WWII Nazi Occupied F.B. Radom VIS Model P.35 (p) 9mm Semi-Auto Pistol, C&R
SOLD FOR : $1492.67
LSB#: 210606JV74
Make: Fabryka Broni (Arms Factory), in Radom, Poland
Model: VIS 35 (Vis is Latin for “force”) Grade II, Subvariation 2 (“Axis Pistols”, Vol. II, by Jan Still)
Serial Number: S3810
Year of Manufacture: Ca. 1942-1944
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto Pistol with Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of the slide is marked “F. B. RADOM VIS Mod.35. Pat. Nr.15567″ with eagle over “77” waffenamt, eagle over “623” waffenamt and eagle over swastika. The left of the frame has an eagle over “77” waffenamt. The right side of the frame is marked “S3810” and with an incomplete waffenamt. The bottom of the slide is marked “S3810” and there are some other markings we don’t recognize. The left of the barrel lug has “810” and an eagle over swastika marking, the right has an eagle over “623” waffenamt. The trigger guard has inspection marks.
Barrel Length: 4 5/8”
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short narrow blade integral to the rib on the slide. The blade has been painted white. The rear sight is a “V” notch dovetailed into the slide. There is a thin narrow rib running down the center of the entire length of the slide with a finely checkered finish.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered red-brown plastic grips. The left panel has “FB” in triangle and the right has “VIS” in triangle. The grips have light handling wear with a few minor nicks and scuffs. There are light tool marks around the screw-holes. The checkering is generally sharp. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Fine condition.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: Refinished
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with sharp rifling. There is infrequent minor erosion in the bore.
Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 96% of its current metal finish. The finish is thinning at some edges. There are some light scuffs at the bottom of the mainspring housing and on the slide at the bottom front. There is minor operational wear, most notable around the decocker. The screw heads are tool marked with strong slots. The markings are generally clear, most exposed markings have been filled with white. Overall, this pistol is in Fine condition as refinished.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The trigger is crisp and the slide has light play to the frame. There is a de-cocker on the slide and a grip safety. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with a total of two eight round magazines. The magazines have different follower, feed lip and floorplate designs. One magazine has light operational wear, intact feed lips and a strong spring, in Very Good condition. The other magazine shows faint operational wear, intact feed lips and a strong spring, but requires significant force to seat properly, appearing Fine but rating Good due to the excessive force required to properly seat
Our Assessment: This is a Fabryka Broni Radom VIS 1935 Grade II, Subvariation 2 pistol made in 1942-1944 during WWII under German occupation before manufacture was moved to Steyr in Austria in late 1944. The design of the pistol was roughly based on John Browning’s M1911 with a slide release, de-cocker and grip safety. The VIS was originally designed for the Polish Army, but only saw a few years of service before Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. After the war, the Russians forced the Poles to adopt the Soviet TT-33 Tokarev even though the Tokarev was considered inferior in both ergonomics and reliability, and the VIS was no longer produced. This pistol was made during Nazi occupation for use by German forces and has matching serial markings on the slide, frame and barrel. The pistol is in Fine condition as refinished with about 96% of its new metal finish remaining. The bore is great with strong rifling and infrequent minor erosion. The grips have minor handling wear. There were about 73,000 of this subvariation made during the war, and likely fewer surviving to this day, making the Radom a collectable piece. This should be of interest to collectors of Polish firearms and of German weaponry used during WWII. Please see our photos and good luck!