The First Hundred Years of the P08 Luger Pistol

During the last few days, I have been asking myself what could be done to mark the first hundred years since Kaiser Wilhelm introduced the Luger pistol, a centenary date that falls tomorrow, on the 22nd of August 1908. It might well be appropriate to examine some of the technical problems that were experienced during the further development of this pistol. I particularly regret that Georg Luger, John Moses Browning and many other famous weapons developers are hardly ever heard. Listening to them would definitely have been of great interest!

Without doubt, the 08 Luger Pistol was already in universal use during the First World War, even though its 7.65 calibre (.30 Luger) and later 9mm Para (9mm Luger) were generally considered to be too small. The five .45 ACP prototypes made by Georg Luger at the DWM factory were tested in the United States in 1907. And Georg Luger must have overcome a number of problems before he successfully presented these pistols. The problems encountered during development have never yet been considered worthy of examination.

As I have now been concerned with this pistol for more than twenty-five years, I have found that a barrel length of more than approximately 300 mm is prejudicial to its reliable function. This is the limit for the 9mm Luger calibre. The recoil impulse is too weak. Or, put differently, the “moving mass” is too high. The short re-cycle distance of the locked system moving back to the ramp and then opening the toggle, previously locked by the downwards tilting toggle links, dissipates excessive energy. The relatively simple conversion of a P08 Luger pistol to calibre .45 ACP was a disappointment and proved to be the opposite to what I had expected!

I spent months at the pistol range. Week by week I tested the .45 ACP calibre pistol, often three time a week and was close to desperation. At first, I took cover behind a barrier as protection from disintegrating gun parts but I soon lost all respect for this cartridge. Nothing happened and I had merely made myself a single shot pistol …

The recoil impulse of 95% of all available commercial ammunition was not even sufficient to satisfactorily eject the spent cartridge. I hope I shall be forgiven for my new won lack of respect for the .45 calibre but I am now convinced that it should be classed somewhere behind the stone- age slingshot!

Thus, the Luger P08 does not necessarily need much more power, but rather a well balanced ratio between mass, energy and, above all, calibre cross- section. All my attempts to achieve a reliable function were aborted. I shortened the barrel from 150mm to 120mm and reduced the inert mass by turning down the barrel diameter on the lathe, all to no avail. I then wrapped the grip, step by step with a Kilogramme of soldering wire … a complete waste of time!

I had, by that time, wasted approximately 2500 rounds of .45 calibre ammunition that I might just as well have donated to charity, which would have been far more satisfying than the permanent frustration I experienced. But I was now too far into the problem and began anew to deliberate on the reference point of a 300mm barrel length for the 9mm calibre range and began to make a .45 calibre carbine barrel.

The result was a dance of joy at the pistol range as the action functioned successfully, recycling just under 80% of each of the four rounds that fit within the pistol grip, using Mactech SWC 230grs., and functioning even better with Winchester .45 Auto FMJ (the ammunition recommended by John Vernon Martz).

The process of unlocking the Browning system is more straightforward and is also more economical in its use of energy. But this comes at a price. A universal weapon is unlikely to acquiesce ex post to the operating requirements of an Acceptance Commission … and the powder is assuredly only one of the reasons. But above all, it is the design.

Borchardt, Georg Luger, John Martz and many others are among those who inspired me. And I believe that I have also contributed a small amount to the understanding of 100 years of Luger history.