[Mauser720]

"The Croatian Service Pistols
By
Jani Kotnik
PHP
The start of Croatian handgun productions began in 1991 with first model PHP (stands for Prvi Hrvatski Pivtolj - First Croatian Pistol) in 9mm Para for use in Croatian military and law enforcement forces. First model was an eclectic mixture between a Walther 38 and a Berreta 92 pistol. The pistol was designed as a large frame, double/single action duty size handgun which utilized a locked barrel with the Walther system of falling block, used also on the Beretta 92 series of pistol. Other features and the appearance were similar to a Walther 38. Open slide design combined with a straight recoiling barrel lent itself to very good accuracy, along with elimination of possible jams of ejected casings. The slide, frame and smaller operating parts were milled out of solid blocks of steel, a procedure which was later dropped in favor of more economically feasible investment casting. Magazines were a problem in the first days and were refined, with a small change in material used in the making process, and the follower was also redesigned. The magazines remain virtually unchanged and to the present day are used in all of the following models of Croatian's pistols. In the early days of production there were 3 models of PHP pistols; standard with barrel length of 125mm (5"), compact, with shortened 100 mm (4") barrel and slide and "target" model with extended 152 mm (6") barrel. Out of those three, most the of production was the standard model, which saw heavy duty use during the war in Croatia in early 1991. Because of the hasty war production, parts of the PHP were prone to breaking, especially the first lots of PHP pistols which were of poor quality."