.... definitely an automatic handgun, so if it wasn't a hi-power it must've been a 1911, either of which is out of place in a Canadians hands at that time.
I dont think it's any more plausible that a Canadian soldier in '44 be equipped with an American handgun, than with a British or captured German model, in fact it seems more plausible that he be using captured German of British kit.
Actually, Canada purchased 5,000 Colt Government Model pistols during WWI and such pistols were, indeed, issued to Canadian servicemen during WWII. In fact, the Canadian Parachute Battalion were armed exclusively with Colt "1911'' pistols until issued with Inglis pistols .... Was the Canadian soldier with the pistol a paratrooper, by any chance?
The Inglis High Power pistol was not even adopted for issue to the Canadian Army Overseas until 3 September 1944 (and even later for the Canadian Army in North America). Before September of 1944, only 22 Inglis pistols (in total) were allocated to the Canadian Army .... for evaluation and testing .....
I am curious why you would suggest that, if the pistol was a High Power, it could have been British? Britain did not adopt the High Power pistol until after Canada did so.
As I indicated in PM communications with joe n, if the pistol was a High Power and the photograph in question does in fact date to August 1944 (rather than being taken later in the war, but used in this program, for example) then there seems little doubt that it must have been an FN-produced pistol, likely captured from a German. After all, following the occupation of Belgium in May 1940, the FN manufacturing facilities were taken over by the Germans and operated for their war effort, and the High Power pistol was an officially issued German handgun .... It was, in fact, the only firearm both manufactured and officially issued by both sides during WWII.
