The Luger Parabellum is one of the very first semi-automatic pistols and probably the first to have been widely distributed. Developed in 1898 by Georg Luger from the Borchardt pistol, this weapon will be used both during the First and the Second World War. It was produced and put into service in several countries as a regulatory weapon (Germany and Switzerland for example). In France, it equipped the Gendarmerie, the Army and the Prefecture of Police of Paris, between 1945 and 1955. The 5000 French weapons like the Walther P38 used under the same conditions, came from the Mauser factories then occupied.
The name Parabellum comes from the Latin Si vis Pacem, Para bellum, who wants peace prepares for war. It will initially be chambered in 7.65 mm Parabellum, ammunition directly derived from the 7.65 mm Borchardt used by the Borchardt pistol. Its chambering will later be modified to allow the use of a bullet of a higher caliber, the 9 mm Parabellum, the most widespread handgun ammunition since. The two calibers will coexist (the Swiss army used the Luger 1900/1906 chambered in 7.65 mm Parabellum, modified several times and replaced in 1949 by the Sig P210).
The standard model of the German army is adopted under the name of P08 corresponding to the model of 1908 chambered in 9 mm Parabellum and equipped with a 10.2 cm barrel (simplified in 1914 becoming the P08/14). The model produced for the navy (from 1904 to 1918) has a barrel of 15.2 cm, 20.3 cm for that intended for gunners. Commercial models have barrels ranging from 9.8 cm to 35 cm for a rifle version equipped with a detachable stock.
The Luger Parabellum, if it was a comfortable, precise weapon (within the limit of the precision of a weapon devoid of adjustable sighting instruments) and relatively reliable for its time, remained expensive to produce and capricious in comparison with the models developed in its sequel such as the Browning Hi-Power or the P38.
If the Luger has not undergone any major modification during its career, the same does not apply to the 9 mm Parabellum ammunition developed for this weapon. The extension of the use of this cartridge for submachine guns (such as the MAT 49 in France, the British Sten or the Israeli Uzi) to heavier mechanisms required a more muscular loading of the ammunition. In many cases, current ammunition loading exceeds the capabilities of the Luger's fragile "kneeling" mechanism. Notice to collector shooters.
The Luger Parabellum definitely became a collector's item from the 1950s.
Specifications P08 and P08/14
* Caliber:9 mm Parabellum
* Unloaded weight:0.850 kg
* Loaded weight:-
* Length:23 cm
* Barrel length:10.2 cm
* Capacity:8 rounds
Luger Marine Specifications (Models 1904, 1904/06 and 1904/08)
* Caliber:7.65mm Parabellum and 9mm Parabellum
* Unloaded weight:1 kg
* Loaded weight:-
* Length:26cm
* Barrel length:15 cm (also available in 10.2 cm)
* Sighting instruments:100/200 m rise (at the rear of the carcass) and fixed front sight
* Capacity:8 rounds
Official Luger P08 (9 mm Parabellum) users
* Algeria
* Germany:from 1908 to 1945 in the Army and the Police (30,000 pistols used from 1934 to 1942)
* GDR:after 1945 for the Police
* Bolivia
* Bulgaria
* Chile
* China:before 1949
* Spain:during the Spanish Civil War
* Estonia:between 1919 and 1939
* Finland:M/23PB (adopted in 1923)
*France:
* Greece
* Iran:Model 1314 and Lange P08 (after 1935.
* Ireland
* Israel
* Libya:from 1951
* Norway:after 1945
* Poland:after 1945
* Portugal:M/910 and M/943
* Romania:after 1945
* Chad:Gendarmerie after 1960
* Turkey:circa 1934
* Soviet Union:after 1945, weapons taken from the Wehrmacht or from German stocks
* Yugoslavia:after 1945