It was the most modern handgun of its day in the 30's and WW2.
It eclipsed the Walther P38 and the M1911.
But its not a cheap gun to make.
Its also more complex than the new and cheaper reliable-as-a-rock wondernines..
Its utility is not worth its purchase price to most now.
Its still a great gun so its not obsolete and i would be proud to have one in my collection.
But is is obsolescent.. truth be told my M&P 9 is the better handgun from a form and function standpoint.
Its still sad as this is a truly iconic handgun was popular with many WW2 factions who opposed each other but all appreciated this fine pistol..
it may also be in this article but the HiPower was made during the War also in Canada w/o a licensing agreement to FN Herstal.
Even though I would expect that after the war licensing fees would have been paid.
Fun fact: the SS Officers were originally locked out of Wehrmacht pistol procurement channells for the P38 as a "lets haze the new guys" thing by the Wehrmacht... so after the occupation of Belgium they purchased HiPowers from FN Herstal with relish and then proceeding to lord the better pistols over their Wehrmacht brethren.
One might speculate that Leon Degrelle the famous Belgian Rexist who joined the SS Foreign Legion "Wallonie" and after whose dramatic (pre WW2) life the famous cartoon character Tintin is supposed to have been modeled ,may have played a role in making this arrangement.
There is no source for this except speculation but as influential as Degrelle was in Belgian political life for a while before he went to the Eastern Front its hard to image he was not involved in some fashion or another with FN Herstal landing this contract to his new employer.
:wtf: :bawl:
