FN Browning M1922 Greek purchase
3
I acquired this pistol last August but didn't have a digital camera at the time. I've been having fun taking pictures now that I have one. Can anybody tell?
This pistol was part of a purchase from FN by Greece probably sometime between 1926 and 1929. It is unknown exactly when. There was apparently no contract with FN for the production of these pistols since the serial numbers indicate that the pistols were taken from stock on hand. FN standard serial numbers began with 200,000. Pistols produced under contract were numbered with a contract number beginning with 1, I think. The Yugo, Dutch, Turkish and French Navy had contracts for pistol production and those pistols have contract numbers. That means that pistols in one contract have the same number as pistols from the other contracts. However, pistols with serial numbers over 200,000 have true serial numbers. Some purchases were just taken from FN's stock on hand which would be pistols with serial numbers such as this Greek marked pistol and the Shanghai Chinese police pistol I showed a little while ago. A few Yugo pistols have shown up with serial numbers instead of contract numbers. As a side note, the pistols produced under German occupation did not abide by this rule. I am uncertain about post-war produced pistols.
Anyway, here is my Greek marked pistol. Notice the Epsilon Sigma marking and the issue number. This stands for Ellynikis Etrato or Hellenic(Greek) Army. This pistol has a numbered magazine. The number does not match the gun's serial number. I do not know if the Greeks numbered their magazines but I know the Dutch did and I suspect this magazine belongs to a Dutch pistol but I don't know for certain. This pistol was refinished post-war by Greece. These pistols were used against the invading German and Italian forces during WW2. After the war they were issued to various branches including the coast guard. It is possible that some pistols might be marked Epsilon Alpha for air force issue but none such have been observed. The fact is, very few of any Greek marked FN 1922 pistols have been observed.
(Lest anybody think I researched all this information myself, I must give credit to my source which is the book "The Belgian Browning Pistols" by Anthony Vanderlinden.)
Download Attachment:
Greek left.jpg
275.59KB
Download Attachment: Greek right.jpg
269.06KB
Download Attachment: Greek mark.jpg
34.69KB
This pistol was part of a purchase from FN by Greece probably sometime between 1926 and 1929. It is unknown exactly when. There was apparently no contract with FN for the production of these pistols since the serial numbers indicate that the pistols were taken from stock on hand. FN standard serial numbers began with 200,000. Pistols produced under contract were numbered with a contract number beginning with 1, I think. The Yugo, Dutch, Turkish and French Navy had contracts for pistol production and those pistols have contract numbers. That means that pistols in one contract have the same number as pistols from the other contracts. However, pistols with serial numbers over 200,000 have true serial numbers. Some purchases were just taken from FN's stock on hand which would be pistols with serial numbers such as this Greek marked pistol and the Shanghai Chinese police pistol I showed a little while ago. A few Yugo pistols have shown up with serial numbers instead of contract numbers. As a side note, the pistols produced under German occupation did not abide by this rule. I am uncertain about post-war produced pistols.
Anyway, here is my Greek marked pistol. Notice the Epsilon Sigma marking and the issue number. This stands for Ellynikis Etrato or Hellenic(Greek) Army. This pistol has a numbered magazine. The number does not match the gun's serial number. I do not know if the Greeks numbered their magazines but I know the Dutch did and I suspect this magazine belongs to a Dutch pistol but I don't know for certain. This pistol was refinished post-war by Greece. These pistols were used against the invading German and Italian forces during WW2. After the war they were issued to various branches including the coast guard. It is possible that some pistols might be marked Epsilon Alpha for air force issue but none such have been observed. The fact is, very few of any Greek marked FN 1922 pistols have been observed.
(Lest anybody think I researched all this information myself, I must give credit to my source which is the book "The Belgian Browning Pistols" by Anthony Vanderlinden.)
Download Attachment:
Greek left.jpg275.59KB
Download Attachment:
Greek right.jpg269.06KB
Download Attachment:
Greek mark.jpg34.69KB
