Before the High Power was the FN Grand Rendement

Summary

The video examines the 1930/31 FN Grand Rendement, an early version of the pistol that became the FN High Power. It traces the design’s development from a French military request and highlights the contributions of FN engineer Dieudonné Saive and designer John Browning.

Development

• In 1921, the French Army requested a new pistol with features including a 15-round capacity and a round counter.
• Saive adapted the FN Model 1903 and designed a 15-round, double-stack magazine for it. The first version used 9×20 Browning ammunition and simple blowback operation, but did not meet the French requirement for a more powerful, locked-breech pistol.
• FN then sent the pistol and magazine to Browning. He produced two trial designs: one with a straight-recoiling barrel and another with a tilting barrel. Both were submitted to French trials in 1922.
• The French continued to request changes, including repeated efforts to reduce the pistol’s weight. Although Browning designed the first prototypes, Saive carried out most of the subsequent development. The video notes that this was practical: Saive was in Europe, while Browning was in the United States.
• By around 1929, the design had evolved substantially. Its magazine capacity had been reduced to 13 rounds, and the grip and magazine had been shortened to save weight. FN marketed it as the Grand Rendement, or “high efficiency,” while seeking a military customer to justify production tooling.

Features of the 1930/31 pattern

The example shown is very close to the later High Power, but has several differences:

• It has slightly slimmer grip panels.
• Its magazines drop completely free when released. The Belgian Army later asked FN to change this, preferring magazines that could be released without falling to the ground. FN altered the magazine-well dimensions and added a rough finish to the magazines to keep them from dropping out.
• The barrel bushing is integral to the slide. The video notes that the 1929 pattern used a removable, 1911-style bushing, while later production used an integrated arrangement.
• It has fixed notch sights and no provision for a shoulder stock. The pre-war production pattern later adopted by Belgium included an adjustable tangent sight and a shoulder-stock slot.
• It retains the magazine disconnect found on the standard High Power.
• These hand-made examples have individually hand-engraved slide markings rather than the standardized markings used on mass-produced pistols.

The French trial pistols continued along a different path after this design. The trials lasted until 1935 and ultimately produced a substantially different configuration, including a single-stack magazine, 7.65 French-calibre chambering, and removable, unitized fire-control parts.

Belgian adoption and legacy

• The Belgian Army showed interest in the Grand Rendement around 1931.
• In 1933, Belgium ordered 1,000 pistols for field trials. FN made 1,100, with the additional 100 intended for commercial sales, testing, and marketing.
• Belgium adopted the pistol in 1935. This development led directly to the GP35, also known as the FN High Power.
• The specific 1930/31 pattern discussed was never made in significant numbers. Ian estimates that perhaps only 10–20 were produced, though the exact number is unknown.
• The video also notes that FN came close to selling pistols to Peru, but completed the deal only after World War II.

Speakers and sources featured

• Speaker and presenter: Ian McCollum.
• Book reference: Anthony Vanderlinden, FN Browning Pistols.
• Historical designers discussed: Dieudonné Saive and John Browning. They are discussed in the narration but do not speak in the video.