| Steyr GB | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | Austria |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Users |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Hannes Kepplinger and Hermann Schweighofer[1] |
| Designed | 1968 |
| Manufacturer | LES, Inc., Steyr Mannlicher |
| Produced | 1970s (Pi-18 samples), 1981–1988 (GB proper) |
| No. built | LES, Inc.: 2,300 Steyr: 15,000–20,000 |
| Variants | Rogak (stainless steel), Steyr commercial and military (matte blue) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 845 g (unloaded) 1285 g (loaded) |
| Length | 216 mm |
| Barrel length | 136 mm |
| Cartridge | 9×19mm Parabellum |
| Action | Gas-delayed blowback |
| Feed system | 18-round detachable box magazine |
The Steyr GB is a double-action 9×19mm Parabellum caliber, large-framed semi-automatic pistol employing a gas-delayed blowback action. As such the GB abbreviation stands for Gasbremse (gas brake). It was designed in 1968, intended as a replacement for older handguns in Austrian military service.
The weapon went into general civilian production in 1982, and in 1988 production ceased.
In the late 1970s, an American company founded by Les Rogak, LES Incorporated of Morton Grove, Illinois marketed the Rogak P-18, a close derivative of the Austrian original, but without great commercial success,[2][3] due to significantly lower manufacturing standards which affected both the appearance and function of the pistol.[4]
Both weapons are now regarded as collector's items, the original (Steyr) model commanding higher prices in the American market.
- ^ "Small arm".
- ^ Fjestad, S. P. (1992). Blue Book of Gun Values (13th ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: Blue Book Publications. ISBN 0-9625943-4-2.
- ^ Gangarosa, Gene Jr. "Steyr's GB; Too Good Too Soon?". Originally published in: Warner, Ken (1993). Gun Digest 1994 (48th ed.). Northbrook, Il.: DBI Books. ISBN 0-87349-141-6.
- ^ Rogak P18: A Cautionary Tale of Manufacturing at Forgotten Weapons