Monday 17 December 2012

Pistolhylster M/46 - Danish holster for the FN Browning M/1935


A straight forward holster design, as seen with the British and Americans at the time. 
With a classic "lift the dot" button, and made of a thick cotton duck with heavy stitching. Made to last.


( Picture borrowed from Arma Dania ) 

The FN Browning M.1935 was purchased / given to the newly formed Danish army post WWII. The Germans had taken almost all the pistols and small arms in the Danish inventory, and the Danish army took a look around the world for some replacement weapons. There was plenty to chose from, since the market almost overflowed with weapons post WWII. 

The army already used Swedish and British pistols and revolvers, but the army wanted to standardise, and chose the FN Browning as the standard side arm. In 1949 they opted for the M49 Neuhausen (SIG SAUR) instead, but did not replace the FN Broning and the M/46 and M/49 soldiered on in the Danish army for decades. It is said that the M/46 was finally retired in 2000? Some say it is still in use.  




The holster is a straight forward webbing holster, in a karkee colour. 
Webbing was used without blanco in Denmark, as opposed to the British army. This made life considerably easier for the conscripts, as they only had to clean, and not re-blanco the equipment. 

You can carry the holster in two ways. 
With the C-hooks straight onto the belt, or with a shoulder strap attached to the buckles at the top of the holster, and slung over the shoulder. 



The holster has a nice quality feel over it, and it is most likely produced by the Danish company KitKat founded by the old Major Anton Hvidt. He bought some old machines from the British Mills Equipment Company post war, and made a lot of the replacement equipment for the Danish army. 

He was responsible for the contact between the Danish army /government and the British filial of Mills Equipment Company in the first years after the war, and one of the men behind the M45-50 webbing equipment. 


 Small pockets for cleaning equipment and bit and pieces, and a larger pocket for a spare magazine. 


Small internal pocket for the cleaning rod.

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