UBB.threads Forums General Militaria Historic and Period Firearms Forum German Mle 1935A rig...

I acquired this pistol rig recently. The condition of the piece is what sold me on it. The holster is a French one that has been modified by the Germans.

Len

Nice looking pistol! That enamel must be tougher than it looks. Most of the ones I've come across are in remarkable condition considering their age.

Len,

Thanks for posting pictures of your nice Mle. 1935A.
For collectors of WWII occupation pistols, it is definitely a “must have”. Thought you might find the following info to be of interest.

The French 7.65x20mm Longue caliber 1935A was adopted by the French military in 1935 and manufactured by Société Alsacienne de Construction Mécanique (SACM) in Cholet, France.

When the plant was seized by the German Army on June 20, 1940, only 9,500 pistols had been manufactured for the French military (some sources say 10,700). From that point until early summer of 1944, the Germans manufactured approximately 23,850 pistols which they designated P.625(f). The German serial numbers begin with B701 and end with D4550. These were manufactured between Oct. 15, 1940 and April 28, 1944. The original design was by Charles Petter, a Swiss national who was an engineer employed by SACM. Interestingly after the war, the blueprints for the 1935-A were supposedly sold to SIG, who used them as the basis for their famous P.210 handgun.

Although the early pre-war non-WaA guns are harder to find, nice collector grade pistols like yours are scarce as well. The pistols produced for the French military started with s/n A3175. Earlier pistols had been used for testing, evaluation, etc.
Below are a few pictures of a pistol made during the summer of 1939, before France declared war on Germany in September. It was part of a shipment to the "Parc Regional du Material a Bourges" for supply to the French army. I only wish it were in as nice condition as yours!

For more info, check this Wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mle_1935

Hi Denny,
Thanks for the info on SACM's Mle 35A and the great pics of your pre-war rod. The 35A has got to be the most elegant service pistol of WWII.
I've been on the lookout for a nice one after acquiring an unusual 35-S a couple of years ago. It has the early safety and milled mag base. It was never stamped with a serial # which I suppose means it's one of the few pre-war guns or one
made just after the liberation of St. Etienne in '44. Here are some pics.

Best regards,
Len

Thanks for showing your Mle. 1935S. It's also a tough piece to find....
1935 was a good year for the introduction/adoption of pistols, but my vote for top dog would have to be the Browning HP!

The scarcity of ammo seems to keep the price down on these. I've picked up several of the S's and A's at what I consider poor man collector prices.

I guess that's a possibility but as a collector, I could care less about the availability of ammunition. The last time I fired a weapon was New Year's eve 1984.

It does keep the price down on a lot of older guns. Most firearms firing obsolete rounds, outside of course of the super rare stuff, don't pull the same prices as firearms firing more common rounds, like 9x19mm, 32acp, 30-06, 8mm, etc. I have a number of guns I can't fire due to unavailable ammo, but the average gun buyer doesn't have interest in firearms that fire 9mm Ultra, 10.6x25R, various obsolete rimfires, etc. Of course that's just more for us

A great find - I love French military handguns for their toughness and durability, but the rounds were so anemia. I've never seen a 1934a with the german marking or with a german modified french holster. Super job !!!!!

+1 to that!!