This article is about the Luger pistol. For other meanings of parabellum, see Parabellum (disambiguation).
"P08" redirects here. For other uses, see P8 (disambiguation).
Luger pistol
Wehrmacht P08 ordnance model (Collection Paul Regnier, Lausanne, Switzerland)
Type
Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin
German Empire
Service history
In service
1904–1953 (Germany)
1900–1970s (other countries)
Used by
See Users
Wars
Boxer Rebellion[1]
Philippine-American War
Maji-Maji Rebellion
1907 Expedition Against the Cuamato
Balkan Wars
Contestado War[2]
World War I
Warlord Era
German Revolution
Irish War of Independence
Russian Civil War
Finnish Civil War
Irish Civil War
Tenente Revolts[3]
1923 Revolution[2]
Chinese Civil War
Brazilian Revolution of 1930[2]
Constitutionalist Revolution[4]
Chaco War
Spanish Civil War
World War II
Second Sino-Japanese War
1947–1949 Palestine war
Indonesian National Revolution
Indochina War[5]
Algerian War[5]
1958 Lebanon crisis
Vietnam War (limited use)
Laotian Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
Portuguese Colonial War[6]
Rhodesian Bush War
The Troubles
Operation Urgent Fury (limited use)
Production history
Designer
Georg Luger
Designed
1898
Manufacturer
Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken
Imperial Arsenals of Erfurt
Simson
Heinrich Krieghoff Waffenfabrik
Mauser
Vickers Ltd (final assembly only)
Waffenfabrik Bern
Unit cost
35 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (1943) (equivalent to €72 in 2021[7])
Produced
1900–1953
No. built
3,000,000
Specifications
Mass
871 g (1 lb 15 oz)
Length
222 mm (8.7 in)
Barrel length
120 mm (4.7 in) (Pistole 00)
100 mm (3.9 in) (Pistole 08)
200 mm (7.9 in) (Lange Pistole 1908)
Cartridge
7.65×21mm Parabellum
9×19mm Parabellum[8]
Action
Toggle-locked, short recoil
Rate of fire
116 rpm (semi-automatic)[9]
Muzzle velocity
350–400 m/s (1,100–1,300 ft/s) (9mm, 100 mm short barrel)
Effective firing range
50 m (55 yd) (9mm, 100 mm short barrel)
Feed system
8-round detachable box magazine
Sights
Iron sights
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]
^ abcdDatig, Fred A., The Luger Pistol, Gun Digest, 1957 ed., Chicago, Illinois: Edward Keogh Co. Inc. (1956) pp. 164–165
^ abc|"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).
^ abGrant 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 Muenster. 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.
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pre-tensioned striker firing system, and is chambered in 9mm Luger and .45 ACP. The pistol uses a Browning-type locked-breech short recoil action, with...
airship or pilot error. Some more sensational newspapers claimed that a Lugerpistol with one round fired was found among the wreckage and speculated that...
fingerprints, which had been found on the silencer specifically made for the Lugerpistol used in the shootings. Jackson was at one-time a member of the Ulster...
conditions that simulated the planned attack. Additionally, a 9mm parabellum Lugerpistol fitted with a British-made silencer was provided so that the sniper could...
Swiss Lugerpistol to fire in single shots or in full-automatic. Around the same time Georg Luger demonstrated a similar Luger machine-pistol which inspired...
(1977). "Luger". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons and Warfare. Vol. 16. London: Phoebus. p. 1778. Datig, Fred A., The LugerPistol, Gun Digest...
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