FN M1900

Infobox Weapon|is_ranged=yes
name=M1900/Browning No.1


caption=
origin=flagcountry|Belgium
type=Semi-automatic pistol
designer=John Browning
design_date=1896
service=
cartridge=7.65x17mm Browning SR (.32 ACP)
action=Blowback operated
weight=625 g
length=172 mm
part_length=102 mm
feed=7+1
sights=Fixed
variants=Modele 1899, Mle.1900
number=Ca. 700 000|

The FN Browning M1900 is a single action, semi-automatic handgun designed ca. 1896 by John Browning and produced in Belgium at the turn of the century. It was among the first handguns to use a slide, and have short recoil operation.

History

The design was presented to arms manufacturer FN Herstal in 1898, with production commencing the following year (then under the designation "Modele 1899"). In 1900, an improved design featuring primarily a shorter barrel was introduced as the M1900. Production ceased only 11 years later, with a total of about 700 000 units having been produced.

Eugen Schauman used an M1900 (serial number unknown) in his 1904 assassination of the Russian Governor-General of Finland at the time, Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov. Contrary to many false reports from various sources it was "not" used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo on June 281914; the handgun used by Gavrilo Princip in that notorious incident was instead a FN 1910.

Ammunition

The weapon is chambered for the .32 ACP, also known as 7.65x17mm Browning SR, "SR" referencing semi-rimmed.

ynonyms

This model is known by several names, including:
*FN M1900
*FN Mle.1900
*Browning M1900
*Browning No.1

ee also

*FN Model 1903
*Colt M1900