The PHP (''Prvi Hrvatski Pištolj'', English: first Croatian pistol) was the first major production pistol in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, chambered in the

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...

cartridge.

Description and Design

"Prvi Hrvatski Pištolj" stands for "first Croatian pistol" and was manufactured by IM Metallic, today known as

HS Produkt HS Produkt d.o.o. is a Croatian firearms manufacturing company, best known for design and production of the HS2000 and XDM series of semi-automatic pistols, which are sold in the United States market by Springfield Armory, Inc., under their XD ...

. The pistol was hastily developed to supply the Croatian military soon after Croatia gained its independence from

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, but it was soon after replaced by the

HS2000 The HS2000 (''Hrvatski Samokres'', ) is a series of semi-automatic pistols. Polymer-framed and striker-fired, the series is manufactured by HS Produkt (formerly I.M. Metal) in Karlovac, Croatia. In Europe, the pistols are marketed as the HS and ...

. By design, this pistol represents a mix between

Beretta 92 The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...

and

Walther P38 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the costly Luger P08, ...

pistols, and takes several design influences that are in both handguns, such as a decocker/safety, double-action/single-action trigger, open-top slide and vertically tilting locking block. The overall appearance of the pistol mostly resembles the P38, but the magazine capacity and single recoil spring below the barrel is closer to a Beretta. The safety also incorporates a manual decocking lever, located on the left side of the grip frame. It is entirely possible that the safety/decocker was based on the design of the

Beretta Cheetah The Beretta Cheetah, also known by its original model name of "Series 81", is a line of compact blowback operated semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. They were introduced in 1976 and include models in .32 ACP (M ...

Variants

The PHP MV-9 is the most commonly seen variant of the pistol, which has a barrel length of . The VM-17 has a longer barrel and somewhat resembles a

References

Semi-automatic pistols of Croatia 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1990 {{Croatia-stub