NAACO Brigadier


The North America Arms Corporation Brigadier pistol was developed to meet Canadian requirements for a service handgun in the aftermath of World War II. It was based largely on the FN GP35 Hi-Power self-loading pistol of 1935, but scaled up significantly. Whereas the Hi-Power used the 9 mm Para cartridge, the NAACO Brigadier used a new long-case.45" round of much greater power than the then-standard.45 ACP. With a standard bullet, the.45 NAACO cartridge could produce muzzle velocities of up to, or almost twice as fast as the.45 ACP. In order to keep weight down, the pistol used an aluminium slide, but still weighed more than four pounds, unloaded. Its box magazine could carry eight rounds of ammunition. A removable trigger module allowed for a fully automatic configuration, complete with an attachable butt-stock. This would produce a sub-machine gun configuration called the Borealis. Gunsmith Robert Herman and Designer Russell Sutherland spent a year developing the prototype.

Collapse and aftermath

In the end, the Brigadier project fell victim to NATO standardization, and the company folded in 1962. Only one prototype was built, and the weapon never entered service; the Brigadier's rarity makes it pricey on the gun market.
The.45 NAACO cartridge sank into obscurity, but was revived in the 1970s by Winchester as a long-range target round. Ballistic performance was nearly identical to the original, and the cartridge was christened.45 Winchester Magnum. It has since been used in a number of handguns.

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