Vis Country Poland Type Pistol Manufacturer Fabryka Broni Introduction 1935 Specifications Weight 1.123 kg (loaded) 0.950 kg (unloaded) Length 176 mm Barrel length 120 mm Cartridge 9x19mm Parabellum Action Recoil-operated, closed bolt Muzzle velocity 345 m/s Feed system 8-round box magazine

Vis (Polish designation pistolet wz. 35 Vis, German designation 9 mm Pistole 35(p), often called incorrectly Radom in English sources) is a 9 mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Originally designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypiñski in 1930 at the Fabryka Broni in Radom under Director Kazimierz Rawicz-Oldakowski, it was adopted in 1935 as the standard handgun of the Polish Army.

The design was generally based on American firearms inventor John Browning\'s Colt M1911A1, operating on the short-recoil principle, with the barrel being cammed down and away from the locking lugs in the slide. Unlike M1911, the barrel was not cammed by a link, but by a ledge of sorts, which contacts a portion of the barrel and forces it down as it is moved rearward with the slide by the recoil force, in a similar way, as in Browning\'s new FN HP pistol. It differs from M1911A1 also in other details. Its characteristic feature was a triangular grip shape, wider at the bottom, offering good ergonomics and firm grip. On the right side grip cover, the pistol had letters VIS in a triangle, on the left side - FB (for Fabryka Broni).

Production started in the state armory Fabryka Broni in Radom in late 1935, and the following year it was introduced as the standard weapon of Polish infantry and cavalry officers. Successively, other units were to be equipped, and by 1942 all other handguns were scheduled to be withdrawn from service. By mid-1938, it was introduced to the armored and air forces. Before the Invasion of Poland, approximately 49,400 (out of 90,000 ordered) were delivered to the army. After the Polish defeat in 1939, the Germans took over the Radom Armory and continued production of the Vis under the new name of 9 mm Pistole 645(p). After the war, the production of the pistol was not continued, as the army of the People\'s Republic of Poland used the Soviet TT-33 pistol, produced in former Fabryka Broni in Radom.