Luger P08
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The Pistole Parabellum or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just the Luger or Luger P08, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated
semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...
. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1949. The design was patented by
Georg Luger Georg Johann Luger (6 March 1849 – 22 December 1923) was an Austrian designer of the famous Luger pistol and the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. Early life and military service Georg Luger was born in Steinach am Brenner, Tyrol to Dr. ...
. It was meant to be an improvement of the Borchardt C-93 pistol, and was initially produced as the ''Parabellum Automatic Pistol, Borchardt-Luger System'' by the German arms manufacturer ''
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when ''Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and am ...
'' (DWM).Datig, Fred A., ''The Luger Pistol'', Gun Digest, 1957 ed., Chicago, Illinois: Edward Keogh Co. Inc. (1956) pp. 164–165 The first production model was known as the ''Modell 1900 Parabellum''. It was followed by the "''Marinepistole 1904''" for the Imperial German Navy. The Luger was officially adopted by the Swiss military in 1900, the Imperial German Navy in 1906 and the German Army in 1908. The Luger was the standard service pistol of Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Brazil, Bolivia, and Bulgaria. It was widely used in other countries as a military service pistol and by police forces. In the German Army service, it was adopted in a slightly modified form as the ' 'Pistole Modell 1908'' (''Pistole 08'') in caliber
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
. The Model 08 was eventually succeeded by the
Walther P38 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the comparatively comp ...
. The Luger is well known for its wide use by Germany during World War I and World War II, along with the interwar
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
and the postwar East German ''
Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...
''. The name ''Parabellum'', which also featured in DWM's
telegraphic Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
address, comes from the Latin phrase ; "If you wish for peace, prepare for war."


History

In 1897, after the success of the
Borchardt C-93 The Borchardt C93 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Hugo Borchardt in 1893. The design is based upon the Maxim gun's toggle lock mechanism. The pistol uses a locked breech and a short recoil operating cycle, with the barrel and breech movi ...
, as the first mass-produced
semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...
, the Swiss military began to look for a semi-automatic pistol to replace their issued pistol, the
Ordonnanzrevolver 1872 The Model 1872 revolver (''Ordonnanzrevolver 1872'' or ''revolver d'ordonnance modèle 1872'') was the service sidearm of the Swiss Army. It was later refined to the Model 1872/78 revolver. Approximately 600 were manufactured in Belgium by Pi ...
. Georg Luger, working for the German company
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when ''Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and am ...
, provided the Borchardt-Luger design, which during Swiss military trials, was found to be more accurate and reliable than competing designs such as the
Mannlicher M1901 The M1901 Mannlicher Self-Loading, Semi-Automatic Pistol was an early semi-automatic pistol design.*Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', pp.134–137 Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943. The Bundeswehr Mu ...
and
Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20 ...
. 20 examples of the Borchardt-Luger were sent to Switzerland in 1899, and after a revision to reduce its weight, was adopted the following year as the Ordonnanzpistole 1900. The Luger remained in Swiss service until 1949, when it was replaced by the
SIG P210 The SIG P210 ( Swiss Army designation Pistole 49, the civilian model was known as SP47/8 prior to 1957) is a locked breech self loading, semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Neuhausen am Rheinfall (Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzer ...
.


German adoption trials

In 1898, Germany adopted a total of 145 C93 pistols, but found that it jammed too often to be effective. In 1901, testing of the Luger commenced, alongside an improved version of the C93, in which the Luger was found to be both lighter and more reliable. Following a change in caliber from 7.65×21mm Parabellum to
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
, the Luger was adopted by the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...
as the ''Selbstlade-Pistole Modell 1904, and'' later simply the ''Pistole 1904''. The
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
delayed their adoption, as Mauser requested time to develop a new pistol of their own, which was finished in 1907. However, the new pistol was still found to be less desirable than the Luger, and on 22 August 1908,
Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...
signed an order for 50,000 Lugers for the German Army, with orders to produce a total of 170,000.


U.S. trials

In 1901, DWM sent two Lugers to the United States, who were also interested in a semi-automatic pistol. After doing well in testing, a total of 1,000 pistols and 200,000 rounds were purchased for use by the Military Academy at West Point, and several other forts. The Luger was unpopular, with most troops preferring their .38 Long Colt revolvers, resulting in the Luger being recalled in 1905. In 1906, the United States evaluated several domestic and foreign-made semi-automatic pistols, including the
Colt M1900 The Colt Model 1900 is a short-recoil operated "self-loading", or semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt's Manufacturing Company at the turn of the 20th century. The M1900 was the first firearm to be chambered in .38 ACP (not to ...
,
Steyr Mannlicher M1894 The Mannlicher M1894 was an early blow-forward semi-automatic pistol. General features The earliest Ferdinand Mannlicher pistol, manufactured by Fabrique D'Armes de Neuhausen, Switzerland, was designed to be self-loading and to use a special ...
, and an entry from
Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...
. This was in response to combat reports which stated that the .38 caliber revolvers used in the 1899–1902
Philippine Insurrection The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
lacked
stopping power Stopping power is the supposed ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a ...
. Due to the findings in the
Thompson–LaGarde Tests The Thompson–LaGarde Tests were a series of tests conducted in 1904 to determine which caliber should be used in American military handguns. History The Army had previously been using the .38 Long Colt, and the cartridge's relatively poor ballis ...
, the military required a handgun in .45 (11.25mm) caliber. In 1906 and 1907, the U.S. Army held trials for a large-caliber semi-automatic pistol. At least two, and possibly three, Parabellum Model 1902/1906 pattern pistols were brought to the U.S. by Georg Luger for the 1907 trials, each chambered in
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After su ...
caliber. Prior to his arrival, the U.S.
Frankford Arsenal The Frankford Arsenal is a former United States Army ammunition plant located adjacent to the Bridesburg neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, north of the original course of Frankford Creek. History Opened in 1816 on of lan ...
had provided Luger with 5,000 rounds of .45 ammunition for experimentation and to serve as a guide for chambering measurements. Finding numerous defects in this prototype ammunition (U.S. authorities later were forced to produce new ammunition for the 1907 trials), Luger had DWM pull the bullets of these cartridges and had them re-loaded with a special faster-burning powder in new brass cases.American Rifleman, ''The 1907 Pistol Trials,'', (Feb 2001) www.nramuseum.com/media/940450/1907%20pistol%20trials.pdf Luger brought 746 rounds of this new ammunition to the March 1907 trials with his .45 Luger pistol. Two test .45 Luger pistols, bearing serial numbers 1 and 2, are known to have been used in the 1907 tests. Although the .45 Luger passed the firing tests, it was ranked below the Colt/Browning and Savage pistols in number of malfunctions and misfires, though Army officials conceded that the .45 Luger performed satisfactorily with the DWM-loaded ammunition: "The Luger automatic pistol, although it possesses manifest advantages in many particulars, is not recommended for service tests because its certainty of action, even with Luger ammunition, it is not considered satisfactory, because of the final seating of the cartridge is not by positive spring action, and because the powder stated by Mr. Luger to be necessary, for its satisfactory use is not now obtainable in this country." DWM and Luger later rejected an invitation by Army officials to produce 200 pistols in .45 caliber for further competition against the Colt and Savage submissions, at which point DWM effectively withdrew from the U.S. trials. The fate of the .45 Luger, serial number 1 is unknown, as it was not returned and is believed to have been destroyed during testing. The .45 Luger prototype serial number 2, believed to have been a back-up to Serial Number 1, survived the 1907 trials and is in private ownership. Its rarity gives its value of around US$1 million at the time the "Million Dollar Guns" episode of the
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's ''
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'' was filmed, recheck by ''
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'' as of 1994. At least two .45 caliber Luger pistols were manufactured later for possible commercial or military sales; one is exhibited at the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, in
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, Louisiana. The other was sold in 2010 and remains in a private collection. A single .45 Luger carbine is also known to exist.


German combat use

The first known instance of the Luger being used in combat was during the
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in 1905-1907. Therein, it was somewhat poorly received, as it was thought to be too heavy to be used quickly, in particular because the grip safety had to be held tightly, reducing accuracy, leading to the removal of the safety in the P08 model. At the beginning of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, not all units of the German Army had been equipped with the Luger, leading to an acceleration in production. Alongside the P08, Germany also developed the LP08, a version with a
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
and longer barrel that could also accept drum magazines. The LP08 was used by the
Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...
during the early days of the war, before planes were equipped with machine guns, although due to a lack of pre-war production, the LP08 was much less commonly used than the P08. The main user of the LP08 was the Army, who used its drum magazine to deliver a high rate of fire at a close range, a concept which would lead to the development of the
Stormtroopers Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party * 8th I ...
and the
MP 18 The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Theodor Bergmann, Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army (German Empire), German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the ' ...
. After the end of the war, Germany signed the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
, which restricted the size of their army – the treaty specified that the German Army could only have 50,000 pistols, and prohibited
submachine guns A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automa ...
and pistols with stocks altogether. As the Luger was expensive to produce, Germany started to look for a replacement as early as 1927, settling on the
Walther P38 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the comparatively comp ...
in 1938, which offered similar performance to the Luger, but took almost half the time to produce. Moving the production lines to the P38 once World War II started took longer than expected, leading to the P08 remaining in production until September 1942, and pre-existing copies remained in service until the end of the war. In
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, the P08 was used by the
Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...
, mostly from ex-Nazi stocks, but they produced a small number up until 1953.


Design details

The Luger has a toggle-lock action that uses a jointed arm to lock, as opposed to the
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actions of many other semi-automatic pistols, such as the
M1911 The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early hist ...
. After a round is fired, the barrel and toggle assembly travel roughly rearward due to recoil, both locked together at this point. The toggle strikes a cam built into the frame, causing the knee joint to hinge and the toggle and breech assembly to unlock. The barrel strikes the frame and stops its rearward movement, but the toggle assembly continues moving, bending the knee joint upwards, extracting the spent casing from the chamber, and ejecting it. The toggle and breech assembly then travel forward under spring tension and the next round is loaded from the magazine into the chamber. The entire sequence occurs in a fraction of a second and contributes to the above average mud resistance of the pistol. This mechanism works well for higher-pressure cartridges, but cartridges loaded to a lower pressure can cause the pistol to malfunction because they do not generate enough recoil to work the action fully. This results in the breech block either not clearing the top cartridge of the magazine or becoming jammed open on the cartridge's base. This malfunction with under-powered cartridges does occur with Browning-type and other pistol designs as well, but the Luger is sensitive to cartridges other than the brass-cased ammunition that it was designed to use.
Submachine guns A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automa ...
were found to be effective in trench warfare during World War I, and experiments were conducted to convert various types of pistols to fully automatic machine pistols, including the P08. The Luger proved to have an excessive rate of fire in full-automatic mode, however, as did the
Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20 ...
. The 'snail drum'
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for the
MP 18 The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Theodor Bergmann, Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army (German Empire), German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the ' ...
, which was used by German
Stormtroopers Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party * 8th I ...
towards the end of the war, was originally designed for the Artillery Luger.


Production

Luger pistols were manufactured in Germany and Switzerland to very close tolerances and exacting standards using the highest quality materials of the day, and original pistols were known for having a long service life.Keith, Elmer, ''Sixguns'', Ravenio Books (1961) The design requires hand fitting of certain parts for proper operation. Assembling the gun using a sideplate from another pistol, for example, may prevent the sear from working, making the pistol inoperable. The Luger barrel, which was rigidly fixed to the barrel extension and carried the front sight, provided excellent accuracy. William B. "Bill" Ruger praised the Luger's 145° (55° for Americans) grip angle and duplicated it in his .22 LR pistol. Handgun author and enthusiast
Elmer Keith Elmer Merrifield Keith (March 8, 1899 – February 14, 1984) was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum (1935), as well as the la ...
observed that the Luger design had been unfairly criticized by gun writers over the years as unreliable, partly due to poor experiences with Lugers constructed from salvaged parts. Keith noted that the Luger was a "natural pointer", one of the most accurate of all autoloading pistols—particularly at long ranges—and reminded critics that the Luger was the choice of more nations as their military sidearm than any other contemporary pistol or revolver.


Interwar period

From 1919 onwards, DWM rebuilt P08 frames with new parts or existing parts (including barrels) into complete pistols for sale to the civilian and export markets. These sales helped restore DWM to solvency after the Armistice. Most of these commercial pistols were in 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger) caliber, although a number of pistols were also re-barrelled to 9mm Parabellum (9×19mm). The new component parts were stamped with serial numbers to match the frame to ensure that all the fitted parts stayed together. Many thousands of these pistols were thought to have been assembled and sold between 1919 and 1923. Some of these pistols were fitted with new barrels of different lengths by the importer upon customer request. Many so-called 1919 and 1920 Commercial Lugers were imported to the United States by such firms as Abercrombie & Fitch, Pacific Arms Co., and A.F. Stoeger Inc. The latter importer sought and registered the name ''Luger'' in 1929, in the United States. In 1923, A.F. Stoeger Inc., the predecessor to Stoeger, Inc. began importing commercial pistols from DWM stamped ''A.F.Stoeger Inc. – New York.'' and "Germany". These pistols were exported to the United States in both 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger) and 9mm calibers, with barrel lengths from 75  mm to 600  mm. These imported Parabellums were also the first pistols to bear the name "Luger", roll stamped on the right side of the receiver. That same year, DWM also signed contracts to supply small numbers of P08 pistols to the armed forces of Finland (8,000 pistols, designated ''m/23''), the Netherlands, and Sweden. Until 1930, DWM continued to export both P08 and commercial Parabellum pistols to nations in Europe and to overseas markets, including the United States and the Far East. Although never officially adopted by Nationalist forces, all variants of the Parabellum or Luger pistol were highly sought after by both Chinese Nationalist officers and irregular guerrilla forces. In 1924, just before the outbreak of the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
, a review of Chinese Nationalist small arms reported that "Among officers, bodyguards, and police, the German Parabellum (Luger) 9-mm automatic pistol was the weapon of choice...". In 1930,
Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...
took over the manufacture of P.08 from DWM. Additional P08s were produced by Simson and later Krieghoff. Many P04 and P08 pistols would continue in service with German army and navy personnel throughout World War II. Towards the end of 1937 (beginning with 't' & 'u' block pistols), Mauser phased out the rust blue process and "straw finishing" small parts and levers on the P08, choosing to salt blue all parts of the weapon at one time. In 1941, some of these pistols were fitted with inexpensive black
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grip panels to cut production time and expense. Years after the war, these pistols would be given the name "Black Widow" by a postwar US arms dealer as a marketing ploy.


World War II

The P08 was technically replaced in service in 1938 by the
Walther P38 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the comparatively comp ...
, but ever-growing wartime demands for handguns resulted in continued P08 production by Mauser until December 1943. Mauser production was supplemented by a small contract for Luger pistols given to Heinrich Krieghoff & Son of Suhl in 1935 to produce a Luger variant for the Luftwaffe; a second contract for 15,000 pistols was only partially completed when Krieghoff ceased Luger production in 1944. The German Army took their last delivery of 1,000 Mauser-made pistols in November 1943. A further 4,000 pistols assembled by Mauser in December of that same year were sold to Portugal, which renamed them the Model 943. German military authorities refused to take any more Luger pistols, leaving a large stock of parts at the factory in Oberndorf. Captured Lugers were much prized by Allied soldiers during both of the world wars as war trophies. However, during World War II, German soldiers were known to sometimes use a discarded Luger pistol to lure unsuspecting trophy hunters, rigging it to detonate land mines or hidden booby traps when disturbed. Word also spread of accidental discharges and deaths of Allied troops by users unfamiliar with the P08 and its safety mechanisms, as well as stories circulating that American soldiers were being executed if captured in possession of German weapons. Soviet forces captured tens of thousands of Lugers but they were never issued to their own troops, only kept in storage.


Post-World War II

Although Mauser P08 production terminated in 1943, the P08 re-appeared in postwar form because of the continuing demand for handguns for military and police requirements. In 1945, Mauser restarted Luger production under the control of the French occupation authority to supply the French military and occupation police forces. Assembly commenced under French control from June 1945 until mid-1946. In the second half of 1946, tooling and some Mauser personnel moved from Oberndorf to Châtellerault in France, the location of MAC (Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault) to continue assembly from existing parts stocks. About 4,000 Luger 'parts' pistols, including a few LP 08 models, are thought to have been assembled for French forces, a sufficient number to justify the production of new-manufacture Luger magazines in France for several years. Surviving examples of Lugers assembled under French supervision are sometimes found with a distinct, gray
parkerized Phosphate conversion coating is a chemical treatment applied to steel parts that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates to improve corrosion resistance or lubrication or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or pai ...
finish. A few early French control pistols bear a five-pointed star proof mark known to have been used by French Occupation authorities. Later pistols assembled in France often carry a French arsenal/manufacturer name, such as ''Manufacture Française d'Armes & Cycles de St. Etienne'' (Manufrance). Surviving French Control Lugers were retained in French storage depots of the paramilitary
National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...
as late as 1970. Pistols were also assembled under the direction of Soviet (and later, East German) authorities to arm military and MP units, as well as the
Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...
. During the immediate postwar period, complete Luger pistols were also assembled from rejected or salvaged parts with different serial numbers, then sold as souvenirs to occupation forces in Germany. Thousands of original Luger pistols were taken home by returning Allied soldiers after both world wars. Other Luger pistols were later assembled in the United States by gunsmiths of varying aptitude using secondhand, rejected, or salvaged parts imported from Germany and other countries. These pistols and their construction quality (or lack of it) would contribute to criticism of the Luger as a finicky and unreliable weapon. However, a well-maintained Luger with new springs and suitable cartridges is a very reliable weapon. The Swiss Parabellum 06/29 continued in production until 1946. In 1969, after purchasing the Swiss 06/29 tooling, Mauser Werke in Oberndorf restarted Parabellum production, which ceased in 1986 when the last commemorative model was produced. While new Mauser Luger production ended at this time, pistols continued to be assembled and sold from parts on hand until the 1990s. Aaron Davis, writing in ''The Standard Catalog of the Luger'', claimed that "From its adoption, the Luger was synonymous with the German military through the end of World War II" and "Ask any World War II vet of the uropean Theater of Operationswhat the most prized war souvenir was and the answer will invariably come back, 'a Luger'." Colonel David Hackworth mentioned in his autobiography that it was still a sought-after sidearm in the
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. Vietnamese gunsmiths even copied the basic Luger design, producing a few crude "Luger" pistols with which to arm Viet Cong and other irregular forces.


Variants


Model 1900 and Swiss Luger

A number of countries purchased the Model 1900 Parabellum in 7.65×21mm Parabellum (.30 Luger) caliber and issued the pistol on a limited basis to officers, non-commissioned officers and mounted troops, including Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. The Model 1900 or Pistole Modell 1900 was issued to German officers and likely first saw combat in China during intervention by German troops in the aftermath of the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...
of 1900. On April 16, 1901, following a successful preliminary test of the Model 1900 at the
Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...
,Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance, United States, Army Ordnance Dept., 28 October 1902, p. 258 the U.S. Board of Ordnance purchased 1,000 ''Model 1900'' Parabellum pistols with 4.75-inch barrels, marked with what appear to be standard U.S. ordnance bomb proofs, but are not, and "American Eagle" stamps over the chambers, and issued them to each troop of mounted cavalry of the U.S. Army for field testing, with the remainder to the light artillery and officers at West Point. In 1902, U.S. Army officials purchased another 50 ''Model 1902'' Parabellum pistols with 4-inch barrels, again in 7.65mm Parabellum, for further testing and evaluation. This was followed by a third test of 50 so-called "cartridge counter" Parabellum pistols in 9×19mm by Springfield Armory in 1904. Other nations either tested the Model 1900 or purchased small numbers for limited field service, including Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and Portugal. Commercial models of the Model 1900 were exported in quantity as well. In the U.S., Model 1900 pistols in 7.65 Parabellum caliber (aka .30 Luger in the U.S.) were first imported by Georg Luger, then by a DWM sales agent, Hans Tauscher, until World War I.Davis, Aaron, ''The Standard Catalog of Luger'', Gun Digest Books, (2006) p. 6 Referred to at the time as the ' Borchardt-Luger' by U.S. authorities, Tauscher consistently referred to the pistol in his marketing and advertising materials as the 'Luger', after its inventor. Model 1900 pistols shipped to the U.S. were typically stamped with an American Eagle atop the barrel extensions. 'American Eagle' 7.65 Model 1900 pistols were used by a variety of buyers, including American lawmen such as Stringer Fenton, outlaws, and Texas Rangers.


Swiss Luger

After testing, the
Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...
adopted the Model 1900 on April 4, 1901, in 7.65×21mm caliber as its standard sidearm, designated ''Pistole 1900''. This model uses a barrel and incorporates a grip safety and leaf-type mainspring. A later Swiss military contract with DWM resulted in the latter supplying improved Model 1900/06 pattern pistols designated the Model 1906 or ''Pistole 1900/06''. Commencing in 1918, these Model 1906 Parabellum pistols were manufactured and assembled at
Waffenfabrik Bern Weapons Factory Bern (, also known as W+F Bern), was an arms manufacturer in Bern, Switzerland, which was a government-owned corporation producing firearms for the Swiss Armed Forces. W+F was integrated into RUAG in 1999, which later discontin ...
, Switzerland. In 1929, Swiss authorities adopted an improved version of the Modell 1900 designated the ''Modell 06/29'' with improved sights, trigger and a stronger toggle link. Manufactured entirely at Waffenfabrik Bern, the 06/29 pistol served the Swiss Army until well after the adoption of the
SIG Sauer P210 The SIG P210 (Swiss Army designation Pistole 49, the civilian model was known as SP47/8 prior to 1957) is a locked breech self loading, semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Neuhausen am Rheinfall (Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerla ...
in 1949, and remained in limited service until the late 1960s.


Model 1902

In 1902, DWM introduced a slightly improved version of the Model 1900 Parabellum as the Model 1902. The Model 1902, with its shortened 4-inch barrel, was the first Parabellum pistol to be offered in 9×19mm Parabellum caliber, along with a change from four-groove to six-groove rifling.Stephenson, Jan, ''The Parabellum Story'', Part I and II, Gun Facts Magazine (July 1969) pp. 10-15, 35-37


Navy model

The Luger pistol was accepted by the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...
in 1904 in
9mm Parabellum This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Case length'' refers to the round case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design ...
as the ''Pistole 04'' (P04). The navy model had a barrel and a two-position – or – rear sight. This version was also referred to as the "Marine Modell 1904" or, more colloquially in the US as the "navy Luger". The Pistole 04 was later updated with a coil mainspring to Model 1906 pattern as Luger continued to refine and improve his design.


Model 1906 (''Neues Modell'')

Georg Luger introduced a new version of the Parabellum pistol in 1906, which would become known as the Model 1906 or ''New Model'' (''Neues Modell''). This version of the Parabellum replaced the old flat laminated main spring with a more reliable coil design. As all models of the Luger built after 1906 have the coil mainspring, they are known as ''New Models''. Older Parabellum pistols in German service were usually upgraded to the ''New Model'' specification.


''Pistole Modell 1908 (P08)''

In 1908, the German Army adopted the DWM Parabellum pistol as the ''Pistole Modell 1908'' (P08) Parabellum to replace the Reichsrevolver in front-line service. The Pistole 08 (or ''P.08'') had a barrel and was chambered in
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
. This version of Georg Luger's design reflected a number of improvements requested by German military authorities. The grip safety used on earlier versions was omitted, while a lug was attached to the heel of the pistol frame for attachment of a shoulder stock. The barrel was reduced in length to 4 inches (102mm), and the caliber was 9×19mm Parabellum, and the 9×19mm DWM cartridge (Catalog No. 278F) initially adopted by the German Army featured a 123-grain truncated-nose bullet design intended to increase wounding effect of the fully jacketed bullet. With slight modifications, notably the addition of a stock mounting lug and a hold-open latch, the P08 would serve as the German Army's principal sidearm during World War I, augmented by Mauser C96 and Model 1914 pistols. Over 2 million Luger pistols were used by German forces from 1914 to 1918. The
Bolivian Army The Bolivian Army () is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. Figures on the size and composition of the Bolivian army vary considerably, with little official data available. It is estimated that the army has between 26,000 and 6 ...
also adopted the DWM Luger in 9×19mm Parabellum as an officer's sidearm; 500 were bought in 1913. They bore the legend "Ejercito Boliviano" stamped on the chamber.


''Lange Pistole 08'' (Artillery Luger)

The adoption of the ''Lange Pistole 08'' or LP 08, known as the "Artillery Luger", was authorised by the Kaiser on 2 July 1913. This P08 variation was equipped with a barrel, an 8-position tangent rear sight (calibrated to ) and a board-type shoulder stock with an attached leather holster. In the event of close combat, the pistol was intended to be used as a carbine with the shoulder stock attached to a lug mounted on the heel of the pistol frame. When set for long range use the rear sight element visibly moves to the left to compensate for spin drift. While initially intended for use by German artillery units who could not be encumbered by the long and heavy K.98 rifle, the LP 08 was also used by Aviation units (prior to equipping aircraft with machine guns) as well as the infantry, primarily on the Western front during World War I. ''Stoßtruppen'' ( stormtrooper infantry) units frequently employed the Artillery Luger equipped with a new large magazine, the 32-round Trommelmagazin or 'snail' magazine. Production of the LP 08 ended in 1918 with the end of the war. By that time, German troops had begun using the newly developed
MP 18 The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Theodor Bergmann, Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army (German Empire), German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the ' ...
submachine gun in place of the LP 08 for their stormtrooper assault companies. However, by this time enough LP 08 barrels had been manufactured and stockpiled to fill LP 08 export orders into the 1930s.
Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...
versions of the LP 08 were also produced commercially, with yet longer barrels. The firm Armeria Belga of Santiago (Chile) also manufactured a detachable stock, the Benke Thiemann stock, that could fold out from the grip section. In the early 1920s, carbine production was restarted. Under a small contract, LP 08 or Artillery P08s were assembled in the 1930s to fill an order from the Shah of Iran for his artillery troops, with some of these weapons ending up with Thai police forces. Existing LP 08 pistols that had remained in storage were re-issued in World War II with new-production board stocks for some German units such as artillerymen and Waffen-SS units, and these continued in use until the end of the war in 1945.


Luger rifle

The Luger rifle was an attempt by Georg Luger to make a full-powered
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single round each time the Trigger (firearms), trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. These rifles were developed Pre-World War II, and w ...
using the same toggle-bolt
action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...
of the pistol. A single rifle, serial number 4, exists in a private collection. The Luger rifle was protected under British patent No. 4126 of 1906. It was chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser.


Users

* : Used by the National Liberation Army, bought from Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia * : Used captured examples in the
North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
of World War II * : Armed forces used Lugers after 1945, supplied from the French-controlled Mauser factory * : delivered from 1912 and used during the
Chaco War The Chaco War (, * : The 7.65 model 1900 Luger was adopted in 1906 after navy trials, but purchases failed to materialize due to problems in the economy. In 1908 the improved 1906 model in 7.65 was ordered by the army. The Lugers were delivered to Brazil in 1910 and issued primarily to military officers; following a 1919 law a number of those were lent to police forces. * : 1900 commercial model bought for trialsDavis, Aaron, ''The Standard Catalog of Luger'', Gun Digest Books, (2006) p. 36 * : 1900 commercial model bought for trials * :The Luger was in use with the Czechoslovak military after the declaration of independence in 1919 * : Three types of pistols were purchased from DWM.: The 7,65mm obrazetz 1903 (Old Model) was acquired in comparatively small numbers in 1903-4 and featured the distinctively cutaway toggle grips and a 4.75-inch barrel. The 7,65mm Obrazetz 1908 (New Model) was supplied between 1908 and 1909, and had flat-face checkered toggles; around 1,500 were ordered. The 9mm obrazetz 1911, was a 9mm pistol with a 3.9-inch barrel similar to the German Pistole 08 but lacking a grip safety, stock lug and with a lanyard loop on the lower left side of the butt; around 10,000 were ordered. After the Second Balkan War many of the 7,65mm Lugers were re-barreled to 9mm * : Used by Chang Tso-lin's warlord army. * : Mainly issued to officers. * : Used Luger pistols in a semi-official capacity taken from disarmed Dutch forces in Indonesia. * : Small numbers of P08 Lugers acquired by Jägers and the Finnish White Army during the civil war; including 100 artillery lugers. 7.65 pistols with 95mm and 98mm barrels were ordered from DWM and designated m/23 pistol; 2,000 were delivered in 1922 and a further 2,000 in 1923, by 1929 the army had 8,000 m/23 pistols. During the Winter War those pistols were converted to use 9mm ammunition. * : The French occupied and operated the Mauser factory 1945–46, then seized remaining Mauser parts stocks to assemble approximately 4,000 Luger pistols for French forces * ** ** ** ** : Used until the 1960s by the
Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...
and
Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
agents. A small number were sold abroad to Ethiopia in the 1980s. * * : Almost 14,000 Dutch KNIL M.11 Lugers were in Indonesia before the
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. In May 1940, Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, occupied the Netherlands, and ma ...
. As such, the Luger was widely used during the
Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...
. General
Sudirman Sudirman (; 24 January 1916 – 29 January 1950) was an Indonesian military officer and revolutionary during the Indonesian National Revolution and the first commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Born in Purbalingga, Dutch East Ind ...
is known to have personally carried an M.11. * : Supplied to forces collaborating with Germany in northern Italy. *
Imperial State of Iran Imperial is that which relates to an empire, Emperor, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania ...
* : Purchased less than 1,000 between 1936 and 1939. * * * :1900 commercial model bought for trials * * : Dutch arms factories made Lugers in 1912 for use by the Dutch East Indies Army. Other contracts were completed for the Dutch Navy commencing in 1923, and the Dutch Air Force in 1928 * : Captured P08 Lugers were carried unofficially by some servicemen during WWI and WWII. At the end of WWI many captured Lugers were brought to New Zealand and were surrendered under amnesty following the 1920 Arms Act which outlawed the civilian possession of 'semi‐automatic pistols'. In 1942 the surrendered P08s held in Government stores were issued to RNZAF officers in the Aerodrome Defence Squadrons. * : In use from 1945 and phased out in 1987. * : the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
received P08s from East Germany * : Around 1901, a commission tested various semiautomatic pistols, the 7.65 model 1900 Luger was considered superior. No immediate decision was taken and in 1907 another commission decided on the Luger. That same year 50 Model 1906 commercial pistols were bought for an expedition into Cuamato territory in Angola. In 1908, between 3.500 to 5.000 model 1906 pistols in 7.65 were delivered. In 1910 the navy bought 650 Lugers in 9mm. In 1935 564 Lugers in 7.65 were bought for the National Republican Guard. In 1942 4.500 P08 Lugers were purchased * * : 9mm Lugers were authorized as a sidearm in 1907; small amounts were privately purchased by officers. * * : Used by the Red Army during the civil war; in September 1929, an agreement was signed under which about 300 pistols were delivered from the Weimar Republic, their assembly was carried out at the Sestroretsk arms factory. stored captured P08s but never used in combat * * : The Swiss Army was the first to adopt the Luger. 1900–1950 * * * : used by
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
* : The U.S. Ordnance Board purchased 1,000 Model 1900 7.65mm pistols under an official military contract order in 1901 and issued them to active duty cavalry troops for field testing. Most were distributed to U.S. Cavalry troops involved in police actions in the Philippines and Cuba. As the American Cavalry troops had used .45 and .38 revolvers for over 30 years, the small caliber, complex Luger, was viewed with some suspicion and not readily accepted. There were complaints as to small caliber, safety while riding from horseback, and unreliable action. As a result of these reports 50 Lugers in caliber 9mm were briefly tested by the Army in 1904-1906 and three Lugers in .45 caliber were tested in 1907. The Luger was rejected by the U.S. Army in favor of the Colt M1911. In 1905-1907 the Springfield Armory called in most of the M1900 Test Lugers.


Non-state entities

* Ação Libertadora Nacional *
Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...
*
Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation armée secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Army Organisation") was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques S ...
*
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
* Puerto Rican Nationalist Party *
Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...
*
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
*
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhod ...


See also

*
Lahti L-35 The Lahti L-35 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Aimo Lahti that was produced between 1935 and 1952. Designed to be manufactured autonomously in Finland, the pistol was used by Finland throughout the Winter War and Continuation War. Consider ...
*
Nambu pistol are a series of semi-automatic pistols produced by the Japanese company Koishikawa Arsenal, later known as the Koishikawa Arsenal, Tokyo Artillery Arsenal.Hogg, Ian, ''Pistols of the World 4th Edition'' (2004) p. 191. The series has three variant ...
*
Stoeger Luger Stoeger STLR-4 is a .22 caliber 10-round, blow-back operated, semi-automatic pistol introduced by Stoeger in 1969 and was discontinued in 1985.Stoeger Arms Cooporation''Stoeger Luger .22 lr automatic pistol''(original document, technical data and ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...


References

; Citations ; Bibliography * * *


Further reading

* ''The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols'' by Joachim Gortz and Dr. Geoffrey Sturgess (Simpson Ltd, 2012) * ''Imperial Lugers'' by Jan C. Still (Still's Books, 1994) * ''Third Reich Lugers'' by Jan C. Still (Still's Books, 1988) * ''Weimar Lugers'' by Jan C. Still (Still's Books, 1993) * ''Lugers at Random'' by Charles Kenyon (Hand Gun Press, 1990) * ''Simson Lugers'' by Edward B. Tinker and Graham K. Johnson (Simpson Ltd, 2007) * ''Luger Book: The Encyclopedia of the Borchardt and Borchardt-Luger Handguns, 1885–1985'' by J. Walter (Arms & Armour, 1991) * ''The Parabellum is Back! 1945–2000'' by Mauro Baudino and Gerben van Vlimmeren (Simpson Ltd, 2010)


External links


Artillery Luger and Mauser Parabellum


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130724035723/http://www.bimbel.de/artikel/artikel-45.html Luger 08in parts
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''Standard Catalog of Luger''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luger P08 Pistol 7.65×21mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols 9mm Parabellum submachine guns 19th-century semi-automatic pistols Machine pistols Semi-automatic pistols of Germany Weapons of the Ottoman Empire Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1900 World War I German infantry weapons World War II infantry weapons of Germany World War II infantry weapons of Brazil