Return Of The Radom

Guns Magazine, August, 2000 by Gene Gangarosa Jr.

The reissue of this classic Polish 9mm will delight military buffs and handgun collectors a like.

In 1992 the Lucznik (Archer) factory in Radom, Poland, reintroduced its most famous pistol, the 9mm Parabellum VIS-35. First introduced in 1935 after a four-year testing and development period, the VIS-35 was the standard service pistol for Poland's armed forces at the time Nazi Germany invaded in September 1939.

The Poles had made about 49,000 VIS-35s prior to the Nazi invasion, and another 313,000 were added during the war years. The Germans issued VIS-35 pistols to their SS, paratroop and some naval units, augmenting the Luger and P38 supply.

Since the VIS-35 used the same ammunition as the German service pistol, the Luger, and featured a rugged and serviceable design, the Nazis kept the pistol in production for their own armed forces in Poland until January 1945 and then for several months thereafter at Steyr, Austria, until World War II ended in May.

A Pre-War Classic

After World War II, the VIS-35 pistol, better known as the "Radom" to American enthusiasts, became a mainstay of the war-era pistol-collecting fraternity. In particular, the original prewar Polish guns made until 1939 attract higher prices than the wartime variants made under Nazi auspices. The greater desirability of the Polish-issue guns is in part a function of scarcity; in part it's due to their much better finish compared to the war-era pistols.

The Radom plant went on to make other firearms, mostly copies of Soviet models. These included a Tokarev copy, which appeared in 1948, an AK copy in 1961 and a Makarov pistol copy in 1965.

Two locally designed service handguns appeared, one in 1964 and the second in 1983. The Poles chambered both of these for the Soviet 9xl8mm Makarov cartridge, as they did a slightly larger selective-fire machine pistol, the PM-63. The MAG-95 is a 15-shot 9mm double-action pistol from the Radom factory.

Despite the success of all these weapons, though, the reintroduction of the VIS-35 always remained a desirable goal, and is at last a reality.

True To Form

The reintroduced VIS-35 pistol follows the original Polish design faithfully. Thus it includes a slotted rear grip-strap (for a shoulder-stock/holster -- rarely, if ever, issued) and a slide hold-open latch at the rear of the frame in the spot occupied by a manual safety in the M1911.

The new VIS-35 features a slightly larger profile on the rear sight base, though the tiny V-notch of the rear sight remains the same as on original VIS-35s, as does the tiny front sight. About the only other obvious difference from a VIS-35 made more than 60 years ago is that the new-issue barrel's bore has a chrome lining.

The pistol's finish is the first thing that meets the eye: it's an absolutely gorgeous high-polish blue that hasn't been seen in this country in years. As in the pre-1939 models, the current production VIS-35s include the year of manufacture underneath the "F.B. RADOM" marking on the left side of the slide.

Production of the reissued VIS-35 will be strictly limited. There's talk of manufacture being limited to just 100 units. Whether that turns out to be the case remains to be seen. What is certain is that for a lucky few the new VIS-35 is a beautifully constructed firearm of great historical importance. Dalvar of USA is handling the pistol's importation at $2,300 apiece.