I read a story many years ago about the Browning Hi-Power getting it’s first real combat test at Dieppe.
These were Canadian ones made by Englis. The verdict was that it performed superbly.
I got to thinking about it and realized those first Brownings issued by Canada would have been made in Belgium.
When William Inglis died in 1935, the new Toronto Island Ferry was named after him in appreciation of his significant contribution to the city's industrial and cultural progress.
Two years later, an American named Major J.E. Hahn, purchased the company and made significant changes to its operations. Under Major Hahn's leadership, the company assisted in the World War II effort by manufacturing guns for the Canadian and British governments. More than 17,800 people were employed at this time creating the need for expansion at the Strachan Avenue plant.
When the war ended in 1946, the company began to manufacture consumer products for the first time. Fishing tackle, house trailers, oil burner pumps and domestic heaters and stoves were among the diverse products offered.
In the same year, John Inglis Co. Limited negotiated with Nineteen Hundred Corporation (later Whirlpool Corporation) to manufacture home laundry products. The wringer washer was introduced in 1946, and in 1950, production of the automatic washer was added. The line of appliances expanded quickly to include electric and gas dryers, and dishwashers.
By 1966, Inglis had become the leading producer of domestic laundry appliances in Canada. In 1967, a refrigerator plant was opened in Stoney Creek, Ontario near Hamilton and production of dehumidifiers was added there in 1970.
In 1972, Inglis produced its one-millionth automatic washer and began manufacturing and selling appliances under the Whirlpool brand name. A year later the company began operating under the name, Inglis Limited. During the late 1970s, Inglis Limited continued to grow by building a new warehouse and sales and service facility in Laval, Quebec; expanding its automatic washer manufacturing facility in Toronto; and producing compact washers.
Interesting. I currently own two WW2 Canadian Inglis Hi-Powers. They are great guns. The only good thing came out of the Dieppe raid was what NOT to do in future invasions. Looking back at it now, we have to remember that amphibious attacks were in their infancy at that time. Mistakes and sacrifices had to be made, and lessons learned to cut casualties in bigger operations down the road. I will admit that British High Command seemed rather cavalier with the use of “colonials” during dangerous operations.
I don’t know when the first Inglis Hi-Powers were issued to Allied troops, but the Germans had been using FN made versions since they captured the factory in 1940. The Hi-Power was one of the few guns widely used by both sides.