1st Letter Block Radom VIS

[krukster86]

Here is my German occupation produced FB Radom VIS 35, 1st letter block (T-Block) mid-war variant. This one still retains the takedown lever, but obviously omits the shoulder stock cutout. As you can tell, the finish on these mid-war pistols is starting to suffer, as the bluing isn't too great, machining marks are still present, and some of the nicer/finer trim cuts have been omitted to simplify production.

This one came with two magazines (one with a waffenamt, and one without) and a black German holster (I can see the faint P35(p) stamp with what I think is a BNZ stamp as well). It has some USGI capture modifications to it, as it has a non-original rivet and it looks like some additional holes for mounting to a GI belt. It is marked "Bernal S Bender" with a serial number, which may or may not correspond to the following individual:

Bernal Bender Obituary (2007) - State College, PA - Centre Daily Times

View Bernal S. Bender's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

www.legacy.com

Not a bad package for $600 back in 2015. It is a fine shooter, but I only took it shooting a few times and relegated it to safe queen status, and picked up a modern 9mm for pistol shooting.





I did have a question for the group. It is my understanding that these pistols do have a relief cut (V-notch) for the recoil spring assembly. The one on this example appears to be rather crudely cut. I am curious if there are other examples that look this "rough" or if your notches look more precise/finely machined.

 

[Tiger 2 Tank]

Not sure on your question. You might need to post a photo of what you are talking about.

Looks like you have a good start on your research on the vet.
I did one on a P.38 ac45: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/a-long-forgotten-time-capsule-from-1945.46481/

Try to contact a relative and see what else comes about. It’s neat and the lady I contacted provided me with a lot of photos from her deceased mother’s home.

 

[krukster86]

I should have zoomed in more on the last photo:

 

[krukster86]

Not sure on your question. You might need to post a photo of what you are talking about.

Looks like you have a good start on your research on the vet.
I did one on a P.38 ac45: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/a-long-forgotten-time-capsule-from-1945.46481/

Try to contact a relative and see what else comes about. It’s neat and the lady I contacted provided me with a lot of photos from her deceased mother’s home.

Tiger 2 Tank, I used the following reference to look up his US Army Serial Number: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=893&tf=F
The serial number checks out with his name Bernal "Curly" S Bender, from Pennsylvania, joined the US Army in June 26, 1944 at the rank of Private. Looks like he saw quite a bit of action in Europe and received several awards for combat. I will work up the courage to contact the surviving family to see if they have any additional information/details.

 

[Tiger 2 Tank]

Tiger 2 Tank, I used the following reference to look up his US Army Serial Number: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=893&tf=F
The serial number checks out with his name Bernal "Curly" S Bender, from Pennsylvania, joined the US Army in June 26, 1944 at the rank of Private. Looks like he saw quite a bit of action in Europe and received several awards for combat. I will work up the courage to contact the surviving family to see if they have any additional information/details.

Yeah, it will feel weird at first trying to contact a family member. So, I used Facebook and Facebook messenger and just sent a quick message to the niece of the deceased vet I was researching. My vet didn’t have any kids, so couldn’t go that route. I found her through the research material as a relative. And!, she responded (which I was kinda shocked as I didn’t think she would). She was real easy to talk to and was very interested in what I had found out. She didn’t know her uncle very long as she was a kid when he died in the ‘60’s and did not know he even had a gun from the War. Our correspondence felt like I had brought his memories back to her after all of those years. It was just really neat to do. A couple of twists had been discovered, like she only had the one photo of him on a bike with other relatives, then her mother died (the “family historian”) during our correspondence and they happen to have found a scrap book of her uncle’s War years at her mother’s home as they were going through things. Just a very interesting set of circumstances and information that came of it. I think I started it off with something simple, like “I have an artifact that I believe belonged to your uncle and…..“ and just went from there. I have a little Czech DUO pistol with a name, service number in the holster flap (almost the same set of circumstances) and I have been trying to get ahold of the grand-daughter the same way but no response so far. So, sometimes it doesn’t work out. Just have to get the spark and just do it. It’ll be fun.

 

[pwcosol]

Regarding what looks like a "V" notch in the upper side of the lower slide where the captive recoil spring unit resides, it is not unusual. I can't recall if this is typical, or just more evident on later produced pistols. Either way, should have no effect on the recoil assembly.

 

[krukster86]

Regarding what looks like a "V" notch in the upper side of the lower slide where the recoil spring resides, this is not unusual. I can't recall if this is typical, or just more evident on later produced pistols. Either way, should have no effect on the recoil assembly.

Correct. I have seen the V-Notch on other example pistols I have seen on the internet (appears for a split second on some YouTube clips, and partially shown on some forum posts), however for those, it appeared to be a finely machined cut, whereas this one looks a bit ragged.

 

[pwcosol]

Wanted to add, possibly contacting the family of the Veteran whom you believe the pistol formerly belonged to, is a delicate matter. You could run into a number of potential problems about ownership, how you ever came to possessing it, the pistol being taken by a family member or stolen years ago, etc. Maybe this is a dog best left lying still...

 

[stuckus]

I have contacted several family members of vets in an attempt to track-down information. The times I have done it were usually before or shortly following my obtaining the item. It was easiest getting the information from the family when I was the purchaser from the family. However I did make contact after buying from a gun store where a pistol was sold on consignment and another time after buying from an individual who had purchased from the family.

It was uncomfortable and a little awkward to make the first connection for me, but each time I got good information and my desire and intentions were pleasing to the family. I was honest with family and told them I was a collector and enjoyed the history. They were always very pleased to learn that it was my goal to preserve a bit of their family history with the item I had and that the history would be preserved for future generations.

With that said, I have not feared any claim the items were stolen but rather was concerned that my inquiries may stir up in the family the desire to get the property back in the family and preserve that bit of history for themselves and their kids. It would be hard for me not to give or sell the item back to some grandson that begged me for it. Part of me thinks these things do belong with the vet’s family. If I had a sorry cousin that sold grandpa’s guns for dope money, I would want to get them back myself!