The Nazi juggernaut rolled across Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France in a mere six weeks.
The transformation would have seemed apocalyptic.
We have the benefit of hindsight.
The Inglis No. 1 Mk I Hi-Power was produced in Canada by a Belgian refugee for use in China fighting the Japanese. Note the unique shoulder stock/holster.*
For those who lived it, however, there could be no comparable clarity.
As far as they knew the Nazi jackboot was there to stay.
The Setting
TheGP-35 Hi-Powerwas born in response to a French tender for a new military pistol.
The Inglis No. 1 Mk I Hi-Power with the shoulder stock feels pretty awkward in action, but it does run well.*
Browning first filed the patent for what would become the Hi-Power in 1923.
It was also striker-fired and featured a novel locked-breech action.
Unfortunately, in November of 1926, John Browning died.
The Canadian John Inglis Company occupied itself during WWII producing Bren light machine guns andHi-Power pistols.
Dieudonne Saive took up the mantle to complete the GP-35.
The original 1911 patents expired in 1928, so Saive could proceed unfettered.
The final version was shrunken slightly to accept a 13-round magazine and featured a superlative single-action trigger.
A canvas frog snaps onto the side of the stock for use as a belt hanger. It is an unusual look for a stock.
It first hit the streets in 1935 and was well-received.
They wisely chose not to return home given the circumstances.
Dieudonne Saive was trapped in Belgium, but later escaped to England in 1941.
The buttplate on the Inglis Hi-Power shoulder stock pivots open to accept the pistol. A small piece of spring steel keeps the gun from rattling.
He brought along an invaluable first-person technical knowledge of the Hi-Power pistol.
Once safely in the UK, Saive went to work reproducing the technical drawings for the GP-35 from memory.
The Nazis compelled the Belgian workforce to produce Hi-Power pistols for their own use.
The rear sight on the Inglis No. 1 Mk I Hi-Power is optimistically graduated out to 500 meters.*
These weapons were given the German designation 9mm Pistole 640(b).
The Pistole 640(b) was particularly prized by the Waffen SS and fallschirmjagers.
Meanwhile, the entire planet was aflame.
The shoulder stock for the Inglis Hi-Power pistol was clearly inspired by that of the German C96 Broomhandle pistol.
The formal appellation was the No.
1 Mk I*.
Inglis paid a modest royalty fee per each gun produced.
At its heart, the WW-era Inglis No. 1 Mk I Hi-Power was a basic GP-35 pistol that operates and reloads in the same way.*
The use of the commonly available 9mm cartridge made the Hi-Power an obvious choice for such clandestine work.
Only about 4,000 Chinese No.
As a result, most of the Inglis production ended up in Europe.
The curious Inglis stocked Hi-Power was an odd footnote to the expansive pantheon of World War II-era small arms.
The Hi-Power shoulder stock was indeed quite similar to that of the C96 Broomhandle.
A web frog attached to the side of the stock allowed the machine to hang from a belt.
Firing the stocked Hi-Power feels about as natural as strolling into your local church in your underwear.
Care must be exercised not to let the reciprocating slide nip anything soft and fleshy.
The original French contract stipulated this ghastly thing, and it took a toll on the single action trigger.
Many original users just removed it.
A vintage shoulder-stocked Inglis No.
1 Mk I* Hi-Power makes a welcome addition to any seasoned gun collection.
However, these old guns are terribly expensive.
The SA-35 is a simply magnificent piece of iron.
Im utterly smitten with mine.
Special thanks towww.worldwarsupply.comfor the replica military equipment used in our photographs.
Go to forum thread
SA-35TM
