Luger pistol
| P08 of the German Navy|- | Luger pistol |
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| Country of origin: | Germany |
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| Viewing sights: | Iron |
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| Cartridge: | 9mm Parabellum |
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| Length: | 8.75 in. |
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| Weight: | 1.92 lbs. |
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| Barrel: | 4 - 8 in. |
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| Rifling Pitch 9x19mm: | ?? |
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| Rifling Pitch .40 S&W: | ?? |
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| Magazine capacity 9x19mm: | 8 rounds |
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| Magazine capacity .40 S&W: | ?? |
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| Magazine type: | Detachable box |
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| Rate of fire: | ?? |
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The
Parabellum-Pistole (
Pistol Parabellum), popularly known as the
Luger pistol is a
semi-automatic self-loading pistol introduced by
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitions Fabriken (DWM) starting in the 1890s. It existed primarily as a popular military and civilian handgun of the early 20th century. The basic design and its variants have been well known under a variety of popular and military designations (e.g.
Ordonnanzpistole 00, and
P08).
In modern times it has been popularized through its use by Germany during
WWI, though it was used by many other countries and its most prolific period of use was earlier in the century. It's very notable in firearms history for being the firearm with which the
9 mm Parabellum was introduced, though the type has been chambered for a variety of rounds and it was first introduced with a
7.65 mm Parabellum round.
It is a
toggle lock pistol based on principles by
Hiram Maxim. It is
semi-automatic, removable magazine-fed, and operates on the
short-recoil principle. The pistol, designed by
Georg Luger, was an evolution of the earlier
Hugo Borchardt design, the
Borchardt C-93. The Luger-Borchardt was introduced in
1898.
The Parabellum pistol was manufactured to very high standards and thus has a very long service life, far in excess of 100 years with proper maintenance and care- (actually more dependent on how many rounds are fired). Parabellums are extremely accurate, as a result of precise engineering, ergonomic grip angle and shape, decent trigger pull, and a design that requires the
barrel remain aligned with the axis of the
frame during operation (no tipping as in Browning's designs). Parabellums function reliably when properly maintained, however their close mechanical tolerances are not suited to dirty battlefield conditions, because much of their firing mechanism is exposed.
|
Luger M1900 American Eagle Commercial |
The
Swiss Army evaluated the Parabellum pistol and after a change to the more potent
Parabellum or 7.65Ă—23 mm cartridge (.30 Luger in USA), it was adapted in 1900 as its military
side arm, and designated as the
Ordonnanzpistole 00 or
OP00.
In 1900 the US purchased 1000 Lugers (in 7.65 mm) for field trials, on the heels of a Late 1890s/1900 competition that included the
Colt M1900,
Steyr Mannlicher M1894, and an entry from
Mauser. Later, a small number were sampled in the then brand new, more powerful 9 mm round. Field experience in the Philippines and ballistic tests would result in a requirement for even bigger/larger rounds. Further trials and testing by the US of a variety of pistols, including a DWM entry, would eventually lead to adoption of the
M1911.
The DWM entries in the later (1906) competition in
.45 ACP are among the rarest of all handguns. DWM, Savage, and Colt were the final three contenders (others having been eliminated). DWM withdrew for reasons that are still debated—though the Army did place an order for 200 more samples. In any case, the final stages of the competition were left to Colt and Savage. The Luger did go on to be a popular civilian firearm in the U.S. for the next two decades. However, only the original 1900 models have the eagle stamp, and are worth more to collectors.
The Parabellum pistol was accepted by the German Navy in 1904, and in
1908 (
Pistole 08) by the German Army after the caliber was changed to
9 mm Parabellum as the 7.65 mm Parabellum cartridge was considered as being too weak. It replaced the older
Reichsrevolver being in service until then. The P08/14 had a stock and longer barrel, and sometimes used with a 32 round magazine; this model is also known as the 'Artillery Luger'.
Pistole 08 Parabellum was the standard side arm for the
German army during both world wars, but was being replaced by the
Walther P38 by
1938. By that time the Parabellum pistol was simply too expensive for military use due to its high standard of manufacturing. At that time
Mauser was manufacturing both the Walther P38 (under the byf code) and the Pistole 08. Several Parabellums were also found in the hands of
Soviet officers.
Reasons for the demise of the Parabellum pistol's military career have been its dislike of dirt and dust resulting in malfunctions and its inability to fire various types of
ammunition as it was designed for a specific power level. The Walther P-38 was less problematic in these fields.
Although obsolete in many ways today, the Luger is still sought after by collectors both for its sleek design, good accuracy, great durability and to some extent by its connection to Imperial and
Nazi Germany. In Switzerland, the OP00 is still being used in sports shooting events because of its accuracy.
Production of the Pistole 08 ended when Mauser refurbished a lot of Parabellums in
1999 for the pistol's 100 years anniversary, although they do still produce a limited number each year for sales to collectors.
Thousands of Parabellums were brought back as souvenirs by American
GIs after
World War II, and are still in circulation.
Despite the fact that Parabellums are by no means rare, Collectors often find themselves paying over US$ 750 / €600 for a WWI or WWII dated example, which has led to the production of modern replicas by several companies, including the American Eagle range produced by Mitchell Arms.
The Parabellum uses a jointed arm mechanism (the joint is called a knee, or in German "Kniegelenk" (knee joint)); it is also called a toggle-action, as opposed to the slide actions of almost every other semiautomatic pistol. The toggle-action mechanism is explained as follows. After the shell is fired the barrel and toggle assembly (both locked together at this point) travel rearward due to recoil. After moving roughly one-half inch (13 mm) rearward, the toggle strikes a cam built into the frame, causing the knee joint to hinge and the toggle and breach assembly to unlock. At this point the barrel stops its rearward movement (it impacts the frame), but the toggle and breach assembly continue moving (bending the knee joint) due to momentum- extracting the spent casing from the chamber and ejecting it. The toggle and breach assembly subsequently travel forward (under spring tension) and the next round from the magazine is loaded into the chamber. The entire sequence occurs in a fraction of a second.
It is an interesting artifact of post-World War II ammunition development that, within the United States, Parabellum have often been maligned as unreliable and jam-prone. This is because typical factory-spec American 9 mm ammunition is nowhere near as hot as German military-spec ammunitionâ€"modern loadings in Europe are typically closer to old military loads. The American down-loading of 9 mm ammunition is commonly attributed to early issues with slide breakage in Beretta 92 pistols (recently adopted as the M9), although it is now agreed upon that the failures were due to extremely heavy use and questionable manufacturing by subcontractors. As things stand, the ammunition which Lugers were designed to feed falls into +P or +P+ SAAMI specs for 9 mm ammunition.
In the first World War, as
submachine guns were found to be efficient in trench warfare, under the various types of Pistols tried to convert as machine pistols ("Reihenfeuerpistolen"), also the Pistole 08 was examined; however, unlike the
Mauser C96 which was converted in great numbers to Reihenfeuerpistole, the 08 proved to have too high a
cadence (
rate of fire) when used in full-auto fire.
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