The Bergmann Simplex was a compact semi-automatic firearm produced in the early 1900s, utilizing innovations from the earlier
Bergman Model 1896 and 1897 pistols, being essentially a down-scaled version of Model 1897.
[Edward Clinton Ezell (1993) p.369; First introduced as the Bergmann Selbstlade Pistole Modell 1901, the 8mm Bergmann Simplex looked like a scaled-down Modell 1897; but in the Simplex, the designers reverted to a simple blowback mechanism.] It was chambered for the proprietary
Bergmann-Simplex 8mm cartridge, and did not have a locked breach.
Although production began in 1897, the design itself was actually patented in 1901, with the gun beginning sales in 1901 as well.
After a few copies were manufactured in Austria, its designs would be sold to a unidentified Belgian company in 1904. This Belgian company would manufacture 4,000 copies and would discontinue it, after the German aggression against Belgium in 1914.
The Simplex proved popular in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, to a point it prompted local gunsmiths to start making counterfeit copies of the Simplex.
[R.K. Wilson: Textbook of automatic Pistols. Palladium Press, Birmingham, Alabama USA 1999. Page 14.]
The Simplex, while doing better commercially than its predecessor design, the
Model 1896/1897 family, was still not a successful firearm. It was considered under-powered, cumbersome and developed a reputation for poor reliability.
Additionally, it did not fare well against the other compact pistols in the market; particularly the
FN-
Browning designs.
Development and construction
The Bergmann Simplex incorporated experience from the earlier Bergmann pistols. It is nearly identical with the Bergmann Model 1897, but is smaller in size and its original one-piece grips having the word Simplex on them.
The Bergmann Simplex was a semi-automatic weapon, operating on the principle of a free-bolt recoil. The lock consists of a simple single-action system, using hammer as a striker, without self-cocking.
The Bergmann Simplex was fed from a replaceable box magazine with a capacity of 6 or 8 rounds. The magazine was located in front of the trigger.
It fired a relatively weak 8 mm cartridge. This made it possible to construct the weapon with an unlocked bolt. Its barrel was rifled, had six right-handed grooves.
Manufacturing quality of Bergmann Simplex was lacking, with issues being found in its "soft" feeling frame, the one-piece rubber grip being fragile and the extractor and the ejector being prone to breaking.
See also
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List of front-magazine pistols
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
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List of semi-automatic pistols
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
Sources
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* Shideler, Dan. 2008 Standard Catalog of Firearms. Krause Publications, 2008. .
Citations
External links
Bergmann Simplex
{{Front-magazine pistols
8 mm firearms
Front-magazine pistols
Semi-automatic pistols 1901–1909
Semi-automatic pistols of Germany
Semi-automatic pistols of Belgium