Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów ( , often abbreviated FK ) was a Polish arms manufacturer active between the two World Wars . Founded in 1919 as the successor to the pre - WWI Gerlach i Pulst company , Fabryka Karabinów became part of the state - owned Państwowe Wytwórnie Uzbrojenia conglomerate in 1927 . It was a sister company to Łucznik Arms Factory , the Munitions Factory of Skarżysko , and several others . By the end of the 1930s , Fabryka Karabinów was one of the largest arms producers of Poland . It was destroyed during World War II . History . The company was started in the mid - 19th century by Wilhelm Gerlach , one of the heirs of the Gerlach family of entrepreneurs , owners of – among others – the largest cutlery factory in Poland . By 1886 the small workshop at Srebrna Street in Warsaw was inherited by Wilhelm ' s son , Maksymilian Gerlach . In 1897 the factory was turned into a joint company owned by Gerlach and a new associate , Edward Pulst , who became the factory ' s chief engineer and technical director . In the following year , the factory was renamed to Spółka Akcyjna Fabryki Maszyn " Gerlach i Pulst " – " Gerlach and Pulst " Joint Stock Machinery Factory . In 1900 the company was moved to new premises at Dworska 2 Street in Warsaw . The " Gerlach i Pulst " produced machine tool s , turneries , planers , drilling machine s , presses , saws and many other types of machinery , used notably in small arms production . By the start of World War I the company had 750 employees and owned a " Gerlach & Co . " machinery shop at Krucza 24 Street in down - town Warsaw . Following the start of the Great War , in 1915 most of company ' s assets were dismantled by the retreating Russians and sent by rail to other parts of Russia . After the Great Retreat , the factory was taken over by the German Army who set up an arms repair workshop there . When Poland regained independence in 1919 the workshops were nationalised by the Ministry of Military Affairs along with all the remaining assets of the former Gerlach i Pulst company . Already in early 1919 the small - arms repair workshops were operational again . Reinforced with machines acquired from the former German Royal Arms Factory of Danzig and spare parts purchased in Germany , the workshops initially provided repair services to the Polish Army ' s units equipped with Mauser rifle s . However , already in 1920 they were renamed to " State Rifle Factory " and in 1922 the company started producing rifles as well . By 1923 mass production started and by the end of the following year the factory delivered 21 , 900 Mauser wz . 1898 rifles to the Polish Army . In the following year , a modified version , the Kbk wz . 1929 , entered production . Production lasted until 1931 and amounted to 189 , 600 pieces . Since 1928 , the company was the sole producer of Browning wz . 1928 light machine gun . In 1930 it also started licensed production of Ckm wz . 30 heavy machine guns . After that the production of rifles was moved to Radom - based Fabryka Broni , while the FK focused on more complicated designs . By the end of the 1930s the Fabryka Karabinów was one of the largest arms producers of Poland , with production capabilities far exceeding potential orders from the army . For example in 1938 the company ' s CEO estimated that the factory could produce 600 pieces of Browning wz . 1928 LMG each month , while the total orders for that year amounted to only 900 pieces . By the outbreak of World War II the company produced 10 , 700 LMGs and 7861 HMGs , as well as a small batch of 30 , 000 Nagant M1895 revolvers for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . The company also designed and produced numerous aerial weapons . The first was the Karabin maszynowy wz . 33 , a 7 . 92×57mm Mauser calibre aerial version of the Ckm wz . 30 multi - purpose HMG . It was further modified as the Karabin maszynowy wz . 36 . Another successful design was the Karabin maszynowy obserwatora wz . 37 , based on the Browning wz . 1928 . One of the most advanced designs produced at FK was the Nkm wz . 38 FK auto - cannon . Other modern designs included an experimental pre - production series of around 50 pistolet maszynowy wz . 39 Mors sub - machine guns and the highly - successful kb p - panc wz . 35 anti - tank rifle ( up to 6000 delivered ) . Introduction of further advanced designs was hampered by the outbreak of World War II and the start of the German occupation of Poland . During the final months of World War II the factory ' s equipment was seized by the Germans and sent to Germany , while most of the buildings were demolished . After the war , in 1948 it was rebuilt as Fabryka Wyrobów Precyzyjnych im . gen . Świerczewskiego ( " General Świerczewski Precision Machinery Factory " ) . Renamed as VIS after 1989 , the company ceased production and sold off its assets . By 2008 all of the remaining buildings had been demolished to make way for a new residential district .