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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  GERMAN PISTOL LUGER MODEL 1900 7.65MM SN# 6885
Maker/Manufacturer:	LUGER, GEORG
Date of Manufacture:	C 1901
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 865
Measurements:	OL: 24.1CM 9 1/2" BL: 12CM 4 3/4"

Object Description:

GERMAN PISTOL LUGER MODEL 1900 7.65MM SN# 6885
Manufactured by Deutches Waffen & Munitionsfabrik (DWM), Berlin, Germany - Standard German semi-automatic pistol with 8-round feed mechanism. Used by U.S. Army Ordnance for testing at Springfield Armory. Blued finish, two-piece checkered walnut grips, slotted for grip safety. Toggle-action; fixed V-notch rear, dovetail front sight. Complete with 8-round detachable box magazine. Approximately 1,000 of these were manufactured for military testing.

Markings:
Barrel: 6885.
Frame: 6885.
Slide: U.S. Army style eagle.
Toggle: DWM (script).
Takedown lever: 7/85.
Sideplate: 18.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 31 May 1926.

Exhibit label: "LUGER M1900 7.65 millimeter 1900 1,000 made. Georg Luger, improving a design by Hugo Borchardt of Connecticut, developed the famous Luger automatic. Its adoption by the Swiss in 1900 led the Americans to test it. Each of the 1000 purchased were marked with the American eagle on top, giving rise to the nickname American Eagle Luger. The pistol was not adopted for use because of its foreign origin, its relatively complex design and the increasing reliability of competing domestic designs."

Notes: "U.S. ARMY TESTING - A 1902 U.S. Army intelligence report on the introduction of the Borchardt-Luger into the Swiss service noted that a 'spirited controversy' had arisen over the 'qualities of the recently adopted-model 1900 automatic pistol (Parabellum). The authors of the report got the general impression that 'in changing from a revolver to a pistol the troops did not perhaps receive adequate instructions as to the management of the latter.' As a result, there has been a number of accidents with the Borchardt-Luger pistol, 'which were rather due to the ignorance of the possessors regarding the weapon than to any inherent defect in the weapon.' Local armorers were also making unauthorized and dangerous changes to the pistol, which prompted the chief of the artillery to issue an order prohibiting any local modifications. There was to be considerable debate on both sides of the Atlantic over the suitability of self-loading pistols for issue to enlisted men. The experience of the Swiss army with the Borchardt-Luger pistol and the Belgians with their Browning self-loader were closely monitored by several governments that were contemplating the adoption or testing of this new kind of weapon.'
Between 1901 and 1907, the Borchardt-Luger pistol was tested several times by the U.S. Army in various models and calibers. It was first officially brought to the attention of the army by Captain William H. Beehler, USN, while he was action military attache in Berlin. On 11 September 1900, Beehler wrote to the Adjutant General describing some experiments he had witnessed 'with the Borchardt-Luger Automatic Pistol at the Factory Loewe & Co. in Charlottenburg.' He was convinced that the new pistol was 'far superior' to any other handgun he had seen. While much admired for its technical excellence and elegance, this pistol was not favorably received by the American officers who tested it in the field.
On March 8 1901, Hans Tauscher of DWM met with members of the U.S. Army Board of Ordnance and Fortification, and together they made arrangements for the testing of two 7.65mm Model 1900 Borchardt-Lugers. The tests were carried out Springfield Armory by three officers (Major John E. Geer, Jr., Captain Frank Baker, and Captain John T. Thompson). During the trial, a total of 2,000 rounds was fired, with a number of misfires taking place due to insufficient firing pin protrusion, spread magazine lips (which did not hold the cartridge very well), and some poorly made cartridges. Toward the end of the tests, the bolt hold-open device was worn to the extent that it could not hold the bolt to the rear when the last shot in the magazine had been fired. Although the pistol pased the dust test without any difficulty, the rust test stopped it dead.
In evaluating the Borchardt-Luger,the officers noted that 'the parts of this pistol are in themselves somewhatols as the officer may be familiar with. (d) The suitability of automatic pistols for the use of enlisted men...or would it be advisable to issue them for the use of officers and non-commissioned officers.'
On 16 April 1901, Colonel Frank H. Phipps, commanding officer at Springfield Armory, was authorized to negotiate with Tauscher to acquire 1,000 Borchardt-Luger pistols and a suitable quantity of ammunition. The price was fixed at $14.75 per pistol with shipping and $14.00 per 1,000 cartridges. The first 800 pistols with 200,000 rounds of ammunition left Hamburg on 18 September 1901, arriving in New York on 26 October, with the remaining 200 reaching the States three days later. Following inspection at Springfield Armory in December, the Borchardt-Lugers were distributed to the field in February and March 1902: 1 to Rock Island Arsenal as pattern for a holster (23 January 1902); 10 to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York; 15 to the U.S. Musketry School, The Presidio, San Fransisco; 10 to Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York; 40 the Cavalry Board, Fort Riley, Kansas; and 625 to cavalry units in the field. Over the next two years the Ordnance Department received many reports on the new European self-loader.
In April 1902, Captain C.B. Sweezey, commanding Troop B, 13th Cavalry at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, was one of the first officers to report on his experiences with the Borchardt-Luger. He believed that it possessed 'some advantages as compared with the revolver now used. Greater rapidity of fire action, and it seems to me it is better balanced and lends itself to more accurate fire when shooting without deliberate aim.' Captain Sweezey was of the opinion that extra magazines were a necessity because 'its magazine is too difficult to load for a mounted man and if mounted on a restless horse or if in cold weather when the hands were numb with cold it would be practically impossible to hold down the spring.' Furthermore, he believed that the Borchardt-Luger was suitable for issue to enlisted men: 'Its mechanism is simple and I believe its action renders it safe.'" - Ezell

"The military variation was intended for use by the U.S. Cavalry. 1,000 were purchased by the U.S. Military for testing. It was not adopted and these were sold as surplus....Note that all three models (the American, Commercial, and Swiss) will be found within 1 to approximately 21220 serial number range." - Aaron Davis

Reference:
Davis, Aaron. THE LUGER HANDBOOK. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1997.
Ezell, Edward C. HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1981.
Kenyon, Charles. LUGERS AT RANDOM. Handgun Press. Glenview, Il. 1990.
UNITED STATES MARTIAL & COLLECTORS ARMS. Military Arms Research Service. San Jose, Ca. 1971.
Walter, John. THE LUGER STORY: THE STANDARD HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS HANDGUN. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, Pa. 2001.