Automatic Principle for Pistols - Report Example

Semi-automatic pistols began, as an idea, around 1664. This was the year that Sir Robert Moray envisioned a “pistol shooting as fast as it could be presented and yet to be stopped at pleasure; and wherein the motion of the fire and bullet within was made to charge the piece with power and bullet, to prim it, and to bend the cock.” Other men also had the idea for the semi-automatic pistols, but were limited by existing ammunition, which was not appropriate for this type of weapon. It was not until 1863 that the idea of the semi-automatic weapon finally came into fruition, with the Maxim patents. This was a gun that was invented by Hiram S. Maxim that exists in some form today, and is considered to be the automatic machine gun, in that the discharge energy performs extraction, ejection, feed and firing. The system is built upon the recoil principle. The system is remarkable because it was able to work with the unsuitable ammunition of its day. However, because the ammunition was unsuitable, the automatic pistol did not come into being until around 1886, when Major Rubin developed suitable ammunition, namely the modern rifle bullet combined with smokeless powder. The first self-loading pistol was invented around 1892, which was known as the Schonberger. This used an entirely new recoil mechanism, in which the cap or primer on discharge of the cartridge is utilized to unlock the breech. However, it was not popular due, in part, to the ammunition that was available, as it made pressure and self-loading actions unreliable. It was not until the end of the 19th Century that these difficulties were abated. After the Schonberger was invented, there were a series of others that tried to capitalize on the automatic principle for pistols. The first was by an Andrea Schwarlose, who made a pistol that never made it to serious production and only one is known to exist. The Borchardt was next, in 1893, and this became popular in Germany and represents the first self-loader that attained any degree of sales and popularity, and was the first to appear in England. Then came the Mannlicher pistol in 1894, which relied on the “blow back system,” in which the energy transmitted by the fired case operates the arm. In 1894, Theodore Bergmann emerged with a series of models, culminating in 1903. All of these models represented pistols – simple lock-work, external hammer, all working parts covered by a light plate held by one screw, and a simple intercepting safety lever. Theodore Bergmann developed a series of self-loaders that were successful, from 1897 to 1903, the pocket models being the best known. All of these were on the blow-back system. Bergmann was notable, as he was the first to realize the simplicity and adequacy of the blow-back system, and was the first to discover that there is an enormous potential market for the self-loading pistol small enough to fit into a pocket. The first of these models is the 8mm caliber Simplex, which followed the Bergmann design, with a magazine that resembled that of a military model, holding 8 to 10 cartridges that are staggered in a manner similar to the short Lee-Enfield rifle. The drawback to this design is that the ammunition are too loosely seated in the cases. The next important model came in 1898, for the first really successful self-loading pistol came into being – the 7.63 mm Mauser. This model was patented in 1896, then gained popularity in the Boer War of 1899-1903. Winston Churchill mentioned having one of these pistols in the battle of Omdurman. This model is remarkable in that it never waned in popularity, and was sold in an unaltered form for many year. Almost unknown in the United States and Canada, its popularity was mainly in Central Europe, Russia, the Balkans, and Spain; secondarily in South America, South Africa, China and the far East, Great Britain and Western Europe. It could not easily be used as a handgun, as it shot high, was violent and unwieldy, but it was popular due to other reasons. One is that it was reliable, due to the large reserve of power in the cartridge and the workmanship of the self-loading action. Another is its capable of aimed fire rapidity. Still another is its respectable 85 grs bullet, and acceptable penetration. The average Continental officer wanted these weapons because they were high speed and could be carried on a belt with ease. On the other hand, the American market did not fancy this model because Americans emphasize handiness, balance and the feel of an arm, and the Mauser did not fill the bill on any of these accounts. Americans were looking for a weapon that is designed for close quarters, and the Mauser was not this weapon. During this time Henry Maxim patented, at the end of 1896, an experimental weapon that did not attain popularity, due to the fact that it was ahead of its time. Its simple construction and natural grip shape were not appreciated by the weapon designers of this time. Then came, in 1898, the Schwarzlose, designed by Andrea Schwarzlose, a name that is chiefly remembered for his machine guns. That same year, the famous name of John Browning was heard, though not for the first time. If Maxim was the father of automatic pistols, Browning was the father of automatic firearms in general – pistols, shot-guns, rifles, machine guns and light automatics. Hundreds of thousands of his designed have been sold all over the world, and his name is synonymous with the automatic pistol, as many countries have taken to calling automatic pistols “a Browning.” His first design was a gas-operated machine gun produced in America and called the Colt. This was used in World War I by the Canadians, Russians and Belgians and in the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939. Then came the Old Model Browning .32 pistol, which sold over one million, being used for assassinations, including the famous assassination that provoked World War I, that of the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo. The next successful model was the .38 Colt of 1900. The most famous Browning pistol produced is the Browning Hi-Power, which is a semiautomatic 9 mm pistol, which had the first functional double-column magazine of 9 mm Parabellum rounds, capable of holding 13 cartridges. The P-35 models, first produce in 1935, are considered by many to be the finest pistols ever. The Hi-Power models were used by both the Axis and Allied powers during WWII, and is still manufactured in Belgium and Portugal by FN Herstal and in Argentina by FM, and has influenced a number of clones, copies and has influenced other weapons models. Along with the Mauser, Browning had one of the only automatic principle weapons by the turn of the 20th Century. These weapons were not established as military weapons, however, until the first decade of the twentieth century. The first military weapon of this type was the 7.63 mm Mannlicher of 1903, and used by Imperial and Royal Armies but rejected by the Austrian War Office. The 8 mm Roth-Steyr was adopted by Austro-Hungarian cavalries in 1907. Georg Luger designed the Parabellum, known in America as the Luger, with a caliber of 7.85 mm in 1902, increased to 9 mm in 1908. This weapon became the official weapon of the German army. And, as German military though led the world, all combatant nations in 1914 used self-loading pistols except Great Britain, France and Russia. The United States adopted by Colt .45 Government Model as its official model of the 1911 U.S. Army, and it is considered to be, far and away, the best military self-loading pistol ever produced. For many years after World War I, there were no outstanding or radical developments in self-loading pistols. Germany did produce several new self-loaders during the 1930s, the most notable of these being the Walther PP, made famous by the James Bond movie Dr. No. Then, in 1945, Heckler and Koch began manufacturing product lines that was expanded to include gauges and specialized tooling. HK gained international prominence with their design and manufacture of the 9 mm Machinenpistole 5, the worlds most popular submachine guns. HK also manufactured handguns, including the P9S, which used a polymer that molded the steel frame. Outside of Germany, semiautomatic pistols were also made in Italy, by the Italian firm Beretta; and the Swiss firm SIG, which manufactures pistols considered to be among the finest in the world. Gaston Glock founded the Glock company in 1963. Glock developed a revolutionary product that combined plastic and steel, and his Glock 17 was adopted by the Austrian Army. With no external hammer, decocker or operation controls, its features also include a “Safe-Action” system, where three internal safety mechanisms are deactivated when the trigger is completely pulled and re-activated when the trigger is released. The latest addition to the Glock line is the .45 caliber cartridge. Glocks pistols are widely used by nearly every U.S. law enforcement agency, and has been adopted by Austria, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands as their official pistol for their armed forces. Glocks great success in using polymer pistols influenced firms such as, inter alia, Walther, Smith & Wesson, Browning, Ruger and Kimber to produce polymer frame pistols. America has also produced some fine pistols, including the Remington Model 51, developed by J.D. Pedersen, which appeared in 1918. It included novel ideas such as a grip safety that operated a slide release. It also used an internal hammer and single-action trigger. However, this was not popular, as it appeared to be over-designed. Then, around 1913, Smith and Wesson made their mark with the .35 S&W semiautomatic, and the 9 mm caliber Model 39, introduced in 1954, that made them a contender in the semiautomatic field. The Model 39, the first production double action semiautomatic pistol made in the U.S., provided the basis for all later S&W centerfire semiautomatics. Their second generation models were introduced in 1980, and the third generation in 1990. Read More