SIG Sauer P220
SIG Sauer P220
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SIG Sauer P220

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SIG Sauer P220

The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde. It is currently manufactured by both SIG Sauer companies: SIG Sauer GMBH, of Eckernförde, Germany; and SIG Sauer, Inc., of New Hampshire, United States.

Not to be confused with SIG P210 series, which licensed the Petter-Browning system from SACM of France in 1938 [citation needed], the SIG Sauer P220 was developed for release in 1975 for the Swiss Army as a replacement for the SIG P210, which had been developed during World War II; in service it is known as "Pistole 75" (P75). For the commercial production and distribution of the P220, SIG partnered with J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Germany, thus, the P220 and all subsequent pistols from SIG and J.P. Sauer & Sohn are properly known as SIG Sauer pistols.

In 1975, Switzerland became the first nation to officially adopt the P220 as the "Pistole 75" (P75) chambered in 9 mm Parabellum. Other nations to adopt it for military use include Japan (general issue) and Denmark (which has the earlier P210 in general issue) only to special forces. It was followed by the SIG Sauer P226, incorporating a double stack magazine.

Upon completion of their military service, all Swiss soldiers can obtain ownership of their ordnance weapon for a nominal fee; in particular commissioned officers and soldiers of the medical forces of the Swiss armed forces can obtain ownership of their P220 service pistols by paying an administrative fee of thirty Swiss francs.

In the United States this handgun was originally sold in a modified form as the Browning BDA from 1977 to 1980.

The P220 was developed in 1975 by SIG and produced and distributed by J.P. Sauer & Sohn. A new locking system which is known as the SIG Sauer system was introduced as well as a number of other innovations. This nomenclature is found on the Browning BDA version of the P220 sold from 1975.

The SIG P220 is recoil operated using the SIG Sauer system. Instead of the locking lugs and recesses milled into the barrel and slide of Browning-derived weapons such as the Colt M1911A1, Browning Hi-Power and CZ 75, the P220 variants (and many other modern pistols) lock the barrel and slide together using an enlarged breech section on the barrel locking into the ejection port. After firing the round, the slide and barrel move back a few millimeters together, then the chamber is pulled downwards by the cam surface and thus unlocked by the slide, which covers the remaining distance on its own due to its inertia. The recoil spring moves the slide forward again, inserting a new cartridge from the magazine into the chamber and cocking the trigger. The barrel is lifted out of the control gate and locks in the case ejection port.

The slide of the P220 series is a heavy-gauge sheet metal stamping with a welded-on nose section incorporating an internal barrel bushing. The breech block portion is a machined insert attached to the slide by means of a roll pin visible from either side. The frame is of forged alloy with a hard-anodized coating. The SIG P220 series incorporates a hammer-drop lever to the rear of the trigger on the left side, which first appeared on the Sauer 38H before World War II. After chambering a round, the hammer will be cocked, so for safe carriage the hammer drop is actuated with the thumb, dropping the hammer in a safe manner.

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