FN Baby Browning
| FN Baby Browning | |
|---|---|
| Type | Pistol |
| Place of origin | Belgium |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See users |
| Wars | World War II, Vietnam War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Dieudonné Saive |
| Designed | 1927 |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Produced | 1931–present |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 275 g (9.7 oz) |
| Length | 104 mm (4.1 in) |
| Barrel length | 53.6 mm (2.11 in) |
| Width | 22.352 mm (0.8800 in)[1] |
| Height | 72 mm (2.8 in) |
| Cartridge | .25 ACP (6.35x15 mm) |
| Action | Blowback-operated semi-automatic |
| Muzzle velocity | 230–500 m/s (750–1,640 ft/s) |
| Feed system | 6-round sealed bottom, flat follower magazine; a rounded follower and removable inner and outer bottom plates were incorporated in 1984 |
| Sights | Fixed notch and blade |
The 1931 Fabrique Nationale (FN) Baby Browning is a small blowback-operated, semi-automatic pistol designed by Belgium-born Dieudonné Saive and based on John Browning's 1908 Vest Pocket pistol. Chambered in .25 ACP (6.35×15 mm), the pistol accepts a six-round magazine and features a manual safety. It uses a striker-fired, single action, blowback mechanism.[2]
History
FN produced the revolutionary Model 1905 pocket pistol under license from American arms designer John Browning. Despite the name FN initially used for this pistol, it was later marketed as the FN 1906, the V.P. .25 (V.P. denoting Vest Pocket) and the Baby.
The .25 ACP cartridge became widely available during this period. ACP stands for "Automatic Colt Pistol". This cartridge was among the first automatic pistol cartridges used worldwide. It had a semi-rimmed brass casing. The rim of the casing had a slightly larger diameter than the base, with an extractor groove cut above it. The casing headspaced on this small rim; however, the rim sometimes caught on the extractor groove of the following cartridge in the magazine, a phenomenon known as "rim lock".[3]
The 1905 Vest Pocket pistol included a grip safety mechanism and a small safety lever on the left side of the frame that locked the trigger. The safety lever also locked the slide about a half inch back from the front to allow easy disassembly.
Military use
During the Vietnam War, the pistol was issued to MACV-SOG teams with a wallet-like concealment holster as a last-resort gun.[4] The pistol, fitted with a suppressor, was also used by North Korean infiltrators.[5]
Design
Due to the proliferation of unlicensed copies, FN began work on a successor to the 1905 Vest Pocket pistol. Its basic design served as the starting point. FN's Director of Operations, Dieudonné Saive (later designer of the Browning Hi-Power pistol and the FN FAL rifle), developed the new version during 1926–1927.[6]
The new design was smaller, lighter, and incorporated several improvements. The grip safety was removed, and the small safety lever was extended under the grip plate toward the trigger, allowing the thumb of a right-handed shooter to engage and disengage it without releasing the grip. The frame included a full-length dust guard extending to the end of the slide, and the area behind the trigger was relieved to allow a more substantial grip than the 1905 version. An auto-safety mechanism, similar to that on the Colt Vest Pocket of the same era, prevented the pistol from firing if the magazine was removed. A cocking indicator was added, protruding through a pin hole in the rear of the frame when the pistol was cocked.
The new version was marketed as the Baby. Some original thermal-hardened plastic grip plates were molded with "FN" at the top in a circle and "Baby" at the bottom under a raised crescent. This model became known worldwide as the Baby Browning. Later grip plates marked "Browning" indicate more recent production (circa 1960 and beyond) using nylon-impregnated black polymer.[3]
Production history
European production
FN manufactured and marketed the Baby Browning from 1931 until 1979. About 550,000 units were produced, including the hand chiseled engraved "Renaissance" and the "Lightweight" version. The Lightweight utilized a 6061 T6 aluminum frame and hexavalent chrome-plated (over electro-less nickel) slide and external detail parts. With the exception of special order nickel-plated units and the above-mentioned versions, all of the 1931 Baby Brownings were finished in chemical hot blue.[7] The halt to exports to the US in 1968 was mandated by the Gun Control Act of 1968, which was precipitated by Robert Kennedy's assassination involving an Iver Johnson manufactured revolver. It forbade the importation of certain firearms, among them the 1931 Baby Browning, but it didn't forbid the domestic production of these same weapons. FN transferred production of the Baby Browning to Manufacture d'armes de Bayonne (MAB) during 1979. Based in Bayonne, France, MAB produced the pistol from 1979 until 1983 when bankruptcy forced it to discontinue production. Production of the Baby Browning ceased in Europe at that time.[3]
North American production – FN-licensed
During 1982, discussions began between FN and its North American-based representative Jim Stone focusing on securing a North American-based contractor to manufacture the Baby Browning on a turnkey basis. In 1984, a Canadian Swiss screw machine shop, Precision Small Parts, Ltd (PSP) entered into a technology transfer and production agreement with FN to manufacture the pistol. It was based in Aurora, Ontario.
FN issued an order to PSP for 40,000 of the pistols, all to be exported to Austria for onward distribution under the Browning logo. PSP's owner Joseph Maygar Sr. had a long working relationship with FN dating back to the days of the Hungarian Resistance Movement of WWII. PSP produced firearms parts as well as sub-machine guns for FN. In 1985, the Canadian federal authorities forced PSP to transfer production of the Baby Browning pistol frame (the essential part according to the legal definition of a firearm) to its Virginia, US facility, though the Canadian side of the company continued to manufacture the slide and detail parts for the pistol (except for the magazine, which was contracted out to Mec-Gar of Italy).
When the US subsidiary of PSP applied for a federal export permit with the Department of State to transfer the pistols to FN via its Austrian intermediary, the permit was denied.
PSP Canada had already made most of the sets of parts for the export contract when the denial occurred. Faced with many more parts than they could use in a reasonable timeframe for their own PSP-25 pistols and now dangerously short on cash, PSP became financially exposed and was on the brink of insolvency.[8]
PSP sought outside investors, including FN and Browning Arms. Due to numerous municipal and state lawsuits of gun manufacturers at the time (prior to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005) no prospective partners were interested in the opportunity.[8]
PSP approached Michael Kassnar of Kassnar Imports in Harrisburg, PA. Kassnar was then importing numerous firearms including shotguns and FEG pistols. Kassnar offered to buy all pistols made for the U.S. and then sell them to his next level distributors. This proposal would allow PSP to concentrate on production.[8]
Despite the arrangement, production continued in limited quantities and in 1988, Precision Small Parts went into receivership. In 1989, Kassnar Imports lost a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Mag Instruments over Mini-Mag flashlights.[8]
In 1991, a Lenn Kristal, with two Canadian investors and senior PSP management, purchased PSP. Kristal brought distribution and marketing back in-house and Kassnar’s agreement expired.[8]
In 1995, the arms-making portion of Precision Small Parts was spun off as a separate business; Precision Small Arms (PSA). The pistol was again rebranded, as the PSA-25 Baby.[8]
As of 2019, PSA offers 27 versions of the original 1931 Baby Browning, including exhibition grade versions which incorporate orange, green and yellow gold, hand chisel engraving and rare materials.[9] All metal parts of the PSA-25 Baby are machined using 4 and 5 axis computerized numeric controlled machining centers and process dimensional control probe technology. All metal parts are hand finished. In 2008, a 303 stainless steel version of the pistol was introduced, and in 2009, a hand drop forged 7075-T652 aluminum framed version (the "Featherweight"). Limited edition runs are made of Damascus steel and titanium. As of November 2017 primary machining, finish work and assembly of all of PSA's versions of the Baby Browning has been undertaken in Minden, Nevada.[10] The US Patent Office issued a Configuration Patent to PSA for the configuration of the Baby Browning in 2015.
PSA and its former parent company PSP have been the only licensed manufacturers of the Fabrique Nationale 6.35 mm pocket pistol since 1984, although a copy has been produced in the US (see below).
North American production – unlicensed
From 1972 until 1984, Bauer Firearms of Fraser, Michigan manufactured and marketed the Bauer Automatic which was a copy of the Baby Browning machined from 416 investment cast stainless steel.[11] From 1984 to 1986 this pistol was marketed as the Fraser-25.[12]
The Bauer Automatic is an approximate copy of the Baby Browning and was designed as such in order to avoid copyright infringement claims from FN, which at that time still had US patent protection on various components of the 1931 Baby Browning. The Bauer Automatic was produced using 416 stainless steel investment castings while the FN Baby Browning slide and frame were originally produced from 8620 carbon steel bar stock. (With the purchase of a European-based investment casting operation during the early 1970s, the FN pistol frame and slide were produced from 8620 Carbon steel investment castings).[13] The Bauer Automatic utilized a different auto safety spring and the barrel was removed (and the slide released from the frame) by twisting it clockwise 45 degrees, rather than counterclockwise, as is the case with the FN Baby Browning. The Bauer Automatic has engraving on both sides of the slide, whereas the FN Baby Browning has engraving only on the side opposite the ejection port.[12] Many parts interchange with the FN Baby Browning, including grips, magazines, and various internal parts.[12]
Users
- Belgium − Used by some military officers as late as 1988[14]
- North Korea − Locally produced copies. Issued to spies during the 1970s−1990s[15]
- Peru − Issued to military officers as late as 1988[16]
- United States − Used by MACV-SOG teams in Vietnam[4]
See also
References
- ^ "Precision Small Arms, Inc. > Technicals".
- ^ Shideler, Dan (2009). The Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values: The Shooter's Guide to Guns 1900–Present. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-89689-824-0.
- ^ a b c Hogg, Ian; Walter, John (2004). Pistols of the World. David & Charles. pp. 29, 115. ISBN 0-87349-460-1.
- ^ a b Plaster, John L. (7 April 2020). "Behind Enemy Lines: Guns of Vietnam's SOG Warriors". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Mitzer, Stijn; Oliemans, Joost (2020). The Armed Forces of North Korea: On the Path of Songun. Helion & Company. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-910777-14-5.
- ^ "Precision Small Arms History". Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
- ^ "Item Relisted! FS/FT LNIB PSA-25 Baby Browning -Stainless". The Outdoors Trader. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Rooney, Brian (2024) [April]. Adair, Robert (ed.). "A Brief History of the Baby Browning". Automatic Magazine. LVII (01): 11–17.
- ^ Kristal, Lenn (2019). "Craft is at the Center of What We Do". precisionsmallarms.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Ramage, Ken; Sigler, Derrek (2008). Guns Illustrated 2009. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-89689-673-4.
- ^ Lee, Jerry (2012). Standard Catalog of Handguns. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-4402-3009-7.
- ^ a b c Wood, J B (2007). Automatic Pistols Assembly/Disassembly. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 49–56. ISBN 978-1-4402-2630-4.
- ^ Shideler, Dan (2011). Gun Digest Book of Semi-Auto Pistols. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-4402-2439-3.
- ^ Ezell 1988, p. 54.
- ^ Shea, Dan; Hong, Heebum (1 June 2012). "North Korean Small Arms (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)". Small Arms Review. Chipotle Publishing. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
- ^ Ezell 1988, p. 303.
Bibliography
- Ezell, Edward Clinton (1988). Small arms today: latest reports on the world's weapons and ammunition (2nd ed.). Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-2280-3.
External links