Although gun-history aficionados may argue over which of American gun designer John Moses Browning’s ubiquitous firearms is the most influential, there’s no denying the indelible impact the High Power 9 mm pistol has had on modern defensive handgun development. 

Browning started on the design in the early 1920s, working around his own patents for the M1911 that had been sold to Colt. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1926 before the new pistol was ready. His protégé at Fabrique Nationale (FN), Dieudonné Saive, then picked up and refined the Grande Puissance (High Power) for the famed Herstal, Belgium, firm. The High Power launched in 1935 and would remain in production for decades in various forms, including highly favored military varieties and Browning-branded civilian models.