Luger pistol

PO8 Luger pistol
Wehrmacht P08 ordnance model (Collection Paul Regnier, Lausanne, Switzerland)
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of originGerman Empire
Service history
In service
  • 1904–1953 (Germany)
  • 1900–1970s (other countries)
Used bySee Users
Wars
Production history
DesignerGeorg Luger
Designed1898
Manufacturer
Unit cost35 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (1943)
(equivalent to €72 in 2021)
Produced1900–1953
No. built3,000,000
Specifications
Mass871 g (1 lb 15 oz)
Length222 mm (8.7 in)
Barrel length
  • 120 mm (4.7 in) (Pistole 00)
  • 100 mm (3.9 in) (Pistole 08)
  • 200 mm (7.9 in) (Lange Pistole 1908)
Cartridge
ActionToggle-locked, short recoil
Rate of fire116 rpm (semi-automatic)
Muzzle velocity350–400 m/s (1,100–1,300 ft/s) (9mm, 100 mm short barrel)
Effective firing range50 m (55 yd) (9mm, 100 mm short barrel)
Feed system8-round detachable box magazine
SightsIron sights

The Pistole Parabellum or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just the Luger or Luger P08, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1949.

The design was patented by Georg Luger. It was meant to be an improvement of the Borchardt C-93 pistol, and was initially produced as the Parabellum Automatic Pistol, Borchardt-Luger System by the German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). The first production model was known as the Modell 1900 Parabellum. It was followed by the "Marinepistole 1904" for the Imperial German Navy.

The Luger was officially adopted by the Swiss military in 1900, the Imperial German Navy in 1906 and the German Army in 1908. The Luger was the standard service pistol of Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Brazil, Bolivia, and Bulgaria. It was widely used in other countries as a military service pistol and by police forces. In the German Army service, it was adopted in a slightly modified form as the ''Pistole Modell 1908 (Pistole 08) in caliber 9×19mm Parabellum. The Model 08 was eventually succeeded by the Walther P38.

The Luger is well known for its wide use by Germany during World War I and World War II, along with the interwar Weimar Republic and the postwar East German Volkspolizei.

The name Parabellum, which also featured in DWM's telegraphic address, comes from the Latin phrase Si vis pacem, para bellum; "If you wish for peace, prepare for war."

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