One more HP question - Serial number

[Desert Seagull]

My friend's HP's serial number is a "V" and then 4 digits. Same serial number on frame, barrel, and slide. He bought it 40-odd years ago, and the shop told him it was Canadian made. The mag does have the "JI" marking on it (Inglis).

No other markings on the gun at all, not even calibre.

Anybody know the date/place of manufacture?

Thanks!

 

[sailor723]

As far as i know The John Inglis Company of Toronto was the only Canadian producer of Hi Powers. Their serial number ranges either contained the letters "CH" or "T". The "CH" indicated Chinese Contract" and the later "T" reputedly stood for "Toronto"

http://www.ai4fr.com/main/page_militaria__collectibles_canada_inglis.html

Sounds like it might be a "lunch bucket" gun that was assigned a serial number later when it was registered?

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

I concur. The T numbers were Canadian military series, and CH for China. A V prefix could be an Inglis made pistol for another country. I recall UK, NZ and Netherlands all used Canadian guns.

Is the stamping the same on all three pieces - frame, slide and barrel? Any other markings?

JI marked magazine is definately John Inglis. They are good mags, but the service ones were tired out before Afghanistan, and the supply system sourced new production mags for overseas. Much better and more reliable. The JI ones tend to crack at the top corners of the rear panel where the left and right side lips close in. Ninety-five percent of the bad reputation of military Brownings can be traced to over-used guns and magazines. One out of war stocks with new European mags is a winner!

 

[sailor723]

I'm not aware of Inglis using any other serial number format other than CH and T. I have an Inglis that was one of 1500+ that were sent to Belgium post war as part of a military assistance package to equip a division and it is a "CH' gun. Very few of the CH guns actually ever made it to China. I don't believe any of the Inglis pistols that saw service with other allied armies had any different serial number formats.

 

[Desert Seagull]

Thanks All. MLE - yep, the markings are the same on all three. Smaller V, and then 4 digits.

Interesting "lunchbox" theory. Hell, if I had worked there, I probably would have grabbed one too, or several!!