Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! In 1991, after independence from the former Yugoslavia, Prvi Hrvatski Pistolj (PHP) MV-9 became Croatia’s first domestically made military gun. The late 1980’s original idea was by Marko Vukovic, an engineer in Yugoslavia and PHP utilizes a combination of Beretta 92 and Walther P38 – it has an open slide, tilting locking block, DA /SA trigger as well as frame-mounted decocker. In the year 1992, Vukovic’s patriotic pistol took on a new meaning when Croatia formed its armed forces and IM Metal adopted it; thus becoming a practical source of firearms and a symbolic break from Yugoslav logistics.
That year saw some 5,000 initial models of MV-9 with barrels measuring 4.1 inches being manufactured. Then in 1994 additional improved models that had barrels measuring four inches which were easier to disassemble before another batch of updated models totaling 11,000 units came off the production line. Although it wasn’t revolutionary; however IM Metal’s fledgling stage allowed them to get some experience in mass-producing products through such later arms as the HS-95 pistol and VHS rifle series for Croatian forces. The production run ended in 1995 after approximately sixteen thousand pieces were made.
“Manufacturer: IMP
Model: PHP MV-9
Type: Pistol
Gauge: 9 mm
Barrel: 5 inch round
Finish: blue
Grip: plastic”
Lot 329: Two Croatian IMP PHP MV Semi-Automatic Pistols – B) IMP PHP MV Pistol. (n.d.-k). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved June 19, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2070/329/two-croatian-imp-php-mv-semiautomatic-pistols.
