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The history and development of the 9mm Browning Long begins with John Browning’s first pistol in 1894 and the .38 S&W revolver cartridge, know in Europe as 9x20mm Rimmed. Actual case length was 19.5-19.7mm. In early experimentation Browning modified the cartridge case to be rimless and used a bullet slightly reduced in weight and diameter. By 1898, with continued development by Winchester, UMC, and Colt, the case was lengthened to 23mm and made semi-rimmed. The 9x23mm cartridge would become the 38 ACP.
When FN requested a military pistol in 1901 Browning shortened the semi-rimmed case back to 20mm and utilized the same bullet with a reduced powder charge. Development of the pistol and cartridge continued in Belgium through 1903 when FN began entering the pistol in various military trials. The cartridge used in the Swedish pistol trials during 1903-1904 is recorded as firing a 7.1g (110gr) projectile from a 9x20mm semi-rimmed case at a velocity of 335m/s (1100fps). The 9mm Browning Long was comparable to the contemporary 9mm Luger, producing only 34ft/lbs less energy when fired from a barrel of similar length. The FN 1903 and it’s 9mm cartridge would go on to be adopted by several European militaries, but never saw the commercial success of FN’s other Browning designs.
Wider use of the 9mm Browning Long was primarily stymied by FN delaying full scale production of its pistol until 1907 and having no other designs in which to chamber the cartridge. Little further development of the cartridge was ever made as it was already at the limit of what the blowback pistol design could safely handle. The 9mm Luger, on the other hand, saw rapid development and was quickly a superior cartridge in nearly any other application in which the 9mm Browning Long may have been used. Due to this, by 1940 the pistol and cartridge were supplanted in every military that had adopted them. The only know firearms chambered for this cartridge are the FN1903, Swedish M07, and Swedish M37 submachine gun.
So, how did a cartridge created by shortening 38 ACP end up with the name Long? The answer involves 380 ACP, which began development in 1907, the same year 9x20mm BL went into full scale production. 380 ACP was created by further shortening the 38 ACP case to 17mm and making it rimless. Outside the US the 380 is known as 9mm Browning Short.