Classic Handguns of the 20th Century. David Arnold

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