The SIG Sauer P226 is a full-sized service pistol made by SIG Sauer. This model is available in four chamberings: the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, or .22 Long Rifle. It has the same mechanism of operation as the SIG Sauer P220, but is developed to use higher capacity, double stack magazines in place of the single stack magazines of the P220.
The P226 itself has spawned further sub-variants; the P228 and P229 are both compact versions of the double stack P226 design, while the P224 is a subcompact variant. The SIG Sauer P226 and its variants are in service with numerous law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.
History
Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) is a Swiss company, now known as Sig Sauer AG. In 1975, SIG entered into an agreement with German gun manufacturer J.P. Sauer & Sohn to develop and market a new handgun which became the P220. The P220 was the first SIG Sauer handgun sold in the US. It was marketed initially by Browning as the Browning BDA. The SIG Sauer P220 is a refinement of the Petter-Browning design used in the SIG P210. The locked breech design is very different and was pioneered by SIG Sauer.
The P226 was designed for entry into the XM9 Service Pistol Trials (see also Joint Service Small Arms Program) that were held by the US Army in 1984 on behalf of the US armed forces to find a replacement for the M1911A1 and 24 other makes of handgun in US military service. Only the Beretta 92SBF and the SIG P226 satisfactorily completed the trials. According to a GAO report, Beretta was awarded the M9 contract for the 92F due to a lower total package price. The P226 cost less per pistol than the 92F, but SIG's package price with magazines and spare parts was higher than Beretta's. The Navy SEALs, however, later chose to adopt the P226 as the P226 MK25 with special corrosion protection.
For the U.S. military XM9 trials, the P226 was imported by Saco Defense. Interarms took over importing when the pistol was introduced for civilian sales. SIG Sauer eventually founded SIGARMS, Inc. (now SIG Sauer) in the United States to handle importation of their products. In 2000, SIG Holding AG sold J.P. Sauer & Sohn GmbH to two German businessmen. The brand name SIG Sauer remained at J.P. Sauer & Sohn GmbH.
Manufacture
SIG Sauer firearms are manufactured in Eckernförde, Germany by Sig Sauer, GmbH and in Newington, New Hampshire, United States by SIG Sauer Inc., (formerly SIGARMS Inc.). Both of these companies along with Swiss Arms AG, Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH, J.P. Sauer & Sohn, John Rigby & Company, German Sport Guns GmbH and Blaser Jagdwaffen Gmbh are subsidiaries of Luke and Ortmeier Gruppe of Emsdetten, Germany.
Copies of the P226 are produced in China by Norinco, under the name of NP22. These were subcontracted to the Zhejiang Xinhua Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (浙江省机电集团), known as State Factory 972 or known as the Xinhua Factory and Zhejiang Factory.
The variants consist of the NP22, NP22A, NP34, NP56 and the NP58. The SDM XM9 is a variant of the NP22 chambered in 9x21mm for countries that don't allow any pistol calibers that are only for the military and police. The LP3 and LP4 are versions of the NP22 and NP34 with manual safeties on the slide. The NP762 is chambered to fire 7.62x25mm bullets, which were exported in 2019. They were first made by Xinhua in 1999 and were known then as the NP2000 for potential contracts in China for the PLA and various law enforcement agencies.
The ZOAF is a clone of the P226 made in Iran.
Variants
P226 Navy
U.S. Navy SEAL teams started using the SIG P226 in the 1980s, after German Kampfschwimmer tested them successfully. In 1989, the P226 was adopted by the U.S. Navy SEALs and DEVGRU under the name Mk25 Mod 0.
The first Naval Special Warfare inspired P226 pistols to be offered to the public were the NSW Commemoratives, issued in early 2004. The SIG P226-9-NAVY is a version of the SIG P226 produced that features a stainless steel slide engraved with an anchor to designate them as Naval Special Warfare pistols. SIGARMS raised $100,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation through the sale of these NSW serialized pistols. The pistol with the serial number NSW0001 was sold during a live auction on the US-wide syndicated Laura Ingraham radio show for an additional $25,000. Later produced commercial versions added a universal rail for accessory attachments while retaining the anchor of previous models, but do not have the SIGLITE Night Sights.