World War II Gun Questions

kamikazetsunamis

I found in my basement my fathers gun's from his time spent in WWII under General Patton. Below are some photographs and infromation found on each gun.

Browning

On the side of the slide it reads
"FABRIQUE NATIONALE D'ARMES DE GURRE"
"HERSTAL BELOIQUE" "WaA140" with the german swastica
"browning's pataent depose"
there is also an "MR" on the trigger gaurd
serial number 837xxa
on the bottom of the grip 9 and 2


Jounior Colt
cal.22" short
on the slide
"Colt's Pt.F A. Mfg. Co."
"Hartford Ct. USA"
serial number 213xxcc
made in spain for colt's




The is a Beretta
on the slide "beretta-cal. 6.35 - gardone v.t"
made in Italy
serial number 099xxc
1956




Not much information on this gun
just says SPAIN by the trigger gaurd
and "trace JLC mark"




If you can help me out with any information, history, location, who used them, value, and which one should I keep?

Thank You

lts

I'd keep all three as your DAD did only make it a point to run them monthly and leave them for the kids to find like you did.

Pearyw

The Colt 22 short was made by Astra in Spain and was sold by Colt before the 1968 import ban stopped them.

rufe-snow

Only two of the four handguns you have pictured, could have been souvenirs from W W II.

1), The Browning High Power made for the Germans during their occupation of Belgium, circa 1940-1944.

2), The Spanish made revolver could date to the pre W W I era? It's a copy of a Smith & Wesson revolver known to collectors as a "Lemon Squeezer"

The other two are commercially made .25 automatic pistols. The were manufactured in the 50's (Beretta), and 60's (Astra).


The one you should keep is the Browning 9mm. It is the most valuable and historical of the four, IMHO.

rufe-snow

The best thing for you to do to obtain more information on your handguns, is to GOOGLE each of them separately. You will find substantial information on all of them, including values with just a little research effort on your part. The only possible exception will be the Spanish revolver. It's a little seen variation, from a obscure manufacturer known as "T.A.C". Trocaola, Aranzabal & Co. As it's probably the least valuable of the bunch, it doesn't make a whole heck of a lot difference, one way or another.

These are the terms to GOOGLE.

1), "Beretta Model 418", sold in the U.S. as the Panther.

2), "Browning High-Power".

3), "Colt Junior".