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The history and development of the 9.65mm Browning Automatic cartridge begins with John Browning and the Colt 1900 pistol.
As early as 1901 Colt began attempting to develop a cartridge that could be chambered in their existing 1900-series pistols and meet the British requirement of no less than .41 caliber. In 1903 experiments modifying 41 Colt revolver cartridges resulted in production samples being made by UMC. The new cartridge, labeled 41 Automatic Colt, had the same case length and overall length as the 38 Automatic. It was semi-rimmed, with a head diameter of .417″-.422″, and fired a 150gr bullet .386″ in diameter. 6.5 gr of Walsrode shot gun powder is specified, but no velocity is recorded.
Throughout 1903, cartridge and pistol development highlighted the shortcomings of the dropping barrel design and prompted Colt and Browning to begin redesigning the pistol. In late 1903 Colt began experimenting with a .45 caliber cartridge, due to pressure from the US military. By mid 1904 the US Army Ordnance Board officially specified that any further pistol adopted should be no less than .45 caliber.
There are no existing documents referring to 41 Automatic pistol or cartridge development between 1904 and 1910. During this time it appears that all efforts were given to development of .45 caliber versions of Browning’s pistols. Also during this period FN saw increasing sales to South America, which Colt felt was in violation of their previous non-compete contracts. Colt attempted diplomatic efforts to enforce and renegotiate their contracts with little response from FN.
In 1910 Browning completed and patented a .45 caliber prototype that would see further development by both Colt and FN. FN called their new .45 caliber model the Grand Browning. Meanwhile, Colt would continue developing their .45 caliber pistol for military trials. Colt also made samples of the design specifically for the 38 ACP cartridge, likely intended to replace their existing 38 ACP pistols in commercial sales. The resulting pistol was slightly smaller than the .45 version.
When FN continued sales to Cuba and South America, Colt decided to take a more aggressive approach. Rather than pursue litigation, Colt chambered the new 38 ACP pistols for 41 Auto. Further cartridge development would result in a rimless case and use of a 130gr bullet, produced by Winchester as 9.8mm Colt Automatic. In 1911 Colt representatives took the new pistol and cartridge samples to military trials in Romania. The Romanian trials were successful in both the performance of the pistol and in frightening FN into renegotiating their non-compete contract with Colt.
In 1911 the US Ordnance Department adopted the .45 caliber pistol, and Colt withdrew the 9.8mm pistol from European military trials. FN seized upon Colt’s withdrawal and reworked the Grand Browning to a similar size as the Colt 9.8mm pistol. The new Grand Browning used an identical cartridge FN called the 9.65mm Browning Automatic.
In 1914 all development of the Grand Browning ended. FN had not installed the tooling for a production line, as no large contracts had been secured prior to the German invasion. After the war, the large surplus of Colt m1911 pistols made commercial viability of the Grand Browning unlikely. Without a European or US pistol chambered for 9.65mm Browning, FN abandoned the cartridge as well.