Self Introducing and Pilosophy
I love it, but I don't know why....
I am a licensed German gunsmith, who previously worked for the
U.S. Army here in Germany, from 1977 until 1993. First as a quality
control Armament specialist, foreman of a small arms repair unit,
and finally as Chief of the Small Arms Repair Division. During my
many years with the Army I gained a fairly deep insight, into the
various weapons systems employed by the U.S. Forces.
In 1993, due to the drawdown, my position was eliminated, and I
opened my own business. Doing routine gunsmith work, I would
often go back to my roots, and make
modifications to different weapons.
One of my favourites is the "Luger", using
my own designs, to produce carbines,
forearms, stocks, barrels and scope mounts
with interchangeability. So I have a big
collection of "Luger" models (see enclosed
photos). As I was making the double
barreled "Luger", I had the idea to work with
U.S. weapons.
I decided to try to modify the U.S. Garand
and attempt to adapt this weapon to a
modern design. The question is, is it
possible to install a magazine in the
"Garand"? Also, make it more handy ? I
found that both interior ribs of the receiver
could be designed or modified to fit the "M-
14" magazine, substituting .308 WIN for the
30-06 round. The operating rod with the
rotating bolt was extracting the shell, but sometimes the hammer
was not in a cocked position. A softer recoil spring and a bigger
gasport-hole did not really solve the problem.
The idea to shorten the barrel and obtain more gas pressure was
born and also this would make the "Garand" more handy. All the
beautifull stocks were also easy to cut, and last but not least on
such modified "Garand" a Springfield Armory scope mount is
installed very quickly in the middle and not to the side.
Yours sincerely, Herbert Werle
© Waffen Werle 2012
Well, it certainly does look
eccentric and out of the ordinary.
But then again it is very easy to
recognize the Luger Parabellum
Pistol. Even when I was still a
child, I learnt to treat the words "Parabellum Pistol", "Luger"
and above all, the Imperial German Army classification "Null-
Acht" ("Zero-Eight") with respect.
Later, when I was an apprentice gunsmith, it often saved me
from heaving to file endless, monotonous surfaces onto a series
of different objects: gun sights, telescopic sight mounts and
above all, on the mandatory steel cubes that all German
apprentices have to practice on.
It was just these cubes that led to my first doubts as to
whether I had chosen the right profession. These simple pieces
of ferrous metal would always get smaller and smallerwithout
ever conforming to the exacting standards of a precise cube.
And then one day, a "Zero Eight" appeared on my work-bench.
Even though it was badly rust-pitted, I spent the next few
weeks on a complete restoration project...
Apart from achieving my gunsmith's Master Craftsman title, I
also gained extensive insight into all aspects of military
weapons maintenance as Inspector, Quality Control Armaments,
as Foreman, Small Arms Repair and as Chief, Small Arms Repair
with the United States Forces in Germany (U.S. Army).
And it was due to my experience with American weapons
systems that I came to realize that various adaptions of Hiram
Maxim's toggle action breech-block are still much in use in
today's light machine guns. Thus, it can hardly be denied that
the toggle action can also be subjected to an evolutionary
process. Technological innovation and improvements have
always rightly been founded on the basis of previously proven
systems. What could be more conclusive than to revive the
Parabellum Pistol in accordance with its conception as a
"universal weapon", utilizing modern military technology?
Would Herr Luger have approved of this? I sincerely believe
that he would have recognized that this method was identical
to his own approach. And it is much easier for us today to
provide an affirmative answer to this question. Georg Luger re-
designed and improved the unwieldy and awkward Borchardt
C/93 Pistol to make it serviceable and practical for military
use. He never regarded his adaption of the Borchardt Pistol as
a sacrilege and Luger would have been the first to approve the
application of further improvements.
The toggle action may well be obsolete and many would regard
the Luger Pistol as a part of history. But it is often of great
value to learn from and to revive history. John Martz in U.S.A.,
Nedbal in Vienna, Hakan Spuhr in Sweden, Böddecker &
Wagner, KTS and many others have followed this path.
Where can we possess our own genuine piece of history and
participate in this adventure in technology? The many
mismatched "VoPo 08 Lugers" present us with a creative
opportunity. And maybe even an opportunity to measure our
own skills against a masterpiece!
I believe that I unintentionally achieved this aim with my
design of a new "Baby Luger" the "Toggle Release" and the
"Gasoperated Luger Carbine". Mr. Georg Luger made his own
pistol for personal use with a magazine capacity of seven
munds. To achive this, he adapted the grip-safety design. But
to achieve six rounds this was only possible by utilizing a grip-
frame with a stock lug...
These experiments with the original design lead to a great
respect for the ingenuity and the achievements of original
craftsmen and designers who made the Luger Pistol with the
machinery and the equipment of that day and age. We can
keep history in museums or we can keep it alive.
I believe that we owe it to our predecessors to keep their
traditions alive.
Impressum
Awareness of history!
... a name, which left deep marks
on nothern Germanys history.
Rev24 05/2012
© Waffen Werle 2012
Well, it certainly does look
eccentric and out of the ordinary.
But then again it is very easy to
recognize the Luger Parabellum
Pistol. Even when I was still a
child, I learnt to treat the words "Parabellum Pistol", "Luger"
and above all, the Imperial German Army classification "Null-
Acht" ("Zero-Eight") with respect.
Later, when I was an apprentice gunsmith, it often saved me
from heaving to file endless, monotonous surfaces onto a series
of different objects: gun sights, telescopic sight mounts and
above all, on the mandatory steel cubes that all German
apprentices have to practice on.
It was just these cubes that led to my first doubts as to
whether I had chosen the right profession. These simple pieces
of ferrous metal would always get smaller and smallerwithout
ever conforming to the exacting standards of a precise cube.
And then one day, a "Zero Eight" appeared on my work-bench.
Even though it was badly rust-pitted, I spent the next few
weeks on a complete restoration project...
Apart from achieving my gunsmith's Master Craftsman title, I
also gained extensive insight into all aspects of military
weapons maintenance as Inspector, Quality Control Armaments,
as Foreman, Small Arms Repair and as Chief, Small Arms Repair
with the United States Forces in Germany (U.S. Army).
And it was due to my experience with American weapons
systems that I came to realize that various adaptions of Hiram
Maxim's toggle action breech-block are still much in use in
today's light machine guns. Thus, it can hardly be denied that
the toggle action can also be subjected to an evolutionary
process. Technological innovation and improvements have
always rightly been founded on the basis of previously proven
systems. What could be more conclusive than to revive the
Parabellum Pistol in accordance with its conception as a
"universal weapon", utilizing modern military technology?
Would Herr Luger have approved of this? I sincerely believe
that he would have recognized that this method was identical
to his own approach. And it is much easier for us today to
provide an affirmative answer to this question. Georg Luger re-
designed and improved the unwieldy and awkward Borchardt
C/93 Pistol to make it serviceable and practical for military
use. He never regarded his adaption of the Borchardt Pistol as
a sacrilege and Luger would have been the first to approve the
application of further improvements.
The toggle action may well be obsolete and many would regard
the Luger Pistol as a part of history. But it is often of great
value to learn from and to revive history. John Martz in U.S.A.,
Nedbal in Vienna, Hakan Spuhr in Sweden, Böddecker &
Wagner, KTS and many others have followed this path.
Where can we possess our own genuine piece of history and
participate in this adventure in technology? The many
mismatched "VoPo 08 Lugers" present us with a creative
opportunity. And maybe even an opportunity to measure our
own skills against a masterpiece!
I believe that I unintentionally achieved this aim with my
design of a new "Baby Luger" the "Toggle Release" and the
"Gasoperated Luger Carbine". Mr. Georg Luger made his own
pistol for personal use with a magazine capacity of seven
munds. To achive this, he adapted the grip-safety design. But
to achieve six rounds this was only possible by utilizing a grip-
frame with a stock lug...
These experiments with the original design lead to a great
respect for the ingenuity and the achievements of original
craftsmen and designers who made the Luger Pistol with the
machinery and the equipment of that day and age. We can
keep history in museums or we can keep it alive.
I believe that we owe it to our predecessors to keep their
traditions alive.
Impressum
Awareness of history!
... a name, which left deep marks
on nothern Germanys history.
Rev24 05/2012
