The P.08 Luger is the pistol used by Germany through both World Wars as well as by many other countries including the Swiss. The Luger was originally chamered in 7.65 Luger, which was a shortened 7.63 Mauser cartridge. The first model Luger was invented in 1898 by Georg Luger, and it was highly based off of the Borchard pistol, but was a much more compact, and useful design.
They were originally just called the P.08, but they are known as Lugers after their inventer's name.
The model we know today most popularly, is the Model P.08 Luger, introduced in 1908 as the standard sidearm of the German military. It deviated from previous lugers by eliminating the grip safety and being chambered in 9mm Parabellum, which is the 7.65 Luger casing redesigned to fit a 9mm projectile as requested by the Wehrmacht(German Army.)
As a testament to the cartridge designed for it, the 9mm is still used by the U.S. Military currently in the M9, and is the NATO standard pistol cartridge.
There were many manufacturers of Lugers, some of the most popular being Mauser, DWM, Kreighoff, Erfurt, Spandau, Simpson & Co. as well as foreign manufacturers such as Vickers in England, and Waffenfabrick Bern of Switzerland an... |
