Sacm 1935 A Serial Number
My brother went through some of my grandfather's belongings tonight and came across this piece in a small locked box. It was rusted and corroded horribly. Using penetrating oil and a nylon brush, he was able to clean it up the usable standard. This is what we know. We believe it to take a 7.65 /.32 french long ammo. Looks to be a SACM m1935-A.
It is outfitted witha lanyard loop for use by French Policia. It has a 766a (F?) serial number. As of now, we can not find a war pruf stamp that would indicate that it was possessed by the Third Reich. The F we believe, indicates that it was made after France was Liberated.
Trying to get better pictures, but this is what we have. 074n.jpg 446n.jpg 434n.jpg 343n.jpg 18a.jpg 802n.jpg 45n.jpg 11n.jpg 242n.jpg.
I'm monkey's bro.the 'f' is a lower case script that is engraved on the barrel itself. The serial number is '766a' there is a stamp on the bottom of the mag '35-A' which is supposed to identify it as post-war. I do not know what the meaning of the T with a circle around it means located on the slide face next to the barrel opening BTW, after cleaning this thing operated like a swiss watch. I'm looking for newer 7.65 mm ammo to run a mag through it. The old stuff I'm not confident in. Biz- I will send pics of the two stamps I descibed.
We since we obviously can't ask our grandpa where it came from/ history, we can only go on what we know. His G/F didn't know he had it,and our Mom didn't know he had it. Our grandma ( divorces over 35 years ago) knew he had a pistol then, but knows no history. His grandfather, who lived in Germany visited the USA a short time after 1943ish. It is not believe that he was in any military service. While that is a cool story, it is totally possible that he just picked it up at a pawn show a few years ago. An extra note though.
It was found in a box that quite possibly hadn't been opened/messed with in over 30+ years. This SACM Model 1935A was made circa 1938/1939, given its 'A' block serial number. SACM had a lot of difficulty getting serial production underway and this is the 766th pistol made. The extraneous characters indicate that it went through one or more arsenal rebuilds, the last one after WW II. The last rebuild finish was black enamel paint over zinc phosphate Parkerizing (tm). I can't tell from the photos whether the gun is pitted or whether it is just the enamel which has deteriorated.
Sacm 1935 A Serial Number
If it is just the enamel, you can strip it off with methylene chloride and repaint it with black, semigloss enamel. Methylene chloride will remove the paint without affecting the phosphating. Wash off the MC with soap and water with a brush after all the paint has puckered, then blow it off with an air gun. The French routinely repainted these pistols, so it will look like a fresh French arsenal rebuild when you are done.
If it is pitted, it probably is not worth the cost and effort of refinishing. This SACM Model 1935A was made circa 1938/1939, given its 'A' block serial number. SACM had a lot of difficulty getting serial production underway and this is the 766th pistol made. The extraneous characters indicate that it went through one or more arsenal rebuilds, the last one after WW II. The last rebuild finish was black enamel paint over zinc phosphate Parkerizing (tm). I can't tell from the photos whether the gun is pitted or whether it is just the enamel which has deteriorated. If it is just the enamel, you can strip it off with methylene chloride and repaint it with black, semigloss enamel.
Methylene chloride will remove the paint without affecting the phosphating. Wash off the MC with soap and water with a brush after all the paint has puckered, then blow it off with an air gun. The French routinely repainted these pistols, so it will look like a fresh French arsenal rebuild when you are done. If it is pitted, it probably is not worth the cost and effort of refinishing. Whoa, you seem to know alot.
So your saying that this is circa '38/'39? I haven't been able to date it, and only assumed that it was post-occupation because of the absence of a war stamp, and the presence of a subscipt 'F' on the barrel which was supposed to have dated at least THAT component post war. The gun was very rusty when I found it, so it is abit pitted, however I want to preserve it. It's a very nice piece that fits the hand well. Jean Huon wrote a book, 'French Service Handguns, 1858 - 2004', which has a pretty good history of the SACM 1935A and its development. I have a copy of it somewhere in my books, but I haven't read it in 5 years or so.
You should be able to find a copy of it on Amazon or eBay or at Abe's Books. SACM 1935A production serial numbers began with the 'a' block in late 1938 after considerable difficulty in launching production. Most German occupation guns have 'c' and 'd' block serial numbers. Production ended in the 'f' block serial range after the war.
Your gun has an 'a' block serial number and the 'f' may indicate that the part was made with the 'f' block guns after the war. These are neat little guns and I have been collecting them for years. The French had to reorganize their military after the war and they extensively rebuilt leftover hardware into the 1960's after their disasters in Vietnam and Algeria. These rebuilds brought the guns up to then current status and may explain the lanyard ring. You can have someone sandblast and zinc phosphate the major parts of the pistol and then spray paint it with semigloss black enamel. Even with the pitting it will look like a late French rebuild, something brought back from Vietnam. A lot of these guns were pitted and this finish tended to conceal the pitting.
By then the French had adopted the Model 1950 and the Model 1935s (A&S) were relegated to training and second line duty. They sold a lot of these to Interarms in 1966 and they were imported into the U.S. Jean Huon wrote a book, 'French Service Handguns, 1858 - 2004', which has a pretty good history of the SACM 1935A and its development. I have a copy of it somewhere in my books, but I haven't read it in 5 years or so. You should be able to find a copy of it on Amazon or eBay or at Abe's Books.
Sacm 1935 A Serial Number List
SACM 1935A production serial numbers began with the 'a' block in late 1938 after considerable difficulty in launching production. Most German occupation guns have 'c' and 'd' block serial numbers. Production ended in the 'f' block serial range after the war. Your gun has an 'a' block serial number and the 'f' may indicate that the part was made with the 'f' block guns after the war. These are neat little guns and I have been collecting them for years. The French had to reorganize their military after the war and they extensively rebuilt leftover hardware into the 1960's after their disasters in Vietnam and Algeria.
These rebuilds brought the guns up to then current status and may explain the lanyard ring. You can have someone sandblast and zinc phosphate the major parts of the pistol and then spray paint it with semigloss black enamel. Even with the pitting it will look like a late French rebuild, something brought back from Vietnam. A lot of these guns were pitted and this finish tended to conceal the pitting. By then the French had adopted the Model 1950 and the Model 1935s (A&S) were relegated to training and second line duty. They sold a lot of these to Interarms in 1966 and they were imported into the U.S. Greatly appreciated.
After some Google-ing I found 'The French 1935 pistols: A concise history' by Eugene Medlin. The reviews say its a pretty in-depth book on everything with good pictures. I do appreciate your input.
Next time your in GR, PM me and I'll buy you a beer! Got a itch I just had to scratch.I had aquired some custom-made ammo to run thru this.pistol. I oiled her up, took her out and ran some rounds through it. This thing just flat out friggn runs like a raped ape. Low recoil, single action trigger makes for quick double tap shots. This gun is 70+ years old and is amazing. If this gun was made today in 9mm flavor I would be all over it.
I took this out today and once again am amazed. If the ammo wasn't so exotic and the gun wasn't so old.I would carry this. It has a smoother slide then my HK. I said 20 years ago that if ford made another mustang that looks like a muscle car instead of a Taurus they will sell the fatal out of them. If someone made a new pistol like this in a modern cartridge I would buy it. Your pistol's serial number places it in the first production run of this interesting pistol, circa 1938 / 1939, before WW II started.
Many of these prewar pistols were turned over to Vichy police units during WW II by the Germans. This pistol was almost certainly imported by Interarms in the 1960's when the French sold off their entire stock of 7.65x19.5mm pistols and ammunition. Model 1935A pistols in nice shape sell for only $ 200 - $ 300 due to the ammunition situation.
You might consider getting the pistol phosphated (Parkerized) and painted black. This was the standard French refinishing process for these pistols when they became worn and rusty. Gun Parts Corporation might still have replacement parts for these pistols, but they will be expensive.