Today on Gus’ Gear I am going to start a series on handguns. The first World War has been called a handgun war by some historians, as handguns were found to be of better use in the trenches than the rifles. I know that Joe is not a fan of firearms, and I respect his reason, but as they are an important part of the story, I feel they should be covered. I have to apologize for the poor quality of the photos, health issues and spring work have gotten in the way of getting better photos, the reader will notice that they are mounted to display boards and I hope that does not detract too much from the post. I will start with weapons used by German forces.
I will start with the iconic Pistole ’08, the Luger. This example in not a great one, as a matter of fact it is a rather poor one, worn and refinished and worn even more. The holster is 1914 dated, marked to a Pioneer Battalion with post war modifications. The pistol is a 1914 dated Erfurt example, this was the second handgun I acquired when I was a kid (approximately 50 years ago) and I put a lot of surplus ammunition through it. I learned from this one and several others that with period ammunition, this was a very unreliable weapon. It is difficult to empty two magazines without at least one stove pipe, and care must be taken to avoid deforming the lip of the magazine. That being said, it is the most comfortable handgun to hold and the natural fit makes it very easy to aim, like pointing your finger.
This P ’08 was manufactured by Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabrik in 1916. The holster is a private purchase example, named to a soldier in a motorcycle corps.
This is a Pistole ’08 Lang, referred to as an artillery model by collectors. The shoulder stock is detachable and when mounted to the back of the holster, can be carried by a shoulder strap. The stock is of little value in my opinion. Being too short to give a good sight picture, but it looks impressive. This example was manufactured by Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabrik in 1917.
This is a Mauser C ’96 chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The Germans also purchased Mausers chambered for the .30 caliber cartridge, and to avoid confusion in issuing ammunition, the C’96s cambered for the 9mm cartridge had the grips engraved with a large “9” that was painted red. This also has a shoulder stock that does not really offer an advantage. It does help balance the front heavy pistol in off hand shooting. The stock is a hard shell holster that the pistol is stored in and carried in the leather harness, either on a belt or with a shoulder strap.
This is an 1883 Reichsrevolver manufactured by Erfurt in 1893 and bears the unit markings of three different artillery regiments. It is chambered for the 10.6mm cartridge. It is a robust single action revolver with a safety, a feature only found on a few other revolvers. The holster is a private purchase of unknown origin, but has been with this revolver for a very long time.
The next few pistols are going to be copies of the Browning blow back system. This is the Dreyse M1907, made by the Rheinische Metallwaren und Machinenfabrik. These were introduced in 1908 and issued to Saxon and Berlin police and many were impressed into military service during the war. This example is chambered for the 7.65mm Browning cartridge (.32 ACP), there were also some chambered for 9mm Lang. The holster is a private purchase example without markings and is of unknown vintage. It found its way to the US after the Second World War.
This is a Friedrich Langenhann Selbslade Pistole. Around 40 thousand were made for the German military during the war. It is a well made pistol with an undeserved bad reputation because it is possible to remove the retaining screw for the slide stirrup and move the stirrup up into the sight line. If you fire the pistol with the stirrup in this position, the slide will blow out and strike the shooter. It is a poor craftsman who blames the tool, and in this case, it would take a very poor gunner to suffer an injury. This pistol is a very close copy of the FN M1900 Browning blow back pistol. This is a standard issue holster for the larger of the small pistols and would have also been the type issued with the Dreyse M1907 as well.
This is the Sauer & Sohn M1913, introduced to the commercial market and also issued to police before the war. It is a 7.65mm Browning blow back design and is still mated with the standard issue holster that it was brought to the US in, after the Second World War by a returning Veteran.
This is the Jägerpistole, designed by Franz Jäger after the outbreak of World War One. It was designed to get around the lack of machine tools to produce a solid pistol frame. It also uses the Browning blow back design and the holster is the standard issue small pattern, dated 1917 and marked to Bekeidungs Amt XI. Tore gave an outstanding tutorial on this weapon a few weeks ago, and as you can see, he goes for quality, I go for quantity. Even though Joe has doubled my compensation, I have yet to receive a paycheck.
This is a Becker & Holländer Beholla blow back pistol, chambered in 7.65mm. Approximately 45 thousand of these pistols were produced for the German military. The holster is a private purchase example that came with this pistol.
This is a Walther Model 4, a 7.65mm blow back pistol. Walther was awarded a contract for 250 thousand in 1915. This example is a second variation placing its manufacture in the latter part of the war. Like most copies of Browning designs, it is a reliable weapon.
This is a Schwarzlose M1908 pistol that was manufactured before the war, it is one of the designs that went around Browning’s patent for the blow back system. This has a blow forward system where the breach block stays stationary while the barrel moves forward, this causes a rather pronounced recoil for the 7.65mm cartridge it is chambered for.
This is an example of the Bavarian contract Austrian produced Steyr M1911 pistol. Bavaria purchased 10 thousand in 1916 and another 6 thousand in 1918. The holster is one of the Bavarian issue holsters made specifically for the Steyr pistol. The pistols are cambered for the 9 X 23mm Steyr cartridge and can only be distinguished from the Austrian issued examples by the lack of an alpha character in the serial number. They also bear a 1916 or 1918 date on the slide. This example was manufactured in 1916. Next week I will present Austrian, Italian and Russian weapons.