Luger / Parabellum Photos

The 9x19mm Parabellum is a pistol cartridge introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for their Luger pistol. Its parent cartridge was the 7.65x22mm Parabellum, itself a descendant of the earlier 7.65x25mm Borchardt cartridge. The 9 mm Parabellum is used in pistols, submachine guns, and carbines.



The name Parabellum is derived from the Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum ("If you seek peace, prepare for war"), which was the motto and telegraphic address of DWM.



Georg Luger developed the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge from the earlier 7.65 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. In 1902, Luger presented the new round to the British Small Arms Committee as well as three prototype versions to the U.S. Army for testing at Springfield Arsenal in mid-1903. The German military expressed official interest in a 9 mm version of the Parabellum in 1904.



The initial cartridge was created by removing the bottleneck of the 7.65 mm Luger cartridge, resulting in a tapered rimless cartridge. The ogive of the bullet was slightly redesigned in the 1910s in order to improve feeding.

After World War I, acceptance of this caliber increased and 9 mm pistols were adopted by a number of countries.



To conserve lead during World War II in Germany, the lead core was replaced by an iron core encased with lead. This bullet, identified by a black bullet jacket, was designated as the 08 mE (mit Eisenkern - "with iron core"). By 1944, the black jacket of the 08 mE bullet was dropped and these bullets were produced with normal copper-colored jackets. Another wartime variation was designated the 08 SE bullet and identified by its dark gray jacket, and was created by compressing iron powder at high temperature into a solid material (Sintereisen - "sintered iron").



During the period between the early 1980's and the mid-1990's, a sharp increase in the popularity of "Wonder Nines" coincided with the adoption of the Beretta M9 by the US Army. At the time, most police departments were issuing .38 Special caliber revolvers with a six-shot capacity. The .38 Special was advantageous because it offered low recoil, the revolvers were small and light enough to accommodate different shooters, and it was relatively inexpensive. Possessing similar ballistics to the .38 Special revolver cartridge, the 9 mm is a shorter round, so extra ammunition carrying capacities could be easily increased by as much as 250%. The 9 mm pistol cartridge can be accommodated in a compact frame pistol, able to be used more effectively by inexperienced shooters and smaller-framed officers.

Attempts to improve ballistics of the cartridge came in the early 1990s with the widespread availability of high pressure loadings of the 9 mm cartridge. Such cartridges are labeled "+P" or in the case of very high pressure loadings "+P+". Ballistic performance of these rounds was moderately improved over the standard loadings.



The .40 S&W round debuted at the 1990 S.H.O.T. show. The .40 S&W sought to fill the gap between 9 mm and .45 ACP. While increasing bullet diameter to roughly half the difference between 9 mm and .45 ACP, the .40 S&W retained the same SAAMI standard pressure load limits of the 9 mm (240 MPa, 35,000 PSI). This afforded only a 20% (typical) capacity loss when compared to the 9 mm.

Gun - Luger 'Parabellum' (Germany)

The Parabellum pistole was developed by Georg Luger in Germany, ca. in 1898. The Parabellum name comes from ancient Latin saying Si vis Pacem, Para bellum -
EN: "If you want Peace, prepare for War"
DE: "Wenn du den Frieden willst, so rüste zum Kriege"
RU: "Хочешь мира - готовься к войне"



The Lugers' design is based on earlier Hugo Borchard idea, but Luger re-designed the Borchards' locking system into much smaller package. Most pre-WW II Parabellums were developed by DWM company in Germany, with some being manufactured under license in other countries. During WW II, many companies, such as Mauser werke and others, also produced Lugers.

The first country to adopt Lugers was Switzerland - they adopted the model 1900 Lugers, chambered in 7.65mm Luger/Para[bellum] round. In 1902 the DWM, along with Luger, by request of German Navy developed new round, 9x19mm Luger/Para[bellum], one of the most common pistol cartridges of the world, by re-necking the case of the 7.65mm Luger round. The Luger model 1904, in 9mm, was adopted by German Navy, following the German army (Reichswehr) in 1908. Since then, the Lugers were adopted by many countries and servred untill probably the 1950's or so.

All Parabellums are recoil-operated, locked breech, semi-automatic, striker fired handguns. All Lugers featured unique locking system, consisting of two tilting-up bars and short moving barrel. Some early Lugers featured automatic grip safety at the rear side of the grip. All lugers also featured frame-mounted manual safety at the left side of the gun. Lugers were manufactured with different barrel lenghts - standart german army Pistole 08 (Luger M1908) had 102 mm barrels; Navy models featured 152 mm (6 in) barrels, and Artillery models featured 203 mm (8 in) barrels. Commercial models were manufactured with barrels ranging from 98 mm up to 350 mm (14 in), some in 'carbine' versions, with additional forward handguard and detachable buttstock.

All lugers were very erconomical and accurate pistols, especially for the period those were developed in. However, all Lugers were too sensitive to fouling and for loose manufacturing tolerances, as well as too pricey, when compared to more modern designs, such as Browning High Popwer or Walther P38...

The History of the Pistole Parabellum

Without a doubt, the Luger semiautomatic pistol is one of the most famous firearms of the 20th century. It's distinctive toggle lock and sleek lines make it very recognizable, as do the fact that it was a standard sidearm of the German, Swiss, and other armies for a period spanning nearly a half century, and produced in large quantities. It is well-known even to many people who know or care nothing about historic firearms.

The Luger has always been known for it's accuracy. Factors contributing to this include tight manufacturing tolerances, excellent grip angle and shape, good trigger pull, and the fact that the barrel stays in a fixed position relative to the rest of the pistol except in the front-back dimension (no tipping as in Browning-style designs).

Further, it is a piece that has sparked the interest of collectors, perhaps due to the many variations of it that have been produced over the years. Specimens of rare types can command prices more appropriate to a new automobile than a firearm, while a basic, operational, if not particularly attractive, example can be had for US$350.

Hugo Borchardt and the C/93

Georg Luger 1849 - 1923

Georg Luger, an employee of Loewe & Co., took the Borchardt pistol as a starting point for designing the first pistols resembling what we would call a "Luger." The changes he made included development of a new cartridge, the 7.65 Parabellum or 7.65x23 cartridge (also called .30 Luger in USA), which is a 2mm shorter version of the Borchardt cartridge with a different powder charge. (The 7.63 Mauser has a 25mm case). In addition to the new cartridge, Luger also redesigned the complex mechanism behind the grip. He retained the toggle-locking action of the Borchardt, but replaced the Borchardt's bizarre mainspring and the large housing it necessitated with a leaf spring in the grip, improving the balance of the pistol. He also angled the grip for better pointability. A grip safety was added to the rear of the frame by 1904.

After making the changes described above, Loewe vigourously sought military contracts for production of the pistol. The first major success came in Switzerland, which adopted the Luger as its service pistol in 1900, in the 7.65 caliber. Switzerland produced Lugers for army use at an arms factory in Bern. Swiss pistols can be identified by the Swiss federal cross above the chamber. A number of other countries evaluated the Luger, including the USA, for which Loewe & Co. manufactured a number of Lugers in caliber .45ACP. The Luger was defeated in trials by the Colt-Browning that became the model 1911. Lugers were also sold commercially in this period, but the Luger was never a big seller due to it's high cost.

In an attempt to allay concerns about poor stopping power with such a small-caliber bullet, Georg Luger developed a second cartridge, the 9mm Parabellum. The 9mm Parabellum also goes by the names 9mm Luger and 9x19mm, and is distinct from a number of other cartridges that use the designation "9mm" in their names (such as 9mm short, 9mm Makarov, 9mm largo). The 9mm Parabellum cartridge cartridge case has the same base dimensions as the 7.65x23 Parabellum cartridge, but is not necked down, and is shorter, only 19mm long. A number of design changes to the Luger were made in the early 1900's, including replacing the leaf mainspring with a coil spring, and deleting the grip safety. Some pistols were produced with a lug to attach a shoulder stock. The so-called "new model" Luger of 1904 in caliber 9mm Parabellum was accepted by the German navy and later the army and designated the P08. Thereafter, German military sales accounted for the vast majority of Lugers ever produced.

In the pre-WWI period Lugers were produced by the German government arms factory in Erfurt as well as by Loewe's company, which was at that time named Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). The DWM monogram or Erfurt Crown logo can be found on the toggle of the pistols they manufactured (usually... in the world of Luger markings there are always exceptions). The Luger was the standard German sidearm throughout World War I. Luger production continued sporadically during the post-war period, in part due to restrictions on German arms manufacture imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The allies permitted official production to begin in 1925 at Simson and company. Simson, however, was owned by Jews, and the company was liquidated when the Nazis came into power. The Luger manufacturing machinery was purchased by Krieghoff. Mauser purchased DWM's Luger manufacturing machinery in 1929, and produced Lugers until the later part of World War II. The Luger was officially replaced for German military use in 1940 by the Walther P38 double-action 9mm Parabellum pistol, but certainly Lugers saw service throughout the war.

Switzerland replaced the Luger with more modern designs in the late 1940's, which ended the era of use of the Luger as a service pistol. Lugers continued to be used as police side arms in the German Democratic Republic, which refurbished a number of existing guns...