VIS (company)
Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów (English: State Rifle Factory, often abbreviated FK) was a Polish arms manufacturer active between the two World Wars.
Founded in 1919 as the successor to the pre-World War I Gerlach i Pulst company, Fabryka Karabinów became part of the state-owned Państwowe Wytwórnie Uzbrojenia conglomerate in 1927.
[1] By the start of World War I the company had 750 employees and owned a "Gerlach & Co." machinery shop at Krucza 24 Street in down-town Warsaw.
[2] When Poland regained independence in 1919 the workshops were nationalised by the Ministry of Military Affairs along with all the remaining assets of the former Gerlach i Pulst company.
[2] Reinforced with machines acquired from the former German Royal Arms Factory of Danzig and spare parts purchased in Germany, the workshops initially provided repair services to the Polish Army's units equipped with Mauser rifles.
[2] By the end of the 1930s the Fabryka Karabinów was one of the largest arms producers of Poland, with production capabilities far exceeding potential orders from the army.
[2] By the outbreak of World War II the company produced 10,700 LMGs and 7861 HMGs, as well as a small batch of 30,000 Nagant M1895 revolvers for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
[2] Other modern designs included an experimental pre-production series of around 50 pistolet maszynowy wz.39 Mors sub-machine guns and the highly-successful kb p-panc wz.35 anti-tank rifle (up to 6000 delivered).
[2] During the final months of World War II the factory's equipment was seized by the Germans and sent to Germany, while most of the buildings were demolished.
