Canadian Inglis High Power

[Rescue190]

I picked up an average condition Inglis High Power, made in Canada after the FN plant was captured by the German's. No, it is not a Hi-power as this is incorrect. Not a bad example and I did not see any others on the forum.
John

[Martin Bull]

Very nice example ! Thanks for posting here......

[BlackCat1982]

Looks good enough to me, well made and sits in the hand nicely.

[lonewolf523]

Very nice looking pistol!

[Rescue190]

Thank you for the comments. It is a good place holder until I find a better one.
John

[vegetius]

I carried one of these for several years, it however had a V notch rear sight and triangular foresight. It was however an Inglis high power in British Military service, (and as I remember quite old even then).

[Watchdog]

I carried one of these for several years, it however had a V notch rear sight and triangular foresight. It was however an Inglis high power in British Military service, (and as I remember quite old even then).

I too was intimately acquainted with this pistol for some 20+ years and I really liked it. It was robust and workmanlike with no fancy whistles or bells. Many soldiers in units not fully familiar (infantry for instance had many people who never saw one again after basic training during which they had undergone the most basic instruction) would criticise it as a "peashooter" to which my reply would be to suggest they stand down range whilst I put down some rounds If you wanted to hit a flying duck at 100m you might be disappointed but that is not what pistols are for is it?

Others would moan that it was prone to stoppages but in my experience this was usually due to poor preparation for firing and weak drills. Having fired tens of thousands of rounds with many different examples (they tended not to be personal issue so it can't be argued that I was lucky to have a good one) and I won't say I never had a stoppage as that would just be incredible but I will say that they were so few and far between that it barely registers in my memory.

The first ones I encountered were the same as the one at the top of this thread but over the years modifications were carried out usually at unit armourer level. Parts would be sent out to units holding the weapon and the mods were done by the unit armourer. In particular I recall the hammer being changed for the now familiar "spur" type and the entire top-slide being replaced with the front and rear sight configuration Rod mentions. Other mods included things like magazine well safety springs and sears being changed but obviously those were invisible to the user.

These things used to rattle like a box of nails which many mistook for poor manufacture however they would continue to function if dropped or knocked about and when not immaculately clean.

I recall during liaison visits the highly praised Bundeswehr P3 (post war version of the P38) which was tailored like a Saville Row suit to very high tolerances and beautifully finished would become very uncooperative at the very mention of mud.

Some of our girls didn't like them too much but that was mainly because it took a good grip between thumb and first finger to work the slide efficiently.

All in it is still a very good pistol for military use and its longevity in service bears witness to this.

Thanks for the memories

Regards

Mark

PS Not sure if this is familiar in other nations but the mark FTR with a year stamp on the frame stands for Factory Through Repair which was used to indicate an item that had been through a base workshops refurbishment. I don't think such a stamp is used these days.

[vegetius]

Mark, fully agree with you. mine had a ring hammer as well which was useful for Mexican carry, (down the back of your pants)!! We were lucky as we were always dual armed. A pistol for when you were working and a rifle for situations where it had really got out of hand. Even on my last Op tour in Iraq in 2007/8 I carried a Mk2 Hi-Power instead of plastic toy guns. It worked first time every time and with an all steel construction if I'm close enough to use a pistol I can always club the enemy to death with it if all else fails!

R