The Pistole Parabellum or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just the Luger or Luger P08,[10] is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1949.
The design was first patented by Georg Luger. 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 (DWM).[1] The first production model was known as the Modell 1900 Parabellum.[1] 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.[11] 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.[1] The Model 08 was eventually succeeded by the Walther P38.
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 and the postwar East German Volkspolizei.
The name Parabellum, which also featured in DWM's telegraphic address, comes from the Latin phrase Si vis pacem, para bellum; "If you wish for peace, prepare for war."[12][13]
- ^ a b c d Datig, Fred A., The Luger Pistol, Gun Digest, 1957 ed., Chicago, Illinois: Edward Keogh Co. Inc. (1956) pp. 164–165
- ^ a b c |"A pistola Parabellum do contrato brasileiro".
- ^ Jowett, Phillip (2018), Latin American Wars 1900–1941, Osprey
- ^ Douglas de Souza Aguiar Junior (25 June 2017). "O Museu de Polícia Militar de São Paulo". Armas On-Line (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- ^ a b Grant 2018, p. 57.
- ^ Grant 2018, p. 4.
- ^ 1500 to 1850: Ulrich Pfister, 2010. "Consumer prices and wages in Germany, 1500 - 1850," CQE Working Papers 1510, Center for Quantitative Economics (CQE), University of Münster. 1851-1882: Coos Santing, 2007, Inflation 1800-2000, data from OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Economic Outlook. Historical Statistics and Mitchell, B. R. International Historical Statistics, Africa, Asia and Oceania 1750-1993 London : Macmillan ; New York : Stockton, 1998, International Historical Statistics, Europe 1750-1993 London : Macmillan ; New York : Stockton, 1998, and International Historical Statistics, The Americas 1750-1993 London : Macmillan ; New York : Stockton, 1998. After 1883, German inflation numbers based on data available from the Deutsches Statistisches Bundesamt archive and GENESIS database.
- ^ German Infantry Weapons. United States War Department. 25 May 1943. p. 5.
- ^ Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, Vol. 27, No. 1 (March 1901) p. 436
- ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1977). "Luger". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons and Warfare. Vol. 16. London, UK: Phoebus. p. 1778.
- ^ "DWM Luger P-08 Pistol". chuckhawks.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ Farwell, Byron (2001). The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Land Warfare: An Illustrated World View. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-04770-9.
- ^ "7.65 X 22: DWM; 7.65 mm Parabellum & DWM 471". iwm.com. Retrieved 25 August 2021.