#p08 luger

[deutschland-im-krieg]

Two German army NCOs tooled up and ready to go, probably on a trench raid against the French or English, western front, c.1916. Both wear the M.1916 Stalhelm (steel helmet) and a rubberised cloth gas mask known as a Gummimaske. The figure on the left has the ribbon for his Iron Cross 2nd Class showing above his field glasses and carries a Luger P08 pistol and an S.98/05 mit Säge (with saw) bayonet. His comrade on the right carries a Druckknopf flare gun

[pattern-53-enfield]

Imperial Germans, all showing off the Artillery Luger and Trommelmagazine.

[historicalfirearms]

Luger P08

This gif. of a Luger firing in slow motion brilliantly shows the pistol’s toggle-lock action at work.    It replaces a typical slide action with a jointed arm which on firing moves backwards opening up the breech and ejecting the cartridge casing and the barrel sliding back within the receiver.  Once the spent cartridge is ejected a new one rises up into the breech and the pistol’s jointed arm descends again pushing the barrel forward again under spring tension all taking approximately 0.60 seconds.  

This short recoil system works best with high powered rounds as anything less than 7.65mm Luger lacks the energy to push the locking arm backwards, leading to malfunctions.  The iconic pistol saw service with the German army and others for over a hundred years. 

Image One Source

Image Two Source