Browning Hi Power, Centennial Model
Official wording
Browning, Centennial Model High Power Pistol, cal. 9mm Parabellum.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESYour firearm is this edition: “Centennial Model High Power Pistol”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1978.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
BelgiumBasis: no citation - Manufacturer
- Fabrique NationaleBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- PistolBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Semi-autoBasis: no citation
- Caliber
- 9mm ParabellumBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1978production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ¹
- Service
- Commercial
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 3 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. cdn.rockislandauction.com ↗, years: RIA lot 1555: Belgian Browning Centennial High-Power, S/N 1878D-2464, 9 mm Luger, "One of 3,500 manufactured in 1978"
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “FN Hi Power.jpg” by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Browning Hi-Power”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Browning Hi-Power or 1935 Browning 9mm GP or Grand Puissance pistol is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. FN Herstal named it the "High Power" in allusion to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of other designs at the time, such as the Walther P38 or Colt M1911. The Hi-Power was the only 9mm semi-automatic pistol available with a double-stack detachable box magazine from 1935 until the introduction of the 15-round MAB PA-15 in 1966.