786, the Congarees, a frontier fort on the west bank of the Congaree River, was the head of navigation in the Santee River system. A ferry was established by the government in 1754 to connect the fort with the growing settlements on the higher ground on the east bank. Like many other significant early settlements in colonial America, Columbia is on the line from the Piedmont region. The fall line is the spot where a river becomes unnavigable when sailing upstream, State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill that was approved by the legislature on March 22,1786, to create a new state capital. There was considerable argument over the name for the new city, according to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA, for that was the name which he wished it to be called. One legislator insisted on the name Washington, but Columbia won by a vote of 11–7 in the state senate, the site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786, due to its central location in the state. The State Legislature first met there in 1790, after remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and then as a city in 1854. Columbia received a stimulus to development when it was connected in a direct water route to Charleston by the Santee Canal. This canal connected the Santee and Cooper rivers in a 22-mile-long section and it was first chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, making it one of the earliest canals in the United States. With increased railroad traffic, it ceased operation around 1850, the commissioners designed a town of 400 blocks in a 2-mile square along the river. The blocks were divided into lots of 0.5 acres and sold to speculators, buyers had to build a house at least 30 feet long and 18 feet wide within three years or face an annual 5% penalty. The perimeter streets and two streets were 150 feet wide
9.
M249 light machine gun
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The M249 light machine gun, formerly designated the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and formally written as Light Machine Gun,5.56 mm, or the.223 military rnd. The M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, the M249 is manufactured in the United States by the local subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC in South Carolina and is widely used in the U. S. The weapon was introduced in 1984 after being judged the most effective of a number of weapons to address the lack of automatic firepower in small units. The M249 provides infantry squads with the volume of fire of a machine gun combined with accuracy. The M249 is gas operated and air-cooled and it has a quick-change barrel, allowing the gunner to rapidly replace an overheated or jammed barrel. A folding bipod is attached near the front of the gun and it can be fed from both linked ammunition and STANAG magazines, like those used in the M16 and M4. This allows the SAW gunner to use a riflemans magazines as a source of ammunition in the event that he runs out of linked rounds. M249s have seen action in every conflict involving the United States since the U. S. invasion of Panama in 1989. Due to the weight and age of the weapon, the United States Marine Corps is fielding the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle with plans to replace the M249 in Marine Corps service. The M249 is often referred to as a Squad Assault Weapon, in 1965, the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps primary machine guns were the M2 Browning and M60. The M2 was a heavy machine gun, usually mounted on vehicles or in fixed emplacements. The M60 was a more mobile medium machine gun intended to be carried with the troops to provide heavy automatic fire, both were very heavy weapons and usually required a crew of at least two to operate efficiently. Because the M14 and M16 rifles had not been designed with sustained fire in mind. The 20-round and 30-round magazines of these weapons limited their sustained automatic effectiveness when compared to belt-fed weapons. The Army decided that a machine gun, lighter than the M60. Through the 1960s, the introduction of a gun into the infantry squad was examined in various studies. The Stoner 63 LMG saw combat for a period in Vietnam with the USMC. In 1968, the Army Small Arms Program developed plans for a new 5.56 mm caliber LMG, studies of improved 5.56 mm ammunition, with better performance characteristics, began
10.
M240 machine gun
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The M240, officially Machine Gun,7. 62mm, M240, is the US military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns firing the 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by the United States Armed Forces since the late-1970s and it is used extensively by infantry, most often rifle companies as well as ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft. Despite being heavier than weapons, it is highly regarded for reliability. All variants are fed from disintegrating belts, and are capable of firing most types of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition, M240 variants can use non-disintegrating belts. There are significant differences in weight and some features among some versions which restrict interchangeability of parts, the M240s used by the US military are currently manufactured by FN Manufacturing, a US-based branch of FN Herstal. Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, the FN MAG was chosen by the U. S. military for different roles after large world-wide searches, the MAG is a belt-fed, gas-operated, air-cooled, crew-served, fixed headspace weapon. Its versatility is demonstrated by its ability to be mounted on the M122A1 tripod and it was first adopted by the U. S. Army in 1977, as a coaxial tank gun, and slowly adopted for more applications in the 1980s and 1990s. The M240 and M240E1 were adopted for use on vehicles and this led to further adoption in more uses, especially for the Army and Marine infantry. While possessing many of the basic characteristics as its predecessor. The MAG actually has a more complex gas system than the M60, compared to other machine guns, its rating of 26,000 mean rounds between failure is quite high for its weight—in the 1970s when it was first adopted it achieved about 7,000 MRBF. It is not as reliable as some very heavy older designs and it would go on to be deployed in this role in the 1980s, but was additionally adopted for infantry and other uses. It was deployed in new roles in the 1990s and 2000s. As mentioned, during the 1970s the Army was looking for new 7.62 mm machine guns for vehicle/AFV mounts, the 1950s-era M73 had been rather troubled, and the derivative M73E1/M219 was not much of an improvement. A number of designs of the period from various countries were considered and they underwent comprehensive testing alongside the older M219 for comparison. Two main criteria analyzed were mean rounds between stoppages and mean rounds between failures, the results for the evaluated machine guns were the following, The test applies only to the 1970s-era versions tested. The MAG itself underwent some improvements and the M60E2 was a specialized coaxial variant that differed from some of the other types, the qualities of the M60 variants vary considerably, such as between the M60E4 and the M60C. That aside, for these types the clear winner was the MAG and it went on to replace many older types for the vehicle/coaxial role in the 1980s. The M240 proved popular enough that it was adapted by the later on, spawning the M240B
11.
M16 rifle
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The M16 rifle, officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16, is a United States military adaptation of the Armalite AR-15 rifle. The original M16 was a select-fire,5. 56×45mm rifle with a 20-round magazine, in 1964, the M16 entered American military service and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations during the Vietnam War. In 1969, the M16A1 replaced the M14 rifle to become the U. S. militarys standard service rifle, the M16A1 improvements include a bolt-assist, chrome plated bore and a new 30-round magazine. In 1983, the USMC adopted the M16A2 rifle and the U. S. Army adopted it in 1986, the M16A2 fires the improved 5. Adopted in 1998, the M16A4 is the generation of the M16 series. It is equipped with a carrying handle and Picatinny rail for mounting optics. The M16 has also widely adopted by other militaries around the world. Total worldwide production of M16s has been approximately 8 million, making it the most-produced firearm of its 5.56 mm caliber. The U. S. Army has largely replaced the M16 in combat units with the shorter and lighter M4 carbine, however, early experiments with select-fire versions of the M1 Garand proved disappointing. During the Korean War, the select-fire M2 carbine largely replaced the gun in US service. However, combat experience suggested that the.30 Carbine round was under-powered, American weapons designers concluded that an intermediate round was necessary, and recommended a small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge. This culminated in the development of the 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge, the US also adopted the M60 general purpose machine gun. Its NATO partners adopted the FN FAL and HK G3 rifles, as well as the FN MAG, the first confrontations between the AK-47 and the M14 came in the early part of the Vietnam War. Battlefield reports indicated that the M14 was uncontrollable in full-auto and that soldiers could not carry enough ammo to maintain fire superiority over the AK-47, and, while the M2 carbine offered a high rate of fire, it was under-powered and ultimately outclassed by the AK-47. A replacement was needed, a medium between the traditional preference for high-powered rifles such as the M14, and the firepower of the M2 Carbine. As a result, the Army was forced to reconsider a 1957 request by General Willard G. Wyman, continental Army Command to develop a.223 caliber select-fire rifle weighing 6 lb when loaded with a 20-round magazine. This request ultimately resulted in the development of a version of the Armalite AR-10. However, despite overwhelming evidence that the AR-15 could bring more firepower to bear than the M14, in January 1963, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that the AR-15 was the superior weapon system and ordered a halt to M14 production
12.
Browning Hi-Power
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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, 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, the Hi Power name alludes to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of contemporary designs such as the Luger or Colt M1911. The pistol is often referred to as an HP or as a GP, 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, particularly in Irish Army service, or BHP. The Browning Hi-Power was designed in response to a French military requirement for a new service pistol and it was to accomplish all of this at a weight not exceeding 1 kg. FN commissioned John Browning to design a new military sidearm conforming to this specification, 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. One was a blowback design, while the other was operated with a locked-breech recoil system. Both prototypes utilized the new staggered magazine design to increase capacity without increasing the pistols grip size or magazine length. The locked breech design was selected for development and testing. This model was striker-fired, and featured a magazine that held 16 rounds. The design was refined through several trials held by the Versailles Trial Commission and 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, 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 and 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 hammer on both civilian and military models. However, the Browning Challenger and special variants of the Browning pistol still use the classic ring hammer, the Browning Hi-Power has undergone continuous refinement by FN since its introduction. The adjustable sights are available on commercial versions of the Hi-Power
