Production of the Double Automatic shotgun began in 1955. Invented by Val Browning, son of John M. Browning, production ceased in 1971. By the serial number this shotgun is a early production 1955 - 57 steel receiver (C10xxx) ALPHA OMEGA GUNS ARE MORE FUN. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. The Browning Auto-5 semiautomatic shotgun began production in 1902, and they were made until 1999 when the 'Final Tribute' was produced. The Browning Auto-5 Sweet 16 lightweight, 16-gauge shotgun, began production in 1937 and it ran through 1992. Pinpointing the exact manufacturing year of early Sweet 16s is a.

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The Baby Browning
by Ed Buffaloe

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Historical Perspective

Baby Browning Patent Drawing

Dieudonné Saive became a tool designer in the employ of Fabrique Nationale soon after he completed his education in 1906. He escaped to England during the First World War , where he worked as a machinist for Vickers. Saive was assigned to be John M. Browning’s assistant shortly before the latter’s death in 1926, and afterward Saive became the head arms designer for FN. He was primarily responsible for the design of the High Power pistol, as well as for the Baby Browning. Saive escaped to England again during World War II, and eventually travelled to Canada to supervise production of the Inglis-made High Power pistols. After the war he designed the SAFN rifle, which evolved into the FAL. He worked for FN until his retirement in 1954.

In regard to the origins of the Baby Browning design, Vanderlinden, in his book FN Browning Pistols: Side-Arms that Shaped World History, states: “..there is no evidence to indicate that FN was seeking to develop a new pocket pistol..,” and he concludes that Dieudonné Saive acted entirely on his own initiative in designing the Baby. I’d be very curious to know if Saive ever had the opportunity to discuss designing a new, smaller .25 caliber pistol with John M. Browning.

The name “Baby” was a nickname that was sometimes applied to the 1906 FN Browning, which was the first 6.35mm pistol ever manufactured, but “Baby” was never an official designation for the gun. However, it was the perfect name for Saive’s diminutive new pistol. The new Baby Browning was nearly a half-inch shorter than the FN Model 1906 and weighed four ounces less.

The fact that the new Baby was called a Browning might seem a bit surprising, since John M. Browning had no part in its design. However, every previous pistol manufactured by FN had been a Browning design, and every one had been called “le pistolet Browning,” followed by a model number based on the date of its origin, so it seemed perfectly natural to FN personnel to call the new pistol a Browning as well. By this time, “Browning” had become a generic term for the ammunition used in the guns. According to Anthony Vanderlinden, Browning had an agreement with FN as early as 1907 allowing them to use his name as a trademark

Fabrique Nationale Production

FN Baby Browning

In regard to the Baby Browning, Col. Betz, in his article “John M. Browning and His FN Pocket Pistols,” states that: “An FN photograph of a prototype of the new pistol is dated April 9, 1927.” Belgian patent number 343126, for a “pistolet automatique,” was filed on 10 June 1927 in the name of Fabrique Nationale. However, production did not begin until 1931. According to Vanderlinden, 50,147 Baby Brownings were completed between the beginning of production in 1931 and May of 1940 when the Germans invaded Belgium. This would be an average of only about 5,000 pistols per year. During this time, the FN Model 1906 also continued in production. For comparison purposes, Vanderlinden states that 1,008,000 FN Model 1906 pistols were made between 1919 and 1940--an average of about 45,818 pistols per year. Double

Saive retained Browning’s method of attaching the barrel to the frame, but otherwise his design was based on the Walther Model 9, and was clearly intended to compete with it. The excellent stirrup-shaped Browning connector and the grip safety of the Model 1906 were eliminated in order to reduce size and weight. Like the Walther, the Baby Browning has an external connector/disconnector that runs under the right-side grip plate, a thumb-operated manual safety lever than runs under the left -side grip plate, and a cocking indicator at the rear of the frame. The manual safety locks the sear, but the Walther’s safety is engaged when the lever is down, whereas the Baby Browning’s safety is engaged in the up position and also locks the slide. Both guns have a magazine safety to lock the sear when the magazine is removed. The Baby Browning magazine safety also prevents the magazine from being inserted if the trigger is being pulled, and FN literature claimed that if the gun were dropped the magazine safety would be jarred backward, locking the sear and preventing an accidental discharge. The complex latch mechanism at the rear of the Walther was not necessary on the Baby Browning because takedown is accomplished via the removeable barrel.

During the first decade of its production the Baby Browning was offered only with a blued finish. No nickle, engraved, or luxury versions were advertised, though custom work could always be had for a price.

The grips are made of a black checkered plastic material with the FN monogram in an oval at the top and the word “Baby” at the bottom. The left side slide legend is on two lines in all-capital sans-serif characters as follows:

FABRIQUE NATIONALE D’ARMES DE GUERRE HERSTAL BELGIQUE
BROWNING’S PATENT DEPOSE

Possibly as early as 1962 the slide legend was changed to fit on three lines:

FABRIQUE NATIONALE D’ARMES DE GUERRE
HERSTAL BELGIQUE
BROWNING’S PATENT DEPOSE

In 1972 the slide legend was changed to read simply

FABRIQUE NATIONALE

The serial number is on the left side of the frame, above and slightly behind the trigger. Serial numbers began with 1. The barrel is marked CAL.6^m/m35., visible in the ejection port of the slide, and the barrel is stamped with the standard Liege proof marks. Belgian inspector and smokeless powder proofs are also stamped on the right side of the slide and frame.

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The early magazines are unmarked or may have the FN monogram in an oval stamped on the side. There are tabs on each side at the bottom that fold around to hold the baseplate on, a