tah PU edt OS ae Aa (SA) Edward C. ea oc miléaru raounlvarc and ealkinad|HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD Edward C. Ezell Handguns of the World by Edward C. Ezellis THE reference book for all collectors — amateurs and professionals alike — of pistols and revolvers around the globe. Most handguns in use today, for business and pleasure both, have evolved from military weapons. Between 1870 and 1945, great effort was exerted to improve accuracy, efficiency, and fire power for the military, which in turn re- sulted in what we today consider classic firearms. Inthe Handguns of the World, Mr. Ezell has called upon his own expertise as well as that of gun collectors, historians, and other experts around the world. International specialists in Great Brit- ain, Japan, Finland, Denmark, the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries, have personally assisted Mr. Ezell with research, sharing with him hundred-year-old documents and photographs. Many also allowed him to han- die and photograph antique treasures from their national collections, For anyone wanting to research the historical value of a privately owned antique, this book has all the answers: model numbers, manufacturers, exact locations of origin are all here. Over 1,000 photographs and line drawings make iteasy to pick out mode! numbers and match your weapon to a reproduction of classic models in this complete guide. The historical drama and reference value of this book is beyond reproach. Mr. Ezell has faithfully recorded here in vivid detail the stories of the pistols, the men who designed them, and the ‘companies who manufactured them: Browning, Colt, Smith and Wesson, Lefaucheux, Borchardt Luger and many more. From revolver to selt-loader, author Ezell traces changes in design from the simplest to the most complicated innovations of later years, made pos- sible by improved manufacturing equipment and techniques. Hg EEL A Tet ds (continued on back fiap) a CC eel ee CerneHANDGUNS OF THE WORLD Military Revolvers and Self-Loaders from 1870 to 1945 Edward C. Ezell STACKPOLE BOOKSCONTENTS aon = woonau 10 Preface Acknowledgments The Military Handgun 1350 to 1870 Military Revolvers 1870 to 1900 The Self-loading Pistol to 1900 The Designs of Hugo Borchardt and Georg Luger 1893 to 14 FN Browning Self-Loading Pistols 1894 to 1945 American Military Handguns 1900 to 1945 Austrian Handguns 1900 to 1945 German Handguns 1894 to 1945 French Handguns 1900 to 1938 Italian Handguns 1900 to 1938 "1 39 133 167 202 266 336 366 451 4688 HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD "1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 British Handguns 1900 to 1945 Soviet Handguns 1917 to 1940 Spanish Handguns before 1938 Czechoslovakian Handguns 1918 to 1939 Finnish Handguns 1918 to 1944 Japanese Handguns 1870 to 1945 Handguns in Military Conflicts 1870 to 1945 Handgun Manufacture 1890 to 1945 Military Handgun Cartridges 1870 to 1945 Index 487 518 535 572 588 609 630 654 678 693PREFACE Why write another book about handguns to add to the many volumes—some excellent, some good, many bad—that hhave been published n this field since 19457 Through reading and using most of these books during the last 20 years, | have discovered thal many factual and technical details about handguns have gone unrecorded, despite the many tiles and the varied subjects considered by numerous authors. ‘Over the years | have had many questions about hand- ‘guns for which could not readiy find answers. There was also @ noticeable lack of information about the men who created the handguns and the companies that manufactured them. In preparing Handguns of the World, | have tied to answer my own questions, presenting material about he pis- tols, their designers, and the manufacturers that will be new and uselul to a broad spectrum of readers. Handguns ofthe World tells the story of the evolution of military handguns from 1870 to 1945. Each chapter consti tutes a min-history of a specific topic—the handguns of a particular country or the work of particular designer. Through- ‘ut the book, | have examined the course of revolver and pistol development and have attempted o discover why spe- cic technological paths were pursued during this develop- iment. Although this book is designed to tell more about the history of revolvers and seltoading pistols than has been ‘ten before in a single volume, it should not be considered ‘exhaustive, Nor should it replace the many specialized well written handgun books avaliable, Instead, Handguns of the World and other tes should complement each other and be of value to a varied audience. Students of history should find in Handguns of the World 1 beginning synthesis of information relating tothe evolution of handguns, Collectors wil find new background information about the arms they possess. Miltary personnel may gain ‘addtional understanding of the relationship between military technology (weapons) and weapon tization (tactics). And police officars will have another source of information about the revolves and pistos they encounter in thei work Note on use of the Metric System ‘To simplily the text, [ave used the metric system of weights ‘and measurements instead of a combination of the metric ‘and English systems. Some readers may feel uncomfortable with this decision, but | believe that itis an acceptable one ‘given the gradual shift in the United States to the systeme internationale d'unites. In this book we are concerned with four basic metric units: grams for weight; millimeters for length; meters for distance and velocity; and joules for kinetic, ‘energy. Some multipliers will permit conversion of metric des- ignations to English units. Weight: To convert grams to ounces, multiply by 0.0353. Thus 421,048 gram Colt Model 1873 Single-Action Revolver weighs ‘36.29 ounces. Pounds can be obtained by multiplying grams by 002204. The same Colt Single-Action weighs 2.31 pounds ‘To convert grams to grains, for projectie weight, mutiply by 15.49, Thus a 14.3 gram .45 caliber (11.43mm) bullet weighs 220 grains. ‘Length: To convert milimetes to inches, multiply by 0.0994. The Colt Singie-Action's 191mm barrel translates to 7.5 inches. Ns 127mm bartels § inches long. Meters, either lor distance or velocity, can be converted to feet by multiplying by 3.281. Thus a target at 25 meters is 82 feet ‘away. A bullet traveling 213 meters per second can also be sald to have a velocity of 698 feet per second. Energy: To convert joules for kinetic energy to foot-pounds, ‘multiply by .7375. Thus a project with a muzzle energy of 90, joules has 287.6 foot pounds in the English system. {In the accompanying text, conversions have generally been rounded off to the nearest whole number. Thus 287.6 would be cited as 288. This liberty has been taken because most weights, dimensions, and velocities are approximations. All Of these figures should be useful for comparison, but it is important to note that handguns of the same model may vary ‘a few millimeters in length or a few grams in weight. Projectile velocities are known to vary greatly, and projectile weights, for ammunition manufactured for tity years or more, vary with diferent types of bullets and different dates of manufacture, Despite these cautions, the data presented inthis book have been treated with care and should reflect a reasonable basis for comparing different handguns and handguns of the same ‘ype.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Handguns ofthe Worfd would not have been possible without the assistance and encouragement of many individuals. Each person's contribution helped to make the finished product more complete. Without the help of each person, the final book would have been less interesting to read and less sat- isfactonily illustrated. In attempting 10 list the people who helped most in the ‘writing and ilustating ofthis book a few must be singled out {or special thanks. Among those deserving special thanks are: Vaclav (Jack) Krema, lan Hogg, Masami Tokol, Henk Visser, and John Weeks for their contributions of photo- graphs. Ed Holfschmidt (deceased), Donald M. Simmons, land Jimbo Terushi contributed original drawings for this book. Peter Labbett and Herbert Woodend contributed their re- search talents and historical insights to this undertaking, es- pecially as it applied to the British and European handgun ‘scene, Markku Palokangas prepared the basic material for the chapter describing the Finnish handguns. in addition to these individuals, the following people (listed in alphabetical corde) also added in their own special way to the writing of Handguns of the World Austia ‘Heersgeschichloliches Museum Belgium FFabrique Nationale ‘Rene Chavoe Carlos Davila ‘Claude Gaier Musée o’Armes, Loge ‘lich F. Nite Canada Vaclav (Jack) Kroma_ Denmark ‘Tofhusmuseot ‘Arne Oriott Finland ‘Solamuseo Markko Melk Markku Palokangas France ‘Joan Jacques Buigne Germany Hans B. von Lockhoven slembo Terushi acy LTC Birger Sotsaas Spain ‘Astra, Unceta y Compania, SA ‘Sr. Inigo Diaz-Guardamino LUama-Gabilondo y Compania, SA Museo del Ejercito, Madrid ‘Star Bonifacio Echeverria, SA ‘Switzerland Eidgenossische Watfenfabrik, Bern H. Diteshoim ‘Schweizerische Indusrie Gesellschaft, Neunausen ‘am Fheinalls Union of Soviet Socialist Republies Embassy of the USSR, Washington, DC Yoenne-Istoritskogo Muzeya Artileryi, Inzhenemieh Voisk | Voisk Svyaz! (Miltary Historical Museum ofthe Artilery, Engineer ‘and Signal Services), Leningrad "