Why This 'Useless' British Pistol Was The Most Requested Weapon By French Resistance

That weapon was the Browning Hi-Power, manufactured in wartime Canada at the John Inglis Company's Toronto factory, dropped in containers to Resistance networks across France, and clutched by men and women who had discovered through the hard school of clandestine warfare that this particular combination of capacity, reliability, concealability, and simplicity was uniquely suited to the desperate requirements of their struggle. This is the story of the Browning Hi-Power in the hands of the French Resistance, of why the weapon that soldiers sometimes dismissed as unremarkable became the most coveted sidearm in the shadow war, and of the extraordinary people who carried it through some of the most dangerous circumstances of the entire conflict. ____________________ Our videos are based on historical research using archival materials. Whenever possible, we reference books, archives, museum collections, and historical websites that preserve the legacy of agricultural engineering. Sources and References used for creating this video: Imperial War Museums – https://www.iwm.org.uk British Pathé WWII Archive – https://www.britishpathe.com The National WWII Museum – https://www.nationalww2museum.org Royal Armouries Museum – https://royalarmouries.org The Tank Museum Bovington – https://tankmuseum.org UK National Archives – https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk Library of Congress WWII Archives – https://www.loc.gov Australian War Memorial Archives – https://www.awm.gov.au Wikimedia Commons Historical Photos – https://commons.wikimedia.org