And here's our final installment of this overlong and probably boring series we started in April.
Canada is working on replacing its military handgun, and has run into a glitch.
Tribunal ruling causes pistol reboot
As readers of that article will learn, Canadian servicemen who have been waiting;
for their vintage nine-millimetre Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic pistols to be replaced will have to wait a while longer.
M'eh.
Now, how can I say that when I just approved of the replacement of the less vintage M16/M4 in the U.S. Army, sort of, and the much less vintage M249?
Well, because the Hi-Power isn't really going to be replaced by anything that needs to replace it.
The Hi-Power was a pistol that John Browning was working on at the time of his death in November 1926. Browning never really finished designing his automatic pistols even though various version of them had been in production by that time for over 25 years, and one of them, the Colt M1911, was a hugely successful military pistol already. In spite of that, a perfectionist, he kept working on the design and was doing so at the time of his death.
Upon his death, FN employee Dieudonné Saive took the design up and completed work on the handgun, which is frankly extremely similar to the M1911, in 1935. People can argue which is better and never reach upon a conclusion. At any rate, the gun went into immediate military use at the time, and in one of the strange ironies of the Second World War, it was used by both sides. The Germans, who used a lot of pistols, kept them under production in Belgium. The Allies were already producing them in Canada for Chinese contacts and took over those. It became the handgun used by Commonwealth paratroopers, although M1911s also were. After the war, it became the standard handgun of Commonwealth countries, in the same fashion that the FAL became their standard battle rifle.
They are still used by Australia and Canada, among others. Canadian ones were manufactured by the Canadian John Inglis plant.
Who?
The John Inglis Company.
Okay, you've probably never heard of Inglis, unless you are a history student. John Inglis and Company was a Canaidan manufacturing company that started firearms manufacturing just before World War Two, when the Commonwealth forces were rearming. It started off with Bren Guns and ended up making 60% of them for the Commonwealth forces. They also made Hi Power pistols for Commonwealth forces.
And then after World War Two, they stopped and went into appliances. In 1987 they were acquired by Whirlpool.
Canada's adopted the Hi Power pistol as its sidearm after the war, or sort of during the war, ultimately replacing a vareity of other things. They've apparently (although I somewhat question this) been using Hi Powers made during World War Two ever since.
If that sounds fantastical, keep in mind that there are still M1911s in use in the U.S. military, albeit rebuilt more than once, that were built during World War Two. Moreover, in 2020 a Browning M2HB .50 machinegun went into Anniston for refurbishing that had been built in 1933.
These things can last.
Which is actually a good argument for keeping them.
Canada wants to replace theirs.
Why?
Well, that's what armies do.
Okay, in fairness, they're old. And most of the nations that did use them no longer do. But that's more than a little bit because that's what armies do.
But not all.
It has something to do with handguns.
In most armies, handguns play a marginal role. There are some exceptions. In the U.S. Army handguns are sort of a big deal, which reflects their historical role in the U.S. Army, which is unique. But in most armies they aren't used a lot.
Given that, the fact of the matter is that they last a very long time and their actual role, while marginal, can be filled by about any modern handgun that's a good one.
And by modern handgun, we mean a handgun that came after 1910, more or less.
Semiautomatic handguns were perfected by John Browning at that point in time, and absolutely any of the good semiautomatic handguns made after that fit the bill. The bigger question, really, is cartridge.
Every theoretical development in handguns that has come after World War Two has been marginal at best. Making the bodies out of synthetics? M'eh. For really long-lasting handguns, the jury is still out on that. Striker fired? Yep, that's a good feature. . . albeit one that's been around since before 1910, but it's not such a big deal in a military handgun that it really actually matters.
Optical sights?
Military handguns are used so little, by most who carry them, that this would actually be a detriment. For special operators, sure. But their needs are unique, and they've always had unique supply chains. And most automatic pistols can be retrofitted for this anyhow.
So is there no argument for replacing them?
Well, maybe. But a person sure shouldn't leap to that conclusion.
The linked in article provides one reason:
This is even though Hi-Power parts are no longer available – production of the 1930s design ended in 2017. When Colt Canada, the government’s Strategic Source and Centre of Excellence for Small Arms, receives a batch for repairs, it generally cannibalizes nearly a third to salvage the rest.
The problem with that argument is that its wrong.
It was right at one time, but no longer is. As an erudite commenter on the article noted:
- Editor on April 12, 2022 at 7:50 pm
Thank you for the correction.
Reply- Yeoman on April 13, 2022 at 11:56 am
I actually learned since posting that there are now three, not two, companies making the Hi Power now. At least two of the three are making them in the US, including FN. I’m not sure about the third. Those used by the Canadian Army were originally made in Canada, but most of them are almost certainly FN made from Belgium, where production was once centered.
Again, none of this suggests that the Canadian armed forces must stick with the Hi Power, but rather notes that replacement parts should be available, fwiw.
Indeed, Hi Power's have come roaring back into production.
Almost like the M1911 did when something similar happened with it.
And that's worth noting.
Truth be known, the HI Power is an incredibly durable handgun, which its long service in multiple armies proves, and the advantages of its supposed successors is largely theoretical. By going to a newer handgun, the Canadian Army achieves. . . nothing.
Well, nothing in a "this is way better sense". Maybe some other advantage. . . although the experience of the U.S. Army would suggest not. If the advantage is that they now have a source of spare parts, well, they do already.
Last Prior Edition:
“This is even though Hi-Power parts are no longer available – production of the 1930s design ended in 2017.”
FWIW, Hi-Powers are back in production. FN has resumed production of them, and the US Springfield Armory company has commenced production of them. Not that this should govern the choice, but its an error in the article.