The Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) Model 1905 (from its patent date) or FN Model 1906 (in European countries due to its date of manufacture) were pistols manufactured from 1906 to 1959 chambered in .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning).
Described by John WalterJohn Walter as "the first truly successful 'pocket automatic' [pistol]", it was widely copied for 50 years, after its introduction, with Spanish gunmakers in the Eibar region making a large variety of unlicensed copies.
Design
The Model 1906 is basically a downsized FN Model 1903, with the return spring beneath the barrel, but the hammer was replaced with a spring-loaded striker located inside the breechblock. Until 100,000 were made, the gun had no manual safety. Afterwards, a manual catch plus a grip and magazine safeties were added to the design, allowing the pistol to be marketed as the "Triple Safety Model".
The pistol was produced with either a blued or nickel-plated finish, with the latter being prized amongst collectors.
It is virtually identical to the Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket, which was based on the same John Browning prototype, and was the inspiration for FN's later Baby Browning design. Although Browning's handgun patents were sold to both FN and Colt, this was the only case in which both companies put the same design into production without any significant modification.
Variants
Belgium FN Model 1906 − Also known as the Vest Pocket model, it relies on a single grip safety. About 100,000 were manufactured before additional safety features were included. It was also called the Baby Browning, a nickname that eventually became an official designation for a different Browning design FN M1906 "Triple Safety Model" − An improved version with a slide catch and magazine safety added, it was produced until 1959 FN Baby Browning − Basically a modernized version introduced in 1932 with the grip safety removed
Chile F.M.G. − Also known as the F.M.E., it was a copy made by Fabrica de Material de Guerra de Santiago (the forerunner of FAMAE) complete with grip safety and slide safety at the left rear of the frame, the quality is "acceptably good". The slide is stamped with the company name together with FME or FMG on the grips
Czechoslovakia Duo − A copy without the grip safety produced between 1926−1949 by František Dušek of Opočno. Also sold under the brand names Ideal, Jaga, and Singer, it was a commercial success, finding its way in North America and Europe Jaga − One of the brand names used by Dušek, some pistols have the inscription Pistol »Jaga« 6.35 on the slide while others display the name Jaga on the grips Z − Shortly after the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, Dušek business was appropriated by the newly installed Communist government and the Duo was subsequently produced by Česká Zbrojovka under a different brand name. These pistols feature the slide markings Z Auto Pistol R 6.35 Made in Czechoslovakia
France Audax − A copy produced 1931−1939 by (MAPF) for sale by Cartoucherie Française of Paris, the slide is marked
MAB Model A − A copy produced by Manufacture d'armes de Bayonne with a grip, magazine and applied safety devices. It was produced from 1921 until the company closed in the mid-1980s Unique Model 10 − A copy by MAPF introduced in 1923, lacking the grip safety, featuring an Eibar-style slide catch mounted halfway along the frame while the grips have an oval badge featuring a lion and Unique embossed. The similarity with the Spanish-made copies is due to the proximity between Hendaye and Eibar Unique Model 11 − An improved Model 10 with a grip safety and an loaded chamber indicator protuding from the top of the slide Unique Model 12 − A Model 11 with the indicator omitted Unique Model 13 − A Model 12 with an enlarged grip and a 7-round magazine Unique Model 14 − A model 13 with an extended grip to fit a 9-round magazine
Germany Bergmann Taschenpistole − A copy produced by Theodor Bergmann, two different versions known as Model 2 and Model 3 were made, with six-round and nine-round magazines respectively. Slides are stamped and the grips are embossed with Bergmann. Variants chambered in .32 ACP and .380 ACP were proposed but never made Continental − A cheap copy made of soft metal with poor finish, suggesting Spanish manufacture (possibly by Francisco Arizmendi of Eibar), though the safety catch is "unusually efficient" at locking the trigger and internal hammer. The slide is stamped ; the spelling of Cöln suggests it was a forgery made by Arizmendi, but Ian V. Hogg and John Weeks argue that the use of 'C' instead of 'K' was common in Germany prior to World War I and the presence of German proof marks suggests that these guns were legitimately imported into the country Dreyse 6·35mm Model 1907 − A copy made by Rheinische Metallwaaren- und Maschinenfabrik lacking the grip safety but using a different method of assembly, with the barrel inside a cylindrical piece of metal fitted to a recess into the frame and held by a snugly fit dovetail rib which also carries the sights connects the top surface of the barrel with the top of the breech block section of the slide. The left side of slide is marked Dreyse and the grips have a RMF logo embossed Lignose Einhand − After Aktiengesellschaft Lignose purchased the Bergmann company and its factory in Suhl in 1921, the Taschenpistole was produced under the Lignose name, differing only in the markings
Italy Galesi − A 1914 copy lacking the grip safety made by Industria Armi Galesi of Collebeato/Brescia. Production was halted with the outbreak of World War I, but was revived in 1919 continuing until 1923 with the introduction of the M1923 model Galesi M1923 − A slightly improved model offered in .25 ACP and .32 ACP it was produced from 1923 until 1930. The slides are stamped and the grips feature a lion-on-shield motif
Spain Action − A copy produced by Modesto Santos , apparently aimed at the French market. The slide bears the marking , while the grips have a MS symbol Alkar − Broadly based on the M1906, the slides feature the marking while the grips feature the name Alkar. This copy lacks the grip safety and have some unusual features; the slide catch is a push-through bolt at the top of the grip, while the left grip is perforated to show how many rounds are left on the magazine. The Alkar also features a peculiarly notched back strap Astra 1924 − A copy of the M1906 produced by Astra-Unceta lacking both the grip safety and slide catch, but in terms of quality, it was one of the better built Spanish copies according to Hogg and Weeks Astra 200 − Also known as the Firecat in the US, it was introduced in 1920 and remained in production until 1966. It was a copy of the Triple Safety Model, but the slide catch was mounted Eibar-style midway along the frame Astra 1000 − A .32 ACP version of the Astra 200 with a barrel and a 12-round magazine. It was produced in small numbers in the late 1940s
Astra 2000 − An Astra 200 with an external hammer, it could also be converted to fire .22 short rounds. It was imported in the US by Colt as the Colt Junior until the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968. It subsequently reappeared in the market as the Cub, until it was discontinued in the 1980s in favor of the Astra 7000 Astra 7000 − An enlarged Astra 2000 chambered for the .22 long rifle cartridge. It have a barrel and a 7-round magazine. Introduced in the 1980s, it was marketed until Astra-Unceta ceased operations in 1997 Atlas − Loosely based on the M1906, it was produced by Acha Hermanos y Cia. the slides are marked as . Aurora − A copy made by an unknown manufacturer with Spain or Made in Spain stamped into the slide while the slide catch is marked FEU, suggesting it was possibly made for the French market Avion − A good quality Eibar-type copy made by Azpiri y Cia (also known as Antonio Azpiri) for the French market. The slide is stamped with a smaller Made in Spain, while the grips are embossed with a logo representing a Blériot monoplane Azul − An Eibar-type copy introduced by Eulogio Arostegui in the early 1920s Basculant − A copy "of no particular merit" by Aguirre. Not to be confused with an entirely different design by Pieper of Liége Bronco − A copy produced by Echave y Arizmendi, it was available in .25 ACP and .32 ACP, differing only in size Bufalo − A copy made by Gabilondo y Urresti for sale by the Armeria Beristain y Cia of Barcelona, featuring a BC logo on the grips. It used a Beristain-patented grip safety Bulwark − A copy produced by Beistegui Hermanos complete with grip safety. While the grips feature the Beistegui logo, the slide bears the inscription Campeon − A copy produced by Hijos de Calixto Arrizabalaga, the slides are stamped Automatic Pistol Campeon Patent for the 6·35mm Cartridge 1919 with a CH mark above Campeon, it was a standard Eibar-type, but the top of the slide had the sides cut away from the breech face, leaving a central ridge where a transverse striker-retaining pin is driven Colon − A series of pistols based on the FN M1903 or FN M1906 produced by Azpiri between 1919−1925 chambering the .25 ACP or .32 ACP. The slides are marked Automatic Pistol "Colon" alongside a marking indicating the caliber while the grips on some pistols feature the AA logo Continental − A pre-1914 copy produced by Arizmendi y Goenaga with the safety grip omitted. The only markings are 6.35 on the butt grip and Continental Patent 16137 on the slide. The Continental brand name was also used by another Eibar-clone attributed to Tomas de Urizar due to the dragon motifs on the grips, though the slide markings are the same as the A&G, suggesting that both companies sold a gun made by one of them Danton − A slightly modified and renamed Bufalo with the grip safety omitted but a new slide safety added to the left rear of the frame. Around 1929 the Beristain grip safety was included. The grips are marked Danton with a GC logo on the grips Defense − A copy lacking the grip safety, the slide is marked , suggesting it was exported to French-speaking countries. Surviving guns are stamped with Belgian foreign arms proof marks Demon − A copy made by an unknown company. Manufactura de Armas 'Demon' may have a been just a brand name used by a better-known Spanish manufacturer. The slide catch has a shield-shaped surface on the left rear of the frame and marked Demon on the slide with a suitably diabolic face on the grips Destroyer − A copy made by Isidro Gaztanaga, like several other Eibar copies, it lacks the safety grip but it retained the FN-style slide safety on the rear of the frame. During the Interwar period the slide safety was moved to the middle of the frame, Eibar-style while the slide inscription was altered from 6.5 1913 Model Automatic Pistol Destroyer Patent to Cal 6.35m/m Model Automatic Pistol Destroyer Patent El Cid − A copy made by Casimir Santos. The slide is marked Model 1915, suggesting it was produced between 1915−1918 Eles − An Eibar copy mentioned by all lists but never actually seen, it was first mentioned in H. B. C. Pollard's book Automatic Pistols (1920), suggesting it was a design that appeared during WWI and vanished shortly afterwards Eley − Another unidentifiable Eibar copy, it has no relation with Eley Limited, a British cartridge company Etna − Another Eibar copy lacking the grip safety, it was produced by Santiago Salaberrin Fiel No. 1 − A copy made by Erquiaga Muguruzu y Cia. The slide is marked Automatic Pistol 6.35 Fiel No. 1. Early pistols had plain grips but around 1921 a EMC logo was added to the grips Gallia − Manufacturer unknown. These pistols are stamped or , but their general appearance and quality suggests Spanish origin with misleading markings in an apparent attempt to promote their sales in France during the 1920s Gallus − A copy made by Retolaza Hermanos dating from the early 1920s, it lacks the grip safety and the only markings are on the slide and an encircled Cal 6.35 on the grips