The Luger pistol can hardly be called rare with millions having been produced during its service life, however there are some pretty rare variations, and here is one.
The German navy approved the Luger in 1904, four years before the German army did. The P-04 had a grip safety, a laminated spring, and no accommodation for a shoulder stock. It was chambered for the 9X19mm Parabellum cartridge. The barrel length was 15cm. It had an adjustable sight with two positions for 100 and 200 meters.
By the time the army approved the P-08, a lot of improvements had been made, in 1906. So, the P-08 had a coil spring, accommodation for a shoulder stock, a fixed rear sight and no grip safety. The army P-08 had a 10cm barrel, 1/3rd shorter than the navy barrel.
Then, in 1914 the navy made a contract for more Lugers. That, the 1914 model, is the rare beauty shown here. It has the improvements of 1906, the new coil spring, can take a shoulder stock, has no grip safety. However the navy still wanted the 15cm barrel and adjustable rear sight, so this gun is a mix of the new improvements and the old specifications.
My example was made in 1917. Made, as it should be, by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken, DWM. It is all matching except for the magazine, though the magazine is a proper wood bottom WWI magazine with the proper navy markings. Whether it was used on ship or on land by naval infantry is impossible to know, but it has clearly seen use as it has had an arsenal upgrade during its service life.
The pistol is a veteran of both world wars and came to Norway with the German occupation forces during WWII.
So, here it is contrasted with a 1917 DWM made P-08 to show the differences. A rare beast it is. Enjoy.
