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"Made for the Republic of China": Shanghai Arsenal's FN 1900 Copy (ad-free)
🕑 Added 2023-07-31 12:00:02 +0000 UTC"Pistols of the Warlords" available now from: http://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase
The Shanghai Arsenal was founded in 1865 as a joint venture between British and Chinese customs officers. They bought a defunct American ironworking company and rebuilt it as an arsenal. In 1884 they began production of a copy of the Remington Rolling Block, and by 1891 copies of Mannlicher 1888 straight-pull rifles. In 1912 the arsenal had more than 5,000 employees, and produced steel for industrial use and a substantial amount of rifles and ammunition. It was one of the premier arsenals in China, and Shanghai was a vibrant and growing city. The arsenal operated until the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in 1932, when most for he tooling was evacuated to other arsenals.
The copy of the FN 1900 made at Shanghai was an excellent copy, not at all like the stereotypical artisanal Chinese pistols. They were made form 1916 until 1921, and some sources (Bin Shih) suggest that as many as 60,000 were made in 1920 alone. Markings on these guns include serial numbers on the right side, a left-side grip panel marking saying “Shanghai Arsenal” and a right-side grip panel with the date of production based on the 1911 Chinese Revolution. This examples is from the 8th year, which would be 1919.
Comments
Lance Thundercock
I hope you keep the idea in the back of your head, in case you find a rough but shootable one some day.
Forgotten Weapons
No - the ones I had sourced to do it with won't actually chamber and fire, and I'm loathe to destroy nicer example.
Brian Jay
Are plans still in the works to test fire a Chinese Warlord Pistol (remotely — and from a safe distance of course)?
Rodford E. Smith
Not as interesting as the "Wauser" but still a piece of history.
Forgotten Weapons
I pretty much agree on all counts. The C96 was specifically a military weapon in China, where the 1900 was a pistols for officers, carry, and such. It was much cheaper to make, much handier to carry, and much easier to shoot.
That may be because the C96 is too big, bulky and heavy to be anything but a service sidearm. The 1900 is reliable, handy and easily concealable. Also, at that time the .32 ACP was considered to be an adequate defensive cartridge and many potential purchasers would not consider it necessary to go to the more powerful .30 Mauser. I would expect that the 1900 clone would be somewhat cheaper than the larger C96. Ian? Your thoughts?
