Borchardt C-93
| Borchardt C93 | |
|---|---|
Borchardt C93 | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1895–1945 |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Hugo Borchardt |
| Designed | 1893 |
| Manufacturer | Ludwig Loewe & Company |
| Produced | 1893–1902 |
| No. built | 3,100 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,160 g (41 oz) |
| Length | 355 mm (14.0 in) |
| Barrel length | 195 mm (7.7 in) |
| Cartridge | 7.65×25mm Borchardt |
| Action | Toggle-lock recoil action |
| Feed system | 8-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights |
The Borchardt C93 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Hugo Borchardt in 1893.
The design is based upon the Maxim gun's toggle lock mechanism. The pistol uses a locked breech and a short recoil operating cycle, with the barrel and breech moving backward together for a short distance before the breech is unlocked.
Borchardt developed the high-velocity, bottlenecked 7.65×25mm Borchardt cartridge for the C93. His assistant at the time, Georg Luger, also claimed to have influenced its design. Machine tool manufacturer Ludwig Loewe & Company of Berlin, Germany, produced the C93 in anticipation of military orders. With about 1,100 manufactured by Loewe and nearly 2,000 more produced by Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), the Borchardt C93 was the first mass-produced semi-automatic/toggle-action pistol.