peashooter85:The .45 Broomhandle — The Shangxi Type 17After the Chinese emperor was deposed in 1912
peashooter85:The .45 Broomhandle — The Shangxi Type 17After the Chinese emperor was deposed in 1912 a republic was formed but China was not officially a unified nation. The period of Chinese history from around the end of World War I to 1928 was known as the “Warlord Era” due to the fact that the country was controlled by various warlords, former generals of the Chinese Imperial Army. One of these warlords was Gen. Yen Xishan, who controlled Shanshi Province in Northern China. In order to supply his army with weapons Gen. Xishan established an arms factory at the capital city of Taiyuan called the Shanxi Arsenal, where copies of the Thompson Submachine gun were produced. The common sidearm for the Chinese at the time was the C-96 Broomhandle pistol. However Xishan’s army began experiencing supply problems, and 7.63mm ammuntion for the Broomhandle was becoming scarce. Thus he ordered the production of his own Broomhandle’s produced at his factory, chambered in .45ACP, a round also used by the Thompson. This help ease his supply problems by adopting a common caliber.The Shanxi Broomhandle’s most noticeable feature is its larger size, created to accomodate the larger .45ACP cartridge. This creates the look of a Broomhandle pistol on steroids, with a large magazine and huge frame. They were of also lesser aesthetic quality compared to their European counterparts, notice that tool marks have been left all over the pistol. Regardless the Shanxi Broomhandle proved to be tough and reliable.Today these pistols are very rare. Only 8,000 were produced, but after the Communist took over the country in 1950, most were melted down because they did not share common caliber with the new Peoples Revolutionary Army of China. -- source link