Earliest date of Canadian issue for Inglis Browning HiPower

A

albertacowboy

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I don't have a copy of "The Inglis Diamond", but if someone here does, would it be possible to find the earliest date of field issue to Canadian troops of this pistol? I know production started in February 1944 and I have seen photos of Canadians from our 1st Para Battalion carrying it in the Rhine airborne drops in early 1945, but I would like to know if any were issued for the Normandy invasion or in the Canadian battles in Italy.and NW Europe in later 1944.

It is, of course, possible that Canadians carried FN HiPowers captured from German troops. I also know of one Canadian officer who carried his uncle's WW1 Canadian-issued Colt 1911 in Italy, where .45 ACP ammo was easy to get due th the issue there of the Thompson SMG.

All info welcome. I put this in the Milsurp group rather than the Pistols & Revolvers section; hope this was kosher.

Albertacowboy
 
one Canadian officer who carried his uncle's WW1 Canadian-issued Colt 1911 in Italy
Click to expand...
I know my father mentioned that he had a Mauser 96 pistol - "in a desk drawer which was left there for the next guy" when he moved on in Italy. He wasn't impressed with it apparently and did not speak well of it. I have heard from other veteran members of my old unit that they were very fond of BAR's when they could "acquire" them in Holland. I "believe" that Brownings got into the Cdn system in Holland but I am not sure and would be interested in this as well. Many P08's and P38's were acquired in Holland. My father "acquired" 2 lugers and a P38 (still have the '08's) ... but AFAIK he much preferred revolvers. By the time they got to Holland .. the drill with a pistol was to fire two quick rounds into the air and run for cover while the "other guy" had his head down! Any real exchange of fire happened with automatic weapons - I believe the preferred hierarchy of useful weapons was Lancasters, Typhoons, any tank available, 25 pdr, 3in mortar, Browning 50, 30 etc etc etc .... and at the bottom of the list of preferred weapons - I believe that the pistol was about neck and neck with a bayonet for effectiveness and frequency of use fwiw - just slightly above large stones!
 
I believe 1st Paras got 'em in time to jump into Normandy. Not Italy. No CF Para units there. No Inglis pistols then either.
A copy of "The Inglis Diamond" starts at $100 on Amazon. Blake Stevens' book starts at $130.
 
May 44 for evaluation, adopted officially in Sep 44. First wide issue Oct 44 of 10k.

In Jun 44 there were a grand total of 22 on issue to the Canadian Army. By Sep 44 it was 122.
 
sunray said:
I believe 1st Paras got 'em in time to jump into Normandy. Not Italy. No CF Para units there. No Inglis pistols then either.
A copy of "The Inglis Diamond" starts at $100 on Amazon. Blake Stevens' book starts at $130.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should invest in the book yourself, as certainly NONE were issued in time for D-Day.

They started showing up very late 44 early 45, but im not aware of an exact date.

-Steve
 
Yes, it couldn't have been before Oct 44, there were only 122 pistols allocated to the Cdn Army Overseas before then. The above dates are from ID.

Issued to CAO and issued to field units aren't necessarily the same thing though, so best I can say from that ref is not before Oct 44 for wide issue to the pointy end.

If an Inglis HP was issued for DDay, it would have had to have been one of the 22 T&E pistols sent to CMHQ in England. That is to say, essentially impossible.
 
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With my memory not being what it should be I seem to recall some pics posted on Picture of the Day of Canadian troops in Holland with issued P35s. They were in Pattern 47 type webbing so I would assume they were INGLIS made pistols.

Please feel free to correct me on this. As I said I am going back on memory alone. Finding those pics in the Pic of the Day thread would be a monumental task. Maybe Dark Alley Dan would be able to chime in here. He has access to an incredible amount of photos.
 
That's got to be correct, there's several pics in ID of Canadians in the Netherlands with them. Time period fits too, they certainly had enough time to get to units by then.
 
This pic is dated Nov '44, all three officers pictured have awfully new looking BHP holsters on.

a159593-v6.jpg


http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/second-world-war/faces-second-war/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=773&
 
Yes...huge difference in time between any possible distribution of equipment from the summer of '44 to November '44.

HP's were likely only really in place by the bridges and Holland....may have been some light dribbles based on units ( Para likely first) towards the end of the summer then heavier and showing up with other units by November/December in theatre.

Just like anything new....Comet tanks showing up one day when the Brits are reaching the Rhine.

From what I have heard about 1 Can Para there was likely more "borrowed" 1911A1's in their hands than Inglis HP's until late summer/early fall.
 
I think the end of summer '44 is likely too early; the BHP was only officially adopted on 3 Sep '44 by CAO. The first allocation of any significant size - ie, allocated from Inglis in Canada to be shipped to the CAO - was Oct '44. There simply were no BHPs of any significant amount to issue until after then. Allow for transit time across the Atlantic and issue down through the supply system, and Nov '44 seems very plausible as the initial issue in theater. Certainly not before Oct '44, and we have proof above that they were in the field by 30 Nov 44, so that narrows it down to a two month window. IMHO, the first half of that window is very unlikely, given the distances and logistic challenges involved.
 
Thanks for the info,much appreciated. Have been wondering about it since we received an Inglis#2 that was carried by the late Capt. Doug McGowan MC of the RCAC [Grenadier Guards].It came with it's holster,a ZLT dated 45 so I'm assuming it was issued early that year.
 
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