Info Re:POLISH VIS 35-1939 date-late serial number
I'm seeking information on the last VIS 35 pistols that were manufactured for the Polish military at the arms plant in Radom, Poland. Specifically, I'd like to know about the serial number range of the last pistols built by Poland before the Nazi invasion, and if they were built from whatever parts remained, therefore having mis-matched serial numbers, or if the typical serial numbering system where all parts were serially matched was adhered to until the end of Polish control with the arrival of the Nazis. Any information provided will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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49,000+ was the serial number range of the Polish Eagle Radoms, when the Germans occupied Radom. 0 -
Thanks very much for your reply! Have you any information regarding the matching -v- mismatched serial number issue with respect to the receiver, slide, barrel, etc., on late production preoccupation VIS 35 pistols? 0 -
littleharry105...the Radom plant was overrun by the Germans on September 7, 1939 at which time Polish military production ceased and the Germans took over. Since the VIS 35 had only been in production since 1935 and accepted in the Polish military in 1936 only about half of the 90,000 needed by the military had been produced by the time the factory was overrun. How many has been open to question for many years. Most sources agree with Rufe that @49000 had been produced although others say @45000...others say fewer. When the Germans took over they restarted production with available parts so some have the Polish Eagle and the Polish numbering system, others have the new German alphanumeric system including the new slide markings and waffenamt. Serial #'s started 001-12000 then shifted to the alphanumeric A001-Dxxx system. So the 60,000 produced in 1940 are a mixed lot. Hope this helps! Good shooting. 0 -
Thank you very much for your comments. I wasn't aware that the Polish military order for VIS 35 pistols was 90K units in total, but remember reading a very long time ago that the last Polish built VIS 35 pistols reached into the 47,000 serial number range and your posts verify that. I have a mismatched Polish made VIS 35 with a slide date of 1939 and a receiver serial number in the very early 47K's. Each of the major components of this pistol bears the last four digits of a serial number that differ from each other and from the the receiver, with the slide having a complete mismatched serial number. I also remember reading that the last few hundred Polish built VIS 35 pistols were hurriedly put together and rarely had matching numbers. This is the information I'd like to verify and would appreciate verification of this, and referral to any references that detail the closing days of VIS 35 production. Many thanks once again. Harry 0 -
littleharry105....you are very welcome. Glad we could be of help to you. As to your VIS 35, it sounds as if you have one of the "parts guns" that was put together right after the German occupation. The Germans grabbed the available VIS parts and started to assemble pistols, some matching, some non-matching. Remember we said that sources differ on the numbering sequence of VIS 35's so you having a 47xxx mismatched could put it in that Sept/Oct/Nov 1939 production timeframe when things were, to say the least, "hectic" at the Radom factory! It took the Germans months to get things right in the factory and get the production up and running at a good rate. What you have is a wonderful pistol that the Germans thought a lot of which is why they increased production and even supplied it to the SS as a sidearm. I was fortunate years ago to get ahold of a matching Polish Eagle 1938 in a even rarer Polish double mag holster and it got me interested in the weapon as it is also a nice shooter. Poland gets a bad rap in military history for falling to the Germans (and Soviets) in 30 days but they put up one terrible fight and many of their soldiers got out to continue the fight right until the end. Now you also have a piece of their history! Good shooting. 0 -
Not trying to highjack the thread but I have one with an eagle on the slide and 1939 and the serial 40034. is 1939 the year it was made? 0 -
Oh, no hijack worries please...I say the more the merrier! I don't know the serial number blocks assigned to each year of VIS 35 production but maybe Rufe, Gary Wray or another member has that information. Does the serial number on the inside of your 1939 dated slide match the serial number on the receiver? 0 -
wallbanger....more VIS 35 questions! Great! Yes, your slide marking 1939 is the year that it was made, and your #40xxx serial would indicate that it was made before the the Germans took the factory on September 7. Finding the last VIS 35 out the door before the Germans marched in is an interesting exercise! If all your numbers match it would be my educated guess that you have a Radom made by Polish workers before the German occupation, probably in the late spring, early summer of 1939. If the numbers do not match you might have a put-together VIS 35 made after the occupation in the late Sept/Oct/Nov timeframe when the Germans just grabbed what was left around from Polish production and cobbed together pistols before they started they own alphanumeric system. 0 -
Gary I got my pistol in a squrriel dog trade from a Vet that served with Patton.He had a History,one of the first tanks to cross into Germany and saw a lot of action ,he told me about helping rescue the 'Band of Brothers" from Bastoyne years before the book or movie came out.He said he took the pistol from a German officer in Czechoslavakia in 1943,took a leather bag from a doctor there and had a holster made for it and carried it the rest of the war.He also had lots of pics.and also a black dagger that had SS on it.Hope this wasn't too boring.Thanks for your reply. 0 -
Wallbanger...that the VIS 35 was on a German officer is understandable in that it was a coveted weapon in the German military. Several key German units surrendered in Czech at the end of the war (1945, not 1943) to US forces including some that fought in the Ardennes (Bastone)in 1944/45. IMHO I would write down the provenance of the pistol ASAP so as not to forget it and if the gentleman is still alive get his statement...establishing the history of the weapon can really help as to value. Same with the SS dagger which can also be worth a lot of $ today! You have a lot of WWII history there! And it is never boring!! Hope this helps! 0
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