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THEGERMAN P08 LUGER

The Auto Pistol with the Most Sex Appeal

In many ways, the Luger is to semi-automatic pistols what the Colt Single-Action Army is to revolvers. Its classic flowing lines make it one of the most appealing auto pistols of all time. It is also the pistol that introduced the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, which became one of the most popular pistol and submachine gun cartridges ever made. As a military sidearm, it saw service in both world wars and was widely used by the armies of a number of European and other nations. Not surprisingly, Lugers are keenly sought by collectors and some models are extremely valuable.

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

The Luger owes much of its design, especially its toggle action, from the Borchardt pistol. Although initially chambered for a bottlenecked 7.65mm cartridge, it was later chambered for the new more powerful 9mm cartridge that remained its main caliber for most of its long production life.

Apart from being offered with a variety of barrel lengths, its basic mechanism remained unchanged until production finally ceased in World War II. Lugers have always been admired for the high quality of workmanship they display. As with many military arms, this was the main reason for its eventual demise because it was very expensive to manufacture.

As a result, it has been replaced with the more modern designs that, while undoubtedly efficient, lack the appeal of old-time craftsmanship and eye appeal that is fast becoming only a memory.

DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES

The Luger is a magazine-fed, semi-automatic pistol that uses a toggle action developed for the earlier Borchardt pistol to lock the breech momentarily during firing. The toggle action is a locking mechanism that moves rear-wards for a short distance together with the barrel and then pivots upwards once chamber pressures have reached a safe level. The action is then unlocked as the toggle continues its upward/rearward motion at the same time it is ejecting the spent case and cocking the firing mechanism. On its forward movement, the lock pivots down to close the action, stripping a fresh round from the magazine and feeding it into the chamber. If the magazine is empty, the toggle will be locked open.

Lugers employ the unique toggle breech locking system that first appeared in the earlier Borchardt pistol.

The pistol’s controls consisted of a takedown latch located in the front of the frame, a button-type magazine catch positioned behind the trigger and a safety catch set at the top rear left side of the frame. Early models often had a safety in the rear of the grip although this was eliminated in later pistols.

Characteristics of the Luger were its clean flowing lines that included a tapered barrel of various lengths and a grip that housed the magazine, which was angled acutely to the barrel centerline. The sharply angled grip contributed to the pistol’s natural pointing characteristics and its pleasant mild recoil.

While most standard Lugers had fixed sights, most of the long-barrel models had an adjustable tangent sight position forward of the breech.

During its long period of service, the pistol underwent relatively few major modifications, evidence of the soundness of its basic design.

MILITARY LUGERS IN FOREIGN SERVICE

Although Deutsche Waffen & Munitionsfabriken’s (DWM) ultimate goal was to obtain a German military contract for the Luger, this occurred only after a number of foreign nations had adopted the pistol for their armies. In 1900, the armies of Bulgaria and Switzerland were the first to express an interest in the Luger. In both cases, the pistols were chambered for a 7.65mm bottlenecked cartridge (known in the US as the 30 Luger).

Both pistols had 4 3/4-inch, slim, tapered barrels and were made by DWM, which is roll-stamped on the rear of the toggle. Swiss military models are marked with the Swiss cross in a sunburst stamp on top of the chamber while the Bulgarian models have the Bulgarian royal family crest stamped in the same location. Commercial versions were also sold in both countries. Other foreign users of the pistol were Brazil, Chile, China, Holland, Iran, Luxemburg, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Rumania, Russia and Turkey.

Although the Luger was originally chambered for the 7.65mm (30 Luger cartridge), its main cartridge was the 9mm Luger specially created for it. Shown here is an artillery model with a7 1/2-inch barrel.

LUGERS IN THE UNITED STATES

In 1900, similar 30 Lugers were submitted to the US military for trials. It performed well enough for an order for 1000 pistols to be placed. These continued to be tested until 1908. The main complaint was over the small caliber of the cartridge. Around the same time, a number of similar pistols were made for commercial sales in the US.

Due to the complaints about the striking power of the 7.65mm, Luger developed a new cartridge for the pistol in 1902, a 9 x 19mm round that became universally known as the 9mm “Parabellum.” The term Parabellum came from the Latin phrase “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum” (If you want peace, prepare for war). The Parabellum subsequently became the most widely used pistol and submachine gun cartridge in the world.

The Luger’s controls are all on the left side and consist of a takedown lever, magazine catch and a thumb safety.

The new 9mm version of the Luger was not well received in the US, however, where DWM hoped it would enjoy good sales. The testing conducted by the Cavalry Board and the Field Artillery Board, while admiring the Luger’s accuracy, was disappointed with its continual jamming during the testing. The jamming and the need to constantly use two hands when firing or clearing jams rendered it “practically useless” according to the Cavalry Board report. The Colt revolver would remain the mainstay of the US military until the arrival of the Colt 1911.

In 1907, a few Lugers were made for the 45 ACP cartridge to compete in the US military trial then taking place, but the pistol eventually lost out to the Colt Government model. All American Lugers were made by DWM and carry the American Eagle crest over the chamber.

While the Luger failed to interest the US military, it did quite well as a civilian arm. Among the main US importers and distributors were Abercrombie & Fitch and Stoeger. The latter company even copyrighted the name Luger.

The Luger’s safety is applied by depressing it so that the marking “Gescihert” (safe) is exposed.

GERMAN MILITARY LUGERS

The Luger’s lackluster reception in the US would not be duplicated on its home turf. DWM had previously tried, unsuccessfully, to market the Luger to the German military. The army had tested variations of the Luger for several years and found it wanting. The navy, as usual, thought differently than its sister branch. In December of 1904, the Reichsmarineamt (German Naval Office) made the 9 x 19mm Pistole, Marine Model 1904, System Borchardt Luger its official sidearm. The 1904 Marine model was equipped with a 6-inch barrel, a unique two-position rear sight (graduated for 100 and 200 meters) and a combined extractor-loaded chamber indicator. The early Marine model featured the flat-faced knurled toggle grips with the older anti-bounce lock mechanism.

In 1906, an improved version of the Marine model was introduced. It had a coil spring instead of the flat mainspring and the anti-bounce lock was discontinued. The 1906 model remained the mainstay until the arrival of the world-famous Pistole ’08. Not much had changed from the 1906 model when the P08 first made its appearance, the most apparent alteration being that the grip safety was discarded. As a result, the P08 safety catch had to be pulled downward to make the pistol safe. The P08 was accepted by the German Army as its official sidearm in 1908.

The P08 models were made with a 4-inch barrel and were in 9mm. Originally, the P08 had no device to keep the action open for cleaning or inspection as the old type of toggle link lock had been abandoned. This was later fixed by fitting a spring-loaded lever that, when pushed upward by the magazine platform button, engaged a slot cut into the bottom of the bolt.

The German Navy had its version of the P08, the Navy Parabellum, which lacked the grip safety, but kept the two-position rear sight and the 6-inch barrel. The German military version came with a special holster that had space for a spare magazine and a small pocket underneath the flap for a combination tool.

In 1914, the Navy Parabellum was produced with an 8-inch barrel and was known as the Model 08/14 or Model 14. The Model 14 was identical to the ‘08 except for the longer barrel and a special elevating rear sight mounted on the rear of the barrel. A special holster was issued with the Model 14 that doubled as a shoulder stock and came with a 32-round drum magazine. The drum magazine was later abandoned due to its bulky weight and tendency to jam.

After World War I, the P08 remained in service with German military forces right up to the early years of the Second World War. Production ceased in 1942 with adoption of the P38 pistol.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Mauser manufactured pistols identical in design to the original Luger. Most collectors view these more as replicas rather than as genuine Lugers.

Depressing the takedown latch allows the barrel and action to be removed from the frame.

Many of the military Lugers, especially the long-barreled models, have the bottom of the grip frame machined to accept a shoulder stock.

LUGER MANUFACTURERS

While DWM was the main manufacturer of Luger pistols, eventually other companies were brought in to cope with the wartime demand. These included the following companies, whose names are usually stamped on the top of the rear toggle:

DWM - Deutsche Waffen & Munitionsfabriken,

Karlsrube, Germany

Erfurt - Royal Arsenal of Erfert, Germany

Spandau - Spandau, Germany

Simpson & Company - Suhl, Germany

Mauser - Obendorf, Germany

Krieghoff - H. Krieghoff Waffenfabrick, Suhl, Germany

In addition, several foreign companies were licensed to make Lugers, such as:

Vickers Ltd - Vickers-Armstrong Ltd, England

Waffenfabrick Bern - Bern, Switzerland.

CALIBERS

The most common Luger calibers are 9mm and 7.65 (30 Luger). Other chamberings include 32 ACP, 380 ACP and 45 ACP, all of which are very rare. Also scarce are 22 LR, 4mm and 6mm conversion units.

BARREL LENGTHS made in a variety of barrel lengths.

Lugers were made in a variety of barrel lengths. The most common lengths of 3-3/4, 4 and 4-3/4 inches are found on the military and commercial models. Naval and presentation models include 6-inch barrels while artillery models and some commercial models had 8-inch barrels.

Luger carbines had 11 3/4-inch barrels, detachable wooden stocks and fore-ends. The 1920 commercial models had barrel lengths between 12 and 20 inches. The shortest Luger barrel is 3-1/4 inches, of which only one was made. This was the personal pistol of Georg Luger himself and it is stamped with his personal monogram.

SIGHTS, STOCKS AND FINISHES

Luger pistols with standard barrels of 6 inches or less had fixed sights. The artillery, long-barrel and carbine models had adjustable tangent sights on the barrel just in front of the chamber.

Most but not all Lugers had the bottom rear of the grip frame machined to accept a detachable stock. This resulted in a number of Luger carbine models being made.

All Lugers exhibit a high degree of fit and finish. Metal parts are either rust or salt blued while a few presentation guns are engraved. Grip panels are generally a finely checked wood although some late-production World War II models have checkered plastic grips.

FIELD STRIPPING THE LUGER

First remove the magazine and check that the chamber is empty. Press the muzzle against a flat piece of wood to relieve spring tension. In this position, the takedown lever can be rotated down allowing the trigger plate to be removed from the side of the pistol.

The barrel and toggle assembly can now be slid forward off the frame. Buckle the toggle slightly to remove the axle pin so the toggle assembly can be removed from the rear of the barrel group. This is as far as the pistol needs to be taken down for normal cleaning and maintenance.

The pistol is assembled in reverse order.

SHOOTING AND HANDLING THE P08 LUGER

In terms of shooting and handling, the P08 is similar in many respects to the Colt Single-Action Army revolver. Not only is it an attractive looking pistol but also one that has many endearing shooting qualities.

Most regular Lugers have fixed sights, but long-barrel versions like this artillery model have an adjustable tangent sight mounted on the barrel forward of the breech. Manufacturer marking are stamped on top of the toggle. These indicate a Luger made by DWM.

The Luger’s long service with the German forces and the armies of other nations is proof enough of its worth as a military sidearm. Probably because of its flowing lines and high-grade workmanship, Lugers were prized trophies among allied servicemen during both world wars. Their new owners pressed a number into service.

There is an unsubstantiated claim that the American World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York, used a liberated Luger in his final shootout with a German squad of soldiers instead of a 1911 45 pistol.

The pistol has very pleasant shooting characteristics, thanks to its sharply angled grip that makes it point naturally at the target. It also gives good access to the trigger and controls with the exception of the safety, which has to be pushed up to be disengaged. This can be a little difficult to perform without having to change one’s grip on the pistol. Recoil is relatively mild enabling fast recovery of the sights.

While the trigger has a relatively short throw, the pull is a little on the heavy side. The fixed sights are rudimentary, consisting of a barleycorn front blade and a small rear notch. The tangent sights on the long-barrel models are an improvement.

Even though the Luger is not a target arm, I have shot a number that have produced impressive accuracy. This is especially so of the long-barrel versions.

Probably the greatest complaint against the Luger is questionable reliability. Even though it appears to have served the German troops well enough in the dirt and mud of the trenches, it has a reputation for poor feeding with some types of ammunition.

In my experience, Lugers perform reliably enough if fed the correct ammunition. They seem to perform best with 124-grain military ball ammunition loaded to velocities around 1250 fps. Failures generally occur with underpowered ammunition that lacks the energy to drive the toggle action back far enough to eject the spent case or pick up a fresh round from the magazine. With this in mind, it is worth remembering that European military 9mm is loaded to higher velocities than American commercial ammunition.

COLLECTOR INTEREST

As with the Colt Peacemaker, Lugers have high collector interest and can demand high prices. There is also the familiar question of whether they should be fired at all. This stresses the need to identify what type of Luger one has and its potential worth. Lugers of recent vintage and issue don’t command the very high values of the long-barrel and the older, more exotic models and are candidates for shooting provided they are mechanically sound. On the other hand, I would be hesitant to shoot one that is in pristine condition for fear of marring its finish and reducing its potential future value.