Vintage Polish pistol finds new purpose on Ukraine's frontline

The war in Ukraine is a place where, alongside cruelty, astonishing events occur, and collector's items emerge. In the latter category, one could include, for example, the legendary Polish pistol from the interwar period, the VIS wz. 35. Here, we present the performance of this design in the context of the 21st century.

The armament of Ukrainian soldiers and foreign volunteers is very uneven. Some groups, like "Kraken," are well-equipped, while others have to settle for standard rifles from the AK family or even historical weapons such as the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44).

Below is an intermediate example featuring rifles from the AK family, specifically, from left to right, the AKS-74U and AK-74. On the vest, alongside magazines and numerous hand grenades, is the Polish VIS wz. 35 pistol. This one most likely originates from production under Nazi Germany's occupation, as the slide lacks the eagle emblem and instead bears an inscription.

The VIS wz.35 pistol, which resulted from an interesting coincidence, was one of the best designs of World War II. It is a design heavily inspired by the Colt M1911 and Browning Hi-Power prototypes. It was appreciated by its users and is sought after by weapon collectors.

Structurally, the VIS wz. 35 is entirely steel, resulting in a weight of 0.9 kg (without the magazine) and operates on the principle of short barrel recoil. The slide locks by tilting the barrel vertically, with the barrel resting on the edge of the ejection port, serving as the locking mechanism. This is an inexpensive, effective, and reliable solution used in most pistols available on the market.

The VIS wz. 35 uses a single-action (SAO) trigger mechanism similar to the Colt M1911. The early versions had only a grip safety. Still, due to pressure from the cavalry, a decocker was introduced to release the cocked hammer, enhancing the safety of carrying the weapon with a loaded round. It was one of the few weapons allowing for such carry, but due to the SAO system, the shooter had to manually cock the hammer.

Another feature was the slide lock lever, simplifying disassembly and reassembly for cleaning. The pistol had fixed sights zeroed at 25 metres, but a proficient shooter could handle it at 50 metres. In line with the fashion of that time, a stock could be attached to the pistol. It was fed by single-stack magazines holding eight rounds.

Polish production until September 1, 1939, amounted to 49,400 units, and the Germans produced over 300,000 units during the occupation of Poland. An unknown number of units were also produced clandestinely. It is worth noting that the Pistole 35(p), produced for Nazi Germany, where "p" indicated the country of production, was of lower quality, and the final assembly took place in the Steyr factory.

However, today, it is already an outdated weapon, as much better designs are available on the market. The small magazine capacity is particularly problematic since today, every pistol offers at least 15-round magazines. Moreover, new designs do not require manually cocking the hammer before the first shot, as they are equipped with single and double-action (SA/DA) trigger systems or double-action-only (DAO) systems.

Additionally, modern designs, such as the Glock, HK P30, or MPS, are much lighter thanks to using materials like polymers instead of steel for frame construction. Many contemporary pistols can also use red dot or holographic sights. For a volunteer, a better solution would be to sell the VIS to a collector and use the few thousand dollars obtained to buy a modern pistol.