Make: Fabrique Nationale, under German Occupation

Model: High Power, designated Pistole 640(b) by Germans

Serial Number: 139534

Year of Manufacture: 1942

Caliber: 9mm Luger

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto fed by Detachable Magazine

Barrel Length: 4 5/8"

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a serrated blade dovetailed to the front of the slide. The rear sight is a "V"-notch tangent sight graduated from 50-500 meters mounted to the rear of the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered walnut with smooth borders. The grips have even minor handling wear with a few light marks. There are a couple of knots in the left panel that have caused small spots of irregularity in the checkering. The checkering is otherwise well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Very Good-Fine condition.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original, numbers match on slide, frame and barrel.

Bore Condition: The bore is gray with well defined rifling. There is light erosion and ,minor pitting scattered through the bore, mostly in the grooves. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 5-6/10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 75% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. The grip areas show light handling wear. There are scattered spots of light surface oxidation and infrequent minor erosion. There are some scattered nicks, scuffs and scratches. The surfaces show the slightly rougher finish consistent with this period of production. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This handgun comes with a total of two magazines, one WaA140 marked 13-round and one Mec-Gar 10-round.

Our Assessment: Originally developed as "Le Grand Rendement" (the High Efficiency), with some input from John Browning and most design evolution from Dieudonne Saive, Browning's assistant at FN, the "Grande Puissance" would be put into production in 1935, now known as the High Power. Referring not to the power of the cartridge, but rather to its capacity of 13 rounds in the magazine, this new model would carry nearly double the ammunition of its contemporary military sidearms. High Powers went on to see service with a number of nations, widespread commercial sales, and have a number of variations that make them attractive to collectors.

When Germany invaded Belgium, they took over the FN plant and continued making the High Power, but soon dropped the stock groove after stocks of pre-invasion parts were used-up. Guns made with tangent sights included WaA613, WaA103 and WaA140 inspection marks before the tangent sights were replaced with fixed sights to help speed production. This is a mid-war pistol, made in 1942, in the WaA140 inspection mark range before the tangent sights had been dropped in favor of fixed sights. The pistol has matching serial numbers on the barrel, slide, and frame. According to Anthony Vanderlinden in his book “FN Browning Pistols”, sabotage performed by the workers in the FN factory increased proportionally with the portion which was forced labor. This was most prevalent in the WaA140 inspection range and some pistols are not safe to fire due to having poor heat treat or being out of tolerance standards. In any case, this pre-suffix High Power made under German occupation between the deletion of the stock-slot and the deletion of the tangent sight is a great example of a somewhat scarce variant, perfect for any collection. Please see our photos and good luck!